Solid body electric guitar manufactured by Gibson since 1952, designed with input by famed jazz guitarist Les Paul whose name ended up as the name of the guitar itself, work and prototypes commenced in 1950, with 1951 prototypes being strikingly similar to the final product until its introduction in 1952. The Les Paul eventually caught big success in a seemingly endless array of genres, pinning it as one of the most well known and popular guitars along with its contemporaries, the Fender Telecaster and Fender Stratocaster. It's similarly been used by musicians far and wide, including Slash, Joe Perry and James Dean Bradfield among others.
The Les Paul also holds a strong cult following in Japan. Within anime and manga, K-On!'s Hirasawa Yui is most associated with the Les Paul, using a Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Standard (now Traditional). Other prominent characters include iDOLMASTER Million Live!'s Julia using a TV Yellow Les Paul Special, Bang Dream!'s Mitake Ran with a red Les Paul copy, and Bocchi The Rock!'s Gotoh Hitori with a black Les Paul custom.
Original Les Pauls were released with goldtop finishes, P90 ("soapbar") pickups and either stopbars or tailpieces. Prominent Gibson versions of the Les Paul include:
Standard, most famous example in anime being Hirasawa Yui's model.
Junior/Special, lighter glossier model with soapbar pickups with the Junior only sporting a single pickup, most commonly seen being used by iDOLMASTER's Julia.
