Slash explains why he prefers Gibson Les Paul guitars
The web series ‘The Collection’, spearheaded by legendary guitar manufacturers Gibson, is a wonderful gem for the guitar-obsessed community. Available on the brand’s ‘GibsonTV’ YouTube channel, ‘The Collection’ has featured a diverse lineup of legendary players, from Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen to Dweezil Zappa. The latest guest star just happens to be one of the most famous Gibson players in the world: Guns ‘N Roses axe man Slash.
From the earliest days he roamed Los Angeles’ famed Sunset Strip, Slash could always be seen wielding a Gibson Les Paul. Although he would soon gravitate toward his signature model, Slash’s first guitar was actually a different Gibson model, the Explorer.
He recalled: “I went down to a pawn shop in Santa Monica, right off the beach, and went in there and they had a Memphis Les Paul Sunburst copy and an Explorer. One was $100 and one was $125 or something, so I bought the Explorer because it was cheaper”. After trying it out and not feeling comfortable, Slash returned to the shop and exchanged it for the Les Paul copy, kicking off a partnership that continues to this day.
“I just thought it looked cool, I guess: the aesthetics of it,” Slash added. “I knew that Jimmy Page [had] a Les Paul, which I thought looked cool, way before I ever actually picked up a guitar. But when I did start playing, I had remembered that the guitar sound, the way that Zeppelin II sounded, when I was a little kid I thought that was the coolest record and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ was just the fucking shit”.
“So fast forward however many years it was when I started playing guitar, when I saw a Les Paul I thought, ‘That’s a cool looking guitar and it probably sounds like that record,'” he laughed. “I was really, really ignorant. I learned stuff as I went. But as I sort of experimented with a lot of different guitars during that period from 15 to probably 18, I tried all kinds of different things and I always just ended up coming back to a Les Paul”.
“I love the weight of it. It felt solid,” he explained. “I liked the way the neck felt. Obviously, I liked the way that it looked and the sound was consistent, so I was definitely looking for that beefy, Humbucker sound”. Throughout his episode, Slash shows off his endless parade of Les Pauls, proving that his preoccupation with the guitar is more than just a dalliance – it’s an obsession.
Check out Slash walking through his collection of Les Paul guitars down below.
