I was working at Ensoniq – a synthesizer manufacturer – in the early nineties, and one of my responsibilities was artist relations. A friend mentioned that we should get some of our gear to Les Paul. So I called his son Russ and made arrangements to drive to his house in New Jersey and drop off some of our keyboards. He greeted me at the door like I had known him for years.
His house is big, but not a mansion. It is the Smithsonian Institution of musical instruments. I think he saved every instrument he ever made or played as well. As he and Russ showed me around their home, he would point to an old box and say stuff like, “that was the first multi-track recorder ever developed” or he would pick up a stack of papers and pull out plans for a synthesizer he designed in the forties. Or when we walked into his studio that had eggshell reflections carved in wood, yes carved, he would make a comment like “Frank and I recorded in this room.” Needless to say, I was in awe and excited before I got there and simply blown away and motivated more than ever by the time I left. Although there were many instruments, my sense is that the memories in his home studio were priceless.
I made a few more trips to his house with various pieces of gear and each time I witnessed a true inventor at work. It’s pretty obvious that I would have a helluva lot more questions to ask him than he would have about our products. Like anyone would be in my position, I wanted to barrage him with questions, but he always beat me to the punch. He had an insatiable curiosity and always wanted to learn more.
On one trip he put the “Log” in my hand. I think he said, “This is the first guitar I ever invented.” It had a door hinge (bridge) on it with a weird looking coil and one or two strings that felt like telephone wires. (See photo.) I’m still not sure if it was the first one he built, but needless to say I was shaking like a leaf anyway. On another trip I left one of our DP-4 fx processors for him to check out. During our next chat, we discussed the technology and then he suggested we should check into the detuning of the reverb in patch #143. I went back and put it on the Peterson and he was right, there was a slight detune on the sustain of the verb.
When I was at Sonic Foundry, I traveled to NYC a bit and would have a quick bite or a chat with him before his Monday night show. Again, he was so inquisitive about our software and wanted to know all the details of how it was conceived and developed. Man, he could still play. I’ve been to his show several times and it is one of the most entertaining I’ve seen. He did a tuning thing with his guitar in one of his opening numbers that I have never seen anyone else do to this day. I was not the only one encroaching on his time at the shows, but he made everyone feel like they were somebody. It was an education watching how he treated people.
The last time I saw him was at the AES show in NYC a couple of years ago. He was having lunch and I joined him for a moment of chat and he started firing questions immediately and asked how Broadjam was doing. We had talked about Broadjam on several occasions prior to that as well and we spent a lot of time discussing the compression schemas of Mp3s.
Over the years, I probably spent less than thirty hours in his presence. But each time he was extremely gracious and created the feeling like we’d known each other forever and anyone who came in contact with him felt the same way. Many know him as the inventor of the electric guitar and other cool things. To anyone who knew him, he was an inspiration and a friend. Rest In Peace Les.
Roy
Posted by Broadjam on Aug 14, 2009 in Broadjam Blog
Wow. That was quite a story… beating those stories over on the 6 pack blog.
Love it. Must’ve been something special to meet him. I’ve met quite a few famous musicians, and celebs in my time. Some in weird spots and occassions, just like JohnV has… Only befriended on of them, still here from him from time to time, but not like I used to.
I keep forgetting to talk to you about Ensoniq. My first board was a Korg DW 6000, but it never did it for me piano sound wise. My second board was an SQ-2. Hands down, still to this day, the best sampled piano that ever graced a keyboard. I had to give the board up to pay rent back in the mid 90s and have never gotten my hand on one ever since… but it was my favorite board that I ever owned. Always wanted a KS-32, but back then, they were out of my price range.
Thanks for the post.
Sep 2, 2009/2:50 pmDave
A relevant documentary to experience regarding Mr. Paul
http://www.hulu.com/watch/91100/les-paul—chasing-sound
Thanks for the insights Roy.
Aug 24, 2009/4:02 pmEveryone,
Thanks for your comments. I am very lucky to have spent time with him. As Alan said, he truly was a genius. But more importantly he was incredibly warm and welcoming.
Cameron,
He was definitely the first to do sound on sound recording and eventually worked with Ampex to develop a multi-track. In the top picture in this blog, there is a multi-track Ampex directly behind me.
Roy
Aug 21, 2009/2:25 pmRoy – What a lucky guy you were to meet one of the music world’s geniuses. We all owe Les Paul a massive debt. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have only one regret, probably shared by most; that I never met him.
I am a great fan of music and technology; a love what Line 6 are doing for example. And I know all of these lovely toys would not be with us were it not for this great man and his ideas.
Thanks again. Peace ‘n’ stuff to all.
Alan Falkingham (Somerset, UK)
Aug 21, 2009/2:56 amHey Roy
Thanks for sharing that with us Roy.
I sent the link to one of my guitar buddies who collects, sells and performs on Vintage Les Paul guitars which today are worth tens of thousands of dollars, some over a hundred thousand. What a brand name for used equipment huh?
I had even forgotten he was involved with synths too. I’m curious if that first Multi-Tracker was his invention.
All the best
Cameron
Aug 19, 2009/10:38 pmWonderful Times to remember Roy….You have been fortunate indeed to have spent those hours with The Man! and Legend
Les Paul….there will never be another!
Thank You for Sharing.
Aug 19, 2009/2:59 pmIan.
Hey Roy
Thanks for sharing your story and pictures with us. That’s cool as hell! He was always on my list of “who I’d like to meet” even though I knew it would probably never happen.
I myself have been smitten with Les Paul guitars since I knew what a guitar was (bought my first one brand new in 1989. $850 with a case! It’s the one in my profile picture here on Bjam). I have had 8 of ‘em in my life and am down to my 3 favorites these days. I also have a very old sound design tape echo and when I read up about it (years ago) and found out he invented that too. What a gifted genius he was. Such a mind that thought about things so different than the rest of us. I’m glad he was around when I started in this music biz! Rest In Peace my friend!
Best
Aug 17, 2009/5:42 pmTroy
Very cool. I wish I had met him. What a remarkable life he lived.
My friend Carl’s dad used to treat him for arthritis. He posted his memories of Les on his Myspace blog. You can read it here: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=112323421&blogId=505457623
Aug 17, 2009/3:40 amFantastic story Roy. I couldn’t even imagine being in the same room with Les Paul let alone spending an entire afternoon with him. May he rest in peace.
P.S. Love the old Ensoniq synths, Bet Les was intrigued by them as they were years ahead of the pack.
Aug 17, 2009/12:32 amVic
Hi Roy,
Thanks for sharing that wonderful anecdote about you and Les Paul. It was like a lesson in music history and especially about the guitar. It touched me on a personal note because my dad played a few gigs with him. May he rest in peace with all the musical greats.
Felice Kaye-Cooper
Aug 14, 2009/10:06 pm