Les Paul Plays an Electric Tune (circa 1952) page 3

After getting a grasp on one of the main components of Paul's guitar, the solid body, I then move towards achieving a grasp on what makes the guitar electric, the 'pick-up'. I first ask Paul about his background with electronics. "It's been a hobby of mine all my life. I used to take apart radios as a kid to see how they worked, and I built my first crystal radio before I was even ten years old. I've always been into refining the technology of sound. Its something I've done because I like doing it, no other reason." The quest for better sound that has led to the development of an electronic pick-up started from him jabbing a phonograph needle into the bridge of his acoustic guitar over fifteen years ago. Paul talks passionately about his knack for electronics and begins to explain to me the design behind his single-coil pick-up.

"The pick-up that I designed is a transducer. Basically, all a transducer is, is a magnetic device used to convert the energy produced by the vibrating guitar strings into electrical pulses which are then fed into the amplifier." Transducers are often used in various sensory devices, but Paul had the idea of trying to use in on a guitar. Despite Les Paul casually playing down his knowledge, he is clearly competent in the subject. "My single-coil pick-up consisted of a permanent bar magnet with a continuous length of insulated copper wire wrapped around it several thousand times," he says, "The magnet generates a magnetic field around itself. Because the strings are made of steel, they interact with the magnetic field. As soon as the string is struck, its movement alters the shape of the field. Small pulses of electrical energy are then generated in the coil. So if the coil is connected to the amp, these pulses will travel to the amp." The pick-up's function can be viewed similar to that of a bicycle pedal. As moving feet use a bicycle pedal to create energy and motion in the wheels, moving strings use the pick-up to create electrical energy which is converted to sound.

Page 1 of Les Paul Plays an Electric Tune
Page 2 of Les Paul Plays an Electric Tune
Page 3 of Les Paul Plays an Electric Tune
Page 4 of Les Paul Plays an Electric Tune