My First Electric - Gibson Les Paul Pro
Your first electric guitar is a bit like your first kiss - you’ll never forget it and it becomes a benchmark for all that follow.
When I was 15, I saved enough cash working at the neighborhood department store to purchase a brand new Gibson Les Paul Pro from Brook-Mays in Dallas. I picked it up on a late fall day in 1978 and my life seemed to change forever as I walked out of the store with the case in hand.
Surprisingly, the Les Paul Pro model was only available for a couple of years in the late 70s even though it had some really unique features. The Pro had an ebony fingerboard like a Custom, the chrome hardware of a Standard and P90 “soapbar” pickups like the early goldtops from the 50s. To top it all off, it also had ivory bindings on both the body and fingerboard. As far as finishes go, I’ve been told that the this model was available in several colors, but I’ve only seen the black and tobacco sunburst in the last 25 years.
My Les Paul Pro had a beautiful black finish with chrome hardware and black speed knobs. Unable to leave well enough alone, I had the bridge pickup position routed out for a full-sized Dimarzio Super Distortion with a coil-tap switch. Purists may roll their eyes, but that guitar looked and sounded amazing after the “surgery”.
Sadly, in the fall of 1980, my Pro developed a nasty twist in the neck that was impossible to correct - a stark reality of Gibson quality in the 70s. I sold it for cheap a few months later and put a Ibanez hollowbody on layaway to replace it.
Although I’ve owned some great guitars since then, my Les Paul Pro has a special place in my heart, right along side, uh, what’s her name…