The Les Paul Recording Studio, located in the United Recording Studios on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard, has opened to honor the pioneering work of Les Paul, the late inventor and guitarist known for his contributions to both guitar design and studio recording technology. While many associate Paul’s name with the iconic Gibson guitar, he was also a trailblazer in the development of recording techniques.
This new studio features a collection of “meticulously restored” equipment once owned by Paul, including a custom-built mixing console and an 8-track tape recorder. The 8-channel console, known as “The Monster,” was built by Paul and engineer Rein Narma in the 1950s to work with the world’s first 8-track recorder, the Ampex 5258 Sel-Sync tape machine. This setup, created by Paul and Ampex engineer Ross Snyder, formed the first multi-track recording system. It was in Paul’s Hollywood garage studio that he introduced numerous recording techniques that are still in use today, such as multi-track recording, overdubbing, close-miking, and tape echo.
Despite its historical significance, The Les Paul Recording Studio is not a museum. Instead, it offers a unique opportunity for students and artists to use both Paul’s restored equipment and “state-of-the-art” modern gear to create new music. The studio aims to inspire creativity by combining its rich musical history with current technology.
Michael Braunstein, Executive Director of the Les Paul Foundation, emphasized, “We’ve painstakingly restored Les Paul’s original gear to working condition, allowing today’s artists to record using the exact tools that revolutionized popular music.” He further stated, “Combined with the newest technology and digital recording tools, the Les Paul Recording Studio will welcome musical artists, producers, engineers, and students to a new and innovative studio environment that is the only one of its kind in the world.”
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