Dave Davies invented distortion. With
frustration pushing him to wits end,
the Kinks’ guitarist lashed out with a razor
blade on the speaker cone of his Elpico
amplifier because he couldn’t get the desired
guitar tone. (We’ve all wanted to stab our
gear at one point, right?) Little did Davies
know that a small tear around the speaker’s
cone—still keeping the cone fully intact—would create one of the most important
musical sounds of the 20th century that
led to the instantly identifiable riff in the
Kinks’ “You Really Got Me.”
Davies was a man of many guitars, but
probably best aligned with the Gibson
Flying V. Throughout his years with the
Kinks and various solo projects, he used
several Gibson models including this
1978 Gibson Les Paul Artisan. During
the early ’80s, he preferred to use this
guitar live when playing tunes from Low
Budget, Give The People What They Want,
and Chosen People, including the ripper
“Freedom Lies.”
In 1976, Gibson looked to fancify their
tuxedo of guitars—the Les Paul Custom.
The Norlin-controlled company revamped
the LPC by offering a natural or walnut finish
showcasing the carved-maple top’s beautiful
figuring. Other changes implemented
on all Artisans included gold hardware,
heart and flower inlays on the headstock
and fretboard (very similar to Gibson banjos),
a pre-war style Gibson logo, and a
TP-6 tailpiece.
Similarities between the Artisan and the
Custom are the mahogany body with three-piece,
carved-maple top, a three-piece maple
neck, an ebony fretboard, and the bound
peghead and fretboard.
Aside from the cosmetics on the
Artisan, the pickups were the only major
functioning difference from the Les Paul
Custom it’s based on. Davies’ Artisan is
loaded with three humbuckers—two are
Gibson Series VII humbuckers (bridge
and neck positions) and in the middle
position is a Gibson Super Humbucking
pickup. The pickup selector switch was
wired to three settings: rhythm pickup
only, middle and bridge pickup with the
switch in the middle position, and the
bridge pickup only.
A special thanks to Hard Rock Historian
Jeff Nolan and Hard Rock International for
the opportunity to feature this fine piece of
gear and its story.