Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Charlie Starr on What Makes a Great Les Paul

charlie starr

Rhett and Zach go granular with Blackberry Smoke leader Charlie Starr on the elements—both real and imagined—that make certain Gibsons stand out from their peers.


In the annals of Gibson Les Paul players, Charlie Starr is an under-the-radar aficionado. Starr’s stable over the course of his career with southern-rock group Blackberry Smoke has been stocked with some of the sharpest old-school LPs on earth, and he’s got a particular predilection for Juniors.

But what sets one Paul apart from another? Starr, Rhett, and Zach go down every rabbithole in their hunt to nail down what makes a particular Gibson great, including misconceptions around P-90s and their relationship to PAFs, Juniors versus Standards, and whether wood and total construction have a big impact on tone. Some players argue that the sound is all in the pickups; tune in to learn why the trio thinks that theory is bunk, right down to the last, least consequential cap.

Plus, find out when Starr thinks Gibson perfected the Les Paul’s neck shape and bridge positioning, how top-wrapping impacts your sound, and a foolproof way to I.D. a legit, vintage PAF. (If it’s original, it’s gonna stink.)

Get 10% off your order at stewmac.com/dippedintone

It’s Day 26 of Stompboxtober! Today’s pedal from MXR could be yours—enter now and return tomorrow for more!

Read MoreShow less

Fender’s Greasebucket system is part of Cory Wong’s sonic strategy.

Courtesy of singlecoil.com

Here’s part two of our look under the hood of the funky rhythm guitar master’s signature 6-string.

Hello and welcome back to Mod Garage. In this edition, we’re continuing our journey through the Fender Cory Wong Stratocaster wiring, bringing it all together.In the previous installment, the last feature on the funky 6-stringer’s signature axe that we discussed was the master volume pot and the corresponding treble-bleed circuit. Now, let’s continue with this guitar’s very special configuration of the tone pots.

Read MoreShow less

The Keeley ZOMA combines two of iconic amp effects—tremolo and reverb—into one pedal.

Read MoreShow less

A Telefunken ELA M 251E large-diaphragm condenser mic, seen in its natural habitat.

By now, we’re all familiar with the many options out there for amp modeling. Mic modelers are another reliable asset to digital recording tech, and can rapidly grow your inventory with just a few clicks.

As guitarists, we’re very aware of amp-modeling and profiling technologies, such as the Line 6 Helix, Fractal Axe-Fx, Neural DSP Quad Cortex, and Kemper Profiler. While our bases are covered for these (with modelers available for every “holy grail” amp under the sun), we are still missing another vital area of the recording process—microphones—for the acoustic instruments and vocals we might want to capture.

Read MoreShow less