Song Rig

How High the Moon

Les Paul · New Sound! Les Paul · 1951

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

The invention of multitrack recording disguised as a pop record — Les Paul used his homemade Ampex tape recorder to overdub twelve separate guitar tracks and Mary Ford's multiple-dubbed vocals, creating a sound that simply did not exist before 1951. The guitar tone is clean, bright, and precise: his 1950 'Log' solid-body prototype through a direct studio recording.

Signal Chain

1Les Paul 'Log' prototype solid-body guitar (Gibson conversion)
2Ampex 300 tape recorder (custom modified for overdubbing)
3Custom studio direct recording setup

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume1

Bass5

Mid6

Treble8

Direct recording rather than mic'd amp — Les Paul often recorded the guitar directly into his custom tape recorders to get maximum clarity on each overdubbed track. The result is a dry, studio-direct tone unlike mic'd amp recording.

Technique

How to Play It

Tape-speed manipulation for harmonic effects — by recording guitar at half the normal tape speed and playing back at full speed, Les Paul created single-note runs that sound twice as fast as humanly playable. The 'chipmunk' speed is a tape manipulation technique, not a playing technique.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

Any clean electric guitar → direct input → DAW with pitch-shifting plugin → record a phrase at half the target BPM → pitch-shift the recording up one octave (doubling the speed). This is the original Les Paul technique — genuine overdubbing and tape trickery.

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