The most imprtant improvement to the Les Paul Model, aka goldtop, on its way to becoming a legendary model, came in mid 1957 with the introduction of Gibson’s innovative double-coil “humbucking” pickups.

“Hum” – electrical interference from outside sources such as rheostats (light faders) or fluorescent lights – had been a problem for electric guitar players since the invention of the instrument. Electrical engineers had long known that two coils of wire wound in the opposite directions would have a hum-canceling effect on each other, and by 1955, Gibson engineer Seth Lover had applied the concept to guitar pickups, but Gibson did not push the pickups into production until word spread through the industry that Gretsch had developed a very similar unit.

Humbuckers provided a level of power that single-coils simply didn’t have, and blues artists were among the first to take advantage. Blues great Freddie King’s humbucker-equipped goldtop had a profound influence on the future of rock’n’roll; it was a photo of King that inspired Eric Clapton to buy his first Les Paul.