Although much has been (inaccurately) written about the famous 'out-of-phase' sound of Peter's Les Paul, this was not a 'factory accident'. London Luthier Sam Li worked extensively on the neck pickup of the guitar twice during the period November 1966 to April 1967. He rewound the pickup with 43swg wire rather than the factory spec 42swg and later reversed the magnet to give the 'out-of-phase' B B King type sound, presumably at Peter's request. Despite published reports that the wiring was original and the pickup had never been taken off the guitar, at least one photograph of the guitar exists, taken at Decca's West Hampstead studios during the Bluesbreakers' recording session with Paul Butterfield in Late November 1966, clearly showing the pickup's absence at that time. It was replaced by early February 1967 but removed again by March that year.
Although much has been (inaccurately) written about the famous 'out-of-phase' sound of Peter's Les Paul, this was not a 'factory accident'. London Luthier Sam Li worked extensively on the neck pickup of the guitar twice during the period November 1966 to April 1967. He rewound the pickup with 43swg wire rather than the factory spec 42swg and later reversed the magnet to give the 'out-of-phase' B B King type sound, presumably at Peter's request. Despite published reports that the wiring was original and the pickup had never been taken off the guitar, at least one photograph of the guitar exists, taken at Decca's West Hampstead studios during the Bluesbreakers' recording session with Paul Butterfield in Late November 1966, clearly showing the pickup's absence at that time. It was replaced by early February 1967 but removed again by March that year.