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The Gibson Original Collection is a reintroduction of classic rock’s most famous electric guitar models, ensuring that the Gibson legacy is carried on through a new generation of performers.
Few artists can capture a crowd like singer/songwriter Lauren Ruth Ward— her spirit, deeply personal lyrics and fiery presence have put her on stages with Robby Krieger, Eddie Vedder, Keith Urban, Shirley Manson and more. When she's not performing with collaborator Eduardo Rivera as the Lauren Ruth Ward Band, she's working on her latest project with Chris Hess of SWIMM, called Aging Actress. We invited Ward and Rivera to play their songs on the new Gibson Les Paul Standard ‘50s, Gibson Les Paul Standard ‘60s, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Gibson Explorer and Gibson ES-335.
Featuring a solid mahogany body with an AA figured maple top, and a slim taper 60's-style mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard and trapezoid inlays, the Gibson Les Paul Standard '60s is a gritty rock-and-roll force. "To me, playing the Les Paul Standard is just such a classic, iconic guitar— you grew up with how versatile that sound is. There's such a wide spectrum of noise that you can make," says Rivera. Ward chooses the always-unique Gibson Explorer with BurstBucker pickups, and the two perform "Those Letters."
The Gibson Les Paul Standard '50s features a traditional figured maple on mahogany construction, '50s neck profile with nitro-lacquer finish and calibrated Alnico II BurstBucker pickups. "That [Les Paul 50's] sound has such a bluesy twang - she's tiny, but she's heavy. It was a nice kinetic connection I had with it physically," says Ward. Rivera selects a Les Paul Studio for this tune. The LP Studio is constructed with a rosewood fingerboard, slim taper mahogany neck and 490R and 498T pickups. Together they play "Make Love To Myself."
The Gibson ES-335’s warm, woody tone has been a presence in virtually every musical genre where electric guitars are a means of expression since the late 1950's. "I love semi-hollows - they're my favorite guitars. I can nerd out on an ES-335— you can be really experimental with it, or keep it classic and bluesy," says Eddie. Here, it serves as the perfect foundation for "Valhalla" as he supports Ward's soaring vocals that she processes with a Death By Audio Echo Master.
Keep up with the Lauren Ruth Ward Band here.
Check out Lauren's new project Aging Actress here.