“I said, ‘Ted, you can see inside the horn, it's got a maple cap.’ He goes, ‘Shut up’”: Paul Reed Smith says early Les Pauls were all Goldtops to hide a tonal breakthrough from Leo Fender

Paul Reed Smith speaks onstage at The 2020 NAMM Show Opening Day on January 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California.

Have you ever wondered why the early Les Paul Standards were Goldtops? The first models, produced between 1952 and 1957, were retroactively given the moniker “Goldtop” due to their all-gold solid top paint. However, according to the famed luthier and PRS Guitars founder, Paul Reed Smith, the decision was less about aesthetics and more about practicality.

And, as he recalls in a new interview, he got the information straight from the horse's mouth – i.e., his mentor and former Gibson president, Ted McCarty.