Slash has been honoured with the 2026 Les Paul Spirit Award for his “creative legacy, pioneering musicianship and enduring influence on generations of artists and fans”. (Guitar Com reports)
The legendary Guns N’ Roses guitarist received the award this October during an intimate and private event presented by the Les Paul Foundation in partnership with Gibson Gives, held at The Les Paul Recording Studio at Universal Master Recordings in Hollywood.
The Les Paul Spirit Award is presented to an individual who “exemplifies the spirit of the late Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and music” each year.
The award, which is always made uniquely for the recipient, was created from hand-carved acoustic boards that Les Paul built and used in his home recording studio. Previous recipients include Bob Weir, Nile Rodgers, the Edge, Peter Frampton and Steve Miller.
Slash and Les Paul shared a special friendship during Les Paul’s lifetime and often played music together. Speaking of the award, Slash says, “Les was so much more than a great guitarist and innovator. He was an actual inventor who changed the instrument itself, built groundbreaking recording equipment and completely reimagined how artists could record music.
“I feel incredibly lucky that I got to know him, hang out with him and play music with him. I cherish the relationship we had, and receiving an award that carries his name and spirit is a tremendous honour.”
A Legend says Slash's first electric guitar was a copy of Gibson given by his grandmother. Then, while he increased experiences in different bands, Slash tried out few other instruments before adopting definitely Les Paul guitars in 1985.
There are also various Gibson Les Paul Slash signature models, dating back as early as 1990, with a limited run of Slash models sporting black harware. In 1997, Gibson released the Snakepit Les Paul, which featured a stunning snake motif on the fingerboard. Other popular models include the 2008 VOS Aged Les Paul, a replica of Slash 1987 Les Paul. The most recent addition to the long line is the Appetite Les Paul, which is also available with an aged finish. In total, Slash has collaborated with Gibson on twelve signature Les Paul guitars (Slashparadise.com)http://www.slashparadise.com/equipment/guitars-slash
