# Les Paul's One-Hand Guitar Plan

> Les Paul devised a guitar to play with one hand after a car crash nearly amputated his arm.
- Title: Les Paul's One-Hand Guitar Plan · Guitar World | Shortify
- Summary: Les Paul devised a guitar to play with one hand after a car crash nearly amputated his arm. Les Paul created a one-handed guitar design to continue playing…
- Keywords: les paul, one-handed guitar, car crash, 1948, route 66, oklahoma, Les, Paul's, One-Hand, Guitar, Plan, Guitar World
- Source: Guitar World — https://guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/les-paul-one-armed-guitar-invention-plans
- Published: 2026-10-27T16:49:01+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: les paul, one-handed guitar, car crash, 1948, route 66, oklahoma
## Les Paul's Car Crash
Les Paul and Mary Ford were driving on Route 66 in Oklahoma during a snowstorm on January 2, 1948.
## Arm Injury Details
Paul broke multiple ribs, his nose, cracked vertebrae, fractured his pelvis, punctured his spleen, and shattered his right arm.
## One-Hand Guitar Plan
Paul conceived a guitar that would let him play with one hand if his arm was amputated.

> I thought, if they're going to amputate my arm, I'll play the guitar with one hand.
## Synthesized Guitar Concept
Paul described a synthesized guitar where the left hand keys notes to sound like playing with both hands.

> To do that, I conceived the synthesized guitar, which you play with your left hand. You key the notes so it sounds like you're playing with both hands.
## Gibson's Interest
Gibson approached Paul about a Belgian guitarist who used an organ-like sound, but Paul dismissed the idea as too expensive.

> They were talking to me about this fellow from Belgium with a guitar that sounded like an organ. I said, 'You want me to tell you just how he does it? I know all about it; I can tell you exactly what he does!'
## Workshop Destruction
Paul's former home and workshop were destroyed by developers, leaving his son heartbroken.
## Key takeaway

Les Paul created a one-handed guitar design to continue playing after a 1948 car crash injury.