What's brighter - LP or SG ?

[dvadneau]

Re: What's brighter - LP or SG ?

On the brightness of maple, I've got a Rampage that's maple body, with maple neck and ebony fretboard. If you had asked me last year I would have said that just sounds like ice-pick city. But it's not. I think maple is misunderstood that way. The emphasis is on the higher end, but the low end was huge on my Rampage, before I lifted the bridge - different story.

I'd say a maple cap on a chambered body would give it a lot of brightness. I had an Epi LP Ultra II that was chambered with a maple top and it was a very bright guitar. Of course Epi really hollowed that guitar out - more of a semi-hollow.

It's hard and dense. It makes sense to me that it would reject treble.

Being soft and less dense is what makes for good sound insulation, especially for high end.

I'd expect an SG to sound thinner, but that doesn't necessarily mean brighter. More focused, which may turn out to be brighter, depending on the guitar.

[ItsaBass]

Re: What's brighter - LP or SG ?

It depends where the maple is used. It makes a guitar brighter if the neck is all maple - my MIA strat (all maple neck) - is a lot snappier than a rosewood boarded strat.

I think a maple cap probably doesn't have such a drastic effect. If you think of it in terms of ratio of maple to total wood then a maple cap on an otherwise mahog/rosewood guitar (les paul) counts for not very much; but then think about something like a maple neck through superstrat with mahog wings - that's loads of maple, and will be brighter than if that neck was mahog.

That's not really saying much. It would not be hard for most common guitar woods to be brighter than rosewood. Rosewood is a very dense wood.

I don't dislike maple. I just don't think it excels at promoting the sustain of higher frequencies. Try a maple-necked Paul next to a mahogany-necked Paul, for instance. Huge difference.

[uOpt]

Re: What's brighter - LP or SG ?

I really depends on what "bright" means to the listener.

SGs will never have the lower mids push of the LP, and that might sound "brighter".

If you think about actual treble it can go either way.

[JordanM82]

Re: What's brighter - LP or SG ?

Every LP or SG I have played has noticeable differences... I think you could have either case be true of LP brighter than SG or vice versa at any given guitar store you are playing at depending on which guitars you pick up. Just play em and find out...

[Bludave]

Re: What's brighter - LP or SG ?

I have an all original 69 SG and a 90 Standard. The SG is brighter when played at small club volume but at higher volume it definitely gets thicker especially through a Marshall amp or similar. Years ago I used my SG through a Super Reverb and occasionally I would bring the volume up to 7 or 8 and it sounded huge. Plenty of bottom & tons of sustain. The Les Paul is just thicker in general (meaning tone not girth)

[oilpit]

Re: What's brighter - LP or SG ?

SGs have less of every frequency IME...

So it's not really that they have more treble, they just have less mids and bass.....and treble for that matter.

I would use the word "thin" before I used "bright"

[blueman335]

Re: What's brighter - LP or SG ?

SGs have less of every frequency IME...

So it's not really that they have more treble, they just have less mids and bass.....and treble for that matter.

I would use the word "thin" before I used "bright"

And that may be what we're hearing.

[lex666]

Re: What's brighter - LP or SG ?

get both.

as Paul Simon used to say, "don't need to discuss much..."