Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

[DreX]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

It's enough in life to know what you like and what you don't, what works for you and what doesn't. It's not neccessary to know the reasons why.

(for example, food .... we like some foods and not others. Knowing which we do and don't like is good enough, we don't need to analyse why).

Necessary? No. Enlightening and empowering? Yes.

[Letus]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

My first and only electric is a Les Paul, and it feels like the only adequate guitar, in every respect, that I've come across. Without what makes the Les Paul a Les Paul, I am at that much of a loss in terms of being able to express myself. When I started out on it, it seemed to make me feel less like playing, but now it does the opposite. It is not about how the guitar panders to the player in terms of comfort, it is about how it drives the player. Better less attainable and more satisfactory than easily approachable and short of the mark!

[Securb]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

To be fair, this **** is far more demanding than what most guys who pick up his sig guitar play.

What I learned here is Mary Ford had breath that could knock a buzzard off a crap wagon. Check out 2:10

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

Are some of these identical, or are they at least different finishes?

They are all different except for the two Gibson Custom Shop Guitar Center 1960 Tobaccoburst VOS models. They are identical, except....they are different...just slightly...but one is just that much better. Both I bought really cheap...but it's the second one that is exceptional. The R9 I have isn't close to this good, and the R8 sounds really great but it has a much bigger neck. The G0s are just perfect.

If you want the best Gibson has to offer, the Historics are the way to go.

Bill

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

What I learned here is Mary Ford had breath that could knock a buzzard off a crap wagon. Check out 2:10

That's not Mary in the 'ad' part, just as it's not Lester playing the male role in that section.

[garryspicer]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

I find a 10 lb LP to be very reassuring. As soon as I start playing them I don't notice the weight for the rest of the night. All I notice is the great tones.

Yes that's strange, I got mine over 40 years ago and it weighs a ton but as soon as I put it on I don't feel the weight either. The guitar is so perfectly balanced it plays effortlessly and you're absolutely right - THE TONE

[jimijames]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

I think everybody knows that there are LP guys, and there are Strat guys. Some people like both. I think the LP has a lot to offer, and I also think that it's a better playing instrument than the strat - something about having the frets a little closer together makes a big difference. Lead lines are particularly nice to play. The trapezoidal frets also give it this very 70's feel IMO, just kind of like that shade of brown nobody wants to admit they secretly really like plastered all over a room. At least that's my impression.

As much as I like the LP though, I get along better with Leo's guitars - the Strat and the Tele. They're even more like 70s assembly line furniture - and yet somehow they are also very very nice to play. My perfect guitar is a 9.5" radius baseball bat neck swamp ash bodied bolt-on guitar with a single coil and a tremolo - kind of like an esquire with a 6-point.

All I'm saying is you don't need to get the les paul - they're for a particular sort of player but for that player they're the only thing that will do.

edit: Also, I'm of the opinion that they sound better live whereas the fender guitars have a better studio sound. My basis for that statement is all of Led Zeppelin's live stuff, and the Who's album Live at Leeds, and early Cream performances with Eric Clapton.

[blueman335]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

I'm of the opinion that they sound better live whereas the fender guitars have a better studio sound. My basis for that statement is all of Led Zeppelin's live stuff, and the Who's album Live at Leeds, and early Cream performances with Eric Clapton.

And those are some great tones. This may seem odd coming from a guy in the Gibson camp, but there's been some great Fender tones too (live and studio) from Hendrix, Trower, Blackmore, etc. I think that when a player knows how to get his tones dialed in, he sounds good no matter what kind of guitar he's using. Gibson designs readily lend themselves to the tones I prefer, whereas it takes more work to get those sounds from Fenders, hence the legions of guys who can't get the treble under control with their Strats. But in the right hands, the guitars are equals tonewise.

[garryspicer]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

And those are some great tones. This may seem odd coming from a guy in the Gibson camp, but there's been some great Fender tones too (live and studio) from Hendrix, Trower, Blackmore, etc. I think that when a player knows how to get his tones dialed in, he sounds good no matter what kind of guitar he's using. Gibson designs readily lend themselves to the tones I prefer, whereas it takes more work to get those sounds from Fenders, hence the legions of guys who can't get the treble under control with their Strats. But in the right hands, the guitars are equals tonewise.

When in doubt get them all.

[blueman335]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

When in doubt get them all.

Well, let's not go crazy here. Most guys are in one camp or the other when it comes to which they want to play.

[voggin]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

I'll start by saying I love Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I have to say I'm sick of the SRV tone from strats (huge strings, "clean" OD). It's like a lot of guys quit trying to get any other sound out of the stratocaster after 1989.

I got a CD from a garage sale a while ago. It's a collection of Clapton live stuff from the 70s. I know most people love his Gibson tones best, and some of the 80s and 90s super-processed strat tones blow, but man, he got some killer sounds out of Blackie in the day. Really sits perfectly in the mix with his 70s band.

I find I go through phases where I can't put down my Les Paul, and others when I can't stop playing my strat.

Where was I going with this?

[greekdude]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

As far as ultra fast picking is concerned, for me the prize goes to the strat, due to the lower offset of the bridge in relation to the body. In LP is sits too high it feels unnatural. In strat it is almost perfect. So, when shredding, the right hand can pick very fast, while the arm still resting on the body. With LP the arm has nowhere to rest. That's why with equal setups, string action, reliefs, etc... i can always shred easier on the strat design. LP is just a copy of the acoustic guitar. Everything screams like an acoustic design in the LP. The Strat was a genuine design from scratch. But as far as the tones are concerned ... well .... what to say.... i like the LP!!! maybe LP for rythm, super-strat for solos is the correct combination.

[blueman335]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

In LP is sits too high it feels unnatural. In strat it is almost perfect. So, when shredding, the right hand can pick very fast, while the arm still resting on the body. With LP the arm has nowhere to rest.

Which is why the fastest of the British blues players, Jimmy Page and Alvin Lee, chose Strats as their main guitars...or did they? Maybe it's just you and your playing style, and doesn't impact the rest of the world the same way. Maybe a lot of players don't need to rest their arm on the body (and use the bridge instead), or have a figured out a way to do it that you haven't. My playing is usually faster than most other local blues players (being a big Page fan), and I'm a Gibson-design guy. You can get plenty of speed with an LP, as Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa also have proved. The issue is can your left hand keep up with your right? If all those fingers on the left hand can't fly across the frets, it doesn't matter what your right hand is doing. If you can't play fast on an LP, don't blame the guitar for how you position your hands.

[Rockstar216]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

Sykes from Whitesnake played a LP and was super fast. JYM plays a Strat and is super fast. Speed comes from the player and technique.

[beaubrummels]

Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

I think everybody knows that there are LP guys, and there are Strat guys. Some people like both.

I'm a guitar guy. I like Gretsch. I like Danelectro. I like Yamaha. I like Guild. I pick the guitar the fits the music more than it fits me. I've learned to adapt and still find my identity on any guitar someone hands me, rather than cater to myself and require a particular guitar. Because it's the job to get the right sound for the song and that pleases the listener.

I'm not directing that at you. That sentence just got me thinking.