I hate light guitars!

[blueman335]

Re: I hate light guitars!

when I strap on my Les Paul, I know I am playing a Lester. There is something special about having that huge slab of wood hanging around my neck.

Same here. I feel inspired by picking up an LP. The shape, the weight, just feels like home.

 

[DeadandBuried]

Re: I hate light guitars!

My LP studio is very light and I prefer it to be! I'm not very tall for a guy and rehearsing for hours and playing long sets make a heavy guitar not a very good idea! Anyway I like how mine sounds!

 

[El Supremo]

Re: I hate light guitars!

Whenever a thread like this comes up, I instantly think of my skinny ex girlfriend who couldn't do 1 measly push up if her life depended on it. Yet, rocked a Norlin era Les Paul Custom that was without a doubt the heaviest guitar I've ever come across (and I've got one of those myself).

 

[dave74]

Re: I hate light guitars!

Total weight doesn't make much difference to me as long as it balances well, but overall I tend to prefer light-medium weight.
I do have a full-maple Carvin st300 that's a heavy beast. It balances well and gives me no problems, but I have a friend who calls it a boat-anchor (respectively lol).

 

[AlexR]

Re: I hate light guitars!

Of all the guitars I've tried, there has been no trend whatsoever to equate a certain weight range with tone.
Of course the plate on my collarbone hates the heavier guitars no matter what strap I have.

 

[Artie]

Re: I hate light guitars!

It's all relative.

And throw a little "perception" into the mix. My new Daisy Rock is slimmer and has a smaller neck than my LP. It just "feels" more nimble. Just weighed them both. Both are exactly 8 pounds. The DR just "feels" lighter.

 

[blueman335]

Re: I hate light guitars!

And throw a little "perception" into the mix. My new Daisy Rock is slimmer and has a smaller neck than my LP. It just "feels" more nimble. Just weighed them both. Both are exactly 8 pounds. The DR just "feels" lighter.

I don't want to picture any grown man playing a Daisy Rock.

 

[Artie]

Re: I hate light guitars!

It's just a Schecter, with a goofy paint job.

(Sounds killer with Slash AII Pro's.)

 

[Χάρης]

Re: I hate light guitars!

I don't hate either, I love all guitars. However I tend to use the light ones because I'm a little small :flush:

 

[Mincer]

Re: I hate light guitars!

For me, it has to be light and balanced, under 7lbs, or it doesn't get bought. I'm not conforming to the tools anymore.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: I hate light guitars!

mine are of the lighter variety
basswood Ibanez
Florentine Epiphone
one alder Strat

 

[Godin15]

Re: I hate light guitars!

What is classified as a heavy guitar for me would be about 9lbs. My Godin Strat I would say comes in at about 71/2 lbs and my Squire Strat about the same both handle well weight wise for me. My B.C.Rich is a lighter guitar you can feel the difference by just picking it up. Feels about 1 1/2 lbs lighter than the Strats, but I have to admit even though it's lighter the sustain is very good on this axe.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: I hate light guitars!

I've noticed a trend recently: It seems that nowadays (for a while now), guitar manufactures and players seem to like light=weight guitars, whether it be from chambered bodies to using weak, low-density woods. I never understood why. Is it really a big deal having a 5/6 pound guitar as opposed to a 9/10 pound guitar? The classic is guys saying that Les Pauls are too heavy to play live, but are they really? I've never been playing guitar, and thinking, "Wow, I wish this was lighter!"

Most of my guitars have this problem. I pick them up, and they feel like toys with no substance to them. I glue big chunks of lead inside my guitars' control cavities to counteract the weight issues, but that could only do so much. It's a completely "feel" type of problem. I just can't put my all into a guitar that doesn't feel right.

The only guitar of mine that doesn't have this problem is my Strat. It's built like a tank. I don't know what it is, but that "alder" body is pretty heavy (I have a feeling that it's really Ash), and it's slightly thicker than most Strats I've played. I'd say it weighs toward the 9/10 pound mark. I've never actually weighted it, but it feels great; I actually wish it was a little heavier.

Anyone else hate light guitars? Anyone hate heavy guitars? I'd like some perspective on this subject.

To anyone who says Les Pauls are too heavy to play, I say MAN UP!!! Page could still play them in long concerts when he was an emaciated heroin addict, and even even tiny players have made them their #1 guitars. If a grown man can't hold up a Les Paul, I recommend a My Little Pony or Hello Kitty short scale guitar of some sort.... :dance:

In my experience, heavier guitars have almost always sounded better, and had more resonance that I can feel. Not always the case, but it very often is. I'll gladly haul an extra couple of pounds for the gift of tone.

 

[blueman335]

Re: I hate light guitars!

To anyone who says Les Pauls are too heavy to play, I say MAN UP!!! Page could still play them in long concerts when he was an emaciated heroin addict, and even even tiny players have made them their #1 guitars. If a grown man can't hold up a Les Paul, I recommend a My Little Pony or Hello Kitty short scale guitar of some sort.

In my experience, heavier guitars have almost always sounded better, and had more resonance that I can feel. Not always the case, but it very often is. I'll gladly haul an extra couple of pounds for the gift of tone.

Agreed, but didn't want to come out and say it in a post, as I already have enough acoustic guys mad at me (met the day's quota), and some of them are a prickly bunch.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: I hate light guitars!

I've got guitars that run the entire range. My parts build Tele has a semi-hollow body and is super light. My Jazz Bass is a boat anchor. I don't know how much it weighs but after a couple hours of rehearsal it's a relief to take it off.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: I hate light guitars!

To anyone who says Les Pauls are too heavy to play, I say MAN UP!!! Page could still play them in long concerts when he was an emaciated heroin addict, and even even tiny players have made them their #1 guitars. If a grown man can't hold up a Les Paul, I recommend a My Little Pony or Hello Kitty short scale guitar of some sort.... :dance:

In my experience, heavier guitars have almost always sounded better, and had more resonance that I can feel. Not always the case, but it very often is. I'll gladly haul an extra couple of pounds for the gift of tone.

Keith Richards has stated that he quit playing Les Pauls long ago because they were too heavy. So if Keef isn't man enough I don't know what is. :lmao:

 

[blueman335]

Re: I hate light guitars!

Keith Richards has stated that he quit playing Les Pauls long ago because they were too heavy. So if Keef isn't man enough I don't know what is.

Keith, god bless him, is on the short and skinny side, been on a variety of hard drugs for almost his entire adult life, and a heavy smoker. Not exactly the image that comes to mind when you say the word 'healthy'.

 

[regan]

Re: I hate light guitars!

To me heavy guitars seem to sustain forever but lack nuance and dynamics, I like semis a 335 is the guitar the les paul was supposed to be.
I'd like to try a thinline tele but don't know how 'semi' they actually are. The only downside to a light guitar is neck dive

 

[AlexR]

Re: I hate light guitars!

Keith, god bless him, is on the short and skinny side, been on a variety of hard drugs for almost his entire adult life, and a heavy smoker. Not exactly the image that comes to mind when you say the word 'healthy'.

But wasn't Micawber a heavy-ass guitar anyhow??

 

[blueman335]

Re: I hate light guitars!

I like semis a 335 is the guitar the les paul was supposed to be.

I like 335's too, but let's not get carried away. Les Pauls are the guitar Les Pauls were supposed to be. That's why Gibson mgt finally called him back in the early 1950's ('The kid with the broomstick with pickups on it'): to have a solid body competitor to the Telecaster. Regardless of what Lester was tinkering with, they didn't call him back to make a semi-hollow.