Les Paul players...do you do this?

[JeffB]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

I honestly thought this technique was just common knowledge that every guitarist just kinda learnt after a few years? Either via experimenting or someone showing them

I did..about about 27 years ago. I had stopped doing it when I played strats and teles for several years.


But seems some folks are not familiar with it. Now they have learned from someone. Just like I did.

 

[erksin]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

Great Deluxe!

I had one just like it back in the 80s. I think it was a 78. I bought it , without playing it. Unfortunately mine was a real dog. It was just a typical Norlin Horror story. Weighed a ton, everything came loose or was crooked, sounded like garbage. I traded it away right quick.

Mine is a good one - 9.5lbs, one-piece Mahogany back, beautiful rosewood on the fretboard and all the inlays are well done. Built like a tank too - never needs seasonal adjustments and holds a tuning as good as anything I've ever owned. Loads of sustain, the pickups are clear and articulate, and the electronics are a perfect match - the Tone pots are especially vocal sounding. Only downside is I can get some squeal at high volumes because the pickups are not potted but they sound so good I don't wanna jinx it by potting them.

It was one of the last Kalamazoo-made Deluxes according to the S/N, so maybe that has something to do with it who knows.

 

[erksin]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

I honestly thought this technique was just common knowledge that every guitarist just kinda learnt after a few years? Either via experimenting or someone showing them

This is actually something I have to remind players of a lot through my job, as we design our products to be highly interactive with the guitar's pickups. You'd be surprised at how many people completely ignore the controls on their guitar and get all of the tonal changes via a stomp of some sort - either channel switching or pedals. They treat these things as presets or 'scenes' - which IMO is a bit of a disconnect from the interaction between the player and the actual instrument. I mean, think of all the fuzz players who completely ignore their guitar's controls - they're missing out on 90% of the sounds that pedal can produce by doing that. So often a small thing that's bugging you tonally can be solved with a mild twist of the those controls. I don't know why people get so hung up on constantly running their guitars wide open - they're missing out on a TON of sounds.

 

[Mats A]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

Old thread but Robbo never did that and used the middle position for rythm and the treble position for leads. He used his volume control a lot. In the early days of Thin Lizzy he used the neck pickup a lot. In Thin Lizzy he often used the neck pickup for cleaner tones. On the Live And Dangerous Video he uses the middle position (both pickups) on his first solo on Baby Drives Me Crazy. Robbos Deluxe is a Cherry Burst and not Tobacco. But it looks darker and browner than Scotts. I very much doubt that he had an Ebony fingerboard put on his Deluxe. I´ve seen the guitar up close. He did use the Custom up until the end of Wild Horses. I don´t believe he thought it sounded bad at first. He changed back because he later thought the Deluxe sounded much better. Very often Robbo says things that are wrong because he doesn´t remember really.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

I have done that. I often use a bridge full and middle barely combo for sudden clean sounds.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

I like the in-between. I often refer to it as Les Paul black magic. As stated though, it can be done with any HH VVTT guitar. Depending on the desired tone I will roll volume back on either of the two pickups, sometimes both and of course I play with the tone when needed and also have push-push vol pots for coil splits. The possibilities are not exactly endless but I haven't found the end of the rope yet.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

I did not know that, but damit, I'm going to try it!

me too!

 

[bladefrenzy]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

I've just started doing this in the past yr and have become very fond of it. I get a kick out of constantly adjusting the controls. Using a mildly overdriven tube amp and pushing it with a pedal along with this serves up a lot of versatility for me.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

I want to thank the OP for this thread. I've been using the pickup selector to go between clean/crunch for a long time but never really jived with the middle position due to the cocked wah sound.

I don't know what's different this time around but for whatever reason I'm finding some great tones in the middle position that I never would've found if this thread didn't prompt me to experiment once again.

I think the difference is how I'm using the tone knobs now. I've long knocked some treble off my bridge pickup but tended to run the neck tone wide open all the time. Recently I've started dialling the neck tone way back and rather counter-intuitively it's reduced the mud and made the neck more focused sounding. Bleeding off some top end seems to be the key to killing the cocked wah sound in the middle position and opening up yet more versatility.

Cheers.

 

[Condemnedsoul]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

Here is an old video, with Eric Burdon and the Animals performing Tobacco Road. Watch the guitarist playing the Gibson. Looks like he is using both the knobs and the switch and shows the Gibson's abilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Sfh8LFMaw

 

[JeffB]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

This is old, wow

Since I posted this, I have modified this a bit for my own needs and tastes. I run a 2V/T setup on my Les Paul traditional but my guitars now have to have the 50s wiring scheme. I run my guitar volumes around 6-7, and tones wide open normally for my crunchy rhythm sound. I don't have a clean channel or clean amp.

I spend most of my time on the bridge, and either roll up my volume to 10 for leads, or kick on a goose.

For that Pagey "the ocean/SIBLY" sound, I flip to middle and roll off the neck to 4-5. With the T-tops and the 50s wiring, just a bit of change makes a very audible difference.

For beefier/pokier cleans on the verge of breakup, I flip to middle and roll off the neck volume to just barely on. Sounds awesome for 50s rock with some slapback from the Belle Epoch.

If I need a more sweet warm clean I just go to the neck (at barely on). Then instant distortion flipping to bridge.

This covers almost everything for my needs. Occasionally I will want more of that woman tone, and rolling the tones off to 0 and jacking the volumes up full take me there- kicking in the echoplex pre along with that gets me nearly to fuzz type territory.

Once in awhile I pull out my Les Paul Classic with modern wiring and I don't know how I ever played for 30 years with that setup. It drives me crazy. 50s wiring is a must for me now, and my new 335 will have it as soon as it's in my grubby mitts.

 

[Artie]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

. . . think of all the fuzz players who completely ignore their guitar's controls - they're missing out on 90% of the sounds that pedal can produce by doing that.

+1 The tone knob on the guitar is the most useful control on all my fuzz/distortion pedals.

 

[Mats A]

Re: Les Paul players...do you do this?

+1 The tone knob on the guitar is the most useful control on all my fuzz/distortion pedals.

Sorry not really about the subject. Robbos Deluxe wich got stolen is a Tobacco Sunburst and not a Cherry Sunburst. I've seen evidence there were some strange variations on what was called Tobacco by Gibson in the early 70's. Also Robbo most likely plays the black Custom on all the songs on the Live And Dangerous album that was recorded in '77 and '78. There is pictures from the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia where they were recorded except for Are You Ready wich is the version that is on the LAD video from the Rainbow in London.