Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

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Hey guys.

My Grandfather recently died after a relatively long bout of illness, and I've been told by my Dad that when the funeral etc has been paid for myself and my sister (my Grandfathers only Grand children) will be getting a sum of money that my Grandad had been saving up for us.

It has been suggested that we use some of the money in-order to buy a keepsake of my Grandad, so that we'll always have something to remember him by.

I've decided to spend my share of the money on a custom guitar, because it's something that will be made specifically for me, will be a 1 of a kind item and will be something I'll keep forever.

I've decided upon the spec of the guitar that I want, all apart from 1 important thing: the shape!

I have it narrowed down to something along the lines of either a PRS Custom22 or a LP style. Is there any pros/cons of each that you guys could list for me? So that I can make a decision about what I want :)

I know this is kind of a weird question, but I hope someone can help me :)

Thanx

Craig
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

The CU22 will have easier high fret acess because of the second cutaway.

The LP will have more low mids because it doesnt have it.

I see you already have a Gibbo, why not get the PRS style for a bit of variety?
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

umm, i dont know any.. just whatever you prefer

and my condolances man
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

Thanx for the posts and condolances guys :)

I do already own 2 LPs (Epi and Gibson) so I know I like Les Pauls, but that's also a reason why I was gonna go for the PRS style shape.

I was just curious if there would be that much difference in the sound if I had the exact same spec guitar, but just with the other body shape.

For reference, here's the spec I plan on:

Mahogany body, maple top (whatever the shape will be)
Mahogany neck with a 22 fret Rosewood fretboard
Tune o matic bridge
2 PAF style humbuckers
Individual Volume and Tone controls
Push/Pull pots for coil tap
Push/pull pot for phase reversal when both pups used at same time
Grover Machineheads
Cross (maybe) fret markers
and either a Purple or Blue sunburst finish

Anyone else have anything to say that may help me?

Craig
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

Hey man, Sorry to hear.. You could go for a custom design body that you draw out yourself, You could have the best of the two there also..
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

just a suggestion, why don't you put a trem on it?

It'd give you a halfway house between an LP and a strat as it would slightly thin the tone but you'd have a trem to play with.

I'm talking a vintage trem, in the vein of the singlecut trem something like that could be cool
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

stevo has a pretty good point. Why not go try out a PRS CU22, compare it with a Les Paul, and meld it into a body that combines the best of both worlds and omits any design imperfections you think the two mgith have.

Additionally, I'm sorry to hear of your loss. My condolances as well. I think it's noble of you to build something you love in memory of a loved one. It'll be a keepsake that reminds you of your grandfather each time you play it.
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

What a great idea! You obviously loved your Grandfather very much- why not add a special reminder to your custom guitar- his initials on the 12th fret inlay? Something that reminds you of him, like a fish inlay if you both used to go fishing together. Let your heart be the guide on this one.
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

Thanx for the great replies guys :)

It's not possible for me to try out a PRS or most other highend guitars without having to travel a fair distance, as most of the shops around where I live can't afford to stock Fenders, let alone Gibson and PRS!

Whenever I tried to think of my ultimate guitar, I always ended up coming back to a Les Paul. A LP was the 1st proper guitar I had when I was 14, so I've gotten used to how they play and sound.

But as I already own 2 LPs, I thought I'd go for something in a similar vein (Mahogany/Maple body, Mahogany neck, 2 humbuckers etc) but with a different body shape.

The PRS is a guitar shape I've always liked the look of, but a guitar I've never played, so thought I'd ask you guys on here :)

I don't think I'll go for a Trem (Thanx for the suggestion tho :)) as I have 2 Strats and I don't use the trems on those, so don't see how this would be any different. It's just an idea but I'm contemplating having thru body stringing. Would this be possible?

Thanx for any help guys, much appreciated :D

Craig
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

lol i dont use trems either... I haven't touched my RG in ages :D

Through body stringing would be possible yeah, you'd have to ask one of the luthiers on the board what kinda difference it would make to the tone i couldnt tell you
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

The downside of the Les Paul is it's body shape. The PRS fixes this by adopting many of the ergonomic features of the strat, particularly the offset cutaways. That allows the guitar to balance better when sitting down (my gripe with my SG is that the cutaways are symetrical, and the upper horn digs into my chest when sitting down). I don't remember if a PRS has these are not, but since you are getting a custom guitar made, I would also get it made with a tummy-cut.

Here's a Warmoth PRS-style body with a tummy-cut:

http://www.warmoth.com/showcase/sc_...IPP30&menuItem=9&subMenuItem=0&subMenuItem2=0
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

I forgot to mention this: it would be pretty cool if your grandfather's name was on the headstock.
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

I think 7th got it on right there.. I think a 12th fret with inlays of his initials would look more respectful and sentimetal, as id feel the fretboard is really where you let your emotions and feeling loose..And i think having it on the headstock might be a little tacky..
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

Whoa, those were some quick replies :D

From what I gather, thru body stringing would help to increase sustain. I may be wrong but thats what I'm led to believe.

MattPete, thanx for the pic of that Warmoth body. Thats more or less the shape that I can see myself going for with this guitar. The colour is great too :)

It's also a good idea about having my Grandads name or initials on the headstock, something I can talk over with the luthier.

If anyone has any other info or suggestions for me, then I'm happy to hear them :)

Craig
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

Thanx for your post Y2Stevo.

I do agree that something as an inlay would probably look better than something on the headstock, they're all options at the minute :)

Thanx all your ideas guys
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

If I might make a suggestion;

If this is a keepsake that you'll never sell, wouldn't it be better to stick with what you're familiar with and know you like for this one (the Les Paul)?

I'd get a custom LP, because it's a safe bet you'll like it,

then experiment with a PRS (or PRS style) guitar later....that way, if you don't like it, your not stuck with it....

I'm just thinking that it'd suck to have a beautiful, custom built keepsake guitar that you end up not liking......
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

screamingdaisy said:
If I might make a suggestion;

If this is a keepsake that you'll never sell, wouldn't it be better to stick with what you're familiar with and know you like for this one (the Les Paul)?

I'd get a custom LP, because it's a safe bet you'll like it,

then experiment with a PRS (or PRS style) guitar later....that way, if you don't like it, your not stuck with it....

I'm just thinking that it'd suck to have a beautiful, custom built keepsake guitar that you end up not liking......
Click to expand...

This is actually a really good point, I'd not thought of that!

It's definitely something I should think about, as like you say, if I don't like the PRS shape then I'm stuck with it!

Thanx for your reply :)

Craig
 
Re: Need help with pro's/con's or guitar body shapes

MattPete said:
I forgot to mention this: it would be pretty cool if your grandfather's name was on the headstock.
Click to expand...

+1
this is a great idea.
imo, you should build something that would resemble his personality tonaly a bit =)

and if you got two lp's go with something diferent and get a double cut. i dont think the tonality is THAT much diferent if you chose the same setup
 
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