What is it about the Les Paul...

Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

MikeS said:
You cannot get the full effect on a youtube video... if you get a chance, try to find Live In the Still of the Night DVD and watch that on a good home audio system. Aldrich's LP sounds massive.
Click to expand...

SYKES IS WHITESNAKE! And that is the most righteous Whitesnake Les Paul you will EVER see/hear!
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

It doesn't really matter why. And figuring it all out will just ruin the magic. The point is that they ARE awesome. I don't play anything else anymore. If you are an LP guy - go with it! Rock on bro!! And a studio really is all the Paul you'll ever need...
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

Novtuple posts?!

Damn man.

Anyways, I've been gassing over a Les Paul Custom for a damn long time now, just because they're beautiful and beefy as f*ck.
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

This should answer all questions:

nigelgui.jpg


Nigel: This is the top of the heap right here. There's no question about
it. Look at the, look at the flame on that one....
Marty: Yes.
Nigel: I mean it's just...it's quite unbelievable. This o- this one
is just ah...is perfect...1959...ah...you know, it just, you can
uh...listen!
Marty: How much does this....
Nigel: Just listen for a minute....
Marty: I'm not....
Nigel: The sustain...listen to it...
Marty: I'm not hearing anything.
Nigel: You would, though, if it were playing, because it really... it's
famous for its sustain...I mean, you could, just hold it....
Marty: Well I mean so you don't....
Nigel: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... You could go and have a bite
an'...aaaaaaaaa...you'd still be hearin' that one.
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

Forbes said:
Lol, don't agree about pauls but that got a giggle out of me.

Does your ibanez have stock pickups? I know mine became a whole different beast with a pickup change. I imagine if you put the ibanez pickups in that paul it would probably be just as lost in the mix.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it does have stock pickups but I think I'm gonna sell it cuz it's just not worth it to replace any pickups. I'm gonna get an American strat and try out different bridge humbuckers and see how that stands up to the LP. Anyway, I think I'm starting to believe what a lot of people here are saying. I think the thicker and heavier the guitar is, the louder or more powerful it's going to be. Maybe not necessarily the greatest tone, but at least louder. And is there a guitar that's thicker and heavier than a Les Paul?
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

Wow, Aceman really went for a crusade here... :laugh2:

I like Les Pauls. But I like Fenders and other Gibson models as well (or even more).
Never got the "this guitar is the best" attitude... best for what? for whom?
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

Aceman said:
SYKES IS WHITESNAKE! And that is the most righteous Whitesnake Les Paul you will EVER see/hear!
Click to expand...

Haha, that's a completely different discussion. I've got lots of love for Sykes, but that doesn't change the fact that Aldrich's tone on that DVD is HUGE!
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

After years of playing almost exclusively Fenders, I bought my Epi LP and fell in love with it. I still love Fenders, they have a more subtle tone. The LPs are more Rock, more in yer face.

BTW, if your LP is dark and muddy, try some different pickups.
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

metlking said:
This should answer all questions:

nigelgui.jpg


Nigel: This is the top of the heap right here. There's no question about
it. Look at the, look at the flame on that one....
Marty: Yes.
Nigel: I mean it's just...it's quite unbelievable. This o- this one
is just ah...is perfect...1959...ah...you know, it just, you can
uh...listen!
Marty: How much does this....
Nigel: Just listen for a minute....
Marty: I'm not....
Nigel: The sustain...listen to it...
Marty: I'm not hearing anything.
Nigel: You would, though, if it were playing, because it really... it's
famous for its sustain...I mean, you could, just hold it....
Marty: Well I mean so you don't....
Nigel: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... You could go and have a bite
an'...aaaaaaaaa...you'd still be hearin' that one.
Click to expand...

Well don't point, even!
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

A good Les Paul is a nicely balanced set of tonewoods, combined with a solid neck joint. The overall size of the guitar does help as well, though lightweight LPs sound better than heavy LPs to me. It's more about having a decent amount of wood for the string to resonate and the maple-to-mahogany ratio than the weight.

I'd suggest looking at a Les Paul if you like that sound, as no amount of futzing with a strat of any kind will get you the LP tone. However, seeing as you have a two guitar band, a strat might contrast nicely with a Les Paul as part of an overall band sound. Whereas two LPs might get a bit sludgy.

Here's another thing to consider: the LP you played may well have had a more pronounced midrange, but it probably also had lower output pickups. Generally the higher output pickup you use, the more compressed your sound becomes, and your overall sound becomes gainier. All this adds up to less cut in a live two guitar mix. If you're looking to cut through a live mix, cut back on the gain and use lowish output pickups.
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

Only real men play Les Pauls. The frail and weak complain about the weight. The jealous complain about muddy sound. The insane say they suck. The older guys have just expanded and have given other guitars a chance, but the Les Paul is always in the back of their mind. The younger guys--they're either enlightened or they're not. No in betweens.

Yes, only real men play Les Pauls. :friday: (Photograph of bodybuilder playing a Les Paul should be here but I could't fine one. I know, it kills the effect but just use your imagination, sheesh!)
 
Last edited:
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

I love the sound of a LP.

But I've always found compared to a Strat, they tend to get muddy and lost in a mix. But a good single coil will cut right through.
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

GOOD LORD!!!!! Look at the mess that has been started!!!!!

IMO I love Les Paul's for thier sound, look, weight, hell the smell!

But I love my strats just as much and for the same reasons + a tremolo.

But if we're going to start comparing "super" strats, real strats, shur strats ect,ect to Les Pauls its like comparing Apples to Oranges. a short scale guitar with almost twice the weight, Mahogany/maplebody, AND humbuckers to a heavily contured, light weight body (ash/alder), longer scale, and prodominatly single coil guitar...with the option to have a hardtail or a tremolo bridge......come one people....apples to oranges.

Lets just say there are some great guitars out there with some great sounds to them.
 
Re: What is it about the Les Paul...

Yeah, I read in a book Gibson received a guitar from some luthier, who wanted to see if they would use his design and they turned it down, and a couple of years later Les Paul Designed a guitar that looked just like it.
 
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