Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

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

blueman335 said:
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.
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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 :banana:
 
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.
 
Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

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

blueman335 said:
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.
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When in doubt get them all.
 
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?
 
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.
 
Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

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

jimijames said:
I think everybody knows that there are LP guys, and there are Strat guys. Some people like both.
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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.
 
Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

blueman335 said:
Not necessarily, but I like the weight. Other than people with back problems, I don't understand grown men complaining about 8-9 lb LP's.
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You know . . . neither can i.

Sure, i use a big wide 100% leather strap with my LP . . . for now.

But look at Jimmy Page.
4 hour concerts with the thinnest of thin straps.



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

Rockstar216 said:
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.
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This. If I may add, Richie Kotzen plays a Tele and he is also super fast. Speed is indeed in the technique.
 
Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

voggin said:
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.
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And the funny thing for me is that, when I bought my 1960 Strat back in 1973--I could get Hendrix's tone; I could get Clapton's "Slinky" tone, even his biting "Forever Man" tone. That guitar went away; my Strat of choice these days are my G&L Legacys, but..... I have never felt comfortable trying to cop Stevie Ray's tone. What ever it is, it's just not in my DNA. I play some of his tunes, of course, but I sound like Clapton or Cray covering one of Stevie's songs--not that that's bad, mind you; I just don't sound like Stevie.

And what it comes down to, is...I sound like me.

And most days, that's good enough.

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

beaubrummels said:
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.
Click to expand...

That's where I'm coming from too--the right guitar for the song. I still prefer my stop-tail Gibsons over Bigsby-equipped Gretsches, and my G&L's over current Fender production or say a narrow-necked Ric. Still, while I'm not claiming to be even the 6,589th best guitar player in the world, I'm confident that I can take most anything and make it sound good.

I could easily make a case that the guitar that gets my audiences the most excited is not the $4K R9, but the DanElectro Innuendo 12-String I bought on close-out from Guitar Center for $149. They love that sound.

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

SirJackdeFuzz said:
look at Jimmy Page. 4 hour concerts with the thinnest of thin straps.
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And Page is kind of thin and frail, he's had health issues for decades. And there's plenty of short-statured players who use(d) LP's, like Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Paul Kossoff, Steve Marriott, etc.
 
Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

Rockstar216 said:
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.
Click to expand...
Pretty spot on. I think most guitarists have a favourite guitar, one that is easier to play (for them) than others or may have some significance (first really great guitar) which makes them gravitate to that brand. I started with Gibsons but eventually got into Fenders about 10 years ago. For me it's physically easier to play a Gibson for lead guitar, because that's what I'd been using since day one. My first Fender was a Telecaster, I loved the sound but the maple fingerboard drove me crazy as I could not get used to it initially. I decided to use nothing but the Tele and after 6 months found that the problem vanished, but I still find a Gibson more comfortable. I nearly fell over when I read that Jimmy Page played the break for Stairway on a Tele. The other factor I think may be cost. I have a very understanding wife who lets me indulge in 'MY HABIT' but I have to contain myself to a new guitar every 5 years or so because left to my own devices it would get totally out of hand. :lmao:
 
Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

Boogie Bill said:
That's where I'm coming from too--the right guitar for the song. I still prefer my stop-tail Gibsons over Bigsby-equipped Gretsches, and my G&L's over current Fender production or say a narrow-necked Ric. Still, while I'm not claiming to be even the 6,589th best guitar player in the world, I'm confident that I can take most anything and make it sound good.

I could easily make a case that the guitar that gets my audiences the most excited is not the $4K R9, but the DanElectro Innuendo 12-String I bought on close-out from Guitar Center for $149. They love that sound.

Bill
Click to expand...

Not a 12 string, but still . . .



Jimmy_Page_Danelectro_59.jpg
 
Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

blueman335 said:
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.
Click to expand...

That's why for every LP "shredder" you can find x10 (super)-strat shredders. Also about jimmy page being the greatest, i personally consider him a very average blues player who stole music from people who lived 20-30 years back.
 
Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

Rockstar216 said:
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.
Click to expand...

comparing sykes to yngwie is a blasphemy .... Sykes played "ok", and fast. But he was in the same realm as most of good guitarists, typical early 80s staff. Yngwie was from another planet....

Sykes : playing 2 or more picks per note. alternate picking of average accuracy :
 
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Re: Why can't I dig on Les Pauls?

Yngwie of the same era : phenomenal sweep picking, accurate picking, economy picking, arpeggios, ultra tight riffs

the difference in class is obvious...
 
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