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Guitars you don't enjoy playing live

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DefaultMDefaultM Frets: 7271
edited January 2018 in Guitar
For me it's a Gibson Les Paul Custom.
I've been playing them at home recently and really loved it. As a result I took one to a gig at a local pub to play in our second set.

Played my PRS CE22 in the first set and was looking forward to getting the LP out. 
One song in to the second set and I found myself thinking "I wish I wasn't playing this guitar", but couldn't go back to the PRS as it was now tuned to Eb.

I'm not even sure why, but I generally just didn't enjoy myself! 

I'm 28 and I think that I have this idea where I'm an old man and I still have a Les Paul Custom that has aged with me. Thats not going to happen if I don't enjoy taking it to gigs, yet I still can't bring myself to sell them.
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Comments

  • VoxmanVoxman Frets: 4718
    edited January 2018
    I hear you @DefaultMGuitars are very personal and we all bond with different ones.  It also could just be the particular LP Custom you have doesn't feel right for you, but another might do.  I personally love mine (1990 in Tobacco Sunburst) even though it's a heavy bugger (circa 9.5 lbs)!   Similar to you I have a PRS too (Cu24) but although that's more versatile tonally and it's superbly made, there's just something about the LP that I love and can't get from anything else.  

    It's also not uncommon to find folk that have a strong leaning to (e.g.) Fenders or Gretch's but who don't get on with Gibsons, and vice-a-versa of course.  And even then there will be those that strongly prefer Tele's over Strats, or Jaguars over Jazzmasters etc or vice-a-versa. 

    It's all part of life's rich pattern, and it can sometimes be hard to define why one guitar feels right but another doesn't  - there's no rules, no right's or wrong's - only what's right for you!  If we all liked and played the same gear it would make life pretty boring!                 
    I started out with nothing..... but I've still got most of it left (Seasick Steve)
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    What was different about the gig circumstances compared to playing at home? Outright volume levels? Amplifier tone controls settings? Soft furnishings soaking up the high frequencies? The position of the amplifier relative to the pickups of the LPC?

    Famously, the endlessly sustaining lead guitar on "Heroes" by David Bowie was achieved by working at high volume and standing in the right places in front of the amplifier to induce feedback for particular notes. 

    If the stage layout at the pub venue prevented you from achieving the best positioning of your amplifier, some of the best things about an overdriven Les Paul are not going to happen. 

    DefaultM said:
    I'm 28 and I ... have this idea where I'm an old man and I still have a Les Paul Custom that has aged with me.
    • Ah, twenty nine and goodbye syndrome. It will pass.
    • I dare say that there are numerous people reading this Discussion who would be very pleased to have a Gibson Les Paul Custom and to retain it for years. 

    Perhaps, your question needs reframing? "Why did my PRS sound great and, then, my LPC not sound great in identical circumstances?" This would require boring, trainspotter info about what pickups you have in each guitar and any modifications to their wiring.

    Be seeing you.
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  • NeillNeill Frets: 941
    I sympathise with our young friend.  I'm a relatively old man but even now I couldn't have a guitar that I couldn't play on stage.  I love semis, and I've had a few but always sold them because find them too uncomfortable to play standing.  

    Because I was always the sole guitarist and we played a lot of covers in different tunings etc I ended up using a Variax most of the time, which never gets played these days as I don't do gigs any more, but I keep it because it is a "working" guitar.  

    i think you'll find this with a lot of guys who have gigged, there's a peculiar attachment to a trusty rig that plays well "live", I have a cheap Yamaha and an even cheaper no name strat that I hang onto simply because they were surprisingly good live guitars.  

    There are certainly some guitars that don't seem to find their voice until you reach a certain volume, I've never had a proper Les Paul (too heavy) but I suspect they fall into this category? 


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  • You’re a lot younger than the tree the guitar was made from.

    Keep it for a while, it’s an expensive guitar so worth thinking about before you sell it

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  • DefaultMDefaultM Frets: 7271
    Just considering @Funkfingers post, I do think that the guitar sounded very dark. My amp was facing out in to the seating area which was large sofa style seats as well.
    My next gig is at a hotel and I expect it to be a mostly wooden room, so perhaps I should take the LP again to see if it's the same.
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  • SchnozzSchnozz Frets: 1926
    I disliked playing a '62 Tele Reissue, as the double binding annoyed both my rib cage and forearm (need a contour on one or the other), plus I don't like the ashtray bridge.

    My Yamaha SG1802 was also a tad on the heavy side in comparison with the SG1000, but I primarily moved it on after finding a cheaper, lighter Japanese Les Paul of the same quality. Every Yamaha SG is a stunner to behold and strangely it was the newer model I found heavy.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    DefaultM said:
    I do think that the [Les Paul Custom] sounded very dark. 
    Compared to any version of a PRS CE22, it should. 

    In the most extreme instance, you could be comparing a skinny, alder/maple, screwed on neck instrument against a thick, all-mahogany, set neck, Black Beauty re-issue. 
    Be seeing you.
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  • For me it was my Blacktop Strat. 
    I loved it at home & practice, but I get a bit "flaily" when playing hard. 
    I kept crashing my knuckles off the volume pot closest the strings. Drove me nuts. So it went. 
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  • Took my Strat to a jam night. One of the other regulars noticed I wasn't having a good time with it and persuaded me to play his Gold Top instead. Very nice of him, I thought.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • DefaultMDefaultM Frets: 7271
    DefaultM said:
    I do think that the [Les Paul Custom] sounded very dark. 
    Compared to any version of a PRS CE22, it should. 

    In the most extreme instance, you could be comparing a skinny, alder/maple, screwed on neck instrument against a thick, all-mahogany, set neck, Black Beauty re-issue. 
    I did re-EQ but the volume stayed at the same level.
    That could have played a factor as I've noticed that often one tone at a low level can sound very dark, but then push up the volume and it comes to life.

    The issue is that I don't play anywhere that I can really turn up. It's all number 2 on the volume of my Fender HRD and then mic it up, whereas when I used to play in originals bands I was using rack gear and turning my power amp up to almost full. No wonder I've not been getting the same feeling really.
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  • TrudeTrude Frets: 914
    Funny, I too have a LPC.  Bought it new when I was 24, and it's still with me almost 20 years later.  I've been hot and cold with it over the years, but I really do feel more connected with it now.  I think we have grown to fit each other, and it's nice to know we've aged together, though I doubt I'll be slinging it around as much in another 20 years - it's an 11.5lb beast. 

    It's the only guitar that I can play for an entire gig without wanting for anything else.  Bare Knuckle Mules and coil taps help a lot with that. 
    Some of the gear, some idea

    Trading feedback here
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  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    You'll regret selling it if you do. I know I did with mine and I wasn't even a "proper" LP. @HarrySeven may I buy it back please?  :)
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  • HarrySevenHarrySeven Frets: 8019
    TTBZ said:
    You'll regret selling it if you do. I know I did with mine and I wasn't even a "proper" LP. @HarrySeven may I buy it back please?  :)

    Errrrr.....


    HarrySeven - Intangible Asset Appraiser & Wrecker of Civilisation. Searching for weird guitars - so you don't have to.
    Forum feedback thread.    |     G&B interview #1 & #2   |  https://www.instagram.com/_harry_seven_/ 

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  • TeyeplayerTeyeplayer Frets: 3137
    Had this so many times over the years and tbh I have only ever sold guitars because they were not being gigged enough (which usually came down to similiar feelings as those you describe). Having guitars that dont inspire never seemed right to me. I think I am only just at a place where there really isn’t any driftwood in the pack, though gas remains an ongoing problem so no doubt something will end up being played less and then I’ll begin to view it as no longer required. :)

    My two pennies worth would be, find something that moves you and you enjoy playing -you’re more likely to get old with it. 
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  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    TTBZ said:
    You'll regret selling it if you do. I know I did with mine and I wasn't even a "proper" LP. @HarrySeven may I buy it back please?  :)

    Errrrr.....
    Oops for some reason I thought it had ended up in your collection! 
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    I had a USA Standard Strat which sounded beautiful at low volume at home or for recording, but at band volume it was just thin and gutless, and I hated it. I played two gigs with it I think, very quickly during the second one it dawned on me that it was the guitar and not something odd about the acoustics at the first one (which I had put it down to, being outside), and the rest of the gig just dragged and dragged.

    It was that particular guitar - I've had other Strats which sounded fine, including another USA Std.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    In my gigging days I always struggled with Les Pauls - the most ergonomically flawed of any solid guitar in my view.

    I’m tempted to get another now I don’t gig - but I doubt I’ll ever come to terms with one. I played a studio session yesterday which needed a really ‘big’ lead sound. My 335 cranked sounded epic - with ergonomics which work for me.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    In my gigging days I always struggled with Les Pauls - the most ergonomically flawed of any solid guitar in my view.
    I'm guessing you haven't tried playing any of the weirder shaped ones then ;).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    edited January 2018
    ICBM said:
    In my gigging days I always struggled with Les Pauls - the most ergonomically flawed of any solid guitar in my view.
    I'm guessing you haven't tried playing any of the weirder shaped ones then .
    I’ve played Explorers and Firebirds - though never a V. I like the look of Firebirds - but doubt any of them are likely to end up at my place....
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  • I never really enjoyed playing a Les Paul live although I kept thinking I ought to be happy. It was a combination of the narrow neck, the weight and the upper fret access.

    It's the same with Strats. Thin and weedy sounds at volume and the middle pickup just gets in the way. 

    I've settled on a PRS DGT which has a thoroughly comfortable neck and very decent single coil sounds along with a Telecaster with tappable P90s and a V neck. I honestly don't need anything else. 
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