Les Paul's over 335's

JackieB33

I'm in GAS turmoil at the min. 

I've had couple of 335's, and currently have a Memphis custom shop 'fat neck' in a natural finish. Aesthetically the coolest finish for a 335 IMO. And it does sound and play great. 

But i always somehow find my way back to Les Paul's. Everyone i speak to, and from what i've read.. the general vibe is a 335 can cover most of the same ground, but is more versatile.. and does the mellower, jazzier end of the spectrum too. 

Personally, i don't think that's the case. For me nothing has the girth and bite that you get from a Les Paul. And i love the cleans too!

I know it's personal preference, but.. Anyone else find this? Or am i doing it all wrong.. and in which case, please stop me from moving my 335 on. Maybe it's just the transient side of me..

I'd love to have both.. but my studies, wife and children are quite detrimental to my guitar fund at this stage in my life. 
 
I just can't help but think that if i can only have one for the time being, i'd like it to be a Les Paul. Would anyone else rather have a Lester over a 335? 

markj

It’s a personal choice really. I have both and love playing them both. They each have their own voice so I wouldn’t say one is better than other. I pick up which one I’m in the mood to play.

guitars4you

ultimately it has to be about what the guitar delivers to you - regarding feel, tone and the whole bonding issue

Personally I prefer the versatility of a 335 over an LP - but no two 335's are the same and neither are two LP's - A good LP or a good 335 are both mighty fine instruments - A mediocre 335 and a mediocre LP are not for me regardless

Truth be known - only you can answer your question and it sounds like you have in the question/comments in the OP

fretfinder

Only a Les Paul can really sound and feel
like a Les Paul. A 335 may be more ‘versatile’ sound-wise, but if what you really like and want is full-fat Les Paul grunt, a 335 will never give you that. It gets part of the way there, but never all the way there imho. 

JackieB33

guitars4you said:

Truth be known - only you can answer your question and it sounds like you have in the question/comments in the OP

Yep. I kind of half thought that whilst writing it.. ha! 

I suppose i'm just looking for someone to talk me out of doing something i may later regret. 

Cheers fellas! 

JackieB33

fretfinder said:

Only a Les Paul can really sound and feel
like a Les Paul. A 335 may be more ‘versatile’ sound-wise, but if what you really like and want is full-fat Les Paul grunt, a 335 will never give you that. It gets part of the way there, but never all the way there imho. 

This is what i wanted to hear. 

JackieB33

Anyone want a 335 then? ha! 

CloudNine

 I like both, but have come to the conclusion that they are pretty similar sounding guitars. I think people get a bit carried away with 335's having some huge Jazz capability above an LP, and I reckon it is probably down to the way it looks and having watched people play them through a jazz amp with the tone rolled off, and it's like 'ooh look at the amazing smokey jazz tones man'. They don't respond or sound anything remotely like a hollow body guitar in my opinion.

Ideal combination is probably an LP for the slight edge it has on sustain and grunt, and something like a 330 or 175 to go with it.

JackieB33

CloudNine said:

 I like both, but have come to the conclusion that they are pretty similar sounding guitars. I think people get a bit carried away with 335's having some huge Jazz capability above an LP, and I reckon it is probably down to the way it looks and having watched people play them through a jazz amp with the tone rolled off, and it's like 'ooh look at the amazing smokey jazz tones man'. They don't respond or sound anything remotely like a hollow body guitar in my opinion.

Ideal combination is probably an LP for the slight edge it has on sustain and grunt, and something like a 330 or 175 to go with it.

@CloudNine Hell of a shout that. 

I used to have a Peerless Songbird (330 style), and absolutely loved the Jazzy cleans from that. More so than any 335 i've tried. 

menamestom

CloudNine said:

 I like both, but have come to the conclusion that they are pretty similar sounding guitars. I think people get a bit carried away with 335's having some huge Jazz capability above an LP, and I reckon it is probably down to the way it looks and having watched people play them through a jazz amp with the tone rolled off, and it's like 'ooh look at the amazing smokey jazz tones man'. They don't respond or sound anything remotely like a hollow body guitar in my opinion.

Ideal combination is probably an LP for the slight edge it has on sustain and grunt, and something like a 330 or 175 to go with it.

I agree with this.  Much as I like 335’s I find them a bit of a compromise, not as visceral as a Les Paul and not as airy and cool as a 330, or 175.   One man’s versatility is anothers compromise, I guess.

p90fool

It's mostly psychological in my opinion - I can't think of anything a 335 can do which a Les Paul can't. 
We're conditioned to associate LPs with Marshalls and 80s rock, but it's a jazz guitar and always was. 

There is one fundamental difference though, and that's the way the note decays when played clean, which can make your approach to how you play it very different. If you tell yourself to ignore it, the guitars' actual tone is pretty well interchangeable. 

If you're bored and fancy a change, you have chronic high gain feedback issues or you just prefer the looks or ergonomics of LPs then go for it, but be honest with yourself about why you're doing it or you may end up regretting it. 

Personally I love the way the natural compression of a Les Paul means I can play with a cleaner tone than any other guitar, but when I occasionally need that 'plunk' thing I reach for a hollowbody. 

JackieB33

p90fool said:

It's mostly psychological in my opinion - I can't think of anything a 335 can do which a Les Paul can't. 
We're conditioned to associate LPs with Marshalls and 80s rock, but it's a jazz guitar and always was. 

There is one fundamental difference though, and that's the way the note decays when played clean, which can make your approach to how you play it very different. If you tell yourself to ignore it, the guitars' actual tone is pretty well interchangeable. 

If you're bored and fancy a change, you have chronic high gain feedback issues or you just prefer the looks or ergonomics of LPs then go for it, but be honest with yourself about why you're doing it or you may end up regretting it. 

Personally I love the way the natural compression of a Les Paul means I can play with a cleaner tone than any other guitar, but when I occasionally need that 'plunk' thing I reach for a hollowbody. 

@p90fool best, most justified 'wisdom' i've ever awarded. 

Schnozz

I have a chambered les paul, as I prefer the tone and look, but I prefer the weight and ergonomics of an es-335

I never would have considered chambered a few years back, but it sits better on the leg/strap and I don't notice any difference in sound through the amp (slight difference acoustically of course).

JackieB33

Schnozz said:

I never would have considered chambered a few years back, but it sits better on the leg/strap and I don't notice any difference in sound through the amp (slight difference acoustically of course).

@Schnozz I had a chambered Standard, think it was 2010. I couldn't fault the sound of that.. absolutely loved it. But i'm not as much of a connoisseur as some.. maybe i need to play more of em! 

richardhomer

The biggest difference is in the attack/sustain/decay of the notes, rather than tone.

I’ve owned a really nice 335 for about 15 years - I’m thinking about a Les Paul as well....

AlexO

Think the best thing to do is, take your 335 with you and go and try a load of Les Paul's and A/B them.

I find Les Pauls awful for rhythm playing but for that big thick lead sound nothing beats them.

I would always pick a 335 over a LP but I've always preferred semi and a hollow guitars.

markj

richardhomer said:

The biggest difference is in the attack/sustain/decay of the notes, rather than tone.

I’ve owned a really nice 335 for about 15 years - I’m thinking about a Les Paul as well....

I’ve got a nice Gold top up for sale on this forum.

Iamnobody

I think they are easily interchangeable  I notice Steve Cradock plays a 335 a lot these days on tunes when you’d see the gold top back in the day...

One thing for me - a 335 is a nice comfy guitar to sit and play at home unplugged - a LP less so.

Also if you like the neck on your 335 you might struggle to get that on a LP - there seems to be more 60’s neck ones around.

If money wasn’t an issue definitely have both - if it is keep hold of the 335 for now.

Voxman

Tone and aesthetic opinions aside, it's also about playing comfort re shape, weight, balance, and higher fret accessibility.  A 335 is lighter with better high fret access but the body shape is bigger.  And let's be honest, image plays a part too. If you're a Slash, Gary Moore or Jimmy Page fan you'll likely 'identify' more with a Les Paul.  If you're a fan of a 335 or other semi player (eg Chuck Berry, Larry Carlton, Clapton (Cream days), Alvin Lee etc you might identify more with a 335 (or 345 etc). 

Couple of other considerations though come to mind.  The first is 'fragility' - because semi's are by definition 'hollow' they are more fragile.  Drop something on a solid Les Paul and you might dent it - on a 335 you could crack it open. The other thought is wiring access.  With a 335 you don't have rear access plates as on a Les Paul, and if you need to change pots or even pick-ups for example unless you really know what you're doing it's a specialist job to take out the wiring loom through the f-holes.  

Kebabkid

Have you tried a 339? I think they offer the middle ground here.

Phil_aka_Pip

I also have both. If you have a 335 that you like, don't move it on. Tell yourself that you've got plenty of time to look for (and save for) a LP that you like as much as the 335.