Educate me on Les Pauls

JezWynd

richardhomer said:

For years I tried (and struggled) with Les Pauls - I owned several. I’ve tried many alternatives, including various HSS Strat style guitars, PRS Customs, McCartys and a DGT.

Last year, I bit the bullet and bought a nice vintage style LP which had been fitted with BK PAF type pickups and 50s wiring. I played nothing else until I ‘got it’ and have since upgraded to an R8.

Yes, Gibson’s quality is ‘variable’ but ultimately if you want ‘that’ tonality, I don’t think anything else quite does it. 

Likewise, I'd never got on with LPs, finding them heavy with poor balance when playing seated and disliking dark sounding humbuckers. In recent months I'd almost quit playing guitar and decided, in a fit of madness, to try a 2022 mini humbucker model as I like the mini HB sound (I've usually played Telecasters previously). I bought a used one online, sight unseen and was pleasantly surprised to find it a really well made and well finished instrument (there's so much criticism of Gibson here that I was nervous of what might arrive). It's heavy but balances well when playing sitting down and does not want to tip backwards as I've found others to do. It took a while to get used to it but the sound of the mini hums is so good that I persevered and finally started to enjoy playing it and appreciate the wider, flatter fretboard and chunky neck shape. It's now my only six string and I'm enjoying the challenge of playing a different feeling and sounding guitar.

Esoterick

Is it common for Les Pauls to be rear heavy? I had a Tribute that I really liked, but that made playing it sitting down unpleasant.

The Tributes have maple necks so not sure if that makes it worse and I'm wondering if adding locking tuners might help to counterbalance it.

Most of the stuff online seems to just discuss their overall weight which doesn't give me much to go on when they vary so much. Plus my Tribute was under 8lbs so that wasn't the issue as I'm used to guitars that are around 8.6lbs

I could spring for a regular Gibson Les Paul, but I quite liked the satin finish and a lot of Les Pauls seem to be glossy.

OilCityPickups

Gibson Les Paul = Baby Boomers musical, headstock self destructing (back maiming device if it's a Norlin one) grandad self pleasurement object.  Style of a 50s wooden radiogram, with the chick pulling power these days of a pair of stained Y fronts :-)

Still love em mind ... Les Pauls not stained Y fronts :-)