@@John6-40 I like this dude, videos are fine. But I wanted to unsubscribe and hide his videos as im annoyed by this click baiting. I will monitor him in the next period :DD
I am 70 years old. I have been a profession gigging and recording guitarist since I was 13…57 years ago. During that time I have owned and/or played guitars made by every major manufacturer and many custom luthiers. I owned a 1960 Les Paul Standard from 1967 until 1984 when I loaned it to another guitarist during a recording session and never got it back. In those days my main guitars were a 1962 Strat, a 1962 Tele and a 1960 Gretsch Country Gentleman. I rarely played the Les Paul because it was very heavy and it took a lot of work to keep it playing correctly and not making all kinds of extraneous sounds…recording engineers were constantly complaining about the Les Paul’s sound (I am a jazz, blues and light rock player) because it was not the best tone choice or it was noisy. Over the years I owned many more guitars, including a few more Les Pauls. Today I play Paul Reid Smith guitars and my old Strat and Tele almost exclusively. I find that those three give me the range of tones I need and they are all easy to maintain and play. If I played metal or needed a guitar that was suitable for heavily distorted tones, I might use a Les Paul, however, my first choice would be a PRS guitar because of their superior tone and playability (in my opinion). My most current Les Paul, a black 1972 Custom, went to one of my grandsons as a gift last year so I do not own a Les Paul currently.
I bought a chinese prs turned out the neck/fingerboard has a low spot. The nut was cut badly to. Wasted money. Gotta save up for a real prs lol american made........
@@Vidar.m I own two PRS SE guitars in addition to my PRS Core guitar. My SEs (Paul’s Guitar and Hallow Body II Piezo) are both great guitars…no problems at all. I think your SE issues may be uncharacteristic of PRS’s import line of guitars. The American made Core PRS guitars are amazing guitars but are much more expensive than the SE imports.
@@petesmith6434 S2 models fit nicely in between and are made in the USA with a lot of the same parts as core models. Most of the electronics are imported.
After watching.....I have been playing guitar for 64 years. I am very impressed by your ability to pull sweet tone from whatever guitar is in your hand.
The Les Paul was a ground-breaking guitar. When released on the market in the early 50's Jazz and Big Band players loved it. When it was fitted with humbuckers in the late 50's the blues, rock and roll and R n' B guys viewed it with suspicion as it looked old fashioned compared to what Fender were offering. It didn't sell well. But then the influential players like Clapton, Green and Richards to name a few realised how good it was and started being seen with them and a legend was born. Nothing feels like a LP when you know how to play.
I just got my first Les Paul Standard. I was so nervous about a purchase this large without playing it first. It almost brought a tear to my eye. It's the most beautiful built/playing/smelling guitar I've ever been graced with. Seriously, Gibson just got a life-long fan. For some context, I've been playing guitar for 25 years and never had the means to have anything better than a good deal on an used LTD or something. So give me some slack, but I'm truly in love. 2023 Les Paul Standard - Custom Color collection - Ebony with wood finish body and neck. It's beautiful.
Good stuff man. I'm 32 and have never had anything better than a 200-300 dollar off brand guitar, I've been playing since I was 14. I made it a goal to get something in the next year. It's never too late and your story actually made me feel less left out lol. I'm glad you love your guitar!
I own a Les Paul Standard and I really like it. I also play through a Marshall Stack :p I really think both pieces of gear are more flexible than given credit for, it's not just for classic rock. You can coax all sorts of tones out of it.
Agreed, I've an older Marshall Plexi that has beautiful clean tones. I'm currently running a dual rig, my Plexi 50W quarter-stack and my old Twin Reverb.
Definitely, especially if you know how to customize your rig in the way that'll get you what you want, with pickups, pedals and the specific amp. The newer marshalls are great, with multiple footswitchable channels, you can cover absurd amounts of ground without having to touch a single dial, clean crunch overdrive distortion, the amps got you covered for pretty much whatever If you got a good ear for tone, you can gig a marshall head playing pop, blues, funk, rock, jazz, extreme metal, everything in between
@@mikeimmonen6619 100% agree Mike. I've an older 1990s 1987x, with a modified A/B Channel Switching Pedal I can bounce between my Treble and Normal channels as well as jumper them. I've a second A/B switch I use when I run my Twin Reverb at the same time. I like to cover a lot of different material and really enjoy the flexibility afforded by those two completely different amplifiers. It would be the best of both worlds if I didn't have to factor in the weight and difficulty moving it all around!
I was a manager at GC and at the time I was never a LP fan, I have always been a Strat or PRS guy. I never found a LP that really spoke to me. One day I just happens to be messing around with some of the new guitars that showed up. I feel in love instantly with a 2000 LP standard. It felt amazing, wasn’t overly heavy, and the tones were thick and creamy. I replaced the nut with a bone nut, and replaced the turners with locking. While I am still more of a Strat guy, that LP will never be sold and I love to take it out from time to time and when I do, it always makes me smile.
Same but the other way around. Always an LP guy and never really liked Strats. Until I got to try one in a recording studio. That guitar was really something, ended up slipping some parts played with that Strat blended with my Les Pauls, it sounded amazing. We all "hate" a specific model until we play that one guitar.
These generalized proclamations always make me laugh because they are just camouflaged click-bait. Yes..I am here, too so it was effective. My first "real" guitar was a 1979 ebony Les Paul Custom. More than a dozen "real" guitars later, it is still my favorite of several favorites. One of my grandsons has his eye on it. Hope one day he will love it as I do. In the meanwhile, he sits in my lap and we jam together!
Not true. I’m a Les Paul guy that’s owned several Strat’s & Tele’s and I just can’t bond with them. Super Strats like my Charvels, Ibanez’s, Kramers yes…Fenders no.
"I replaced the nut with a bone nut and tuners with locking" this is exactly why I don't buy Gibson. It doesn't seem like they offer much when compared to other guitars within their pricepoint, even when comparing singlecut guitars with shapes like the Les Paul. A Les Paul Studio is $1600. Thats INSANE.
I started playing guitar when I was 14. I'm now 29, own 3 Les Pauls and I never once thought they were the "old guy" guitars. I didn't realize I was already a boomer. In all seriousness, great video. I loved how you poked fun at your younger self learning the instrument. I, too, made some silly string gauge decisions in my teenage years. I'm now wonderfully content with 9s. You got a subscribe from me. Great content.
LMFAO your comment about the strings brought back an old memory for me too. When I was first getting started, maybe after a coupe of years with my first guitar, I decided I needed an acoustic 12-string...as one does. So after I'd had it for a while, I needed to change strings and I started thinking about the tone I got from the guitar. I decided I wanted to see if there was a way to get a "warmer" or "thicker" tone from it. Which led me to think "hey, bigger strings mean wider vibration and therefore warmer tone." SO I got the HEAVIEST set of strings I could find. As if a 12-string isn't difficult to play to begin with, especially for a beginner lol. I'm still shocked I didn't snap the damn guitar in half trying to tune those strings. SOOO much tension.
Im 20 and only "really" got into guitar like 2 years ago and i definitely have a negative connotation with les pauls being old and not im a cool vintage way lol
@@ahhhhyes well, this new generation seems to have a strange bent towards anything that came before. I'm not shocked to hear that Les Paul guitars are have been tossed aside too.
Born in 84, and when I was getting into guitar in the 90s and early 2000's, strats were the old head guitar. The LP will never die, if only for the human affinity for being different. The SG too will live forever
The middle position of the pickup selector of an HH guitar is often the most overlooked position by most players, but is super versatile if used correctly. I find myself often switching the middle position if I need the punch of the humbuckers but don't want the low ends which take up too much room in the mix.
I have a cheap Les Paul copy and though I am sort of a Strat guy, the Les Paul is so versatile-- you can play everything from Jazz to Heavy Metal on it. Whether you are Les Paul himself, or Jimmy Page or Randy Rhoads, you can make a Les Paul work.
My first guitar was a Epiphone Les Paul Special 2. That guitar was very difficult to play, but it taught me to be able to play just about any neck, and any difficult guitar. 8 years later, I bought my first Gibson Les Paul. It is a Mod Shop 60th Anniversary 59 Les Paul Standard Custom Shop. That guitar was made to be a metal machine. It is my FAVORITE guitar I've ever owned.
I feel if you took your guitar to a QUALITY Luthier you would realize that set up IS HUGE... lowering the action polish and dressing the frets straightening the truss rod and intonation are not performed off the showroom floor... there's a reason it costs another 200 bucks to do it... but every guitar that I've had it done to by 12th fret custom guitar in Portland Oregon... and even guitar center at Delta Park.... have been set up phenomenally... it is not the same guitar you buy off the wall
The Les Paul has stood the test of time for 70+ years. Other brands have been built around making copies of it. Fads come and go but things like blue jeans and certain guitars are going to keep coming back into style over and over. History repeats. It is good cause it sounds good and plays well. If you have a dialed in Les Paul, it stays in tune, sounds great, plays great, and is one of the more versatile electric guitars available. It’s a classic. Signing off. - Dad
Even growing up in the later 80s/earlier 90s, the Les Paul and the standard Strat configuration were mostly considered "old head" guitars, too. Slash from GnR challenged that, and so did John Sykes (Whitesnake). And a LOT of people who loved Van Halen's first couple of albums had no idea the majority of them were recorded on an Ibanez Destroyer (a Gibson Explorer copy), despite always seeing the Frankenstrat Eddie was known for playing.
In what alternate universe? I was in high school in the late 80s and early 90s. We still had bands then. Everybody played Strats or Pauls. They were revered. One dude played an SG. The only other guitars I ever saw were Strats and Pauls. Actually, one Jackson! I just remembered. But, they were NOT considered "old" by any stretch.
I was a huge Ace Frehley & Pete Townsend fan as a kid. My first guitar was a Cortez LP copy, then I got a 82 Strat and I never really felt that It was a good fit for me at the time. A good friend had an endorsement with Gibson and asked what my dream guitar would be… I said Ace Frehley… months later he handed me a 1989 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 2 piece cherry sunburst. The most beautiful guitar I’d ever seen. It’s been my main guitar since then, it just feels right.
Les Paul clean neck pickup is my favorite tone ever-right up there with the 335. I do notice that not everyone gets the sort of tone and articulation that I do because they either have way too much distortion or the bass on the amp is too high. I’ve got a few tips for people used to single coils. I keep the bass pretty low since the volume naturally increases the bass and adding it to the EQ makes it muddy. If I need the volume to be lower, I typically keep the volume the same and just roll down the tone knob a few notches. If it’s really low, then I’ll add bass, but I set the volume and treble before adding in bass. Also, because there is so much sustain, the amount of left hand tension you have controls the note length, so you can really thin out the tone by messing with that tension. Between muffling the tone and before the note gets bright, but is still in tune is a huge mellow range just from that pressure that really shows up more on the Les Paul than on lots of single coils out there. I combine that with playing near the saddle to get a funk tone that I need. Also, single coils are so much better for six string chords, big barre chords, capos, and open strings mixed with fretted notes. When I play the Les Paul, I play a lot more 4 and 3 note voicings, or omit the root or 5 then if I’m playing a single coil guitar. I use less gain even for distorted tones because gain adds sustain and can end up compressing tone more than desired. The middle pickup has a minor volume drop and tighter sound, so I like to roll the tone or even volume off the bridge and use the middle position for rhythm and switch to the neck for louder parts. Without changing tuning, if you do gigs where you play more songs in flat keys, Gibsons sound better to me. I don’t know if it’s the scale length or what, but even other longer scale guitars with humbuckers seem to be thinner. People also complain about tuning stability but this is never going to be an issue for any guitar with the proper setup, all except the cheapest hardware, the right string gauges for the guitar. Obviously lots of people use Strats and Tele’s with mods as workhorse guitars and kill with it. I play mostly R&B gigs, but I also play in folk/country circles and occasionally with dad rock types and the Les Paul is with me at every gig. I might use a 335 or Strat at the country gigs first, but i always have the Les Paul for noisy rooms or bad wiring. This guitar is really versatile and not just a Slash guitar.
I think it’s the price, honestly. I grew up thinking Les Paul’s were so cool, Gibson was the big expensive brand that I hoped I could afford one day. Then as I got older and really started playing and touring, I started to appreciate Fender even more. They’re workhouses and tough as hell. And affordable. I think that’s what gets younger kids started on them and sticking with Fender.
Exactly. However, more and more kids are going Japanese in this day and age, which I don't blame them. The Japanese make awesome guitars. Hell, even Eastman, a Chinese company, is making amazing and affordable guitars for students.
@@ludwiglanestudios I love to hear it, honestly! I think most musicians know a guitar is a tool and not the end all be all solution to being a musician! I could tour and play a squier for two weeks straight and be fine. Overseas guitars, US guitars, MIM guitars, if the neck plays well and I can get a decent tone out of it, we’ll rock.
@@gehrigx4you're exactly right. And people do evolve! I'm primarily a pianist but love me to collect guitars! My first guitar was a cheapy squire strat and that thing got me loving to play! Then I got my PRS Custom 24 SE which I still have and love to play! And I also have an Ibanez SEW761FM I traded my player strat for and I'm loving it! I always loved Ibanez but now I understand why the kids go for them. They're sexy and play fast! Great for the math rock scene lol.
@@NoFILanthropy98but you can get a player Strat or tele for about $800 brand new and probably 500 used. It may be made in Mexico but it looks, sounds, and plays like the American… You can’t get a new Gibson for less than $1500 and it’s gonna be a no frills-plain Jane. Gibsons are nice, but no way should they be charging 1600 for a Jr. those shouldn’t really be more than around a thousand, they’d double their sales if they could hit a better price point.
They say it’s more for the old heads and all but that’s not true because you can get great tone out of it with other stuff than just dad rock although I think dad rock sounds pretty good too ngl.
I don’t hate it, I just don’t really get it. I like the warmth but I have other guitars with the same dual humbucker tones, and they’re more pleasant to play. I’ve played a few Les Pauls and I just don’t connect with them like I do with other instruments 🤷♂️
I currently own one LP made from alder with three single coil pickups and a tremolo. It's got three knobs and a five way selector switch. Love this guitar.
First guitar I (21m) bought, about six months ago, was a les paul. I'd been playing on my dad's old guitar (cheap ES395 copy) for a few years, as well as some other instruments for a bit longer, so I had some chops and understood what I liked in an instrument. However I didn't know anything about the different types of guitars when I walked into Guitar Center to buy my own first guitar. I gravitated towards what looked and felt good, which were these single cutaway designs. I finally settled on an Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s. Looking back, I think I'm glad I knew nothing about "strat vs tele vs etc." because it allowed me to find the guitar I liked without these notions and stereotypes attached to them. However, the Guitar Center environment was terrible for testing the guitar because it was too loud to hear anything in there, the strings were gunked up because they never change them, and the guitars on the wall are all at their factory setup. Nevertheless, I love my LP!
You could have got a Dean with perfect strait Ebony fret board and super low action with Seymour Duncan custom pickups and tone pro hard ware with Grover tuners and your purchase wouldn't have supported communist China🤷🏻♀️ but I get it, a guitar speaks to you and feels right you get it, even if it's a brand new Epiphone. Not that there's anything wrong with an Epiphone guitar, aside from what I mentioned above but after Gibson sued Dean I started wondering where my money was going and with Gibson I just don't feel right supporting a company that produces sub par quality control for what their "luxury item life style" brand bull shit prices offer the customer. Dean guitars on the other hand are made in my favorite factory, world guitar, look em up. World makes PRS, schecter, Dean, Have Hamer and many other big name brands that really demand high quality control far greater than Gibson and Epiphone, there are other brands that are made by world factory Indonesia and I'm sure most any guitar that's made in Indonesia is coming from world factory or Cort Indo. Dean also is using a factory in India that I'm really excited about because the quality of my Dean Cadillac 1980 series rivals the Dean select thoroughbred ocean burst I just got so I'm excited to see what comes next from these truly world class guitar factory ! NEVER been a better time to be a guitar player as the quality of the guitars being built is better than EVER!
I own a Les paul traditional pro V and i’ve only owned it for 3 weeks now. I love the 4 push pull knobs and weight relief, so it makes it versatile and comfortable. Additionally it has a satin finish and the neck feels incredible. Alongside my dsl 40, I get great tones (not just hard rock). I’m incredibly privileged, and I don’t regret spending that money.
The versatility of having separate knobs for each pickup and incredible mellow sustain is what it makes it for me. I have a Gibson 2008 Standard Faded (for even MORE dad vibes) with a satin finish, tobacco (or honey, can't remember the name) sunburst and zebra (cream/black) humbuckers. The thing is BEAUTIFUL (no pickguard, of course, I wouldn't cover any of that grain ever) It has a weight relief chamber that makes it even more resonant if possible and the satin finish on the neck makes it such a pleasure to slide into. You can tell I love this one. BUT, I have a luthier custom made knock off Les Paul with a thin profile, a thin body and two Argentina made black humbuckers and matte finish (which I asked for specifically and got a frown from the workshop owner and then ADDED the finish to their catalog because it was dope) that is chippin' out yes, but still works the part; some Gotoh tuners and God knows what electronics. The thing plays like a million bucks and was 1/8th of the price of the Gibson. And, well, my first electric guitar was an Epiphone Special LP, so you can say I've been perusing the single cut craze a bit. My only transgression was a Jackson GIO strat back when I was about to start shredding but always got back to the Les Paul paradise, because the feeling, the tone and that everlasting sustain was just too much to leave behind. Great video, btw!
i have owned 3 Les Pauls, an Epiphone Adam Jones custom, an Epiphone Traditional Pro2 in wine red, that i sold to get a 2014 Gibson Les Paul Studio 120th anniversary. i've always preferred the 2 humbucker set up to a strat 3 single coil, plus my guitar hero Adam Jones has played a Les Paul for his entire career, so they're what i gravitate to
I currently have an Epi Les Paul Custom. It was the first guitar I bought with my own money and I loved it for a while. But I didn't play it much at one point, when I got my Jazzmaster over a year ago. Recently, I began to love it again by tuning the guitar down half a step and I've realize that my LP has to stay in E flat. It became my go-to guitar when I want to play in that tuning. Plus it's not as heavy as other Les Pauls that some of my friends have.
"this guitar is NOT supposed to be a strat" --- that's it! I LOVE my Les Pauls (I own two recent Standards, one with p90's and one with humbuckers), and they continually inspire. I can get blues, jazz and garage tones out of them with no problem at all. If I had to ditch everything but one, I'd keep one of those. I ALSO love telecaster and jazzmasters -- and they are their own thing and have their own unique characteristics that make me want to get up and play every day. There can never be just one.
I just picked up an Epi LP ‘59 and LOVE it. I started out years ago on a Strat but it was always missing something. I feel like the LP can be set up to be incredibly versatile when you have a good set of humbuckers and good wiring so you can make subtle tweaks just by using the knobs.
Mike, I’ll definitely have a better day after watching the video. You are sharing us the times when you are less good and smile about it. That really inspired me to learn. ❤
I’ve owned the Les Paul tribute you have in your video for more than a year now and I love it. This is my 2nd go on guitar after putting down the instrument after my mid 20’s. Back then I had a Mexican strat and loved it. Now I’m mid 30’s and trying to learn again the right way thanks to great info out on the internet and love my Les Paul. Always wanted one when I started and couldn’t be happier that it’s my entrance back into the wonderful world of guitar 🎉
Sounds a lot like myself. Stopped in my 20's and picked it up again 3 years ago in my mid 30's. When I returned, I vowed to learn fingerstyle. I succeeded in that and I feel more comfortable with my fingers than a pick.
I remember this being an argument back in the 70s and 80s. Yeah, I’m old… But the truth is there’s room in the musical future for all the tones that come out of Strat, Tele’s and Yes, Les Pauls. Even in my own experience, about the time I think, I found the perfect tone, I change, guitars, single coil to hum bucker’s and realize I’m pretty moody, and will never be satisfied with just one tone.
Part of the reason is because only the tribute models are anywhere close to accessible for lower-budget players unless they opt for an Epiphone which usually have really bad electronics in my experience (had to replace the pickups on my casino because they were way WAY too murky). With Fender they can get a reasonably priced strat, tele, or offset model for a similar price that actually looks like a genuine american-made guitar. While I don't mind the satin finish all that much, it does look different; also, the lp tributes lack the binding that the standards have, which really affects the vibe imo. I love my honey-burst tribute, but binding even just on the fretboard would make it look a million times better. Even just doing a fake binding finish on the maple cap would be acceptable. That and there's absolutely no reason for the LP jr.'s & specials to be 2 grand.
I have a 1990 Les Paul Standard. Sounds absolutely iconic, plays great despite the usual Gibson flaws. But that's the point of a LP, you love it anyway! Tuning up my G more frequently than I'd like and getting a sore shoulder is worth it for that tone and feel!
I’m 21 and I’ve had a Les Paul Classic since I was 18. Other guitarists give me shit for playing such and heavy guitar and “supporting Gibson” but for me, it’s just the perfect guitar. Everything about it from the pickups and switch layout to the body shape and tuners is just exactly what I want from a guitar.
There you go! It takes some guys years to discover what you did in a few short years. It's not the brand that matters, it's how it feels to you. Period. Proud of you for that
I own a lot of Gibsons and love the tone and sustain. But i always come back to my Strat for two basic reasons. 1) the tummy and arm bevels on the body make the guitar integrate into your body and give a lot of comfort especially when playing long hours. 2) the larger variation of tones. I really do love using positions #2 & #4 on a Strat.
Same here. I got an ES 335 clone, and it is so uncomfortable compared to Strat-style bodies! I hate playing it, and my Les Paul with binding. They feel like acoustics (which l also hate to play).
Ah yes, positions 2 & 4. The ones Fender realized they HAD to have on the Strat to keep people from fleeing to Gibson for humbucking. So I like Les Pauls but they are better and more versatile with coil splits (purists are gagging right now), and I also have one with P90s because sometimes you just gotta have real single coil (btw the middle 'both' p/u switch position is humbucking like position 2 or 4 on a Strat). I like Strats but they are more versatile with the 5-way switch, instead of having only single coils and a 3-way (purists are gagging right now). Be honest everybody- purist or not, sometimes humbuckers sound like mud and sometimes single coils sound like a beehive. But in their elements each is beautiful and right. We should all play what sounds and feels good to each of us, and everybody else can STFU.
I recently got an SG. At first I thought of course I’m going for a single coil fender, but after playing a player strat with a humbucker bridge I started to change my tune. Eventually I picked up the SG and played for hours. Never thought I would have went with a Gibson humbucker but I love that damn guitar
I grew up on pointy headstocks and tiger striped finishes. Les Pauls were dated and in the same class as Strats and Teles. Many years later, I still have some pointy headstock shredders, but I am totally in clove with the Les Paul and own several (Epiphones) and few other single cuts. The Les Paul (single cut) design will be eternal. It may rise and fall in popularity, but as in all things, old is new again at some point.
@@johnwattdotca well you can hate on old stuff all you want but it doesn't make you any younger and that's from a 16 year old everything was made better before the music has been on a steep decline since the late 80s
@@johnwattdotca electricity hasn't changed in my lifetime as far as I'm aware since 2006 there is only been AC and DC electricity you would have to be pretty old to see the invention of alternating current
@@johnwattdotca I'm seeing is Jimi Hendrix is one of the few people you are subscribed to it is pretty clear you have a bias for strats he wasn't even the best strat player srv was leagues ahead
I'm 48, I've owned bunches of guitars, including PRSs, Strats, Teles, an Epiphone Casino, a Harmony Comet (really great fiddle btw). As far as Les Pauls I once owned an Epi LP Custom, and now I own a 2020 Gibson Les Paul Classic.... and I absolutely love it. When I play it, it feels like home, and it's my go to for playing live. Truthfully, I love all of my guitars.... they are all just tools. Depending on the sound I need, or the mood I'm in I'll grab the one I think fits the bill. All of them are a joy to play. I never understood hating on any specific instrument or even music or genre of music. I feel like we all miss out that way.
The Strat has a more chimy very clear and thin sound. The Les Paul has a richer sound in the lows and less highs but you can adjust that. It also has many good advantages: 1) More sustain, if you bend or go get that high note, a lot of times the solos you hear from classic rock songs are played on Les Pauls which has a killer sustain (set neck instead of bolt on neck) 2) If you play a heavier rock style, with more gain, overdrive, the Les Paul will get that overdriven sound naturally from the pickups and amp. So then by adding a very transparent overdrive pedal, you will get a richer sound with a low or mid overdrive pedal, kind of like if you stack overdrive pedals. 3) Les Pauls are very underrated for their clean sound. A clean sound coming out of a humbucker guitar such as Les Pauls, ES-335, Casino, etc… is a killer sound for blues rock and other genres. You won’t get that Strat clean sound out of a Les Paul. And you wont get that Les Paul clean sound out of a Strat. Buy both
Yep. HSS strat why not. But a HSS strat is not a Les Paul. It doesnt have the sound, doesn’t have the Les Paul sustain. Get a single soil Strat. Then get a Les Paul
I surprised myself by turning into a Les Paul guy. Love the scale length, radius, set necks, mahogany, maple top where applicable, but most of all I adore blending in the middle position. So much tone shaping control.
First guitar I ever fell for was a LP custom as it seemed to be the choice of so many bands in the 90s, and just looked so good! Got my bucket list LP Custom a little over a year ago and I love it more evert time I pick it up. Bonamassa did a great video years ago showing the versatility of a LP, that really got me thinking instead of just turning everything to 10.
I currently own 3 Les Pauls. None of them a Gibson. Previously owned a Gibson Custom Shop R8, multiple Classics, and Traditionals. Right now: 1) Dean Soltero USA 2) Burny RLC (80's) 3) FGN NLC
I have a 1975 Les Paul Deluxe Gold Top. Love it. When I first got it I was disappointed but after I had the bridge replaced it was as smooth as butter.
Les Pauls are very hit or miss. In the late 90s I bought a LP Classic that I ended up very frustrated with. It was very heavy and cumbersome and just didn’t have “it”. In 2002 Gibson released a new line of Les Pauls that went back to their roots. I went to about 10 different guitar stores trying different LP Standards until one day I fell in love. Besides being visually stunning, it had “it” in droves. I bought it and still have it to this day. I’ll put that guitar up against any custom shop LP I’ve ever tried. It’s that good. The Les Paul really is a guitar that is worth doing extensive shopping around for. Some are great, some not so much. Take your time till you find the one that just vibes with you.
Yea I don’t know about hot or miss but I had the opposite experience you had at least with standards n classic. My first Les Paul was a late 90s standard burst and it’s was great but got stolen . Then six months later I got another this time a Les Paul classic gold top just like slash played in 90s. That classic had the best feel and neck I’ve ever had in any guitar . Made me feel like a star!!
I'm still new to the guitar world. But I have seen this general sentiment a lot. If you get "the right" Les Paul it's amazing, but not all of them are. I have a prs McCarty 594. General consensus seems to be less of them have the "magic" of the perfect Les Paul, but also far less of the "hit or miss" aspect. High quality productions across the board. Friends of mine who have Les Pauls begrudgingly prefer my prs
My first actually good guitar was an epi lp standard, and i still have it it's somewhat functional although the electronics are really tired and i ruined the bridge pickup trying to get the wax off But it plays really nicely and when it decides to work it sounds godly
You could upgrade for not too much $ with a pre-wired replacement pots set. All you have to do is solder the pickups and the input jack. Its like having a new guitar, all the issues with the aged electronics are gone instantly. Or get the pre-wired pots set and take it to a guitar shop and have them put it in.
I’m a late millennial and started playing guitar because of Jimmy Page. I always thought it was silly to not give older Gibson players a chance. Slash, Page, Clapton, Beck, Allman, Trucks, B.B. King, et al. There are so many players that kids just write off lol. I think the most important thing I’d say to people getting into Gibson styled guitars is to upgrade the pickups, especially if it’s a low or mid ranged guitar. The first thing companies skimp out on is the pickups and cheap humbuckers sound far worse than cheap single coils imo. If I were to buy an LP today, I’d go for an Epiphone LP and Seymour Duncan pickups.
Lol...... 1) Clapton is known for his strat 2) while BB King played a Gibson, he never played a Les Paul. He always played a Gibson S. 3) Derek Trucks played a Gibson SG, not a les Paul. This video is about SPECIFICALLY, the Gibson Les Paul. Oh.... and ZERO people "write off" these guitar greats
@@mikemclaughlin3306 Useless trivia, when Clapton had his big break with Blues Breakers that is widely considered the birth of the "British" tone, he was use a Les Paul and 45w Marshall combo amp. He used the same setup with Cream (he also used an SG). It wasn't until the 70's that he became associated with Strats.
Your example of how you got into les paul's is exactly how I got a love for them as well (although mines an old epiphone standard). While i'm nowhere near your level, it's great to hear that origin story play out. I know so many people who played Guitar Hero religiously but never picked up a guitar, and it's just a shame how many people missed out.
I have a 1976 les Paul custom and a 1972 les Paul gold top deluxe that has greened out. I got the gold in rural outback Queensland, Australia from a guy that didn’t own a phone or have the internet. I love that guitar. Still have it yo this day.
It might be more of a company thing right now. Fender does a great job reaching out to younger artists to promote their line of guitars (which are mostly single coils) and Gibson instead makes deals with past artists. If Gibson did a better job marketing (and maybe cheaper models) I could see a boom in Les Pauls + SG's for sure.
but then Gibson got K-ON and Bocchi The Rock with the main protags of each anime playing a Les Paul, I'm pretty young and that's how I got interested in Les Pauls in the first place
I’ve got a 2007 Studio! Honestly it wasn’t even Slash that turned me on to the design, it was Jimmy Page. I like teles and strats but I’ve always been more partial to the control layout of a Les Paul because of each pickup having a volume control. Rolling of the neck volume and turning up the bridge basically gives you an instant boost that you don’t need a pedal for and can control with your hands.
I just find that once you get used to the expressiveness of single coils, humbuckers really begin to sound and feel sludgy. Also, if you use the right kind of single coils, like stacked, active or with a silent system, a good boost pedal and amp, you can have the best of both worlds with a strat. You can get a powerful bridge sound, and also still have that strat scream to it, and the quack in positions 2 and 4.
I've found this to be somewhat true too, but if I'm using low-output humbuckers and readjust my amp and pedals to work with the humbuckers it tends to be more than fine.
'Hello, I've had four(4)Les Pauls in my lifetime. My first was a 1968 Gold Top with P90s, 2nd was a 1971 three pickup "black beauty" with three H'buckers that I turned into a Peter Frampton "clone". third was a 1976 Gold Top Deluxe with the mini H'buckers and presently I'm playing a 2016 Traditional. I bought this one seven(7)years ago and it's the best Gibson Les Paul I have ever had. Had to put some work into it like a new bridge(the original one was doing the "sag" thing). Plus I gave it a fret leveling and a bone nut. I put gold reflector knobs on it plus the "thumb bleeders"(what is a Gibson without those, right?)Anyway, I will play this one until I can't play anymore.
I started playing strats in the 80s. I was a strat guy. About 12 years ago, I traded this hollowbody that did absolutely nothing for me, for a Les Paul that this guy loved, but it was just too heavy for him (he was getting older). I fully expected it to be my secondary guitar and that my strat would continue to be my go-to. I hardly ever play my strat anymore. The Les Paul is arm's length away from me all day long. Never enjoyed playing a guitar as much as I enjoy playing this Les Paul and I couldn't tell you exactly why, but it just does it for me.
I'm always amused when I see people who were born about a week ago taking about how nine days ago seems like ancient history. I've been playing guitar for over 45 years, and I've never heard any musician say they hate LP's. The worst thing I ever heard were the standard complaints about them being heavy. Who exactly are all these musicians who actually hate Les Paul's, now?
In my opinion, the best, most beautiful guitar model of all time. It’s stood the test of time for a reason. Gotta love the versatility of tones on solely the instrument, and my god, THE BEEFYNESS
I play a Les Paul SG -61, that I bought in 1978. It’s not so heavy, have a slightly brighter sound, can do jazz, but can roar like a les Paul, too (ask Angus about that).Therefore more versatile. AND; the pickup switch is put on the right place, close to the other knobs.
I have an '78 Standard I bought out of the trunk of a car... Best guitar I own. Gigging for 4 hours with one makes ya glad you brought the Tele along...
I always hated the weight of a les Paul so I bought a Gibson SG (I loved that guitar but it got stolen.) Now I have a squire stratocaster that I've completely redone and took to a Luthier, it still keeps breaking strings (probably because I use the floating tremolo more than I should and I like 9.5s) I'm going to throw a set of 10s on it and change the saddles on the bridge. Other than that its phenomenal.
I have a Les Paul Deluxe from 1971. Love it. The mini ‘buckers are a bit weird at first but I love them now. Luckily it’s a good one, there were a lot of dogs from Gibson around this time.
I own a standard 50s . I love it it’s simply beautiful..As a player the 10 pound plus weight can give me back pain . Difficulty is when you tend to play strats and telecasters you do get tuned into the brighter crisper sound and my lp can sound a little muddy .i don’t i play mine too much but it’s a beautiful legend and will always have iconic status ..
I have a Les Paul Trad Pro V. I've had for a year and a half, and I play it almost exclusively now. Great humbuckers, cool splits, and out of phase give me every tone I want. I play in church only, but jam with a couple 90's cover bands. It does everything.
I love Les Pauls and I own six of them: an R9, a 1986 post-Norlin Standard flametop, a 1995 wine red Standard, a 1996 modded black Studio, a 2015 Studio Deluxe T flametop with coil splitting and a 1977 Ibanez LP Custom lawsuit era. Most of them have ‘57 Classics. I also play Carvin/Kiesels and Fender Strats. They’re all great guitars.
I have 17 guitars and that is only because I'm in my mid 60s and have started giving my guitars to my kids. The last three they get will be Strat, Les Paul and Giannini Classical. When I'm rehearsing, I play a variety of different guitars but when I gig, I use the Les Paul because they are ultra-reliable and versatile.
My LP hero is Duane Allman. On my lp I play anything from Wes Montgomery to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Jazz, blues, southern rock, slide, rockabilly, country. When I’m thinking of Les Paul - power chords are the last thing that comes to my mind. And speaking of modern guitar community - I couldn’t care less what is popular and what is taking over it, two hands tapping songs, tiktoks, ed sheeran covers you name it. I’m still gonna play my favorite music no matter how trendy or fashionable some genres might get.
I own two Les Pauls, and they’re made for my hands. My #1 is a 2005 Les Paul standard and 50s neck. The pickup switch placement and the separate volume/tone controls are invaluable.
i got a standard epiphone for £125 from a friend of my mum’s. they sell for about £400 new. one of the best deals ever. lovely sound too, never goes out of tune, strings last a long time whilst sounding good, probably the most reliable guitar ive ever played. i love my weezer blue les paul.
Yes, I own a 1981 Les Paul Heritage Series Standard 80 that I bought new; a beautiful flame top that weighs 10lbs. 13-1/2 ozs. but it sustains forever.
I owned a 78 Les Paul custom it was a work of art to look at but impossible to play professionally way to heavy and wouldn't stay in tune, as soon as I started with strats and teles, my playing and tones much more versatile and started earning money gigging
I bought my first electric last year after playing acoustic for 25 years and it’s an Epiphone Les Paul Classic 2020 in worn purple burst. It’s gorgeous and it has the exact sound I’ve always loved and wanted to create. It’s heavy as heck but beauty is pain.
I have owned a 77 Les Paul Custom since 1980. It's a maple top and maple fretboard. A very unusual beast. It stays in tune and plays like a dream. Has a very unique tone. It was leaning up against my JCM800 dual 4x12 stack when the Northridge earthquake hit and the amp fall down right on top of the LP. The only thing that happened to it was the plastic tip of the selector switch broke. That 3 piece neck got a lot of criticism but that headstock will NEVER break as a result of that design.
A friend and great guitar player owned a red Gibson Les Paul Studio and since his songs sounded extremely good I bought the same guitar. Didn't know how Les Pauls are perceived, I just wanted this sound and the sound coming from that guitar is just so great to my ears. This sing can just "sing" so great.
I have a LP Classic, as a beginner player I feel it is a very heavy guitar even though it is supposed to be lighter than other Les Pauls. Still I do like it
I have a 2007 Gibson Custom Shop R7 Goldtop. Definitely has a baseball bat neck, so it is somewhat of an acquired taste. It has a one piece body and comes in at a "light" 8 1/2 pounds. It's a great playing and sounding guitar. Has that classic Les Paul tone.
I own a 1973 Cortez Les Paul copy, it’s had a headstock break but it sounds fantastic for everything I play (classic rock, blues, funk, punk, and metal) I’m debating on buying an epiphone Les Paul
I an older re-beginner. I have two Gibson LP Studios and an Epi LP Studio that I bought for a modding platform. I also have various Fenders, Yamahas, etc. They all have their charms, and their limitations (one limitation being the guy who's playing them.)
I have a 2019 Les Paul Studio special with the burstbuckers in it and I love it. Can get beautiful clean tones from it and great crunch distortion from it using the amps distortion settings, no pedal needed. It’s all about playing around with the Les Paul’s volume/tone/humbucker knobs and the eq settings of your amp
LP was my 3rd guitar(2003). I still love it. Not the easiest to keep in tune but with a little love she keeps me interested. I don't use it much these days as I have given it to my son to practice and take lessons on (his choice over the strat I got him)
The Les Paul was such an iconic guitar to a lot of millennials it was huge in the metal and punk scene. Also in the 2000s there was classic rock revival where that music dominated house parties. But once I tried it out I realized how awkward it was to play how amazing the Stratocaster was which was a guitar I considered to be a boring boomer guitar. Now I’m a strat guy
Are you on Earth 11 I think that might have happened on Earth 11 I'm definitely on Earth 1, Gibson's been out to the past year a long time my dude and I'm 34
I started playing again during the pandemic when we were all in lockdown, and I hadn't played for almost 20 years. My old Washburn KC-40V and Fender M80 rig was showing its age, with constant signal breakup and a presence knob on the amp that just added white noise thanks to transistor degradation. So I took the plunge and bought myself a Les Paul Studio (Smokehouse BBQ) and a Blackstar HT-20R Mk II. I'd never played a Les Paul before, nor had I ever played through a valve amp. First off, I was shocked by how much louder the amp was watt-for-watt when compared to my old Fender. And secondly, the Les Paul and its wonderful tone and volume controls opened up a world of tone exploration for me that I simply hadn't experienced before. When I was younger and trying to be Marty Friedman (badly), the HSS Washburn was permanently wedged on the humbucker, and the Fender was almost always on the overdrive channel. The Les Paul played through the valve-based Blackstar on the clean channel helped me understand something I'd never experienced before; natural overdrive and breakup. At good volumes, the combination has its own natural overdrive that is a lot more subtle and controllable by technique. And, as you note, the LP was a smooth, warm sound, and with the tone dialled back, almost has its own natural fuzz. More so than any other guitar I'd played before, this one helped me appreciate tones and how to shape them. Which in turn led me down a path I'd been too poor to explore as a cash-strapped teen: PEDALS! My pedal board gradually blossomed, growing bigger as I experimented with all sorts of interesting sounds, with established favourites now being my mini Cry Baby Wah, Micro Metal Muff, Waza Craft Metalzone, Tone City Durple "Danish Pete" Honoré Overdrive Pedal (one of those dirt cheap minis, but a GREAT 70s flavour overdrive) and the crowning jewel, a Coppertone Triplegraph bought direct from Third Man. So where did I go after that? Well, with my newfound appreciation of tone, I realised that Jimi, Dave Gilmour and Mark Knoppfler all had a similar tone that obviously came from their guitar... the Strat. So I picked up a Fender American Performer in glorious matte Lake Placid Blue, and was thrilled to get that distinctive Strat "Quack". So I now have two absolutely beautiful electrics that between them, give me huge ocean of tone to explore. Aesthetically, the Strat is probably my favourite of the two, and has a very fast neck, but my playing time is probably equally divided between the two, and the Les Paul definitely puts out a stronger, smoother sound. I've also come to realise that probably more so than anything else, the type of pick-up determines the sound you're going to get, so I may refurbish my old Washburn with some better pickups, as it still plays well, despite the relatively poor quality electronics. And finally, I did also pick up a beautiful Harley Benton CLR Resoelectric resonator guitar, which I mostly use for learning slide, which is a completely different kettle of fish, and absolutely wonderful. But at the end of the day, this new-found love of the instrument all comes back to my Les Paul Studio. I don't think it (or its many, MANY clones) will ever fall out of fashion with guitarists. It's just too versatile.
I've got a 2016 les paul traditional and I love it. I play metal and rock mostly and it works great. It sounds great playing anything from Pantera to B.B. King
Absolutely love my 2016 Studio faded T. The awesome sustain and beefy bridge tone with a nice warm neck pickup just fits a lot of the kind of music I like to play. Also the neck profile feels just right to me. Not for everyone but I love mine.
I own two Les Pauls. Got a red Gibson LP Studio 16 years ago and 5 years later an ESP Eclipse with emg 81, 85 ebony fretboard in matte black. I habe played so much on both of them and I love the sounds. It's what I need. I own a fender strat with Texas specials a fanfret 7 string and some western guitars. If I had to pick a new guitar it would be a prs because I don't have one. Other than that I'm more than happy with the les Pauls
Epi LP Standard in Honey Burst, it’s beautiful and yes, I’m 62. Also have a Squier Strat and looking seriously at a Gretsch semi-hollow. I think the Paul will live on forever.
I am 45 ... I have and play the same Gibson Les Paul Studio that I've had since I was 15. It still plays the same. Still sounds amazing. That's all I need to say.
I have 4 guitars, 2 of which are Les Pauls: an Ibanez RGIB21 baritone, a Jackson SLATXMG3-6 (a super Strat), an Epiphany Les Paul Standard (pickup swapped out for Seymour Duncan Nazgul/Sentient set), and a Murphy Lab Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul '59 Reissue. My rule when buying guitars is that they must all serve a different purpose and sound. My favourite is the R9, but I love them all, because they can all allow me to play different kinds of music.
I have a mid-70's red sparkle Les Paul Deluxe . The original mini-humbuckers were microphonic so I replaced them with with P90 pickups as they are my favourite. I find them bitier, for lack of a better term, than humbuckers. I love that thing.
I used to own a bottom level Epiphone Les Paul, and I enjoyed it enough but it was not my go to. But that was mostly because I bought it as a cheap guitar for the purpose of a backup and travel. While I do not own a Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul I do own an ESP LTD Eclipse 200, and I love that guitar. It is one of my favorite instruments I own.
Sir, you don't need the clickbait titles. Your videos are thoughtful and well made.
Yep. Good video, but definite click bait. Noted.
@@John6-40 I like this dude, videos are fine. But I wanted to unsubscribe and hide his videos as im annoyed by this click baiting. I will monitor him in the next period :DD
I am 70 years old. I have been a profession gigging and recording guitarist since I was 13…57 years ago. During that time I have owned and/or played guitars made by every major manufacturer and many custom luthiers. I owned a 1960 Les Paul Standard from 1967 until 1984 when I loaned it to another guitarist during a recording session and never got it back. In those days my main guitars were a 1962 Strat, a 1962 Tele and a 1960 Gretsch Country Gentleman. I rarely played the Les Paul because it was very heavy and it took a lot of work to keep it playing correctly and not making all kinds of extraneous sounds…recording engineers were constantly complaining about the Les Paul’s sound (I am a jazz, blues and light rock player) because it was not the best tone choice or it was noisy. Over the years I owned many more guitars, including a few more Les Pauls. Today I play Paul Reid Smith guitars and my old Strat and Tele almost exclusively. I find that those three give me the range of tones I need and they are all easy to maintain and play. If I played metal or needed a guitar that was suitable for heavily distorted tones, I might use a Les Paul, however, my first choice would be a PRS guitar because of their superior tone and playability (in my opinion). My most current Les Paul, a black 1972 Custom, went to one of my grandsons as a gift last year so I do not own a Les Paul currently.
Never loan a musician anything at all...if you want it back.
I bought a chinese prs turned out the neck/fingerboard has a low spot. The nut was cut badly to. Wasted money. Gotta save up for a real prs lol american made........
@@Vidar.m I own two PRS SE guitars in addition to my PRS Core guitar. My SEs (Paul’s Guitar and Hallow Body II Piezo) are both great guitars…no problems at all. I think your SE issues may be uncharacteristic of PRS’s import line of guitars. The American made Core PRS guitars are amazing guitars but are much more expensive than the SE imports.
It's very nice and most appropriate that you've given your grandson a Les Paul. It'll be worth a million to him.
@@petesmith6434 S2 models fit nicely in between and are made in the USA with a lot of the same parts as core models. Most of the electronics are imported.
After watching.....I have been playing guitar for 64 years. I am very impressed by your ability to pull sweet tone from whatever guitar is in your hand.
Same speakers.
Toan comes from the balls.
After watching, I have now been playing for over 460 years. His skills are god-like. It's very impressive, indeed.
The Les Paul was a ground-breaking guitar. When released on the market in the early 50's Jazz and Big Band players loved it. When it was fitted with humbuckers in the late 50's the blues, rock and roll and R n' B guys viewed it with suspicion as it looked old fashioned compared to what Fender were offering. It didn't sell well. But then the influential players like Clapton, Green and Richards to name a few realised how good it was and started being seen with them and a legend was born. Nothing feels like a LP when you know how to play.
I added a 5 pound plate to my Jaguar and now it feels just like my old LP from 20 years ago :)
Keith Richars Guitar solo on "Last time" live on US TV helped lay the foundations .
@timesinktoaster Lol, exactly. The weight is the biggest problem. LP's also don't sit very well on the leg. Not compared to most Fenders.
@@boombunmi9061 Page!!
I just got my first Les Paul Standard. I was so nervous about a purchase this large without playing it first. It almost brought a tear to my eye. It's the most beautiful built/playing/smelling guitar I've ever been graced with. Seriously, Gibson just got a life-long fan. For some context, I've been playing guitar for 25 years and never had the means to have anything better than a good deal on an used LTD or something. So give me some slack, but I'm truly in love. 2023 Les Paul Standard - Custom Color collection - Ebony with wood finish body and neck. It's beautiful.
Beautiful story brother, you deserve that guitar.👏🏽
Good stuff man. I'm 32 and have never had anything better than a 200-300 dollar off brand guitar, I've been playing since I was 14. I made it a goal to get something in the next year. It's never too late and your story actually made me feel less left out lol. I'm glad you love your guitar!
I own a Les Paul Standard and I really like it. I also play through a Marshall Stack :p I really think both pieces of gear are more flexible than given credit for, it's not just for classic rock. You can coax all sorts of tones out of it.
Agreed, I've an older Marshall Plexi that has beautiful clean tones. I'm currently running a dual rig, my Plexi 50W quarter-stack and my old Twin Reverb.
Definitely, especially if you know how to customize your rig in the way that'll get you what you want, with pickups, pedals and the specific amp.
The newer marshalls are great, with multiple footswitchable channels, you can cover absurd amounts of ground without having to touch a single dial, clean crunch overdrive distortion, the amps got you covered for pretty much whatever
If you got a good ear for tone, you can gig a marshall head playing pop, blues, funk, rock, jazz, extreme metal, everything in between
@@mikeimmonen6619 100% agree Mike.
I've an older 1990s 1987x, with a modified A/B Channel Switching Pedal I can bounce between my Treble and Normal channels as well as jumper them. I've a second A/B switch I use when I run my Twin Reverb at the same time. I like to cover a lot of different material and really enjoy the flexibility afforded by those two completely different amplifiers. It would be the best of both worlds if I didn't have to factor in the weight and difficulty moving it all around!
Why would you need any other tone ?
Totally agree mate. Very versatile rig.
I was a manager at GC and at the time I was never a LP fan, I have always been a Strat or PRS guy. I never found a LP that really spoke to me. One day I just happens to be messing around with some of the new guitars that showed up. I feel in love instantly with a 2000 LP standard. It felt amazing, wasn’t overly heavy, and the tones were thick and creamy. I replaced the nut with a bone nut, and replaced the turners with locking. While I am still more of a Strat guy, that LP will never be sold and I love to take it out from time to time and when I do, it always makes me smile.
Same but the other way around. Always an LP guy and never really liked Strats. Until I got to try one in a recording studio. That guitar was really something, ended up slipping some parts played with that Strat blended with my Les Pauls, it sounded amazing.
We all "hate" a specific model until we play that one guitar.
These generalized proclamations always make me laugh because they are just camouflaged click-bait. Yes..I am here, too so it was effective. My first "real" guitar was a 1979 ebony Les Paul Custom. More than a dozen "real" guitars later, it is still my favorite of several favorites. One of my grandsons has his eye on it. Hope one day he will love it as I do. In the meanwhile, he sits in my lap and we jam together!
I'm a strat guy, but if I can find the right ES Les Paul I'll buy in in a heart beat.
Not true. I’m a Les Paul guy that’s owned several Strat’s & Tele’s and I just can’t bond with them. Super Strats like my Charvels, Ibanez’s, Kramers yes…Fenders no.
"I replaced the nut with a bone nut and tuners with locking" this is exactly why I don't buy Gibson. It doesn't seem like they offer much when compared to other guitars within their pricepoint, even when comparing singlecut guitars with shapes like the Les Paul. A Les Paul Studio is $1600. Thats INSANE.
I started playing guitar when I was 14. I'm now 29, own 3 Les Pauls and I never once thought they were the "old guy" guitars. I didn't realize I was already a boomer.
In all seriousness, great video. I loved how you poked fun at your younger self learning the instrument. I, too, made some silly string gauge decisions in my teenage years. I'm now wonderfully content with 9s.
You got a subscribe from me. Great content.
LMFAO your comment about the strings brought back an old memory for me too. When I was first getting started, maybe after a coupe of years with my first guitar, I decided I needed an acoustic 12-string...as one does. So after I'd had it for a while, I needed to change strings and I started thinking about the tone I got from the guitar. I decided I wanted to see if there was a way to get a "warmer" or "thicker" tone from it. Which led me to think "hey, bigger strings mean wider vibration and therefore warmer tone." SO I got the HEAVIEST set of strings I could find.
As if a 12-string isn't difficult to play to begin with, especially for a beginner lol. I'm still shocked I didn't snap the damn guitar in half trying to tune those strings. SOOO much tension.
Oh yeah I put heavy heavy strings on everything...and wondered why my tops warped lol. I played mostly acoustic back then...still do.
Im 20 and only "really" got into guitar like 2 years ago and i definitely have a negative connotation with les pauls being old and not im a cool vintage way lol
@@ahhhhyes well, this new generation seems to have a strange bent towards anything that came before. I'm not shocked to hear that Les Paul guitars are have been tossed aside too.
@@isaiahburridgemusic19 year old guitarist here! I love les Paul guitars and they are actually my preference. Hasn’t completed died out yet!
Born in 84, and when I was getting into guitar in the 90s and early 2000's, strats were the old head guitar. The LP will never die, if only for the human affinity for being different. The SG too will live forever
Lol yeah same. It's funny how things go in cycles.
The middle position of the pickup selector of an HH guitar is often the most overlooked position by most players, but is super versatile if used correctly. I find myself often switching the middle position if I need the punch of the humbuckers but don't want the low ends which take up too much room in the mix.
Thank you. The middle position is my go to, nearly all the time.
I discovered that one 40 years ago as a young man, you're right, so very verstaile what you can do with it and teaches you how to master your tones.
I enjoy the passion and authentic excitement you bring to your playing.
I have a cheap Les Paul copy and though I am sort of a Strat guy, the Les Paul is so versatile-- you can play everything from Jazz to Heavy Metal on it. Whether you are Les Paul himself, or Jimmy Page or Randy Rhoads, you can make a Les Paul work.
My first guitar was a Epiphone Les Paul Special 2. That guitar was very difficult to play, but it taught me to be able to play just about any neck, and any difficult guitar. 8 years later, I bought my first Gibson Les Paul. It is a Mod Shop 60th Anniversary 59 Les Paul Standard Custom Shop. That guitar was made to be a metal machine. It is my FAVORITE guitar I've ever owned.
I own 2 of those Epiphones and i think those are great guitars, but for some reason i just dont like them. Always prefered a superstrat.
I feel if you took your guitar to a QUALITY Luthier you would realize that set up IS HUGE... lowering the action polish and dressing the frets straightening the truss rod and intonation are not performed off the showroom floor... there's a reason it costs another 200 bucks to do it... but every guitar that I've had it done to by 12th fret custom guitar in Portland Oregon... and even guitar center at Delta Park.... have been set up phenomenally... it is not the same guitar you buy off the wall
@@ABIGD0NK3Y I agree. Set ups are SUPER important, but I feel they aren't really talked about too much.
The newer Epiphone Les Pauls are very nice, sir.
The Les Paul has stood the test of time for 70+ years. Other brands have been built around making copies of it. Fads come and go but things like blue jeans and certain guitars are going to keep coming back into style over and over. History repeats. It is good cause it sounds good and plays well. If you have a dialed in Les Paul, it stays in tune, sounds great, plays great, and is one of the more versatile electric guitars available. It’s a classic. Signing off. - Dad
If we can not I believe in the words of Dad then........I believe, dialed in. great set-up. Done! Now can we talk about my allowance?
Dad, please don't go. I can buy the milk.
Even growing up in the later 80s/earlier 90s, the Les Paul and the standard Strat configuration were mostly considered "old head" guitars, too. Slash from GnR challenged that, and so did John Sykes (Whitesnake). And a LOT of people who loved Van Halen's first couple of albums had no idea the majority of them were recorded on an Ibanez Destroyer (a Gibson Explorer copy), despite always seeing the Frankenstrat Eddie was known for playing.
In what alternate universe? I was in high school in the late 80s and early 90s. We still had bands then. Everybody played Strats or Pauls. They were revered. One dude played an SG. The only other guitars I ever saw were Strats and Pauls. Actually, one Jackson! I just remembered. But, they were NOT considered "old" by any stretch.
@@e.l.nortonyeah idk what he saying. Everyone in the 80s and 90s still played strats and Les Paul’s
I was a huge Ace Frehley & Pete Townsend fan as a kid. My first guitar was a Cortez LP copy, then I got a 82 Strat and I never really felt that It was a good fit for me at the time. A good friend had an endorsement with Gibson and asked what my dream guitar would be… I said Ace Frehley… months later he handed me a 1989 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 2 piece cherry sunburst. The most beautiful guitar I’d ever seen. It’s been my main guitar since then, it just feels right.
Great friend. Wish I had one that did that for me lol.
Les Pauls are piece of art. Classics never die!
Les Paul clean neck pickup is my favorite tone ever-right up there with the 335. I do notice that not everyone gets the sort of tone and articulation that I do because they either have way too much distortion or the bass on the amp is too high. I’ve got a few tips for people used to single coils.
I keep the bass pretty low since the volume naturally increases the bass and adding it to the EQ makes it muddy. If I need the volume to be lower, I typically keep the volume the same and just roll down the tone knob a few notches. If it’s really low, then I’ll add bass, but I set the volume and treble before adding in bass.
Also, because there is so much sustain, the amount of left hand tension you have controls the note length, so you can really thin out the tone by messing with that tension. Between muffling the tone and before the note gets bright, but is still in tune is a huge mellow range just from that pressure that really shows up more on the Les Paul than on lots of single coils out there. I combine that with playing near the saddle to get a funk tone that I need.
Also, single coils are so much better for six string chords, big barre chords, capos, and open strings mixed with fretted notes. When I play the Les Paul, I play a lot more 4 and 3 note voicings, or omit the root or 5 then if I’m playing a single coil guitar.
I use less gain even for distorted tones because gain adds sustain and can end up compressing tone more than desired.
The middle pickup has a minor volume drop and tighter sound, so I like to roll the tone or even volume off the bridge and use the middle position for rhythm and switch to the neck for louder parts.
Without changing tuning, if you do gigs where you play more songs in flat keys, Gibsons sound better to me. I don’t know if it’s the scale length or what, but even other longer scale guitars with humbuckers seem to be thinner.
People also complain about tuning stability but this is never going to be an issue for any guitar with the proper setup, all except the cheapest hardware, the right string gauges for the guitar.
Obviously lots of people use Strats and Tele’s with mods as workhorse guitars and kill with it. I play mostly R&B gigs, but I also play in folk/country circles and occasionally with dad rock types and the Les Paul is with me at every gig. I might use a 335 or Strat at the country gigs first, but i always have the Les Paul for noisy rooms or bad wiring. This guitar is really versatile and not just a Slash guitar.
Loved this. Great insight. 1979 Les Paul Custom ebony.
As a sound geek, these tips makes a lot of sense.
hard agree, 2:13 is literally why it's so good
I think it’s the price, honestly. I grew up thinking Les Paul’s were so cool, Gibson was the big expensive brand that I hoped I could afford one day. Then as I got older and really started playing and touring, I started to appreciate Fender even more. They’re workhouses and tough as hell. And affordable. I think that’s what gets younger kids started on them and sticking with Fender.
Exactly. However, more and more kids are going Japanese in this day and age, which I don't blame them. The Japanese make awesome guitars. Hell, even Eastman, a Chinese company, is making amazing and affordable guitars for students.
@@ludwiglanestudios I love to hear it, honestly! I think most musicians know a guitar is a tool and not the end all be all solution to being a musician! I could tour and play a squier for two weeks straight and be fine. Overseas guitars, US guitars, MIM guitars, if the neck plays well and I can get a decent tone out of it, we’ll rock.
@@gehrigx4you're exactly right. And people do evolve! I'm primarily a pianist but love me to collect guitars! My first guitar was a cheapy squire strat and that thing got me loving to play!
Then I got my PRS Custom 24 SE which I still have and love to play! And I also have an Ibanez SEW761FM I traded my player strat for and I'm loving it! I always loved Ibanez but now I understand why the kids go for them. They're sexy and play fast! Great for the math rock scene lol.
A deluxe strat and the Gibson SG cost the same and Gibson guitars cost more to make and have better parts and binding.
@@NoFILanthropy98but you can get a player Strat or tele for about $800 brand new and probably 500 used. It may be made in Mexico but it looks, sounds, and plays like the American…
You can’t get a new Gibson for less than $1500 and it’s gonna be a no frills-plain Jane. Gibsons are nice, but no way should they be charging 1600 for a Jr. those shouldn’t really be more than around a thousand, they’d double their sales if they could hit a better price point.
So, why exactly do people hate this guitar?
They say it’s more for the old heads and all but that’s not true because you can get great tone out of it with other stuff than just dad rock although I think dad rock sounds pretty good too ngl.
Usually because they can't afford one.
I don’t hate it, I just don’t really get it. I like the warmth but I have other guitars with the same dual humbucker tones, and they’re more pleasant to play. I’ve played a few Les Pauls and I just don’t connect with them like I do with other instruments 🤷♂️
@@Necropheliac fair
I feel like Les Paul’s are uncomfortable
I currently own one LP made from alder with three single coil pickups and a tremolo. It's got three knobs and a five way selector switch. Love this guitar.
That Les Paul is starting to sound suspiciously like a Strat...
@@launches.loops.and.lapbars it isn't a strat! I SWEAR :o) It's really heavy!
With double cut?
Wait, that's illegal
@@farqueleyou7578 🤣🤣🤣
First guitar I (21m) bought, about six months ago, was a les paul. I'd been playing on my dad's old guitar (cheap ES395 copy) for a few years, as well as some other instruments for a bit longer, so I had some chops and understood what I liked in an instrument. However I didn't know anything about the different types of guitars when I walked into Guitar Center to buy my own first guitar. I gravitated towards what looked and felt good, which were these single cutaway designs. I finally settled on an Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s.
Looking back, I think I'm glad I knew nothing about "strat vs tele vs etc." because it allowed me to find the guitar I liked without these notions and stereotypes attached to them. However, the Guitar Center environment was terrible for testing the guitar because it was too loud to hear anything in there, the strings were gunked up because they never change them, and the guitars on the wall are all at their factory setup. Nevertheless, I love my LP!
You could have got a Dean with perfect strait Ebony fret board and super low action with Seymour Duncan custom pickups and tone pro hard ware with Grover tuners and your purchase wouldn't have supported communist China🤷🏻♀️ but I get it, a guitar speaks to you and feels right you get it, even if it's a brand new Epiphone. Not that there's anything wrong with an Epiphone guitar, aside from what I mentioned above but after Gibson sued Dean I started wondering where my money was going and with Gibson I just don't feel right supporting a company that produces sub par quality control for what their "luxury item life style" brand bull shit prices offer the customer.
Dean guitars on the other hand are made in my favorite factory, world guitar, look em up. World makes PRS, schecter, Dean, Have Hamer and many other big name brands that really demand high quality control far greater than Gibson and Epiphone, there are other brands that are made by world factory Indonesia and I'm sure most any guitar that's made in Indonesia is coming from world factory or Cort Indo. Dean also is using a factory in India that I'm really excited about because the quality of my Dean Cadillac 1980 series rivals the Dean select thoroughbred ocean burst I just got so I'm excited to see what comes next from these truly world class guitar factory ! NEVER been a better time to be a guitar player as the quality of the guitars being built is better than EVER!
I own a Les paul traditional pro V and i’ve only owned it for 3 weeks now. I love the 4 push pull knobs and weight relief, so it makes it versatile and comfortable. Additionally it has a satin finish and the neck feels incredible. Alongside my dsl 40, I get great tones (not just hard rock). I’m incredibly privileged, and I don’t regret spending that money.
Is it the wine red one? I got one of those, and I can hardly put it down.
The versatility of having separate knobs for each pickup and incredible mellow sustain is what it makes it for me.
I have a Gibson 2008 Standard Faded (for even MORE dad vibes) with a satin finish, tobacco (or honey, can't remember the name) sunburst and zebra (cream/black) humbuckers.
The thing is BEAUTIFUL (no pickguard, of course, I wouldn't cover any of that grain ever)
It has a weight relief chamber that makes it even more resonant if possible and the satin finish on the neck makes it such a pleasure to slide into.
You can tell I love this one.
BUT, I have a luthier custom made knock off Les Paul with a thin profile, a thin body and two Argentina made black humbuckers and matte finish (which I asked for specifically and got a frown from the workshop owner and then ADDED the finish to their catalog because it was dope) that is chippin' out yes, but still works the part; some Gotoh tuners and God knows what electronics. The thing plays like a million bucks and was 1/8th of the price of the Gibson.
And, well, my first electric guitar was an Epiphone Special LP, so you can say I've been perusing the single cut craze a bit.
My only transgression was a Jackson GIO strat back when I was about to start shredding but always got back to the Les Paul paradise, because the feeling, the tone and that everlasting sustain was just too much to leave behind.
Great video, btw!
i have owned 3 Les Pauls, an Epiphone Adam Jones custom, an Epiphone Traditional Pro2 in wine red, that i sold to get a 2014 Gibson Les Paul Studio 120th anniversary. i've always preferred the 2 humbucker set up to a strat 3 single coil, plus my guitar hero Adam Jones has played a Les Paul for his entire career, so they're what i gravitate to
I own an Epiphone Les Paul and I adore it. Using both the humbucker and regolate tone and volume to get the sound that I want has been so cool
I currently have an Epi Les Paul Custom. It was the first guitar I bought with my own money and I loved it for a while. But I didn't play it much at one point, when I got my Jazzmaster over a year ago. Recently, I began to love it again by tuning the guitar down half a step and I've realize that my LP has to stay in E flat. It became my go-to guitar when I want to play in that tuning. Plus it's not as heavy as other Les Pauls that some of my friends have.
You have great tastes
"this guitar is NOT supposed to be a strat" --- that's it! I LOVE my Les Pauls (I own two recent Standards, one with p90's and one with humbuckers), and they continually inspire. I can get blues, jazz and garage tones out of them with no problem at all. If I had to ditch everything but one, I'd keep one of those. I ALSO love telecaster and jazzmasters -- and they are their own thing and have their own unique characteristics that make me want to get up and play every day. There can never be just one.
I just picked up an Epi LP ‘59 and LOVE it. I started out years ago on a Strat but it was always missing something. I feel like the LP can be set up to be incredibly versatile when you have a good set of humbuckers and good wiring so you can make subtle tweaks just by using the knobs.
Those new 59 epis with the America. Burstbuckers are awesome
I’m 25 years old and play my Les Paul Traditional since high school, still my fave, also have a tele and prs
Mike, I’ll definitely have a better day after watching the video. You are sharing us the times when you are less good and smile about it. That really inspired me to learn. ❤
I’ve owned the Les Paul tribute you have in your video for more than a year now and I love it. This is my 2nd go on guitar after putting down the instrument after my mid 20’s. Back then I had a Mexican strat and loved it. Now I’m mid 30’s and trying to learn again the right way thanks to great info out on the internet and love my Les Paul. Always wanted one when I started and couldn’t be happier that it’s my entrance back into the wonderful world of guitar 🎉
Sounds a lot like myself. Stopped in my 20's and picked it up again 3 years ago in my mid 30's. When I returned, I vowed to learn fingerstyle. I succeeded in that and I feel more comfortable with my fingers than a pick.
I want a gibson bro but im scared that the head stock will break. Is the q c getting better yet?
I remember this being an argument back in the 70s and 80s. Yeah, I’m old… But the truth is there’s room in the musical future for all the tones that come out of Strat, Tele’s and Yes, Les Pauls. Even in my own experience, about the time I think, I found the perfect tone, I change, guitars, single coil to hum bucker’s and realize I’m pretty moody, and will never be satisfied with just one tone.
Part of the reason is because only the tribute models are anywhere close to accessible for lower-budget players unless they opt for an Epiphone which usually have really bad electronics in my experience (had to replace the pickups on my casino because they were way WAY too murky). With Fender they can get a reasonably priced strat, tele, or offset model for a similar price that actually looks like a genuine american-made guitar. While I don't mind the satin finish all that much, it does look different; also, the lp tributes lack the binding that the standards have, which really affects the vibe imo. I love my honey-burst tribute, but binding even just on the fretboard would make it look a million times better. Even just doing a fake binding finish on the maple cap would be acceptable. That and there's absolutely no reason for the LP jr.'s & specials to be 2 grand.
I have a traditional 2014, which is a 59. It was my dream guitar and after 9 years I’m still in love with it!
I have a 1990 Les Paul Standard. Sounds absolutely iconic, plays great despite the usual Gibson flaws. But that's the point of a LP, you love it anyway! Tuning up my G more frequently than I'd like and getting a sore shoulder is worth it for that tone and feel!
You’re one hell of a blues rhythm player! I’d love to see you do more stuff like the old clip with the gold top!
I’m 21 and I’ve had a Les Paul Classic since I was 18. Other guitarists give me shit for playing such and heavy guitar and “supporting Gibson” but for me, it’s just the perfect guitar. Everything about it from the pickups and switch layout to the body shape and tuners is just exactly what I want from a guitar.
There you go! It takes some guys years to discover what you did in a few short years. It's not the brand that matters, it's how it feels to you. Period. Proud of you for that
New Gibson (2019 forward) is amazing
I own a lot of Gibsons and love the tone and sustain. But i always come back to my Strat for two basic reasons. 1) the tummy and arm bevels on the body make the guitar integrate into your body and give a lot of comfort especially when playing long hours. 2) the larger variation of tones. I really do love using positions #2 & #4 on a Strat.
Same here. I got an ES 335 clone, and it is so uncomfortable compared to Strat-style bodies! I hate playing it, and my Les Paul with binding. They feel like acoustics (which l also hate to play).
Ah yes, positions 2 & 4. The ones Fender realized they HAD to have on the Strat to keep people from fleeing to Gibson for humbucking. So I like Les Pauls but they are better and more versatile with coil splits (purists are gagging right now), and I also have one with P90s because sometimes you just gotta have real single coil (btw the middle 'both' p/u switch position is humbucking like position 2 or 4 on a Strat). I like Strats but they are more versatile with the 5-way switch, instead of having only single coils and a 3-way (purists are gagging right now). Be honest everybody- purist or not, sometimes humbuckers sound like mud and sometimes single coils sound like a beehive. But in their elements each is beautiful and right. We should all play what sounds and feels good to each of us, and everybody else can STFU.
I recently got an SG. At first I thought of course I’m going for a single coil fender, but after playing a player strat with a humbucker bridge I started to change my tune. Eventually I picked up the SG and played for hours. Never thought I would have went with a Gibson humbucker but I love that damn guitar
LP for R&B and Soul is seriously slept on. Why would you not want a warm full tone for that?
Probably its hard to get an older Gibson
I grew up on pointy headstocks and tiger striped finishes. Les Pauls were dated and in the same class as Strats and Teles. Many years later, I still have some pointy headstock shredders, but I am totally in clove with the Les Paul and own several (Epiphones) and few other single cuts. The Les Paul (single cut) design will be eternal. It may rise and fall in popularity, but as in all things, old is new again at some point.
He just thinks it's cool to hate on older stuff
@@corybrown1450 It is. Even electricity has changed in our lifetimes.
@@johnwattdotca well you can hate on old stuff all you want but it doesn't make you any younger and that's from a 16 year old everything was made better before the music has been on a steep decline since the late 80s
@@johnwattdotca electricity hasn't changed in my lifetime as far as I'm aware since 2006 there is only been AC and DC electricity you would have to be pretty old to see the invention of alternating current
@@johnwattdotca I'm seeing is Jimi Hendrix is one of the few people you are subscribed to it is pretty clear you have a bias for strats he wasn't even the best strat player srv was leagues ahead
I'm 48, I've owned bunches of guitars, including PRSs, Strats, Teles, an Epiphone Casino, a Harmony Comet (really great fiddle btw). As far as Les Pauls I once owned an Epi LP Custom, and now I own a 2020 Gibson Les Paul Classic.... and I absolutely love it. When I play it, it feels like home, and it's my go to for playing live. Truthfully, I love all of my guitars.... they are all just tools. Depending on the sound I need, or the mood I'm in I'll grab the one I think fits the bill. All of them are a joy to play. I never understood hating on any specific instrument or even music or genre of music. I feel like we all miss out that way.
I've recently got my first Les Paul and I love it, I already had a strat and a semi acoustic and this is the perfect blend
The Strat has a more chimy very clear and thin sound. The Les Paul has a richer sound in the lows and less highs but you can adjust that. It also has many good advantages: 1) More sustain, if you bend or go get that high note, a lot of times the solos you hear from classic rock songs are played on Les Pauls which has a killer sustain (set neck instead of bolt on neck) 2) If you play a heavier rock style, with more gain, overdrive, the Les Paul will get that overdriven sound naturally from the pickups and amp. So then by adding a very transparent overdrive pedal, you will get a richer sound with a low or mid overdrive pedal, kind of like if you stack overdrive pedals. 3) Les Pauls are very underrated for their clean sound. A clean sound coming out of a humbucker guitar such as Les Pauls, ES-335, Casino, etc… is a killer sound for blues rock and other genres. You won’t get that Strat clean sound out of a Les Paul. And you wont get that Les Paul clean sound out of a Strat. Buy both
Or a HSS strat?
Yep. HSS strat why not. But a HSS strat is not a Les Paul. It doesnt have the sound, doesn’t have the Les Paul sustain. Get a single soil Strat. Then get a Les Paul
I surprised myself by turning into a Les Paul guy. Love the scale length, radius, set necks, mahogany, maple top where applicable, but most of all I adore blending in the middle position. So much tone shaping control.
First guitar I ever fell for was a LP custom as it seemed to be the choice of so many bands in the 90s, and just looked so good! Got my bucket list LP Custom a little over a year ago and I love it more evert time I pick it up. Bonamassa did a great video years ago showing the versatility of a LP, that really got me thinking instead of just turning everything to 10.
I currently own 3 Les Pauls. None of them a Gibson. Previously owned a Gibson Custom Shop R8, multiple Classics, and Traditionals.
Right now:
1) Dean Soltero USA
2) Burny RLC (80's)
3) FGN NLC
I have a 1975 Les Paul Deluxe Gold Top. Love it. When I first got it I was disappointed but after I had the bridge replaced it was as smooth as butter.
Les Pauls are very hit or miss. In the late 90s I bought a LP Classic that I ended up very frustrated with. It was very heavy and cumbersome and just didn’t have “it”. In 2002 Gibson released a new line of Les Pauls that went back to their roots. I went to about 10 different guitar stores trying different LP Standards until one day I fell in love. Besides being visually stunning, it had “it” in droves. I bought it and still have it to this day. I’ll put that guitar up against any custom shop LP I’ve ever tried. It’s that good. The Les Paul really is a guitar that is worth doing extensive shopping around for. Some are great, some not so much. Take your time till you find the one that just vibes with you.
Yea I don’t know about hot or miss but I had the opposite experience you had at least with standards n classic. My first Les Paul was a late 90s standard burst and it’s was great but got stolen . Then six months later I got another this time a Les Paul classic gold top just like slash played in 90s. That classic had the best feel and neck I’ve ever had in any guitar . Made me feel like a star!!
I'm still new to the guitar world. But I have seen this general sentiment a lot. If you get "the right" Les Paul it's amazing, but not all of them are. I have a prs McCarty 594. General consensus seems to be less of them have the "magic" of the perfect Les Paul, but also far less of the "hit or miss" aspect. High quality productions across the board. Friends of mine who have Les Pauls begrudgingly prefer my prs
My first actually good guitar was an epi lp standard, and i still have it
it's somewhat functional although the electronics are really tired and i ruined the bridge pickup trying to get the wax off
But it plays really nicely and when it decides to work it sounds godly
You could upgrade for not too much $ with a pre-wired replacement pots set. All you have to do is solder the pickups and the input jack. Its like having a new guitar, all the issues with the aged electronics are gone instantly. Or get the pre-wired pots set and take it to a guitar shop and have them put it in.
@@thomasayresol yea, just can't afford that rn lol
I’m a late millennial and started playing guitar because of Jimmy Page. I always thought it was silly to not give older Gibson players a chance. Slash, Page, Clapton, Beck, Allman, Trucks, B.B. King, et al. There are so many players that kids just write off lol.
I think the most important thing I’d say to people getting into Gibson styled guitars is to upgrade the pickups, especially if it’s a low or mid ranged guitar. The first thing companies skimp out on is the pickups and cheap humbuckers sound far worse than cheap single coils imo. If I were to buy an LP today, I’d go for an Epiphone LP and Seymour Duncan pickups.
They write them off? BB King? Too, too bad.
Who tf writtes off Trucks?
Lol......
1) Clapton is known for his strat
2) while BB King played a Gibson, he never played a Les Paul. He always played a Gibson S.
3) Derek Trucks played a Gibson SG, not a les Paul.
This video is about SPECIFICALLY, the Gibson Les Paul.
Oh.... and ZERO people "write off" these guitar greats
@@mikemclaughlin3306 Useless trivia, when Clapton had his big break with Blues Breakers that is widely considered the birth of the "British" tone, he was use a Les Paul and 45w Marshall combo amp. He used the same setup with Cream (he also used an SG). It wasn't until the 70's that he became associated with Strats.
@@MadMarcMulligan and after all that, not only did he abandon that for the strat, he is still BEST KNOWN for the strat.
Your example of how you got into les paul's is exactly how I got a love for them as well (although mines an old epiphone standard). While i'm nowhere near your level, it's great to hear that origin story play out. I know so many people who played Guitar Hero religiously but never picked up a guitar, and it's just a shame how many people missed out.
I have a 1976 les Paul custom and a 1972 les Paul gold top deluxe that has greened out. I got the gold in rural outback Queensland, Australia from a guy that didn’t own a phone or have the internet. I love that guitar. Still have it yo this day.
It might be more of a company thing right now. Fender does a great job reaching out to younger artists to promote their line of guitars (which are mostly single coils) and Gibson instead makes deals with past artists. If Gibson did a better job marketing (and maybe cheaper models) I could see a boom in Les Pauls + SG's for sure.
but then Gibson got K-ON and Bocchi The Rock with the main protags of each anime playing a Les Paul, I'm pretty young and that's how I got interested in Les Pauls in the first place
I’ve got a 2007 Studio! Honestly it wasn’t even Slash that turned me on to the design, it was Jimmy Page. I like teles and strats but I’ve always been more partial to the control layout of a Les Paul because of each pickup having a volume control. Rolling of the neck volume and turning up the bridge basically gives you an instant boost that you don’t need a pedal for and can control with your hands.
I just find that once you get used to the expressiveness of single coils, humbuckers really begin to sound and feel sludgy. Also, if you use the right kind of single coils, like stacked, active or with a silent system, a good boost pedal and amp, you can have the best of both worlds with a strat. You can get a powerful bridge sound, and also still have that strat scream to it, and the quack in positions 2 and 4.
yep
The Gibson Les Paul tribute that he's got in the video don't sound muddy ever !
I've found this to be somewhat true too, but if I'm using low-output humbuckers and readjust my amp and pedals to work with the humbuckers it tends to be more than fine.
Snobs... You guys have no idea how to make a guitar scream... It's not the guitar it's you!!!
'Hello, I've had four(4)Les Pauls in my lifetime. My first was a 1968 Gold Top with P90s, 2nd was a 1971 three pickup "black beauty" with three H'buckers that I turned into a Peter Frampton "clone". third was a 1976 Gold Top Deluxe with the mini H'buckers and presently I'm playing a 2016 Traditional. I bought this one seven(7)years ago and it's the best Gibson Les Paul I have ever had. Had to put some work into it like a new bridge(the original one was doing the "sag" thing). Plus I gave it a fret leveling and a bone nut. I put gold reflector knobs on it plus the "thumb bleeders"(what is a Gibson without those, right?)Anyway, I will play this one until I can't play anymore.
Gibson Les Paul owner, had it for 10 years now.
It was my dream guitar since I was a kid, and I absolutely love it.
I started playing strats in the 80s. I was a strat guy. About 12 years ago, I traded this hollowbody that did absolutely nothing for me, for a Les Paul that this guy loved, but it was just too heavy for him (he was getting older). I fully expected it to be my secondary guitar and that my strat would continue to be my go-to. I hardly ever play my strat anymore. The Les Paul is arm's length away from me all day long. Never enjoyed playing a guitar as much as I enjoy playing this Les Paul and I couldn't tell you exactly why, but it just does it for me.
I'm always amused when I see people who were born about a week ago taking about how nine days ago seems like ancient history. I've been playing guitar for over 45 years, and I've never heard any musician say they hate LP's. The worst thing I ever heard were the standard complaints about them being heavy. Who exactly are all these musicians who actually hate Les Paul's, now?
In my opinion, the best, most beautiful guitar model of all time. It’s stood the test of time for a reason. Gotta love the versatility of tones on solely the instrument, and my god, THE BEEFYNESS
I play a Les Paul SG -61, that I bought in 1978. It’s not so heavy, have a slightly brighter sound, can do jazz, but can roar like a les Paul, too (ask Angus about that).Therefore more versatile. AND; the pickup switch is put on the right place, close to the other knobs.
I own Grassroots' Les Paul. I love it! My first guitar. I was going to buy a Start but when I took LP first time to my hands... :)
I have an '78 Standard I bought out of the trunk of a car... Best guitar I own. Gigging for 4 hours with one makes ya glad you brought the Tele along...
I always hated the weight of a les Paul so I bought a Gibson SG (I loved that guitar but it got stolen.)
Now I have a squire stratocaster that I've completely redone and took to a Luthier, it still keeps breaking strings (probably because I use the floating tremolo more than I should and I like 9.5s)
I'm going to throw a set of 10s on it and change the saddles on the bridge.
Other than that its phenomenal.
I have a Les Paul Deluxe from 1971. Love it. The mini ‘buckers are a bit weird at first but I love them now. Luckily it’s a good one, there were a lot of dogs from Gibson around this time.
I own a standard 50s . I love it it’s simply beautiful..As a player the 10 pound plus weight can give me back pain . Difficulty is when you tend to play strats and telecasters you do get tuned into the brighter crisper sound and my lp can sound a little muddy .i don’t i play mine too much but it’s a beautiful legend and will always have iconic status
..
I have a Les Paul Trad Pro V. I've had for a year and a half, and I play it almost exclusively now. Great humbuckers, cool splits, and out of phase give me every tone I want. I play in church only, but jam with a couple 90's cover bands. It does everything.
I love Les Pauls and I own six of them: an R9, a 1986 post-Norlin Standard flametop, a 1995 wine red Standard, a 1996 modded black Studio, a 2015 Studio Deluxe T flametop with coil splitting and a 1977 Ibanez LP Custom lawsuit era. Most of them have ‘57 Classics. I also play Carvin/Kiesels and Fender Strats. They’re all great guitars.
I have 17 guitars and that is only because I'm in my mid 60s and have started giving my guitars to my kids. The last three they get will be Strat, Les Paul and Giannini Classical. When I'm rehearsing, I play a variety of different guitars but when I gig, I use the Les Paul because they are ultra-reliable and versatile.
My LP hero is Duane Allman.
On my lp I play anything from Wes Montgomery to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Jazz, blues, southern rock, slide, rockabilly, country.
When I’m thinking of Les Paul - power chords are the last thing that comes to my mind.
And speaking of modern guitar community - I couldn’t care less what is popular and what is taking over it, two hands tapping songs, tiktoks, ed sheeran covers you name it.
I’m still gonna play my favorite music no matter how trendy or fashionable some genres might get.
I own two Les Pauls, and they’re made for my hands. My #1 is a 2005 Les Paul standard and 50s neck. The pickup switch placement and the separate volume/tone controls are invaluable.
i got a standard epiphone for £125 from a friend of my mum’s. they sell for about £400 new. one of the best deals ever. lovely sound too, never goes out of tune, strings last a long time whilst sounding good, probably the most reliable guitar ive ever played. i love my weezer blue les paul.
Yes, I own a 1981 Les Paul Heritage Series Standard 80 that I bought new; a beautiful flame top that weighs 10lbs. 13-1/2 ozs. but it sustains forever.
I owned a 78 Les Paul custom it was a work of art to look at but impossible to play professionally way to heavy and wouldn't stay in tune, as soon as I started with strats and teles, my playing and tones much more versatile and started earning money gigging
I bought my first electric last year after playing acoustic for 25 years and it’s an Epiphone Les Paul Classic 2020 in worn purple burst. It’s gorgeous and it has the exact sound I’ve always loved and wanted to create. It’s heavy as heck but beauty is pain.
I have owned a 77 Les Paul Custom since 1980. It's a maple top and maple fretboard. A very unusual beast. It stays in tune and plays like a dream. Has a very unique tone. It was leaning up against my JCM800 dual 4x12 stack when the Northridge earthquake hit and the amp fall down right on top of the LP. The only thing that happened to it was the plastic tip of the selector switch broke. That 3 piece neck got a lot of criticism but that headstock will NEVER break as a result of that design.
A friend and great guitar player owned a red Gibson Les Paul Studio and since his songs sounded extremely good I bought the same guitar. Didn't know how Les Pauls are perceived, I just wanted this sound and the sound coming from that guitar is just so great to my ears. This sing can just "sing" so great.
I have a LP Classic, as a beginner player I feel it is a very heavy guitar even though it is supposed to be lighter than other Les Pauls. Still I do like it
Everything old becomes new again eventually. The LP, SG, Strat and Tele are timeless guitars that will always have fans.
So true! These 4 deserve their love! (Coming from an SG player🤘)
I have a 2007 Gibson Custom Shop R7 Goldtop. Definitely has a baseball bat neck, so it is somewhat of an acquired taste. It has a one piece body and comes in at a "light" 8 1/2 pounds. It's a great playing and sounding guitar. Has that classic Les Paul tone.
I own a 1973 Cortez Les Paul copy, it’s had a headstock break but it sounds fantastic for everything I play (classic rock, blues, funk, punk, and metal) I’m debating on buying an epiphone Les Paul
I an older re-beginner. I have two Gibson LP Studios and an Epi LP Studio that I bought for a modding platform. I also have various Fenders, Yamahas, etc. They all have their charms, and their limitations (one limitation being the guy who's playing them.)
I have a 2019 Les Paul Studio special with the burstbuckers in it and I love it. Can get beautiful clean tones from it and great crunch distortion from it using the amps distortion settings, no pedal needed. It’s all about playing around with the Les Paul’s volume/tone/humbucker knobs and the eq settings of your amp
LP was my 3rd guitar(2003). I still love it. Not the easiest to keep in tune but with a little love she keeps me interested. I don't use it much these days as I have given it to my son to practice and take lessons on (his choice over the strat I got him)
The Les Paul was such an iconic guitar to a lot of millennials it was huge in the metal and punk scene. Also in the 2000s there was classic rock revival where that music dominated house parties.
But once I tried it out I realized how awkward it was to play how amazing the Stratocaster was which was a guitar I considered to be a boring boomer guitar. Now I’m a strat guy
Are you on Earth 11 I think that might have happened on Earth 11 I'm definitely on Earth 1, Gibson's been out to the past year a long time my dude and I'm 34
Just sold my Fender strat and bought a Gibson les Paul. Best decision of my life, I’m blown away by the material and sound quality, my new favourite
I started playing again during the pandemic when we were all in lockdown, and I hadn't played for almost 20 years.
My old Washburn KC-40V and Fender M80 rig was showing its age, with constant signal breakup and a presence knob on the amp that just added white noise thanks to transistor degradation.
So I took the plunge and bought myself a Les Paul Studio (Smokehouse BBQ) and a Blackstar HT-20R Mk II.
I'd never played a Les Paul before, nor had I ever played through a valve amp.
First off, I was shocked by how much louder the amp was watt-for-watt when compared to my old Fender.
And secondly, the Les Paul and its wonderful tone and volume controls opened up a world of tone exploration for me that I simply hadn't experienced before.
When I was younger and trying to be Marty Friedman (badly), the HSS Washburn was permanently wedged on the humbucker, and the Fender was almost always on the overdrive channel.
The Les Paul played through the valve-based Blackstar on the clean channel helped me understand something I'd never experienced before; natural overdrive and breakup. At good volumes, the combination has its own natural overdrive that is a lot more subtle and controllable by technique.
And, as you note, the LP was a smooth, warm sound, and with the tone dialled back, almost has its own natural fuzz.
More so than any other guitar I'd played before, this one helped me appreciate tones and how to shape them.
Which in turn led me down a path I'd been too poor to explore as a cash-strapped teen: PEDALS!
My pedal board gradually blossomed, growing bigger as I experimented with all sorts of interesting sounds, with established favourites now being my mini Cry Baby Wah, Micro Metal Muff, Waza Craft Metalzone, Tone City Durple "Danish Pete" Honoré Overdrive Pedal (one of those dirt cheap minis, but a GREAT 70s flavour overdrive) and the crowning jewel, a Coppertone Triplegraph bought direct from Third Man.
So where did I go after that?
Well, with my newfound appreciation of tone, I realised that Jimi, Dave Gilmour and Mark Knoppfler all had a similar tone that obviously came from their guitar... the Strat.
So I picked up a Fender American Performer in glorious matte Lake Placid Blue, and was thrilled to get that distinctive Strat "Quack".
So I now have two absolutely beautiful electrics that between them, give me huge ocean of tone to explore.
Aesthetically, the Strat is probably my favourite of the two, and has a very fast neck, but my playing time is probably equally divided between the two, and the Les Paul definitely puts out a stronger, smoother sound.
I've also come to realise that probably more so than anything else, the type of pick-up determines the sound you're going to get, so I may refurbish my old Washburn with some better pickups, as it still plays well, despite the relatively poor quality electronics.
And finally, I did also pick up a beautiful Harley Benton CLR Resoelectric resonator guitar, which I mostly use for learning slide, which is a completely different kettle of fish, and absolutely wonderful.
But at the end of the day, this new-found love of the instrument all comes back to my Les Paul Studio.
I don't think it (or its many, MANY clones) will ever fall out of fashion with guitarists. It's just too versatile.
I’m 25 and Les Paul has always been my favorite guitar since I was a kid. I didn’t get one tho until just this year, And am beyond happy with it
I've got a 2016 les paul traditional and I love it. I play metal and rock mostly and it works great. It sounds great playing anything from Pantera to B.B. King
Absolutely love my 2016 Studio faded T. The awesome sustain and beefy bridge tone with a nice warm neck pickup just fits a lot of the kind of music I like to play. Also the neck profile feels just right to me. Not for everyone but I love mine.
I own two Les Pauls. Got a red Gibson LP Studio 16 years ago and 5 years later an ESP Eclipse with emg 81, 85 ebony fretboard in matte black. I habe played so much on both of them and I love the sounds. It's what I need. I own a fender strat with Texas specials a fanfret 7 string and some western guitars.
If I had to pick a new guitar it would be a prs because I don't have one. Other than that I'm more than happy with the les Pauls
Epi LP Standard in Honey Burst, it’s beautiful and yes, I’m 62. Also have a Squier Strat and looking seriously at a Gretsch semi-hollow. I think the Paul will live on forever.
I am 45 ... I have and play the same Gibson Les Paul Studio that I've had since I was 15. It still plays the same. Still sounds amazing. That's all I need to say.
I have 4 guitars, 2 of which are Les Pauls: an Ibanez RGIB21 baritone, a Jackson SLATXMG3-6 (a super Strat), an Epiphany Les Paul Standard (pickup swapped out for Seymour Duncan Nazgul/Sentient set), and a Murphy Lab Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul '59 Reissue.
My rule when buying guitars is that they must all serve a different purpose and sound. My favourite is the R9, but I love them all, because they can all allow me to play different kinds of music.
I have a mid-70's red sparkle Les Paul Deluxe . The original mini-humbuckers were microphonic so I replaced them with with P90 pickups as they are my favourite. I find them bitier, for lack of a better term, than humbuckers. I love that thing.
I have a 2016 LP standard, no regrets on this purchase, love it.
I used to own a bottom level Epiphone Les Paul, and I enjoyed it enough but it was not my go to. But that was mostly because I bought it as a cheap guitar for the purpose of a backup and travel.
While I do not own a Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul I do own an ESP LTD Eclipse 200, and I love that guitar. It is one of my favorite instruments I own.
I love les pauls! The shape, the thick neck, the weight, the tone. I love it! Slap some active pickups in it and fucking go!