The Obligatory, Nay, Inevitable Les Paul Shootout!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.ย. 2024
- During a break from our regularly scheduled build videos, Kent and Mark ponder the question: how much do you really need to spend on a nice guitar?
We're taking three Les Paul-style axes ranging from current market value of close to $4k down to just under $400: the real thing (vintage '81 LP Custom), a 2019 Epi version, and a 2015 Agile AL-3100 MCC and comparing them on absolutely equal footing. We're doing a blind test so you can hear 'em unbiased, playing them in context of a song mix, and waxing poetic on why we love them all.
#lespaul #vintageguitar #electricguitar #guitar #guitarlife #guitarporn #guitarplayer #guitardemo #gibsonguitars #epiphoneguitars #agileguitars
My wild guess before I head to the spoilers is that #3 is the Gibby. It has a warmth (don't take that as positive or negative) the first two don't. The first two have a high end boost and a "wetness" with the high gain tone lacking in #3. My 55 year old ears, which have lost some of the high end perception over the years due to listening to....wait for it...high gain loud guitar music for 45 years prefer the first two for that biting, sizzling attack that is less apparent in #3. I almost got goosebumps from the first two. I can live with the third one. I'm probably wrong in my guess but with all that it's a personal preference anyway. Put all three of those guitars in a mix and the differences will shrink even more.
Edit: missed my guess. Not gonna spoil it, just say this: buy yourself a player not a museum piece if you play.
Edit edit: after your thoughts, eq will even out any differences in the three 😉
OK another edit lol. Your buddy is adding UN-NEEDED cost to a cheap guitar that doesn't change tone. The pickguard?? Pffffft purists...lol
HA! I love this, reading your comments as you continued listening and debating with yourself. Very cool! And thanks for keeping it spoiler-free. I hadn’t thought about that when I posted this silly thing. 😎😅
The fidelity lost due to youtube compression and the quality of the speakers you are listening too. Some of the difference in quality can be seen when you put the volume at 2/7/10. if the guitar just sounds the same at 2 as at 7 and 10 thats a much lower quality sometimes called having 1 voice, most guitars have "2 voices". Great pickups sound different at 2/7/10 they have 3 voices. Another metric is how different the pickups sound when you hit the toggle switch. another metric is can the guitar+amp+fingers play jazz, country, blues, rock and metal. Some pickups dont have that range and some guitars arnt comfortable playing the requirements of those genres. In general you can drive to the gas station, grocery store and work in a Honda Civic with some NOS and Turbo, just as well as a Ferrari....but we all know which one we would rather drive in (unless you are some super nerd).
"... and make Gibson happy." That comment made me laugh.
Lol I had thought of doing exactly the same kind of shoot out. But you've beaten me to it.
I liked the sound of the Epi best…and I’m a long time Gibson LP player…
I struggled to hear a difference on the clean parts, but I'm only listening through ~$100 bose computer speakers. If guitar 2 (the gibson 81) was also #2 in the blind listen, I felt like it had more clarity on the dirty rhythm section. I also preferred its tone on the lead sections when we watched it being played, but I'm not sure that I wasn't bamboozled by knowing which one it was. I also only listened/watched to the samples exactly one time rather than multiple times back to back.
Know what I learned? I still don't have a Les Paul for whatever reason and I need one 🤣
Yeah, the numbers are consistent thru the tests - and doing the blind ones first was definitely to try and keep the bamboozlement to a minimum, ‘cause I agree that once you know which is which the ol’ biases can kick in. ☺️🎸
Blind Test I picked from most preffered to least (All sounded great) #2, #3 , #1. What I heard was my preferrence to the string clarity of a vintage PAF. They just sound more bell like and I love that sound as you hear each string tone more individually. That being said the Eppi would be my favorite for scooped tones since to me it was the darkest sounding guitar out of all three. #3 probably best of both worlds and I'm sure If I was playing it myself, I would like the hotter pickups for higher gain tones, but if I'm playing clean to edge of breakup, the Gibson for sure. What I find is the lower output pickups are better for clean tones to edge of breakup being bell like in tone. For High gain tones hotter output pickups lose that quality the hotter they are and become more scooped in tone and less string to string articulation, but that is what you want for high gain. (I understand the Epi was not the highest output so some of it's scoop in tone was being the only guitar without a maple cap, and yes it does make a difference) High output pickups gives you that preffered creamy distortion sound. Judging these based on only tone is only part of the story, how they feel in your hand and the mojo each create is another that we as veiwers cannot determine. Great video, keep up the great work.
#2 had the nicest tones in my opinion.
Agreed! I may be biased, but I was going for something very specific with those pickups when I wound them. They are not 100% PAF but quite close in their construction.
Definitely preferred the Ajile. So funny!
Totally legit. Out of all three of them, it was definitely the most fun to play. Just endless amounts of goopy gain from that ridiculous bridge pickup. I don't think it sounded the best personally, but it was just a circus to play.
I won't associate numbers and models, so as not to spoil anything. I immediately identified the tone of the LP, but then I have an all-original '82, as you may recall. That said, I think I preferred the sound of the Agile on its own, but preferred the LP in the mix. I admit I'm hugely biased though :) Great video guys!
Thanks man! It’s been super interesting seeing folk’s responses. And yup, I definitely remember your ‘82!
I also suspect we’re way overdue for an adult beverage. 😎
A Gibson Les Paul Custom starts at $5K and go up from there. I just bought another LP Custom last October from Sweetwater. If you have a place I can get a Gibson LP Custom brand new for $2,999 then I will buy 3 tomorrow!
Ok, this is freaking me out - I swear I looked up the price on a silverburst custom when making the spec sheets, and now all I can find is just what you’re saying! Where the heck did I get the number I got? A mystery is afoot!
@@TunguskaGuitars $3K is the price of a Gibson USA verson.
I knew the second one was the Gibson LP . I knew the Epiphone was the first one. Epiphone always sound thinner. I never heard of an Agile. Agile is a great sounding guitar, but there just isn't any replacing a Gibson Custom Shop LP. They are not close. They are very distinctive.
the title of the video doesn't make sense.
Took 17 min to get to Guitar 1, what a joke video......