The Truth About Who a Les Paul (is Really) For!
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So what is your favorite thing about a Les Paul?
The guitar of it is my favorite part 😂🤘🏻
That creamy warm neck tone is my favorite
The full sound, especially the bass frequencies, in a mix they can be too big but for isolated playing that huge sound is very satisfying
The buttery smoothness..of my 75 customs fretboard....
The vibe 😎
*As the Les Paul is a signature model designed for jazz guitarist Lester William Polsfus, a.k.a. Les Paul, back in the 50's, and he basically wanted an archtop jazz guitar, but made solid to avoid feedback, and a bit smaller to be more ergonomic, I would say that it was designed for jazz. The fact that it also works well for other styles simply attests to its versatility...*
Actually les Paul’s are (really) for this guy!
Well as long as we're being pedantic, let's be clear that there's a difference between a signature model and a new model. Les was essentially a freelance designer, reportedly turned down by Fender with his new model idea.
Rock had not been invented yet. Neither had the PAF.
Yes, it is richly ironic that Les Paul was searching for the cleanest of clean tones and yet the guitar named after him pretty much defines the genre of loud, over-driven hard rock that rose to prominence in the late 60's and still does to this day, most notably in the hands of Slash.
@@pulaski1 Who played a copy.
I‘ve played Strats for over 20 years, constantly changing parts and modifying stuff, changed amps and pedals again and again.
Last year, I sold almost all my stuff.
Bought two Les Pauls and a Silver Jubilee. On the board there’s only an EP boost, Delay, Reverb and a Tuner. That’s it. Mission completed 😌
Why did you do the change and why do you not regret it?
@@Ferbocarbo because I tried all possible options but never came to satisfying solution. There was still something missing, tonally and playing wise. I am very happy now and don’t feel the need to change anything. I just works 😃
Im the same way. I just dont like single coils for me.
Modified 2 strats by putting humbuckers, both are my dream guitars 👍
Even Hendrix switched to Gibson in the end…
I think it’s a very rare breed of guitar player that find one tone, one style of guitar. And that’s it. All they need. Most of us enjoy the variety that you get when you play electric guitar
I can't think of a single guitarist that uses that exact same guitar/pedal+stomp box setup/overall tone for everything they play. But - there are quite a few guitarists that have a very specific signature tone that they do use Almost all of the time. Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai.... all of these players have a tone that they have put their stamp on and is very identifiable as theirs.
As much as I love the variety I love to just turn on my trusty drive and chorus, plug it into my Epiphone SG and cheap amp and mess around.
Searching for tone over several decades I currently have 58 guitars of varying types. I pretty much only play my LP and SG at this point for everything. The SG is a Classic with P90's so I can cover the single coil sound.
At the end of the day, once od/dist comes into play they can all sound pretty much the same in the mix, with eq tweaks has been proven time and time again in blind tests. Yes singles are a bit noisy, but thats really about it!
solution: juniors with a single p90. you can get almost every imaginable sound from them
Great, honest video. I like how he can talk about the pros and cons without any of the hysterical devotion some people have to this model or that. I love LPs. The weight, tone and control layout are the biggest selling points for me. And yes, the looks too. But I agree about getting up past the 12th fret. It’s pretty chunky up around the cut away and I’ve struggled with that. But there is a dude here on TH-cam with no arms. Plays with his feet. If he can make THAT work, I can find a way to adjust to the LPs neck.
To be fair, the modern has coil split. You can always wire up coil spilt as well. The Les Paul only having humbuckers can be seen as both a plus and a negative I guess. I see them as THE humbucker guitar, so it’s a plus in my book.
I agree for me if I'm playing one it;s because I want the Humbucker/P90 sound.
@@RobertBakerGuitar I like P-90s in an SG just a little bit more. Though I haven’t owned a p-90 Les Paul so I don’t have that intimacy, I’m sure if I had I would love them just the same. They’re definitely a great pickup. We are in a great time of guitar. All pickups and guitars are getting the respect they deserve. When I was coming up in the 90s I wouldn’t have been caught dead with a tele, or something considered more “country”. Or it could be that I’ve matured and the respect was always there. Who knows hahaha
@@smelltheglove2038 same
I would love to see a huge poll of how much coil split is actually used. I have coil split on a few of my guitars, and I've had them for over 20 years, but I very very rarely use that function. If I want a single coil sound, I use a tele or a strat, but (almost) never use coilsplit on a LP or SG. Maybe a gigging cover band guitarist find the coil split useful more?
I hate the push-pull on the modern Classics. I want a straight up, non-weight relieved LP. Is that too much to ask for?
I just love guitars of all types, each one has its own feel. They each have a different story to tell!
The thing I love about a Les Paul is it's versatility. You can play rock from Zeppelin to Stray Cats, but it also has a great sound for blues, and traditional jazz.
You can play any style on any guitar.
That's all guitars
Telecaster is the most versatile guitar if that’s what you’re looking for.
@@G_Demolished There are no versatile guitars, only versatile guitarists.
Jimmy Page recorded Stairway to Heaven on a Telecaster. Just sayin....
What I love about a Les Paul is the bond I have with mine, and how it helps me express myself with rich clean tones.
Recently sold off my guitar collection, except for a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender American Pro II Strat. Those 2 really cover all my needs. Can't imagine needing anything else now.
Dito
Might want to try a Gretsch White Falcon
Ditch the Strat for a Tele and we're talking. For me Flying V + Tele but I'm not reducing to two. I still love LPs and SGs.
LP is NOT for someone who needs sparkly chimey cleans, LP just can't do it. I think you should have mentioned that. I thought I loved LP off of LZ and the looks, so I got it. Never jived with LPs cleans no matter what I tried. LP cleans are too muffled, lacking clarity and attack. They call it 'warm' I call it dull. Switched to Fender Strat and have been happy ever since. The cracking attack of the singles is also great for light overdrive
Try using wireless instead of cables - that will perk up the high frequencies on any guitar, since it eliminates the high frequency roll off caused by the combination of high impedance pickups and low impedance cables that have distributed capacitance. The longer the cable, the stronger the roll off.
My favorite thing about the Les Paul is the TONE , I love the way they look of course , the carved top , the neck angle , the whole vibe really , yet as they say " One woman , many guitars ! ", so a Les Paul is just one of my loves... Thanks Robert !
I’ve been stringing my Les Pauls the way you showed us for a year now and it’s been an incredible upgrade
Favorite about my Les Paul's is the tone. Also love the look. I also love the ease of play. The con is they can be rather heavy.
The only tone I can't mimic is that Fender twang, just about everything else can be achieved.
I have a 1982 Standard, 12.2 lbs.
That sums it up...
@@SteverRob lmfbo
The weight comes with the territory 😎 8 lbs is probably the lowest you can go but it’s a little rare unless they are chambered. The chambered ones aren’t that bad tho
Recently bought my first Les Paul style guitar after playing a Strat for a while and I love it. There is a growl/meanness to its tione that I am hooked on.
2020 Standard 50s Goldtop owner. Problem with Les Pauls are that they are heavy to carry, delicate to a fault, expensive to buy, and difficult to play-Fender strats make for a very suitable guitar for beginners. Les Pauls can be desirable guitars, but it’s too much of a fight to own one as it is to play them. Sometimes I pick up my Les Paul and I win the fight and it’s a good day for a sound check. Other times I put the instrument away frustrated, wondering why I didn’t sound as good as the day before. With my strats I had a much more consistent playing experience.
The fight or flight issue; I hate that shmit¡☆! 😮
I have a 2013 Gibson Les Paul Studio. I was never a fan particularly having played a Les Paul Standard and a few copy versions but the moment I picked it up out of its case I knew it was a different beast. Much lighter, far better balanced, and has (to my ears anyway) all the tone and sound of a Standard. Beautiful guitar and my favourite of all the ones I own.
I've never had a Les Paul, but I absolutely LOVE the look. I have also realized, as I've started playing over the last year, that the guitar sounds that I love usually are on a Les Paul.
I have a '92 Gibson Les Paul that I bought new 30 years ago and recently restored. My favorite electric of all time. I love the feel, the weight and the deep sound. Yeah, the G string has always had tuning problems but after the restoration, I added a String Butler and it’s been a game changer. It rarely goes out of tune now. A good thing got better. 👍🏻
Mine was born with a buzzing g string eleven years ago, and is hanging into it come what may (truss rod adjustments, new bridge, new saddle, new nut, fret dressing, different strings - but not a wound g-string as that would be cheating). Now I just regard it as a feature…
You wouldnt believe how many people swear by their 92 LPs. I have one too, and the only one that can match it is 07 R9, from some 6 LPs I have, from early 90s to later Reissues. There really is something about the rich sound, the solid feel, the heft. It was a magic year, just before Custom Shop started - the last year the USA line got the best wood they had then. And they knew how to build them, excellent QC and cutting no corners. Great, great guitars 😍
That opening riff was amazing and every tone you got in the video was all the reasons I play a Les Paul!! It’s heavy (if you don’t get a weight released body) but it hangs and plays comfy and the on-board controls give me all the extras I need to do all the emotions I want. I throw in a boost pedal for that upper metal edge (or unboost… yes, I put a pedal at the beginning of my chain that pulled me out into a cleaner tone with more highs. It didn’t last long🤷♂️) and I don’t need to swap guitars out for different songs or parts in the studio. It’s magnificent… for me. 😉🎸🥰
SG guy here, and you can totally do that move much more easily with the Solid Guitar.
Don't see many LP neck breaks with repairs these days. It used to be quite common. I bought a couple of LP Customs with neck repairs done by pro's. Never a playing problem, but the visual and knowing it was repaired was bad. I had 3 LP's the '50's.. One was a '59 TV yellow Special. Neck was broken 3 times. One headstock, and 2 times on either side of the body-neck joint. Good repairs all of 'em. I don't know if it was the '59 neck, the guitar weight or the PU's (like on your Gold top. ) But that was one of the greatest guitars I have ever owned. Good post. Thanks.
In my opinion. Their awesome. You can literally play any style and with how good amp modeling has become you, you can achieve so many sounds for recording, from metal to country
I absolutely love my '03 LP Standard. The location of the toggle switch is perfect for being able to switch pickups. It's why it gets more playtime than my SG and Strat.
I love my Les Paul. It's a 1970s Japanese build one. I like the weight... But also it's nicely balanced. I love the sound of the neck pickup. But I also love that it has that tone unplugged too. I don't have an issue with tuning. All my guitars hold their tuning over several weeks if I use decent strings. Probably the biggest thing I like is the versatility... which make is a great compositional aid. I've had mine since 1991.
Totally underrated for clean /jazzy tones!!!
I own a gibson 60s standard and the thing i love most about it is also ironically it's biggest weak point: the weight. Because it weighs a ton you really feel like the thing you're holding is a solid peice of wood that you can abuse the shit out of, it makes me play in this extremely agressive manner that no other guitar can allow me to, at the same time, boy do i wish i had my es with me after 2 hours of that thing sitting on my lap :)
For me its all my ICONs played them, they are just cool. Tom Keifer, Slash, Joe Perry, Jimmy Page, Gary Rossington...
Paul Kossoff , Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Dickey Betts, Duane Allman, ect, ect
@@shobudski6776awesome and YES iconic!!
Late to the conversation, but my first experience to a LP was I brought one for a friend while overseas, came back and plugged it in at home, played his Fender first and then the LP - the tone and chuckiness sold me and no pedals, now own 3. Since have grown my passion for Fender and others for their uniqueness and appreciate all their positives and understand their limitations. But I naturally lean to the meatiness of an LP
My Les Paul is one of two guitars that I slaved away to acquire. It never fails to bring a smile to my face when I play it. So good
I don't own a Gibson but I have a nice Japanese Tokai replica, love the looks of them and the sound through an overdriven Marshall is bad ass.
Indeed. I have a 1975 Electra LP copy, Black Beauty, but has a bolt on neck. MUCH lighter than a real LP, put some Custom wound 59 PAF style pick-ups on it, sounds fantastic! Paid $500 for it also.
I have two Japanese Tokai LP's, one prototype, one of six made, and a custom shop Tokai LP gold top, At under 9 pounds the gold top is perfect. I also have an older 1982 Greco Randy Rhodes model Cream custom that sounds incredible....
You'd cry if you knew what I paid for mine, I bought them 20 years ago before the Japanese guitar frenzy took off. I've even talked to the luthier that made both of my Tokai's..
@@MickH60 Nice! I have a 1985 Made in Japan Strat, Cream with Maple neck. Some of the finest Strats made, right before they moved production from Japan. $500 with Hardshell case back then.
I also have a Japanese Aria LP copy, it's referred to as one of the law suit guitars it's a 76 cherry sunburst.
I have a lefty Canadian Fakai and it’s a killer guitar. Best 400$ ever spent.
I love the way it looks, it sounds, it plays, and something else I love is that I don't accidentally knock the pickup selector like I do on the fender.
I had to add, my old Les Paul I had which got stolen many years ago had this problem with tuning on D and G strings, but I was a lot younger, I didn't know how to maintain a guitar when I was a kid, and that lazy maintenance approach lasted way into my 20s with it. Then it got stolen, had to save up for another, but was never really happy and didn't find one which was right, then few years ago I got another, and because of the tuning issues these seem to have, I decided to also get a string butler, but I have never used it, because my Les Paul I waited years for has never had tuning issues, but I have also learned that guitar maintenance is very important if you want tuning stability. I set up my own guitars, and even this one, I liked how it played, liked how it looked, it felt right, but the string height I knew I was going to lower slightly.
I have a Epiphone Les Paul, that I upgraded with a roller Bridge and locking tuners. Before, It was really bad at staying in tune. But now even after a stretchy session, it remains in tune perfectly.
Actually, Robert, I have thought a lot about the different options available for Les Pauls and like guitars. You have to do your research, but sometimes you find that you've been met halfway. Gibson themselves gave us the P-94 pickup, which is a P-90 wearing a humbucker type casing. I've also seen adapters that allow the mounting of Strat-style single coils in humbucker-sized spaces. There's even one that captures the slant of Strat bridge pickups. Since there are lipstick tube pickups which can go into Strat pickup mounts, as well as Gibson humbucker-sized Filter'Tron units and Gold Foils, you can get pretty much whatever pickup you want in a humbucker-routed guitar.
Gone back to my les Paul after playing a strat for 2 months straight, feels like home. The lay out of everything is so comfortable to me
Great video. Love your KM. Love Les Pauls - my go to for live - super stable, and easy to manage. One easy mod on a Strat is to wire for 2 vol, 1 tone. Why Fender thinks two tone knobs is better has always been a mystery.
I own many different guitars, including strats, tallies, and Les Paul specials, but my favorite is my Gibson Les Paul Standard that I have refinished to look like a Custom Shop VOS '59. So it's looks and feel, coupled with killer tone makes it my favorite guitar for playing a wide genre of music, and it only weighs 9 lb, which is my heaviest guitar, but not bad for an LP.
For me, most all of my favorite groups growing up in the 70s and 80s had that classic Gibson & Les Paul sound in their music: Zeppelin, Kiss, Aerosmith, Free, Foreigner, Styx, ZZ Top, Skynyrd, 38 Special just to name a few. I love the sound you can get from a Les Paul. However, now that I can finally afford a Les Paul and I have a couple, you mentioned a few draw backs and why my Les Paul is almost never my first choice to play. First of all, they are very heavy guitars! When I play, I don't like the weight of a heavy guitar on my shoulder and if I were to play all night with a Les Paul strapped to my back, I would hate it. Second, is the tuning. I find myself constantly tuning my Les Pauls. Although, one of my LPs has the locking tuners and I do like that one better for staying in tune, but with the tilted back headstock design, it seems to always be out of tune even after a little string bending. Also, they are chunky guitars and some of the older LPs with 50s necks were like holding a baseball bat, which I never liked the feel of those older guitars in my hand. I have several Strat and Tele style guitars with humbuckers and they are the ones I usually play most of the time, but they never seem to achieve that "all-time" classic rock sound that I get from the Les Paul. So to sum up - there is only one Les Paul sound, despite all of the draw backs...that's why I choose own one!
Custom and Deluxe Telecasters have the same control layout as a Les Paul. I love my Les Paul ,but my custom Tele has the single coil in the bridge and the Fender wide range in the neck. This configuration, combined with the Les Paul style control layout, gives you a lot of tonal options.
@@RByrne I realise it doesn’t have the same sound as a Les Paul, but the seperate volume/tone for each pickup and selector switch position gives similar options, and the killswitch trick, to a Les Paul. My point was more about the similarities in control layout, for people who might prefer a Fender guitar over a Les Paul. We all know there’s no perfect guitar, otherwise we’d all only own one, and our wives would be happy 😆
Take the cover off that “wide range” and throw that humbucker in the trash.
I have always liked those wide range pickups.
I played Les Pauls for 50 years...too heavy now. Switched to the Telecaster and never looked back
I had a 73 deluxe with the 2 Seth lover wide range pickups and it sounded very much like a Les Paul.
I absolutely love my Les Paul 50s, its so easy to play and it sounds amazing. When I go from playing my ESP AX or Ibanez RG then play on my les paul its so much easier to play on. Its just a great guitar
I love the sound. It also helps that it looks totally badass. It drips with vintage rock n’ roll cool.
Years ago, I had a Luthier friend tell me the problem with tuning on a Gibson was mostly with the way the nut was cut. With all my Gibson style guitars I will have a Gibson trained Luthier set the nut on it as soon as I get it. You only need to pay to have it set once, and I have had little to no issues with tuning.
I have a good nut on my SG and 0 tuning issues. Had a good setup done on it.
I put a String Butler on mine and now it stays in tune. It's rare that I have to adjust it and it used to go out of tune just sitting in its case. 👍🏻
@Rock Show Yeah, I saw it on a video last year and looked into it. I decided to try it and it works great. I've had my LP for 30 years and that was the last thing I needed to do after I restored it. I thought I'd try it before messing with the nut. Those tuners sound interesting but I ended up going with the Kluson locking tuners. I wanted an upgrade there but with the keystones to keep some of that original look. Like them alot too. 👍🏻
That's all about it. Is all about the nut and the correct way of string the guitar. Through all these years some blabbermouth have been blaming the actual guitar. Learn how to check the nut before you buy and if you know is not good but you really want that particular Les Paul just get it and get the nut changed by someone who knows how to do it right.
the problem is in the design, theres several fixes, but not being straight string pull was the issue from the start
Some things I like about the Les Paul are; the scale length, the neck radius, Gibsons pick up design, the bridge, and the set neck. also, every guitar is a lacquer finish.
I wish I could play a 12 inch radius. I just got into chordal/ melodic guitar where you just sort of play flow of consciousness and try to train my hands to be in sync with what I hear, bending and teasing a tonic but making it a surprise by landing on a mix- tonic is all I can call it by sliding up or down to make it a hammer on or pull of harmonic phrase like human voice vibrato with a incoming breath effect. It’s impossible to describe. But you feel it like catching your breath after singing.
Love mine. I have Strat, Tele, 335 clone and a jazz box. My '54 reissue goldtop (p90s and wraptail) is versatile and comfortable to me. The shorter scale and wrap tail makes bends with 11s super easy. Tone is clean bell like to dirty and nasty with a turn of the volume pots.
I started off with a strat. Had it for a long time. Got a les paul cheap from a friend and have been hooked since I picked it up. I have 3 different les pauls now. Love how they feel and sound. The heavy weight just adds to the goodness.
Love my Les Paul, but I also love my other guitars too. It all depends on what kind of sound you are looking for at the moment. I always feared that the head stock would snap, but so far, it never has;-)
To me the LP sounds amazing and I’m a sucker for the craftsmanship and artistry that goes into each one. They make me want to play. I build my own tele’s and they are easy to create. No reason to pay Fenders crazy prices for them. But a LP… there’s a lot involved there and I just love them.
Are you really talkin shit about Fender prices where current Gibsons give you a worse quality/price deal?
@@rmv9194 well if you want to compare what goes into making a tele vs a LP, then yes. A Tele is pretty simple to make. I’ve built several. Including a neck from scratch. And I don’t see the justification in Fenders prices. I’m not saying Gibsons are inexpensive at all. But they are much more complicated to create. And I don’t think there’s currently any problems with their quality. I do think people just go looking for problems with them. And none of them are truly “outrageous”.
My number one guitar is a Les Paul special in tv yellow. My dream guitar is a 54 gold top. I love the p90’s, the wraparound bridge (simple, one chunk of metal, no saddles, screws, springs, etc.) and I love the 4-knob control layout especially the blending abilities in the middle position.
I have Fenders, Epiphone, Martin, and Gibson! My favorite and constant player is my Les Paul, I dearly love it! The clean, clear sound, the controls out of the way, the shorter scale, etc., You just can't beat it, love it!!!!!!!
I've been playing Les Pauls pretty much exclusively for the last 45 years, the thing with the Les Paul is you have to go play a ton of them to find the "right" one, my current crop are all under 9 lbs and just scream. I find them very comfortable to play and it is an integral part of the sound that I am used to working with. As for deciding if it is for you or not, listen to the tones and see if it gets into what you hear in your head. I started playing in the 70s so we had Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley, Paul Kossoff, etc that were playing them so that is the tone I hear.
I hear Steve Jones on the "Never Mind" album
Jimmy Page used a lot the telecaster for recording too
I love the feel, playability and tone of Les Pauls. My main go to guitar but, the one thing I hate is the upper fret access. I've had to get an SG to play certain things right up at the dusty end!
The dusty end, haha!
I’d get a explorer .
There are plenty of options for pickup swaps on a double humbucker routed Paul. My '92 Les Paul Classic had those insane hot ceramic pickups (500T and 496R), which I loved for the metal sound, but after 20 years, felt like a change. Had a blast with a Lollar P90 for the bridge and Charlie Christian for the neck, both in a humbucker form-factor so just drop in and wire up. Currently have Fralin Pure PAFs, with 50s wiring (another easy mod), for a vintage burst tone. Best sounding guitar I've ever laid hands on.
I love my 2018 HP2. Huge amount of tonal choice with the coil splitting/tapping, out of phase and inner outer coils choice... All of that and the carved heel and a gorgeous neck/fretboard too. It really works for me and I don't give a monkey's what anyone else thinks about it!
Actually, a Les Paul also has a wonderful clean tone; it's a great jazz guitar (especially with P90s). I string mine with .012 flatwounds.
I leave the covers on the pickups and drop them almost flush with the tops of the mounting rings. The T-tops are clear and bright.
It was designed for a jazz player, so it should be.
I've always loved the more angular guitars like the V and Explorer, and thought the Les Paul was just kinda "vanilla" looking. After years of playing, I finally decided to give the Les Paul a try. Dang, have I been missing out! I have two Les Pauls now, and absolutely love the sound. There really is just something about the Les Paul. I'm still not crazy about how it looks, but I play it for the amazing sound.
Play for sound 🤘
But vanilla is the best
@@Ottophil Yeah, unless your a chocolate fan..... or Rocky Road..... or Mint Chocolate.... or.... :D
I agree 100%
I have the exact same feeling towards telecasters. I've avoided them for the longest time because... god, they're hideous! Even the dressier versions of them just can't pull off a nice look to save their strings... But, boy, aren't they fun to play and they have such a unique sound. I have one borrowed, because I just can't make myself buy one, and it has been easily the most played guitar in my current arsenal for months now.
My first "real" guitar was a Les Paul, because I was and continue to be a Led Zeppelin kid...at 60 yrs old. So I love them.
I have 2 LP style guitars, a PRS S2 singlecut and a PRS SE McCarty 594 and love them both. I like the range of tone from sweet to raging. Everyone thinks of the heavy distorted sound of a LP style guitar but they sound great clean to slight breakup too. I also like the shorter scale for stretches and bends. The body shape fits well for playing while sitting. I love the look of a singlecut guitar but I like them better without the pick guard and without the poker chip.
I've bought/sold several Gibson LPs since the 80's. Model to model, the neck profiles vary dramatically from slim to baseball bat. Quality can vary depending on the year and just the specific guitar. But with some testing, it's hard to imagine that there's not a LP for every guitar player. From the classic humbuckers and P90s to the minis on a Deluxe, there's a sound for virtually every style of music. They're a little heavy compared to a tele/strat or a shedder guitar, but it's not really an issue. They can get a little tight when playing on the high end of the neck, but it's a surmountable issue.
Well said about the necks!! I had a LP classic with slim 60s style neck. It was probably the best neck I ever had in any guitar !! Perfect C shaped with just enough to grab onto but not fat enough to get in the way!! And of course LP s fret work comes second to none . I felt I could really make a go of it with that guitar!! Bullion gold top LP classic just like Slash played!!
I love the tone in the hands of some of my "idols". I grew-up and learned guitar in the era of master Les Paul players like Page, Trower (what a tone!), Martin Barre, Beck (who used a Les Paul then), Leslie West, Mike Bloomfield, Frampton, etc. It is the tone of my youth... I now switch between a Strat and a Les Paul style guitar. Best of both worlds. Love them both.
Has Trower not always used a Strat ?
Fully agree on looks being the first thing.
I started on a LP copy and still the scale length feels like home.
Pickup wise you can swap from humbucker to p94
Having only 2 pickups is reason to buy another LP.
There are even conversionsrings so a single coil will fit.
Lots of options for tinkering.
Nothing sound better that a properly set up Les Paul. I love a full sound that kicks down the door and the smoothness of silk. Throw on some P-90s and you have a machine that can do anything.
I love that Les Pauls have a set neck and carved top. It really feels like quality. I started out playing a Strat and it was all I had for years and I still love them but I was always chasing that fat hairy LP tone until I got one. I’ve been fortunate to be able to have many different types of guitars over time but I always reach for my Les Paul when I want to jam it just has magic for me.
I'm still torn between my strat and LP, they're both a "horses for courses " guitar... I prefer the strat for expression more than the LP, but the strat doesn't come near the gorgeously fat tone of the LP... I suppose it's a matter of taste, but I agree with you when it comes to just jamming :)
I totally agree on the volumes bud, I don't get, master vol master tone, I can handle the master tone but a twin humbucker you need the 2 volumes! and to me a strat would be so much better with 2 volumes and a master tone the neck and middle vol, the second the bridge vol?
Fat and hairy? Lmao 😂
Fantastic! I am a Les Paul Junky!
The Les Paul is like; “magnetic north” for me. I am always drawn to her. I play a spectrum of different Gibson’s, along with Fender, Ric, PRS, etc… such as yourself, Robert, but it’s the Les Paul that has always and will remain my Go to and sweet spot.
Amazing playing, tone, humbleness and fun by YOU, as always! ⭐️⭐️ 🎸 ⭐️⭐️🙏
I completely agree with you.
Absolutely fabulous sounding Les Pauls on the open jam. LP is my go-to guitar, but I would never be without my Strat - you need both.
Yeah, I've also heard all of those horror stories about headstock breaks, and while they do certainly happen, I guess I just haven't ever left my Les Pauls anywhere they'd been in danger of this happening. I always keep them in their cases or on the stand I use at gigs which holds 7 guitars and has a strap across the front at the headstock keeping them in place (I also like to keep an empty guitar space between them, it just makes ME feel better) But no, they are well played, well worn, well cared for and loved and haven't ever fallen back and been broken. I do the same thing as you do for tuning stability Robert, and I file the nut right where the string would catch, just get that hard edge gone, some graphite and no tuning issues any more than any of my other guitars, and they've all been gigged quite a lot over the last 30 years. But I most certainly LOVE the weight of a good heavy Les Paul, absolutely love it, Gibson can keep all those chambered and weight relieved things, no thanks. My '82 Les Paul Custom weighs in at 11.5 pounds and I can't get enough of it. My other two LP's (1971 Goldtop Dlx and a 1977 Standard) both weigh in at 10 pounds, but I had swapped out the control cavity covers for solid brass years ago (I still have the original parts) When I did it, I just thought they looked cool, but realizing the added weight over the years made me love it all that much more. I agree with all the pickup selections, and tricks you can do, it seems quite endless sometimes. Can you tell that I love Les Pauls, is it obvious? ☺
Good catch on scale length, people tend to underestimate how big of a change this is compared to a Fender-type guitar. I personally find the Gibson scale much more comfortable and easier to play, and never dug my telly for that reason: i feel these are huge, difference being especially notable on the high frets. Not saying one is better, but you gotta try it to know what fits you best.
I've always played heavier strings on my LPs but 10s on the Tele keeps me going back for more. They're both really balanced like that.
Isn't vintage style tele also shorter scale?
@@MrFacile85 I was wondering the same thing.... I have 2 custom made Teles...one short scale and the other 25.5" and both with really chunky C-shaped necks and 43mm wide at the nut vs. the narrower Fender standard 42mm. Maybe it is the material I play but my I find my LPs and both Teles far more comfortable than any of my 5 Strats( and they have various widths and radius).
Agreed totally. I use .009s on my LPs. I like Jimmy Page and his one string bends which can be a step and a half or even a double step bend. I find the LP to be best for me and the kind of music I play.
I’d play my Les Paul Special more if the neck was thicker. I shattered my left shoulder, fretting hand and the nerves bundle up and make my hand go numb. I even put.008s on it. I think it’s worse than the.009s on my ball bat U neck Tele.
I think that Gibson had it right in the 50's in introducing the Junior. There's not much that a Junior can't do and most importantly it gets you aware of tonal possibilities by using just one volume and tone control. The LP Standard is a superb guitar but the volume and tone layouts are more challenging. I love my Junior and prefer my PRS DGT to my LP Standard. The DGT feels great and is much more versatile without the weight.
I absolutely agree with your point about becoming aware of your volume and tone knob. I played a Les Paul and strat for years while hardly ever touching the knobs. Picked up a tele just over a year ago and it made me a better player. I became aware of those knobs because it doesn’t leave you much of a choice. I now use the knobs on all of my guitars and even wired my strat bridge pickup through the tone knob because I realized the potential of it. I don’t think it’s too far fetched to say that an LP junior is a sort of Gibson tele in that respect.
@@canadiandream12 100%.
I love my Les Paul for all the reasons you mentioned. Thanks for this well covered topic.
Started, as many do, with a Squire Strat. Black and white. Father surprised me with a black/gold hardware Gibson Studio Les Paul a couple years later and I have been in love with LPs ever since. As a Hetfield fan, I do LOVE the V and Explorer shapes. Only had a Hamer Explorer for a short time.
I've definitely noticed that some of the ideas I'd developed on the LP copy I'd owned many years ago are quite a bit more difficult to play on Fender-scale guitars! And that theory of shorter scale => heavier strings has also been valid for myself 🙂
I also learned to play on a Les Paul copy and although I love Fender Stratocasters I find that the position of the volume control on a Strat hinders my picking hand.
@@TheHumbuckerboy - Yeah, I had the exact same issue with the only US-made Fender Strat I've ever owned - but surprisingly not with any of the Strat _copies_ I've had throughout my life! But I'm actually more into Telecasters than Strats and the 'Deluxe' with its two wide-range humbuckers in particular; Strats usuallyhave a whammy bar, and unfortunately Teles don't, though! 😄
@@mightyV444 I have always liked the tone of those wide-range humbuckers
Considering your username,@@TheHumbuckerboy, I'm not surprised in the slightest! 😄😉
@@mightyV444 lol
It’s iconic for a reason
Love the sound, ultra versatile!
Les Paul into a cranked amp is the sound of rock and roll.
Gitar Boi you are right on the money.
So you don't like Jimi Hendrix? Ritchie Blackmore? Carlos Santana? Angus Young?
Blanket statements are foolish.
@@teemusid He never said he didn't like them but try saying rock n roll and not thinking of a Les Paul through a dimed amp.
One thing I really like is that with the shorter scale length, combined with .009 or .010 gauge strings tuned 1/2 step down, you can REALLY shake the heck out of the notes with left hand vibrato! 🤘
Just got my first Les Paul, I’ve always been an explorer guy but always loves the fuller sound of a Les Paul. Never thought I would like it this much
I love the LP sound, unfortunately they never feel right on me, it’s like holding a piece of furniture. Despite the scale, I always struggle a bit on the high end too because they’re pretty chunky around the heel and I have smallish hands. I find an SG style guitar more accessible. I also own a fender GT HH which has the same kind of tone and that rips.
More recent Les Pauls have a carved heel, some models call it the “axcess” heel (there’s also an Axcess model, but those are thinner and sometimes have Floyd Rose systems (Alex Lifeson from Rush plays one)
Check the LP juniors, great tone but they feel simpler to handle. I love my '58 doublecut reissue.
IMO-tone is manufactured from strings, pickups and other components and the material and shape of the neck to a lesser degree. BUT it sure does strange when the tone or even type of music comes out of certain guitars manufacturers and shapes. No one would expect or want to hear jazz or Stray Cat Strut from a Flying V when it should come from. Gretsch or Fender jazzmaster
Yup the SG is versatile that you can bassically do anything w/ her. Best shape reminds me of a StingRay vette'
a former bandmate shares these exact sentiments. he's an SG guy also. he takes it a step further, though, and will only buy 2013 SGs. he's had three since I've known him
It's the look for me. I've loved them ever since I saw Song Remains the Same.
I ALSO like the wide, flat fretboard.
I can't speak to tone, because I haven't owned one, but I do like my Dot-335's sound for some things, very much.
You covered almost all my favorite and not stuff. The reliability is why it comes to the studio. Don't like the weight or upper fret access, and use my custom built for volume swells, whammy work, and coil splitting. The Paul is the best rhythm guitar I've played. As you mentioned the knobs are out of the way, and the crunch is so controllable from the volume knobs.
I picked up a Epi standard pro and I was pretty impressed with the coil tapping feature. With the P 90 option I get solid Queen and vintage KINGS X tones as well as full on humbucker fury
I have never played a guitar that feels right outside of a Les Paul. The 50s neck is where it’s at (imo). To me, Les Pauls are in their own category. There’s Les Paul, and then everything else. The feel. The sound. The history. The Merica.
Try getting good at playing different types of guitars! I used to find Strats really uncomfortable but now I have one, I probably prefer it to my shred machine... but that's because the Strat makes me play a different style! So I think being good with different types of guitars will only fuel your creativity :)
Fookin A!
Your playing has gotten so much better over the years! You've really expanded your playing , and it's pretty phenomenal I must say!
Edit: I've got an Epi Les Paul Classic, and it says in tune phenomenally! I make sure I use graphite for the nut slots, and I wonder my strings from the bottom up as well. I can abuse it and play really hard, and it still holds tune. The frets on the other hand......
24 years old and finally bought a sunburst and was so proud of it. Got it home and played it and played it and I just never connected and sold it. Fast forward 33 years and bout a bourbon burst and dayum I love this guitar. Maybe age, maybe maturity in my playing maybe a different sound in my head? Who knows but I love it.
Learn so much in just 3 minutes about LP like no other videos i've seen. Thank you
The volume, tone, pickup selector make a Les Paul one of the most dynamic instruments out there. Light, jazzy, vintage all the way to deadly!
Do you know if you can do that with an SG?
@@orlandoramirez1345 Good question! The SG is wired very much the same as the Les Paul so you can use the volume and tone knobs to get a huge range of tones and dynamics.
Pros: looks, tone
Cons: weight, ergonomics, tuning issues if the nut isn't cut properly.
The 61 Les Paul (SG) remedied the weight and ergonomics, that is why I prefer SGs. They are much lighter and comfy with only a little sacrifice in tone.
I was a teen who loved Slash and his image really got me to start playing. Obviously, I thought I had to have a Les Paul style guitar so I saved my lunch allowance to get one (and I did but it was an odd brand Cleca for a few hundred bucks). That guitar gave me passion to play and importantly it was easy as hell to change the strings (very important for beginners or just people who do not like getting into complicated hardware). Ever since then the Les Paul is just the style of guitar that makes me feel comfortable playing. I've tried FR super strats, not necessarily amazing ones, but I think I will simply always experience separation anxiety from the style that made me love to play.
Great intro man! Been watching you since you were a pup in that tiny bedroom lol. My how you have matured! The biggest drawback for me is the weak headstock and the tuning issues. That being said, as we see many longtime rockers get into their 50s and 60s…they lay down the pointy stuff and migrate back the iconic Lester Paulfus!
I don’t have tuning issues with my Les Paul either.
It is heavier than my other guitars,but that doesn’t bother me.
I have both Gibson and Epiphone. They are great!
I don’t have tuning issues at all. I pulled out my LP after at least two weeks of not playing it, and it was still in tune. I had an ‘81 custom that didn’t have any issues either.
I agree. I have a LP Custom and have never had tuning issues. Maybe just lucky idk
Totally agree, I’ve got a 2013 LP Traditional, had it from new, never get tuning issues. I can leave it in its case for weeks and it’s still in tune.
@@DanIvyOffical I have a suspicion that the people who complain about Gibson and Les Paul’s in particular have never owned one. They also complain about prices, which if you can work out a budget and save some money you can have one in no time. Once you start collecting gear, it easy to trade and sell to get your next “must have” item. I’m a lowly blue collar carpenter and have lots of high end toys.
Got an epi les paul modern 2 months ago and its a ton of fun to play with, holds tune solidly, has been great to learn on, mine has weight relief and its not terribly heavy. Chords sound thick and chunky, shes mint.
I love that intro song. It’s not overly complicated, but it totally blows me away. It just got such a cool grove that fits my listening style.
"Different [gauge] strings have different tones to 'em."
NO they do not. Complete myth that has been proven totally untrue many times. Heavier gauge strings just sound louder unplugged, that's it. As soon as you're going through an amplifier, the string gauge does nothing whatsoever to the tone, it only affects the ease of bending, that's all. It's purely a personal feel choice, they will not change your tone. Tone comes from amps, pickups and effects. Everything else is a choice of aesthetic and player's feel.
Rick Beato .. thought same thing until he did his own "test" a few months ago. There were differences for the "tone chaser" player. Would it be enough tonal change for the average person to hear without a trained ear? I agree with you, once you start Amping and boxing sound, well... once amped many factors are involved sound. With an electric guitar, its the electronics to most degrees. PRS just said - "I don't get these players buying an electric guitar without playing through an amp!" The myth of tonal qualities in the wood only without plugging in is non-sense.
I've owned and played many Les Pauls from gibson and varies other brands, to this day my favorite is the 1961 les paul variety. But of coarse that's actually an sg.
I wired my strat to have 2 volume knobs. One controls neck and middle, the other controls the bridge. My favorite thing about the Les Paul is the control layout. I feel like a telecaster with the Les Paul layout is almost a perfect guitar for me. I really like Les pauls but they feel too fancy for me. So I go for the tele-gib guitar, which is basically a John5 tele but with different colors and a rounder fretboard radius. Two humbuckers that can be split, two volumes, one tone, 3 way selector at the top, mahogany body with a rosewood top, rosewood neck and fretboard, 9.something radius.
I thought I could deal with the poor fret access of a Les Paul until I got my hands on my new PRS. It's crazy that I can reach the 24th fret even easier than I could reach the 20th fret on a Les Paul
There’s no money up there, mate
I bought a PRS shape guitar (24 frets as well) for exactly that reason!! I've got smallish hands and wear guitars fairly low so upper neck access is an issue on the Les Paul. Worth it though.
@@geetarbube the les paul is a guitar designed in the 1950s and gibsons player base doesnt want it to "evolve". they want it just as it was in 59. there are 100s of boutique builders building ergonomic guitars that use better materials, more involved in the build with much better QA for the same price if not cheaper than an LP studio.
@@kiyanharchegani2588 more involved in the build? Have you watched the Gibson TV build series here on TH-cam? The Les Paul doesn’t need to evolve. You don’t remaster Van Halen or Metallica and make them pop because that’s what the kids of today want to dance to. They’re just perfect the way they are. The Les Paul has been around 70 years and is still pulling 250k and up for their early year guitars.
@Far Stox bolt on necks and neck diving guitars that force your strumming hand forward into a weird position. No thanks
Who is the Les Paul for? People sitting down.
I primarily play Strats, and just recently bought a Les Paul Standard. The one thing they have in common to me? I don’t play either of them sitting down.
Just ordered a Gibson 60s with p90s so excited to play my dream guitar since I was a teenager
I haven’t played many, but I loved the ease of play with the shorter scale. However, I’m into more of a single coil sound and semi hollow sound. I’d love some other P90 Gibsons first. But the Paul is always there… maybe it’s just a matter of time.. or maybe it’s stumbling upon a P90 goldtop. But ideally, I’d go for a DC Special first… or a 330 or even a 335., 125 etc. Gibson just has too many great guitars that I wish I had already!!
I like my Les Pauls for metal and heavy distorted rock and roll. It’s all about the tone for me. If I could get that tone out of a super strat, I’d never play a Les Paul. But I can’t, so I deal with the heavy weight, questionable tuning, clunky body and poor fret access.
i played one for 15 years i had a 1979 standard i just play it i never thought about how heavy it was or any other concerns with it i was just happy to own one in mid 80s
One of my first guitars was a Washburn Falcon. 35 yrs later. I have yet to own a single coil guitar. I now play an LTD EC(full thickness). My likes are 3way toggle, HH pickups, carved top, set-thru neck joint, and the weight.
I bought a '75 LP Standard in 1990. It had a furniture-grade mahogany body and a maple neck, from one of Gibson's sad eras. It also had aftermarket DiMarzio super distortion pickups that probably sounded ok for leads with a dimed icepick Marshall, but muddy on my rig. But the neck, fretboard, and setup was quite good. Replaced the Dimarzio's with (real) Bill Lawrence coil split HB's and rewired the controls to 50's style so the volume and tone controls are more useful. The single coil sounds made me fall in love with it and made it a great gigging guitar.