Les Paul fans?

parchy

I've been playing bass for a really long time, and I've always been intreagued by guitar, and I've been learning and picking up the little things for about the past 5 years, and over that time I've unintentionally become a pretty good guitarist. I've been playing a Taylor 410ce acoustic for pretty much my whole guitar career, so I've never owned an electric, but I know plenty about em through the guitarist in my band (who plays a special edition Strat).... he hates Telecasters, but that's beside the point...


The music we play is more Ben Harper meets Dave Matthews-esque, so he never even thought about buying a heavier guitar like a Les Paul (or Gibsons at all for that matter)....


So my question is, since I am more on the heavier side with my musical tastes, do Les Pauls 'really' convey a heavier feel? I mean, I know they are physically heavier, but do they have better natural resonance or do they have natural distortion? Why is this a sought after rock guitar?


Anywho, I'm looking at buying a Les Paul and I'm wondering if you think it's one of the better "rock" guitars out there on the market today...

low_light

i just remember my old 79 les paul i had. it would sustain for ever and i liked the versitle switches and tone adjustments on the pickups.

i will purchase a les paul next. i use a cheap Mexican Strat for now to get me by.

-low

exhausted

i have a les paul custom. it is a rock. and yes, it will sustain brilliantly.

i don't use mine much b/c the tone doesn't suit lone guitar strumming (for me anyway) but i use it for solos a lot.

it's in a different class than what fender puts out. thus, the huge price difference.

Pacomc79

Try out an SG first. It's lighter and will give you great sustain. Good for the BH type stuff. I own an 87 LP Studio and I love the ebony fretboard and with no binding to me it makes the neck more comfy, but it is heavy. Not a heavier tone really just meatier more mids, less highs more bass. Try out a SG and maybe even a 335 first, I think you'll like the natural ring.

strandway

i've got a les paul standard, amazing guitar...for your heavy stuff, open up the tone and use the guitar's versatility as previously mentioned.

mccreadyisgod

There is a definite difference in the 'weight' of the tone. A Les Paul will traditionally have humbucking pickups, and humbuckers have more output, along with more bass and less treble response compared to a Fender. The higher output becomes especially important when you talk about distortion; higher output drives distortion curcuitry harder, getting more distortion and higher sustain. The wood used also helps sustain.

It's important to note that you can get twangier tones out of an LP. The treble (bridge) pickup is less bassy and more trebley, and has (slightly) less output. Dial in a good clean tone with that, and play around with the EQ on the amp, and you'll have a good twangy tone. In my opinion, the rhythm (neck) pickup has the best clean tones. It's a lot warmer than any Strat ever thought of being, and a hell of a lot more full.

The SG's and 335's are great choices as well. I also like the Gibson 333's. You can get jazzy cleans and excellent distortion or overdrive, and they have a tone and feel that is truly unique. Epiphone Casino's are in this category as well, and are very well-built. Jeff Tweedy and Pete Yorn both play Casino's.