Light Guitars

thegummy

I almost never play my Custom 24 these days but had a quick shot and loved how light it is - it feels significantly lighter than any of my other electrics and I liked that.

Firstly, what makes it so light? It's slightly thinner at the body and neck than the other guitars but not massively so. Is it the case that different pieces of wood of the same type can vary that drastically to the point you could pick up 2 guitars of the same model and one be much heavier than the other? If so, I take it it's possible to get a Strat (for example) the same weight as my Custom 24? Maybe even possible that, despite its bigger mass, a particularly light example of a Les Paul could be lighter than an average Strat?

Another question - have you ever found a guitar to actually be too light to the point that it negatively affected it in other ways?

Voxman

My PRS Cu24 is a nice weight but I think my lightest guitar is probably my Gibson SG Standard.

guitarfishbay

Yes weights can vary wildly between instruments with the same spec. As in Les Pauls can vary by up to 3-4lb if not more.

I don’t think it’s as simple as lightweight vs heavy, I think density and rigidity are factors.

Schnozz

I have a chambered Seventy Seven Les Paul (7.5lbs), which I picked up after selling a Yamaha SG (9.3lbs) and although I can't hear the difference, I can certainly feel it. My PRS SC58 was nothing like a Les Paul in terms of tone, but I guess it was both thinner and lighter.

I played a ESP PC2V (11lbs) for years and didn't notice until I joined a Guitar Forum and then it suddenly became too heavy for me...I really miss it and in hindsight, it just distributed its weight far better than a Les Paul or Tele etc.

Philly_Q

It's the wood.  We need someone like @WezV for a real expert opinion, but mahogany, in particular, can vary a lot in weight and density (plus "mahogany" is used to describe quite a wide range of different timbers, I believe).

PRS, broadly speaking, seem to select their timber a bit more carefully than Gibson and their mahogany-based guitars tend to be on the lighter side.  But you could easily pick up two identical McCartys or Custom 22s and get a 1.0 to 1.5lb variation in weight.

It's rare to find a solid-bodied Les Paul weighing less than 8lbs (as shown on the recent R8/R9 threads) and it's pretty rare to find a Strat (1970s excepted) weighing much more than 8lbs.

Philly_Q

thegummy said:

Another question - have you ever found a guitar to actually be too light to the point that it negatively affected it in other ways?

I like light guitars.  To the extent that people who favour Les Paul Customs will start rolling their eyes and tutting and saying things like "man up"...

For me, 7 to 7.5lbs is the "best" weight.  8lbs is pretty much my upper limit, which is one reason I generally avoid the temptation of Les Pauls.  I always ask dealers how much guitars weigh (nice to see a lot of them now putting "weight pics" on their sites).

I know heavy, 9 to 11 or 12lbs guitars can sound great, but I'm just not comfortable with them.  My Les Paul - my R8 - is a chambered one and it weighs 7lbs.  I think it does sound different from a solidbody, certainly acoustically - there's something a little dull and thuddy about the tone - but it's much more enjoyable to pick up something which doesn't feel like an anchor.

I do think guitars can be too light, though.  I once had a 6lb Edwards Flying V which was really lively and resonant - like a big tuning fork - but somehow it lacked sustain when amplified.  It was like the strings' energy got dissipated making all that lightweight wood vibrate.  And I've got a PRS Mira X which is ridiculously light - barely 5lbs - which sounds fine but it hangs really badly on a strap because the body's almost weightless.

Strangefan

I'm one of the few who's lucky enough to not be bothered about the weight of a guitar  however being 38 means it's only a matter of time it will start to be a issue

robgilmo

Doesn't bother me either, I can do both, but I would rather too heavy than too light, I would rather feel the weight than feel the lightness. I like big, chunky, solid guitars than the feeling of balsa wood.

stickyfiddle

I like light guitars. I have an SG, CS-336 and ES-330 which are all under 7lbs, but they're all lightweight designs, so that's no issue. 

TINMAN82

IMHO too much can be made of this topic. That said I’m a hypocrite as I’ve weighed all my guitars and asked for my recently purchased 335 to be weighed in the shop. 

As a general rule, I think over 9lbs is getting a bit heavy to be comfortable on the shoulder for prolonged periods. My R8 is 9.0 lbs and that’s about the heaviest I’d want. 

It does depend on the model though. I wouldn’t be happy with a 9lb strat or tele as, being such an outlier for the model, it implies the wood is overly dense.

My 2017 American vintage tele is 6lbs 13 but that model, incl the newer original series, can get to over 8lbs. The difference between mine and an 8 pound tele is probably only significant on a guitar forum!

guitars4you

Philly_Q said:

It's the wood.  We need someone like @WezV for a real expert opinion, but mahogany, in particular, can vary a lot in weight and density (plus "mahogany" is used to describe quite a wide range of different timbers, I believe).

PRS, broadly speaking, seem to select their timber a bit more carefully than Gibson and their mahogany-based guitars tend to be on the lighter side.  But you could easily pick up two identical McCartys or Custom 22s and get a 1.0 to 1.5lb variation in weight.

correct on selection regarding PRS - thinner body than a Les Paul - Plus quite a bit of routing for the trem cavity and control cavity as well - Don't see to many Custom 22/24's above 8lbs  - Some but not a shed load

dindude

I’ve found for me the correct answer is between 7lbs and 8lbs in almost all cases. 

I’ll allow Jags/JM’s to creep up to 8.5lbs, and I’ll allow Les Paul’s to creep up to 12 lbs as I just don’t use them!

Every guitar I’ve had below 7lbs has been horrible, but that’s probably coincidence, but the tuning fork comparison is a good one.

And finally, two guitars of identical weights can feel different, I have two Strats that are identical in weight but one definitely feels heavier to me, I’ve no idea why, must be the balance somehow.

DrBob

It does make a difference to me which is surprising as when viewed as a percentage of my not inconsiderable bulk an additional 2-3lbs is barely anything at all !

impmann

It makes a big difference to me.

It may not to others.

End of.

Danielsguitars

With solid body les pauls I've found between 8.5 and 9lb is best to my ears although i did a semi chambered one which is 7.8lb, it sounds slightly different but no better or worse

I think too light is definitely a thing for me although I'm doing a pine tele with poopot and it weights 6.2lb with a bigsby, it's going to be good fun and i just did a spanish cedar dc junior which will be under 7lb and i like it alot

It's all personal preferences, i know a 9lb les paul is going to be felt after a few hours, I'm getting old now but love the sound