Sound Comparison - Does weight matter?

stickyfiddle

No idea which is which but I liked the middle one best. Brighter than 1 but not quite as loud as 3. 

But that could be a combination of pickup height and exact windings as anything else.

gordiji

I prefered middle, as stickyfiddle says it's brighter. The lead clips left them the most indistinguishable. The third was louder. The clean sound showed the first to be duller. How much is down to attack of strumming hand is difficult to say.

I'd go for 1)2014 R8  2) 2017 R9 3) 2017 R8 based on heaviest=dullest knowing this is a dodgy metric.

Which one do i win if i guessed right ?

terada

Final call for any comments/thoughts. Results to be given soon!

Philly_Q

OK, I might as well say - I thought the same as ICBM, 7.9, 8.75, 9.

They all sound different and the differences are consistent through the three clips.  The first guitar sounds thinner, less sustain, the third is loudest and seems to have a bit more bass (if it is the 2014 R8, the bigger neck might be contributing...?).  I think the middle one sounds best, but maybe only because it doesn't seem to have "too much" or "too little" of anything.

Personally, I'd hope the lightest one would sound the best because I like light guitars, but I suspect that's not the case.

Jetfire

The last two were my preference, may the third edged it slightly. 

Paul_C

Does it matter ? No.

Does it make a difference ? Probably.

Does that matter ? Not really.

terada

Apologies for the delay - the results are in!

The first played in each clip was the R9 at 7.9lbs

The second played in each clip was the 2014 R8 at 9lbs

The third played in each clip was the 2017 R8 at 8.75lbs

Through a sound clip on the web, I didn't expect anyone to spot the heavier two from the lighter one, but clearly ICBM knows his stuff (like we didn't know that already  ). I agree when you're getting to a quarter of a pound there are so many other variables that it becomes an exercise of fun rather than science.

In the room, what I hear is as follows:

R9: Slightly more mellow, really lovely for clean chordal work as seems to have an acoustic-like depth.
R8 2014: Superb all around, very balanced. Nice and bitey but with plenty of warmth too.
R8 2017: Flippin loud, definitely the most sustain. Sounds ridiculous overdriven. Fantastic for rocking out with.

Also, pickup heights are pretty much the same on all guitars.

terada

And what you can't hear, in feel they are very different:

R9: Super low action right across the board, the R9 neck profile is superb and this combo is great for complicated chords right up the neck. It just plays excellently. 
R8 2014: Again great set up on this one, but the neck is much thicker. Over the years I've found myself less precise with quickly changing awkward chords.
R8 2017: I've set this one up with a slightly higher action for the type of lead I play where I can dig in a bit more, and have more control over bends.

WezV

I think neck stiffness makes more difference than body  weight, obviously related factors in some guitars though...   There  are clearly a lot more differences in these nearly identical guitars than weight alone.   


And that's the rub, it's too difficult to isolate one factor and pretty much meaningless once you have... Certainly from a players perspective at least 

Philly_Q

Chiz.  The heaviest one sounds the best.

Although looking on the bright side, the one with the thickest neck sounds the best...

TimmyO

You're not hearing ounces you're hearing different guitars 

TINMAN82

TimmyO said:

You're not hearing ounces you're hearing different guitars 

I’m kind of inclined to think the more mid focused tone of the middle one had something to do with it being the heaviest (as I predicted), at least vs the ridiculously light R9. 

fretfinder

terada said: In the room, what I hear is as follows:

R9: Slightly more mellow, really lovely for clean chordal work as seems to have an acoustic-like depth.
R8 2014: Superb all around, very balanced. Nice and bitey but with plenty of warmth too.
R8 2017: Flippin loud, definitely the most sustain. Sounds ridiculous overdriven. Fantastic for rocking out with.

Also, pickup heights are pretty much the same on all guitars.

Quite interesting, but what neither you nor we will ever know, is how much of those differences is down to the weight, if any. Personally I always prefer a lighter Les Paul but think the difference in sound comes more from the pickups, hardware and amp. But I can’t prove that either!