How much does a Les Paul weigh?

thumpingrug

I ask because I am currently listening to Roger Daltrey's autobiography as an audiobook while driving to work.  This morning he was going on about being lamped one by Pete Townsend with a 24lb Les Paul.  This would be in approx 1974 ish.   This seems a bit on the heavy side to me but I haven't got a 1970's Les Paul at hand to weigh.  Can anyone tell me if this is true or Daltrey stretching the truth a bit.

sweepy

Lol I think the Coke addled his brain 

thumpingrug

Having read Townsend's book a couple fo years ago, the differing perspectives on what happened are like they were in different bands.

Kittyfrisk

He wouldn't have survived a blow like that from a 24 lb Tele as the neck wouldn't have broken

Whitecat

The heaviest one I have ever personally seen was around 14lbs. 24 is nuts - can’t imagine that’s physically possible. 

ICBM

24lb is a joke. The heaviest I’ve ever come across was a late-70s burgundy Les Paul Deluxe that weighed about 14lb - just astoundingly heavy, like it was made from uranium or something, and incredibly uncomfortable to play even sitting down - the dead weight on my leg was like it had its own gravity that was sucking in everything around it. I would find it hard to believe there’s ever been a heavier one.

Kittyfrisk

^  Probably still had a roadie clinging on for dear life at the time 

thumpingrug

Thank you chaps.  It confirms what I thought.  The book is ok and gentle enough listening with Roger reading his own words but there are many elements that I am taking with large chunks of salt.

thegummy

What do you guys think is a good scale for weighing guitars?

Been thinking about getting a "postal scale" from Amazon but I wonder if the ones that would be worth me paying for (to weigh a couple of guitars and maybe a handful of things for eBay postage in my life time) would be so inaccurate I might as well just use the kitchen scales or not bother at all.

There are ones about 60 quid that seem to be well received but I'd never pay that much, a third of that would be my max probably. What do you think the accuracy of 20 quidders would be?

Might try weighing a couple guitars on kitchen scales in the mean time just to have a look.

shugz

That incident was rehearsals for the first Quadrophenia tour (didn't go well). Could very well have been a les Paul but Townshend rehearsed a lot with an old Gretsch Jet. A lot of footage from those rehearsals shows the Gretsch moreso than LPs.

Still though, 24lbs I'd wager ol' Rog would be the only man in the 'Oo capable of lifting it. Heard of 15-16lbs Les Paul Recordings but only one of those I've experienced was about 12/13. The gretsch would've been light and if it was a Deluxe from about early 70s probably no more than 11lbs max, more like 10/10.5. 

H

prowla

I recently bought a Les Paul and it is heavy, but also a bit unwieldy and unbalanced until you strap it over your shoulder.

guitars4you

Who said this ? - I can't explain his thoughts pattern - I've sold, played 70's LP's that are over 10lbs but 24lbs is not for real

Now you know the thoughts of FB members you won't get fooled again by Rogers comments

Not sure what it is in imperial measurements but recall Pete saying his LP's weighed 5.15 - so must be Kg

impmann

Yes, the most I've see is a 14lb (a LP Custom) and yes, it was vile. I was like having a concrete gatepost swinging around your neck.
I think ol Rog may be mistaken and as said above the two accounts of the incident differ wildly... that said, PT was downing a bottle of brandy a day (in fact there is footage from the backstage around this time where he has a pint pot of brandy that he necks and it gets refilled... before he steps on stage) and whilst the bionic poodle didn't indulge quite as much as his chums, he wasn't exactly on a health food trip either...

PonchoGreg

thegummy said:

What do you guys think is a good scale for weighing guitars?

Been thinking about getting a "postal scale" from Amazon but I wonder if the ones that would be worth me paying for (to weigh a couple of guitars and maybe a handful of things for eBay postage in my life time) would be so inaccurate I might as well just use the kitchen scales or not bother at all.

There are ones about 60 quid that seem to be well received but I'd never pay that much, a third of that would be my max probably. What do you think the accuracy of 20 quidders would be?

Might try weighing a couple guitars on kitchen scales in the mean time just to have a look.

The luggage scale thingies could be a good substitute, and much cheaper (maybe you've got some already?). Put the guitar in its case/bag, weigh by the handle. Then just weigh the bag and substract that. You can also use the same bag for all guitars and keep the weight of that bag written down.

Might not be accurate to the nth degree, but then again you're weighing a guitar, not a road bike (anybody's who's frequented bike forums will get the obsession with shaving that extra 50g)

PonchoGreg

Oh and re: that story, I call bollox. Unless Daltrey has mistaken lbs for some mysterious unit of measure that's exactly half a pound

JayGee

PonchoGreg said:

Oh and re: that story, I call bollox. Unless Daltrey has mistaken lbs for some mysterious unit of measure that's exactly half a pound

I imagine it’s an arbitrary figure plucked out of thin air to represent “bloody heavy and you wouldn’t want someone to hit you with it...”. :-)

p90fool

I seem to remember Paul Stanley had one commissioned out of solid marble in the days when everyone was obsessed with sustain.

I don't know what it weighed or whether he ever gigged it though, but I'd happily clonk that twat Daltrey with it. 

Hydra19

I just got around to weighing all my guitars last night and was surprised. I felt my Strat and Tele were the lightest along with the SG, and the Jaguar a bit heavier, and my Les Paul a bit heavier still but around 4kg is what I thought.

Turned out that the SG is 3.2 while the Jag, Strat and Tele were all at 3.5kg. Got around to weighing the Les Paul. I got different readings but I'm disappointed to find out it was between 4.6 - 5.1 kg! I really thought it was lighter than that as I have even a heavier Goldtop in a case, I'm afraid to take that one out, but that'll be 5.5 - 6 kg easy as it also have a Bigsby. 

The SG is great, it like a Les Paul lite, not full on power of a Les Paul but more similar than a jazzmaster and it's so light. I have hardly played my Les Pauls after getting that. I wouldn't buy a heavy Les Paul anymore. They sound ghreat, but the weight is a bitch, and there are many Les Pauls out there

RaymondLin

And I thought my LP at 9.9lb (4.5kg) was on the heavy side!

BeardyAndy

thegummy said:

What do you guys think is a good scale for weighing guitars?

Been thinking about getting a "postal scale" from Amazon but I wonder if the ones that would be worth me paying for (to weigh a couple of guitars and maybe a handful of things for eBay postage in my life time) would be so inaccurate I might as well just use the kitchen scales or not bother at all.

There are ones about 60 quid that seem to be well received but I'd never pay that much, a third of that would be my max probably. What do you think the accuracy of 20 quidders would be?

Might try weighing a couple guitars on kitchen scales in the mean time just to have a look.

Used to use these when I worked in the bike trade..
https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Park-Tool/DS1-Digital-Scale/N8?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&co=GBR&cu=GBP&glCountry=GB&id=836&gclid=Cj0KCQjwr-_tBRCMARIsAN413WQgT3H_qO2QZjI_edDo2ICdnbt91jLl_ksLyFfStfg53WDe-dG7LnYaAiiTEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

fretfinder

PonchoGreg said:

thegummy said:

What do you guys think is a good scale for weighing guitars?

Been thinking about getting a "postal scale" from Amazon but I wonder if the ones that would be worth me paying for (to weigh a couple of guitars and maybe a handful of things for eBay postage in my life time) would be so inaccurate I might as well just use the kitchen scales or not bother at all.

There are ones about 60 quid that seem to be well received but I'd never pay that much, a third of that would be my max probably. What do you think the accuracy of 20 quidders would be?

Might try weighing a couple guitars on kitchen scales in the mean time just to have a look.

The luggage scale thingies could be a good substitute, and much cheaper (maybe you've got some already?). Put the guitar in its case/bag, weigh by the handle. Then just weigh the bag and substract that. You can also use the same bag for all guitars and keep the weight of that bag written down.

Might not be accurate to the nth degree, but then again you're weighing a guitar, not a road bike (anybody's who's frequented bike forums will get the obsession with shaving that extra 50g)

Decent digital kitchen scales that weigh up to 5kg are perfectly accurate for weighing guitars. Luggage scales are good too but personally I wouldn’t bother weighing it in the case then subtracting case weight etc... Just hook the scales round a machine head or round the neck.