What is it about a Les Paul?

lysander

I’ve always been more of 25.5 scale guy and dismissed the Les Paul as unpleasant to play,
however a good Les Paul with bright pickups seems to have some kind of agression to the sound that I really like and don’t seem to get in my guitar collection.

I have a PRS SE standard 24 which is a brilliant guitar, the 85/15s pickups are excellent, bright and fairly hot, and yet the guitar remains somewhat polite in comparison.
I wonder if the custom 24 models with the cap
get closer at all.

terada

Well this afternoon I spent a good while seated with a les Paul into a Klone pushed Princeton. It was sublime. 

A great les Paul is a very special thing indeed

skullfunkerry

lysander said:

I’ve always been more of 25.5 scale guy and dismissed the Les Paul as unpleasant to play,
however a good Les Paul with bright pickups seems to have some kind of agression to the sound that I really like and don’t seem to get in my guitar collection.

I have a PRS SE standard 24 which is a brilliant guitar, the 85/15s pickups are excellent, bright and fairly hot, and yet the guitar remains somewhat polite in comparison.
I wonder if the custom 24 models with the cap
get closer at all.

I wonder if anyone has fitted a set of Gibson PAFs into a PRS...

PhilKing

I haven't loaded original PAF's into a PRS, but all of mine have had the pickups changed to Bare Knuckles.  I have Mules in an Artist II and an Abraxas set in an original Single Cut.  I've also got a Modern Eagle with VH II's.  I've never got on with PRS pickups (though I haven't tried the newer ones, the ME II had 57/08 pickups).

ICBM

skullfunkerry said:

I wonder if anyone has fitted a set of Gibson PAFs into a PRS...

Don't cross the streams!

crunchman

lysander said:

I’ve always been more of 25.5 scale guy and dismissed the Les Paul as unpleasant to play,
however a good Les Paul with bright pickups seems to have some kind of agression to the sound that I really like and don’t seem to get in my guitar collection.

I have a PRS SE standard 24 which is a brilliant guitar, the 85/15s pickups are excellent, bright and fairly hot, and yet the guitar remains somewhat polite in comparison.
I wonder if the custom 24 models with the cap
get closer at all.

The 22 fret PRS models get closer to the LP sound, but they still don't sound the same.

In my experience the PRS Standards sound better than the Customs.  The maple cap is too thick on the Customs.  The PRS top carve is a lot deeper than the Gibson carve, so the maple is very thick in comparison at the point where the bridge anchors.  I don't think it helps the tone.

This looks quite intriguing:

https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitars/modern-body-guitars/prs-s2-mccarty-594-singlecut-in-faded-blue-smokeburst

They were announced at NAMM but haven't arrived in this country yet.  I think the maple cap will be thinner than the carved top PRS "Core" guitars, and it might well sound better for it.

YellowLedBetterMan

If you've owned the Epi for a long time it might be that, whilst learning to play on it, you've grown accustomed to how it plays and feels and it's become more of an extension of yourself whilst playing it, whereas the PRS is a different beast entirely. Like driving someone else's car - everything is in the same place but it's not as familiar as the one you've been driving for X amount of time.

clarkefan

merlin said:

Les Pauls are great. In many ways. Although the neck heel and delicate headstock join bug the shit out of me to be honest. 

I'll never understand the heel issue, be it Les Paul/Strat/whatever.  Didn't bother Gary Moore/John Sykes/whoever.

People adjust, like switching between a Tele and a Super 400 or something.

After 25 years of playing Gibson-scale guitars the switch to Fender-scale guitars is still a bitch, but it's getting there  

merlin

clarkefan said:

merlin said:

Les Pauls are great. In many ways. Although the neck heel and delicate headstock join bug the shit out of me to be honest. 

I'll never understand the heel issue, be it Les Paul/Strat/whatever.  Didn't bother Gary Moore/John Sykes/whoever.

Did you ask Gary Moore or John Sykes or whoever what they thought about the heel? How do you know it didn't bother them?

I guess motor cars seemed to be able to go at incredibly high speeds when they were invented. And suspension and rubber tyres and gears were added later. There can be room for improvement in many inventions.

Try a Feline heel. 

lysander

@crunchman that's interesting regarding the top thickness but I don't think it would apply to the SE series since they have a much shallower carve than the core series.
I actually much prefer the cleaner, simpler shape of the SEs to the more ornate core shape.

crunchman

lysander said:

@crunchman that's interesting regarding the top thickness but I don't think it would apply to the SE series since they have a much shallower carve than the core series.
I actually much prefer the cleaner, simpler shape of the SEs to the more ornate core shape.

I'e had 6 of the "core" US PRS, and they are all long gone.  I did have a 1990 limited edition with a redwood top rather than maple, but I couldn't get on with the wide thin neck.  I wouldn't buy a 24 fret guitar again either now.

Hoof

I was doing a studio session a few years back and took several guitars. Using a high gain, dual amp set up I tracked the same part with 3 guitars (Fret King Esprit, Gibson SG, Gibson LP Custom). I then went into the control room and listened to all 3 takes both separately and mixed together and while they all sounded great, the LP just had a presence in the mix that the others just couldn't compete with. 

Adey

My favourite guitar for ages has been my Washburn WP50 - Gibson Les Paul clone from the late 80's

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhMOjSn2VBYzh984jY2pMsLEJ3Fkcw?e=gdyhQi

(I can't work out how to post pics... :-(   )

It just sounds and plays fantastic

HAL9000

Tenebrous said:

It's knowing that the neck could snap at any moment that gives you that thrill of living on the edge.

(It's probably just experience with said guitar).

Also, knowing your back could throw in the towel at any moment if you hang a Les Paul round your neck for any length of time. 

Seziertisch

Hoof said:

I was doing a studio session a few years back and took several guitars. Using a high gain, dual amp set up I tracked the same part with 3 guitars (Fret King Esprit, Gibson SG, Gibson LP Custom). I then went into the control room and listened to all 3 takes both separately and mixed together and while they all sounded great, the LP just had a presence in the mix that the others just couldn't compete with. 

I’ve had similar experiences a number of times as well. That midrange richness that just fills out the bass and drums is what a good LP excels at.

It’s not always the right or best thing, but when it is, it is.