My main (and only) squeeze is my 1990 les paul custom. Its been my main and often only guitar since I bought it new, and its had a lot of use over the years!! It's had a lot of things fixed recently, and is playing better than it has for years. It's got plenty of mojo!!
However, having practiced with it for the first time in ages at the weekend I'm starting to think I should retire it from live/band use.
Its a fantastic guitar , but its heavy, and is starting to get a bit clunky> I think it's starting to show its age a bit.
But as it's pretty much the only guitar I've ever kept (although i've bought a few!!) I've got no idea what to replace it with,
I'm not someone who needs to chop and change sounds a lot, I've pretty much always stuck with the les paul and jcm800 thing.
So I'd be looking for something with a similar feel and quality, probably lighter, that can cover rock/punk/crossover/metal type stuff.
Has anyone any ideas where I could start??!!
Heres a pic of it.
<a href="
https://imgur.com/G5aUN76"><img src="
https://i.imgur.com/G5aUN76.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
Comments
Les Paul Special.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
Similarly the Yamaha revstar range may be worth a look too.
Neither option are hugely expensive new but resale for both is not great so used bargains can be had.
If you love the guitar and it feels like "home", maybe keep rolling with it?
PS it is a well known fact that the awesomeness of a guitar is directly proportional to its age.
If you want to lose more weight than that you will either need something that doesn't have as much wood if you stay with a solid body, or go for a semi, or something chambered.
If you have a good amount of money then the doublecut version of the PRS McCarty 594 isn't a Les Paul but is probably as close as you will get without being a big chunky Singlecut.
There have been various chambered Les Pauls over the years. I remember playing a Custom Shop 58 that was chambered.
Failing that then something like an ES-339 or ES Les Paul. I've owned both, and due the construction the 339 probably sounds closer to a Les Paul than the ES Les Paul.
If budget is a bit lower then some kind of PRS S2 or SE, or some kind of Les Paul Special/Junior with humbuckers.
@moe_zambeek suggested a Revstar which might an option, but the only one of those I've played was quite a weighty beast.
A lighter custom would be good if you could find one
I'd also highly recommend a Lp special, they're bloody great
The guy out of clutch was using a junior after a Lp and sounded fantastic, it's a different tone but every bit as good imo
(formerly customkits)
Nothing else sounds like a good heavy Les Paul Custom.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
If you really want something different you could look at either PRS CU22s or possibly McCarty's. But they don't sound like Les Pauls
It's recently had a good going over by a proper luthier and is playing fantatsic, better than it has for years.
I meant more the weight of it , and the fact that I wnat to prolong its life as much as possible. I think if I carry on like this I'll just make more issues for it. It's starting to feel like an old (but fantastic) guitar that I need to start looking after. I'm not confident in chucking it about like i used to.
The thing is it does sound f'in fantastic, and I've based my whole sound round it. It's more open and aggressive sounding than the average les paul, which is why I'm gonna have a hard time replacing it.
Indeed - but it'll likely be heavier than the Cu22, would be worth trying both if weight is a big issue.
If you are set on trying to find something similar, try an early 90s Studio with an ebony board - or a LPJ (not Les Paul Junior), probably with upgraded pickups. They have a maple neck and the one I've played did remind me of a Custom more than a Standard. Both of these will likely be lighter than the Custom.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I'll keep my eye open for an LPJ.
http://www.philsvintageguitars.com/gibson.html
There is *something* that makes Customs sound so great, and even accounting for the ebony board and I honestly think the size of the headstock has something to do with it as well. The large 'CBS' Strat headstock has a similar effect on Strats, to me - and extra mass right at the end of the neck will definitely change its resonance, so it's not as unlikely as it may seem.
Gibson seem to also purposely select heavy wood for Customs - or perhaps they're just more concerned with using the lighter stuff for Standards, since Standard buyers tend to be more fussy!
Studios are odd in that the grade of mahogany seems lower - most of the ones I've seen with broken headstocks (which is a lot) seem to have a softer, more 'fibrous' wood structure. I wouldn't be surprised if that has some effect as well.
I don't think it's the binding and the gold plating, anyway!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein