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?
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I don’t think it’s as simple as lightweight vs heavy, I think density and rigidity are factors.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
It may not to others.
End of.
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
(formerly customkits)