LP guys, do you look down on chambered guitars?

[jnurp]

I ask this because I consider myself a bit of an LP enthusiast and I have never owned a chambered guitar and have never felt comfortable playing one for the short amount of time that I have played around with them. I like the weight and the feel of the LP around my shoulder. Is it in my head or is there a difference to you guys too?

[27sauce]

I was like you, but now am a big fan of the Chambered RI's (I've never played the USA chambered)

Big, thick, airy tone. Not at all hollow sounding, more of a dried out sound. The weight thing did take some getting used to, I've had it for a year and dont even think about it being chambered anymore.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg278/msauce27/marc080.jpg

[Pietro]

My current Les Paul is a Heritage, no chambering or weight relief, but I am a big fan of both.

I've played a couple Studios, which are chambered, which I LOVED but the owners would not sell...

[theroan]

I think the chambered debate is kind of arbitrary. Have you picked up a Traditional?! They weigh a ton, the exact reason why chambering was introduced.

My classic antique is chambered and it sounds the same as a 1997 classic I had which wasn't.

[tapeworm]

not an LP guy, but when it comes top LP style guitars, give me chambered anyday over a 10lb+ guitar

[robbinsteele]

i used to think more mass=more tone,then i got old and started looking at 335s as my new gibson of choice.along comes chambering,tried a monty bluesmaster-wow-now i can still look like a rocker without having to live with a backbrace.my quack-o-practor hates me....if it's good enough for johan sebastian gustavsson...

[HaggertysMusic]

I think the chambered debate is kind of arbitrary. Have you picked up a Traditional?! They weigh a ton, the exact reason why chambering was introduced.

My classic antique is chambered and it sounds the same as a 1997 classic I had which wasn't.

I think the classic antique is one of the most overlooked, under rated les pauls out there!

[dcooper830]

I like the reduced weight and I think the chambering gives it a certain resonance in the tone.

I love my Standard Faded!!

The only downside for me is too much resonant feedback at band volume with higher gain settings.

But this only happens a little bit and I just back off the guitar volume and it goes away.

[coreybox]

What chambering are you talking about?

I'm a big fan of the "cloud 9" les pauls.

I'm a big fan of light-weight solid bodies too.

The swiss cheese guitars can sound great, but for some reason it's just wrong (kind of jokingly said)....

[27sauce]

People were cool with Swiss cheese LPs, until they found out they were Swiss cheese. Stupid internet.

[theroan]

I think the classic antique is one of the most overlooked, under rated les pauls out there!

I've seen you use one in the Mesa demos!

I think that there just aren't that many out there and the people who have them don't let them go.

Stoked for the Royal Atlantic demo dude!!

[Tommy Biggs]

People were cool with Swiss cheese LPs, until they found out they were Swiss cheese. Stupid internet.

Wow - I'm glad I don't spend too much time the internet!
I really love my swiss cheese studio. It's not super light, but less than my old 70's LP Custom, which was not weight relieved.

[tbonesullivan]

If it sounds good, who cares? Swiss cheese, filled with balsa wood, chambered, solid, etc etc. People need to obsess more about their playing, and less about their gear, something that we all are guilty of at one time or another.

I've got a solid Heritage H150CM, and the thing weighs a ton. it's also got a ton of tone. would it have less if it was chambered? I doubt it. It might be different, but it would still sound awesome.

[Bluedawg]

I like the chambered LPs and have 3 Chambered Reissues (Cloud 9s) .. :bonk

In the end ...

If a guitar sounds good and plays well .... its a good guitar .. I don't care what the innards look like.


:banana

[mad dog]

The swiss cheese thing does not appeal. Chambering for tonal purposes most certainly does. Playing two chambered solidbodies now. A Chandler-bodied partscaster tele with a spruce top, and a Soloway swan with the chambered ash body, maple top.

The Soloway sounds unusual, and unusually fine, due to chambering and other things too. The partscaster was a revelation. Not sure if it's the chambering or the spruce top (or both), but that guitar made me a fan of chambering forever.
MD

[batsbrew]

LP guys, do you look down on chambered guitars?

i find that i'm not even that interested in reading the answers that you will get..

i'm more interested in knowing why you care what others would think about yourself using a chambered guitar?

it seems that the only thing important here......

is the sound coming off your stage or into your mic?
that's tells the whole story, right there.

if somebody's playing thru a chambered paul, sounds more kick ass than a guy playing a heavy unchambered paul.....


what's the moral of the story?

[27sauce]

If it sounds good, who cares? Swiss cheese, filled with balsa wood, chambered, solid, etc etc. People need to obsess more about their playing, and less about their gear, something that we all are guilty of at one time or another.

I've got a solid Heritage H150CM, and the thing weighs a ton. it's also got a ton of tone. would it have less if it was chambered? I doubt it. It might be different, but it would still sound awesome.

I love to talk about this stuff, thats why I joined THE GEAR PAGE.

[boo radley]

if somebody's playing thru a chambered paul, sounds more kick ass than a guy playing a heavy unchambered paul.....

what's the moral of the story?

Aftermarket pickups?

[tiktok]

If it sounds and feels good, it is good.

[mockjam]

I'm not really a LP guy, so my opinions may differ from those who have much more experience with them, especially those that have to play entire gigs with one, since I tend to only use my LP mainly for recording when sitting down. With all that said, I absolutely love a great les paul, it's just not a sound I use for my music usually.

I've played many great sounding chambered les pauls but to me they really don't sound like how a LP should. The swiss cheese ones are better but the best for me are the ones without any weight relief, they have an amazing thick and visceral tone that I just don't get with any other guitar.

Although what makes it slightly unbalanced is the fact that all the LP's I've played without any weight relief have been very high end instruments (from the custom shop) whereas the chambered ones vary greatly from the very low end up to the high.

I believe chambered and unchambered are both great, just slightly different themes on a classic.

[batsbrew]

Aftermarket pickups?

heheh, there you go!

[Slowlicks]

Only if I want to see the inside.

[Nico.]

I don't even consider them... Its a big deal breaker for me...

[guitaraddict]

I wasn't big on chambering until I got my first chambered '58RI. I instantly fell in love with it. Weight is not a big deal for me, definately not a deal breaker. At first it felt a little odd holding a 7 pound LP but when I plugged it in I was blown away with the tone. I don't know if it was just that guitar or because of the chambering but it's much more resonant and alive than the R9 that I had at the time.

[Marty s Horne]

I've had chambered and solid Lesters and both sound good to me. My current Les Paul is a chambered Custom Shop Elegant bought new 14 years ago. It plays and sounds great and weighs 8.0 pounds. I'm not gigging with it as I use a single coil tone a lot on gigs, but it's a great axe!
http://postimage.org/image/2oytr3twk/

[Furrymonki]

My 2008 Standard is chambered and I love the tone! I compared it with a Traditional and found no loss of great tones. And I appreciate the lighter weight.

[dangeroso]

There is nothing wrong with a chambered LP.

I seriously doubt that most could tell the difference if someone else were playing one of each. I think it's another tonal snake oil issue.

[Amp360]

Nope. I do have a couple chambered guitars but they're PRS. I have one chambered LP - I'm assuming it is as it is way light - and it sounds great but it sounds more like an SG then a Les Paul (It's a 90 something Standard).

[Dale]

I have several guitars. Nearly all of the LP style are chambered in various ways. I had an 05 Standard as well and like it a lot. I was just wondering who makes an unchambered or weight relieved LP style guitar these days?

[440gtx6pak]

They all can sound good. The Solid and SwissCheese ones sound pretty close. My chambered one, has a much less focused sound, almost like a semi-hollow, as you might expect.

[27sauce]

I have several guitars. Nearly all of the LP style are chambered in various ways. I had an 05 Standard as well and like it a lot. I was just wondering who makes an unchambered or weight relieved LP style guitar these days?

Gibson, the RI's are completely solid, except for the ones that aren't :cool:

[440gtx6pak]

Gibson, the RI's are completely solid, except for the ones that aren't :cool:

Historic Reissue LP's that are chambered are relatively rare. Most are completely solid. It's easy enough to tell very quickly without opening the control cavity. The way to be sure is on the back of the headstock, the serial# will begin with "CR" for Chambered-Reissue.

[Dale]

Besides Gibson anyone else? Epi? Agile?

[FenderBigot]

I am not a "Les Paul" guy (check the name LOL), one of the reasons is the weight. I bought a nice little 7.69 lb 60's tribute gold top yesterday. I hate heavy guitars since I have tendonitis in my left shoulder... it never fails to flare up when I put a big guitar on and play 3 sets at a gig.

[Patrick2]

I'll answer you question in a single word . . . Yes! I do look down on chambered, weight relieved, Swiss cheese . . . . call them what ever you want to. I'm not on board with that! But . . . . that's a very individualized opinion mostly centered on my own personal opinion of what a "traditional" Les Paul guitar is and should be about. I'm a traditionalist to a fault . . . almost snobish. No . . . check that . . . definitely snobish. Apologies to all who might own a weight relieved guitar. I just love the tradition.. . . both original and restated, un-adulterated, non altered... .tradition.

[blank77]

i myself prefer the non-weight relieved lp's,i just like the feel and sound of a one piece(not these new 2 and 3 piece bodies) thick,solid chunk of mahogany hanging around my neck.weight be damned.for what it's worth it makes a difference to me.i'm not knocking the chambered or swiss cheesed,different strokes for different folks,i just like them solid.

[jamdogg]

wish i had my lp studio lite back.

[diagrammatiks]

except for the chambered reissues which are among the lightest les pauls ever made...

a chambered gibson USA les paul is almost the exact same weight as a solid historic.

they chamber to make a heavy lump a manageable weight, not to make something light lighter.

[mototpsychel]

Chambered, swiss cheese, both can sound good, but they are a different animal...to me they're not Les Pauls tone-wise or any other-wise. JMHO

[JimmyR]

I have a solid R4 and a chambered CR8. I love them equally. I like the chambering with HBs as it seems to clear up the low end very very slightly and let the low E twang rather than thump. It's pretty subtle though. I do seem to prefer guitars with hollow bits inside! The R4 is the only solid guitar I have.

I really couldn't care less if my CR8 isn't 100% historically accurate. It sounds like a great Les Paul and I love playing it. One of the best Les Pauls I have ever played. FWIW I have played a genuine real deal '59 burst and I like playing my CR8 more!

[Sloop John B]

I will say this: I went through piles upon piles of guitars over a span of about 10 years of playing, but I became a (more or less) one guitar man when I found my chambered R8. I was never a LP guy or even a Gibson guy. I saw it hanging on the wall and I picked it up because the top was so nice - and even before I strummed it, I knew. The light weight was the initial spark. It is just the best.

[crzyfngers]

i look down at all my guitars...

[Onioner]

I am an LP guy, and I do like heaviness in a guitar, but that's about the only reason I care. If it sounds good, it sounds good, and plenty of chambered LPs sound good, while plenty of solid ones don't. It's a give and take, and by my ears, on average, it breaks even.

So, basically, I prefer solid, but just because I like weight, and in the end, that's not much of a reason, so I have chambered.

[Mr. SD-1]

Les Paul was a pioneer in solidbody electric guitar design. It seems wrong to have a hollow guitar with his name on it.

[GAD]

I've owned a few Historic Les Pauls. I've not owned any chambered Historics, but I have owned Guild Bluesbirds that are chambered. Below is a pic of a Bluesbird (left) and R9 (right).

It was lighter, but my R9 is 8.5 lbs, so it's not like comparing it to some 14lb monster. I tend to like heavy guitars to a point, so anything <10 lbs is fine with me.

The tone was different, but not so different that a TGP member would stand up in the audience and yell "That sucks! It must be chambered!" :) The tone was a bit airier if you will. Honestly though, when the drummer comes in, no one hears the subtle nuances in your tone anyway. It looks like a Les Paul, sounds like a Les Paul, and is lighter than a Les Paul. Most everyone who saw me play it would say, "That's cool - what is it?"

http://www.gad.net/GAD/Guitar/Guild-Fender-Bluesbird/_B0Z2617_800.jpg

[magicaxeman]

There's a big difference in my book between weight relieving and chambering.

Old me before my disability never had a problem with weight relieved Les Pauls, but didn't like chambered ones.
Current me with my disability has learned to love chambered guitars and would like to see a full hollow body Les Paul (with no F holes)

[LocustXReign]

I used to be on the fence on the topic, and I still believe there are some great chambered Les Pauls out there, but, I went from a GOTW Les Paul Classic Custom with p-90s, which was a rad guitar, to a VOS 54 custom and I found the difference to be night and day.

The chambered guitar was really great, but it wasn't what I want from a Les Paul. A little too airy, a little light on the sustain end of things. The VOS has a long neck tenon and is solid, but only weighs 8-ish pounds. This guitar has really changed my perspective on what a great guitar is, but more importantly why vintage Les Pauls sound the way they do, and in-turn inspire the music they have. It's got that beef to it you expect when you pick one up, but you can roll it back into the Bloomfield zone, and its just amazingly articulate. That said, I'm also now of the impression that a chunkier neck and the lack of a maple top go a long way in making my IDEAL Les Paul.

The difference in articulation and sustain was really what surprised me the most.