Does the weight of a Les Paul make it sound better/worse?

[skylabfilmpop]

Originally Posted by tnvol

It varies in my experience. Honestly, it's one of those questions people are "supposed" to ask. lol Makes you look smart. lol Then again, maybe I'm clueless. I don't split hairs when it comes to tone like some folks. A guitar either sounds good or not, and you can either play it or not. But 9 ounces of tone are worth big bucks to some folks.

Well you are probably just inexperienced or don't buy instruments sight unseen. Les pauls, solid body ones that is, range from about 8.25 to nearly 12 lbs depending on the era and model. Even within Historic models which are supposed to be their premium wood, the weights vary from the low weight to high 9 lb range, depending on the wood they happened to have on hand that day. There was a big change in the guitar manufacture industry in the late 60's when the big 4 manufacturers basically ran out of all the old growth wood naturally dried over long periods of time. Every manufacturer had to look into how to make their guitars work with different materials, which were mostly younger, less dry, and heavier woods. The result was really different instruments, and in some cases those instruments can be better in different applications, than earlier, lighter instruments. Eventually manufactures figured out how to sucessfully kiln dry wood to lighten it up, and in making replicas of their benchmark vintage instruments have done a pretty good job adhering to similar weights as the originals in their manufacture, and brought down the weights of the other instruments in their lines too. Still there is varied preference for what people like, I for example prefer a light guitar for most things but have a heavy 70's les paul which is fantastic for high gain hard rock, my light les paul is looser and less articulate in that situation, so I like the heavy one better for that. Low gain, classic rock, indie, clean tones, etc, my lighter guitars give me more of what I want for that. I see the light heavy debate as a both/and rather than either/or thing. But most people buying a guitar probably have had a positive or negative experience with a guitar that impressed them as heavy or light, or they may have another guitar that they like and would like something similar to that, so they check the weight and ask the seller about it. Its really the only concrete thing you can measure about an instrument that might give an insight to how it sounds and how it is as an instrument, so thats why people inquire. Its not a "lightest guitar wins thing" either, as a previous poster mentioned a heavy les paul that sang, they can be very good, I have had featherweight ones that were duds, so lighter does not always equal great. I think people just gravitate to what they feel they have enjoyed previously or heard is ideal (again that is application dependent) but asking the weight is a little security before plunking down a few grand on a guitar you have never held in your hand. It gives you an opportunity to make an educated guess about how it will be when it arrives at your door.

[skylabfilmpop]

Originally Posted by chubaka

between the chambered and the weight relieved swiss-cheese, which in your opinion soulds closest to a solid LP?

if you were to pick one, which would you (or most people) prefer between the two?

they are both really good IMO. The swiss style is a little more solid body sounding wheras the chambered/Cloud version is somewhat es335ish to me, probably my next guitar!

[pfrischmann]

Originally Posted by Gasp100

Personally any lighter than 8.5lbs or so just doesn't feel right too me. Anything heavier than 9.5 is the same.. so those are my magic numbers for an LP. I have an Orville by Gibson Tobacco Burst that was exactly 8.5lbs and it was perfect (but needed some fretwork and I ditched it... boy that was dumb!).

+1 Anything lighter than 8.5lbs sounds a little too loosw on the bottom end without that oomph anything much heavier than 9 and I can't use it for very long.

8.5-9 lbs +/-works for me..YMMV...That's why I play everyone I can.

[GuitarsFromMars]

Originally Posted by pfrischmann

+1 Anything lighter than 8.5lbs sounds a little too loosw on the bottom end without that oomph anything much heavier than 9 and I can't use it for very long.

8.5-9 lbs +/-works for me..YMMV...That's why I play everyone I can.

All the guitars in 'The Beauty of The 'Burst', were all in that weight range (8.5-9.5 lbs.). I discussed this with Dave Carpenter, when I ordered my MusicMachine 'Stinger' Les Paul. He discussed the wood pull attributes with Edwin Wilson at the Custom Shop, prior to pulling woods, for the largest special order of Les Paul guitars, made by GMI, in the modern era(2003).

My Stinger falls in that group.

I would have looked at one in the 7 pound range if I could have found one, and several have been made.

[indytruckboy]

Every LP I played that was heavy was AMAZING.

[Jd3]

Originally Posted by 908SSP

Personally weight means very little. Strength rigidity and resonance means more and with the right technology....

I agree with this too ... it's not the weight so much, as how good the particular hunk of wood is ... light or heavy, if the wood is resonant and feels 'alive' to me, that's what I get off on ... that's where touch sensitivity means something. Of course, if you only play death metal thru a triple rectifier, you might not care as much

No offense to metal heads, of course....

[jimmyohio75]

This beast is 9.2 lbs and it's just about perfect!! Of course I am 6 foot, 285 lbs so the weight of the guitar doesn't bother me much.

[dave19er]

Originally Posted by GuitarsFromMars

All the guitars in 'The Beauty of The 'Burst', were all in that weight range (8.5-9.5 lbs.). I discussed this with Dave Carpenter, when I ordered my MusicMachine 'Stinger' Les Paul. He discussed the wood pull attributes with Edwin Wilson at the Custom Shop, prior to pulling woods, for the largest special order of Les Paul guitars, made by GMI, in the modern era(2003).

My Stinger falls in that group.

I would have looked at one in the 7 pound range if I could have found one, and several have been made.

The ones I've liked to tone best of have definitely been in that 8.5 to 9.5 lbs range. I have really liked the chambered ones I've played, which have all been in the ~7 lbs range, but the tone wasn't the same. Not worse, just not what I was looking for LP-wise. If they're solid, but too light, it's like the tone doesn't quite hold together - little dead. Not sure how to describe it. When they're too heavy, I also don't care for the tone - it doesn't seem to ring right for me. And I'm basing everything off of how the guitar sounds acoustically.

I've gotten really good at being able to judge whether a guitar is in the weight range I prefer by feel (after a long time of playing lots of guitars). I'll try lighter LPs, on the off chance of finding a great light one (haven't found it yet). And while the tone might be rocking on ones heavier than 9.5 lbs or so, I won't even try out the guitar when they're that heavy. In my early days, I could rock my 14 lbs '78 Jazz Bass all night, but I've got a bad back, and just can't do it anymore.

It comes down to knowing what I like - I've got very specific tastes, and have come up with things to look for in guitars that work for me. One of those quantities (one of the most important to me) is weight (and it works the same for Strats and Teles, too). It's not a bulletproof indicator, but it does help me narrow down whether the guitar is one I'd be willing to consider or not, based both on tone AND comfort.

[Amp_Addicted]

The two Pauls I have are pretty different weights: 1984 is 11 lbs and the 1985 is 9.5. I like the tone of both, but the heavier one is bit tighter sounding. Some of the tone can be attributed to the ebony fingerboard, but the weight also seems to contribute to its infinite sustain. The lighter guitar is way more spongy sounding-really excellent for classic rock. I like them both and use them equally though I beginning to favor the heavier guitar as it seems to have a quicker attack than the lighter Paul.

[RnB]

I've got a chambered 7 lb LP (CV Guitars model) & it's sounds great. It's a pleasure to hold & play. No loss of tone imo & I've had about 6 or 7 LP's. Guys come over w/ their heavy Lester's & play mine & can't believe how good it sounds. I couldn't imagine going back to playing a 9+ lb guitar. My back's not what it used to be either!

[xdisciplex]

I have been a Les Paul player for 14 yrs and owned about 30 of them. I currently own 7 and my Les Paul custom are in the 10.5 to 11lb range and sound great. I also have a couple R9 and they are around 9lb each and I love that weight for them.
I recently sold a R9 that was 8.5 lbs and compared to my other R9 it just didn't have as much bite and it had softer mids and round bottom end, for lower gain stuff and clean stuff it was great and sounded nice and warm but for heavy rock I didn't like it, my 9lb guitar has more bite and is tighter in the lows and more focused and that's perfect for what I play. I changed pickups and pots values but it still didn't give me the tone I wanted and I sold it.

[prakashananda]

Don't discount resale value. We're all thinking about it. No one posts a Les Paul add and brags about how heavy it is.

[pfrischmann]

Don't forget, the wood used today is actually a different than the stuff used in the 50's. I've had several builders tell me the older honduran mahogany is generally lighter than even the same species we can find today.

[Heinz W]

To get a solid Paul these days in that optimum weight range (8.5-9.5lbs.) you are mostly limited to R9s and R0s, for which Gibson uses the lightest body blanks. There are R8s, R7s, etc in that range, but are less common.

[jzgtrguy]

The answer to your question is yes! There are light ones that sound good and heavy ones that sound good.