Strat to Les Paul...

[rosslevans]

Who has done it? Explain why you did and why I should. I do love my strats but there are times where I'm "missing something". I just love "thick" sounding guitar tone. I'm a blues player btw

Thanks guys!

 

[DGTCrazy]

Well....I went the opposite with a hitch; I have SSH configured (with split coil) so I can have the best of both worlds. Don't get me wrong....I love my DGT....but again, coil splitting is key to my favoritism so I can get that "crystalline" tone I love when I need it.

 

[rosslevans]

I thought about coil tapping. I'm more of a one trick pony. It works for some people and that's great. But, if I'm going les paul, I would prefer if it didn't coil tap. And I guess I'm a strat "purist", a strat to me is SSS. But thanks for the advice! I may give the coil tap a shot again. I'm open to anything!

 

[tamader74]

Well, Being mostly a die hard Fender guy for the past 30 out of 50 yr.'s of playing, and having alot of Gibson love many moons ago...I went through (a couple of months ago) a period where I too wanted a 'Bolder' tone, and went into LP thinking (I have to watch certain size of guitars because of a medical problem), a Buddy of mine had a PRS artist CU22 (Beautiful Instrument, to me at least)...He never played the thing, But, nobody thought he would ever sell it either. Well, that got me to REALLY go out shopping HARD, Looking, comparing, listening, watching reviews,...and I MUST say,...While I may have overpaid a touch,...I bought the Artist off my buddy, The weight, look, feel, quality of construction,..Could not beat it, FOR ME at least.

Now, GC has some great deals on LPs right now so it's a great time to buy new,...But, I'm still happy with the PRS...and one of these days I will probably try to pick up a DGT to put into the mix. My point being and NOT trying to steer you away from a LP,...But, if you've been used to Fenders, There are other quality choices. Tom

 

[shane8]

i just went for a S size hb in the bridge - a dimarzio pro track

 

[GulfportBound]

I actually went from SG to Strat back to SG and then Les Paul. The Strat I had was a nice one (H-S-S, burgundy, beautifully balanced) until she was stolen, but not. quite. there. for what I wanted and needed for my blues. My second SG I had to sell when I hit some very hard times a few years ago. Then, after I recovered, I got to play my first Les Paul. I now own three and I won't go back. The Les Pauls are it for what I want to do.

 

[tabdog]

40 years ago,

I made my first elec. It is a Esquire type.
My kids helped me paint it. I was an
Esquire guy.

Then I had a LP type guitar. I was an LP
guy.

After that, I was mostly a Strat guy for a
long time.

Then I found a National SG and became a
SG guy,

Then I made a parts caster Telestrat and
I became a Tele guy. Now, I got a Blade
Durango Standard, so I'm a Durango guy,

Tabdog, tha Durango Guy

 

[GuitarsFromMars]

Who has done it? Explain why you did and why I should. I do love my strats but there are times where I'm "missing something". I just love "thick" sounding guitar tone. I'm a blues player btw

Thanks guys!

I do it regularly.

Different tools for different jobs.

 

[Pinelake]

I have both an '86 Strat and a '77 Les Paul. I just go through moods. I gigged with my Strat all summer until last week. Got in the mood to take the LP out and loved it just as much. I've probably played my LP more over the years, but I just like the variety in sound.

 

[wilblee]

I regularly play my 5 strats. I've sold all my LP's. I found 3 models that covered the LP ground better - for me. They are:

• Larrivée RS-4 - dual hb, same control layout and same nut width as LP, but with a 25.5" scale, plus much better parts quality and excellent fit and finish. More comfortable to play as well as better upper fret access. Matt Larrivée's pickups just sing.
• PRS SC250 - Mine has a wide fat neck and the SC250 pickups just send me every time I play them.
• PRS DGT - Of which much has been written. Mine has been my #1 since shortly after I got it and got it set up. I love this guitar.

Growing up, LP's were my dream guitars, so when I finally got to where I could afford them I bought them. Over time, however, I came to realize that just because I had dreamed about them that didn't necessarily make them a good fit for me and they aren't. I've been much happier since I embraced that.

 

[yell03]

I think having both is your best bet.

I am a Les Paul guy at heart, I have two of them.

I also have two Teles.

I currently am selling one of my Teles and one of my amps and I am going to buy a New Strat, sometimes I just need that quack and no other guitar can do it.

 

[JKjr]

I just go through moods. /QUOTE]

Do you necessarily want to sound like an LP? Are you just looking for a generic HB sound? Or do you want your Strat, just fatter?

If I just want fatter I use a $49 Duncan Pickup booster. It's a pretty good clean boost, sounds like your guitar only louder. Then there's a switch (resonance maybe?) to fatten it up and it actually does just that, but without coloring the sound of your rig. It's just thicker.

I think Gibson fat is as much scale lenth as HBs. To me it's a different tool altogether and it pushes me to play it very differently(varying shades of awful). It's almost a vacation after fighting a Strat but after awhile I miss that airy Fender thing. So the only logical solution to your delimma is to have one of everything. It's simple. We at TGP are always happy to help.

 

[guitguy28]

I've had both Strat and LP. It was nice having two guitars that were in completely different territories, tone- and feel-wise. The Strat was bright, clean, twangy, not much sustain. The LP was dark, flat, fat, high output, lots of sustain.

Over the years I've gone more and more into Strat/Fender territory where that's the only sound I really want. (I sold the LP) But like you, sometimes I would want a bit more... but I'm not into the Gibson/humbucker thing anymore. I may try and split the difference... either a Gibson LP special with P90s, or a Tele-style guitar with P90s. You see where I'm going here: fixed bridge and P90s for a fatter single-coil tone and more sustain. It's just a matter of 'do I want Gibson scale or Fender scale'.

So I say experiment!

 

[franksguitar]

I have both and depending on the song play which axe fits

 

[BlueHeaven]

I go back and forth between my Tele and LP. If I had to pick just one to gig with though (and this is subject to change) it'd be the Tele. But that's mainly because my band's music is all over the map. Ideally, if I could have the wound strings' cut and snap of my Tele with the fatter, creamier plain strings tone of my LP I'd only ever play that.