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What Makes You Choose a Les Paul .....over an SG/335/Flying V/Explorer, etc??

jtees4

jtees4

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
209
Actually, nothing made me choose a Les Paul. I am an SG and Telecaster guy thru and thru. I've owned many LP's and have nothing against them, I gigged with a '66 non reverse Firebird throughout most of the 70's. I love all guitars, I have probably owned close to 200 in the last 50 years (I am 60). I've had everything, Parkers, Steinbergers, Guilds, Hamer, Carvin....really pretty much everything. I own guitars from USA, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan and China...I generally buy used. I sometimes sell to make money, and usually do fairly well.
I LOVE GUITARS....that's the bottom line.:peace2
 
Black58

Black58

New member
Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
10,139
JimFog said:
the weight, the mediocre upper fret access and the constant struggle not be too "woofy" on the neck pickup, or to get great cleans
Click to expand...

Actually, these ARE the reasons that I choose a Les Paul; Because once you've addressed them, in whatever fashion they need to be addressed, there is absolutely NOTHING that compares! :jim
 
Bob Womack

Bob Womack

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2002
Messages
2,196
I basically choose whatever gets the sound I need in the studio.

In the '70s the Les Paul was my pick, chosen because so many players used them to get that full, girthy lead sound they do so well. My LP was a '74 with t-tops. After twenty years with the LP being my sole electric, "Gibson scale" became my home and the LP form factor had become my home as well. At the turn of the century I began playing session dates in earnest and needed other sounds so I added some Fenders. There are sounds you can't get any other way. Somewhere along the line I learned that I liked the sweetness, airiness, and resonance of the ES-335 and I loved the extended fret access it offered. That guitar has become my cornerstone in the studio. Eventually, though, I was looking for a solid body guitar with less sonic girth than the Les Paul but with less noise than the Fenders and that led me to the SG. And finally, I wanted a Les Paul with sweetness like the '50s ones to compliment the strength of my '70s one, so I added a recent LP Standard.

So, when I choose an LP, it is because of its full, strong sound, either powerful ('70s) or sweeter (2018). I also find the form factor the most comfortable when I'm standing.
When I choose the ES-335 is is because of its airy resonance and utter flexibility.
When I choose the SG it because of its brightness and the way it fills a gap between the Les Paul and the Tele.

Horses for courses, as they say.

Bob
 
Progrocker111

Progrocker111

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Messages
4,013
Bob Womack said:
I basically choose whatever gets the sound I need in the studio.

In the '70s the Les Paul was my pick, chosen because so many players used them to get that full, girthy lead sound they do so well. My LP was a '74 with t-tops. After twenty years with the LP being my sole electric, "Gibson scale" became my home and the LP form factor had become my home as well. At the turn of the century I began playing session dates in earnest and needed other sounds so I added some Fenders. There are sounds you can't get any other way. Somewhere along the line I learned that I liked the sweetness, airiness, and resonance of the ES-335 and I loved the extended fret access it offered. That guitar has become my cornerstone in the studio. Eventually, though, I was looking for a solid body guitar with less sonic girth than the Les Paul but with less noise than the Fenders and that led me to the SG. And finally, I wanted a Les Paul with sweetness like the '50s ones to compliment the strength of my '70s one, so I added a recent LP Standard.

So, when I choose an LP, it is because of its full, strong sound, either powerful ('70s) or sweeter (2018). I also find the form factor the most comfortable when I'm standing.
When I choose the ES-335 is is because of its airy resonance and utter flexibility.
When I choose the SG it because of its brightness and the way it fills a gap between the Les Paul and the Tele.

Horses for courses, as they say.

Bob
Click to expand...

Really well said and very similar to my experiences as well. :eek:la
 
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