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I tried out my new 1980 Custom last night and my shoulder's killing me! It weighs 10.8 pounds (4.92 kilos). Is this an exceptional weight for a Custom or quite normal?
The '91 Standard I just got gives me 8.5 pounds,,standing on my digital scale, then without it, and subtracting. It rounds off, so I know it's not exactly accurate..but it's under 9, I'm pretty sure. Heavy enough,,but not over 10. They are known to be that heavy,,but 8, to a little over 9, seems normal. I've even heard 13,,but that may be incorrect. Your Custom probably has all metal tuners, which is not helping. Mine came with the plastic Gibson Deluxe/Kluson style that everyone seems to dislike so much, but, to me, are necessary for the proper look, and they work ok. They're lighter. I knew it'd be heavy, but that's what gives you the incredible sustain, and character of the sound. My pickguard is on,,as are the pup covers. If you were to get the lighter keys,,,make sure you get ones that fit the holes properly, and then get a newer aluminum stop, if available,,that'd lighten it up some. Gold is heavy too,,but I don't know that gold plating will be that noticeabally heavier.
I have a digital postal scale, used it to weigh 4 L.P. Classics and 2 L.P. Standards, all made between 1992 - 2001. One L.P. Classic weighed in at 8lb 12oz. One L.P. Std came in at 10lbs 8oz. The other 4 weighed between 9lb 2oz and 9lb 6oz.
Les Pauls made after 1969 'til the small heastocks came back typically weight in at well over 9.5 pounds. I would guess that an average weight for a Custom from that era is easily 10.5 pounds. I never bothered to weigh my 73 Deluxe, 75 Standard, or 76 Custom. They are all tanks.
My '01 Studio weighed about 8.75 lbs before I removed the neck pickup cover and put an (uncoverd) Distortion in the bridge. Haven't weighed it since. The '00 Studio I used to have was just slightly heavier than that, and it was thinner
Of course, Studios, even the full size ones like the '01 model I have, are a bit thinner than the other model LPs.
A couple of other things came to me last night about why the Custom weighs so much. Ebony is harder and denser, eg. heavier, than rosewood. It tends to shrink more easily(ask any violin luthier), and is more brittle, and gives a brighter sound, though hard rock maple may deliver the brightest sound of all,,that's why, though I like the look of a one piece maple board on a Fender type,,I'll go for the rosewood's warmer response,,and it moves(breathes, doesn't shrink) more, and has a nice slick feel. I'm glad my Reverend Slingshot has a rosewood board, rather than a one piece maple neck. (great guitar,,it and the Les Paul are the two best I've ever had, or played) If your Custom has a maple neck, that'll add to the weight too, as maple is denser and heavier than mahogany. The headstock on a Custom, besides being loaded with all metal keys, is a little bigger, I think,,how much,,not sure. There is more inlay too,,though I don't think this amounts to more than an extra ounce or two.
If you want an encyclopaedic trip through the world of wood, get Luthier's Mercantile's catalog. All the rosewoods are in Dalbergia family. Pao Ferro, included, and a few others, whose names we're not used ot hearing. They are often lighter in color, but that doesn't take away from their usefulness as fingerboards,,as the wood supplies in the world dwindle, and we're forced to look at alternate materials.
According to the best information available, including responses from Gibson, production Les Pauls started getting weight relief holes around '83 or so. Current production Standards get 9 holes under the maple cap. The Class 5 has 13 I believe.
Probably best to compare weights in certain periods. The late 50s LPs used lighter woods in general (no weight relief holes), so the weights are usually in the 8 - 8.5 pound range. The 70s were really heavy, probably because of the wood and they probably were not drilling weight relief holes.
The Historics use lighter woods and no weight relief holes are drilled or needed.
Makes you wonder what current production Standards would weigh without the 9 relief holes...
I'd love to see an X-ray of this weight relief. FYI, about a year ago, a forum member X-rayed an Historic and you could clearly see there were no weight relief holes.
I don't think the number of weight relief holes are fixed. I believe there is a "max" number if holes that heavier slabs can possible get depending on the starting weight of the wood used. I swear I read this from a viable source....
This is from the LPForum homesite submitted by Mike Slub:
The bottom line is that there are nine (9) weight relief holes in production LP Standards, and seventeen (17) in the Class 5 Les Paul, and there is a difference between "dynamic sound chambers" and "weight relief holes".
1.The Les Paul Class 5 is the only Custom Shop model Les Paul that has weight relief holes (17 of them).
2: The Historic 58' & 59' Les Paul's DO NOT have weight relief holes (the lightest mahogany available is used for these guitars).
3: None of the Custom Shop Historic Reissue Les Paul Goldtop models have weight relief holes.
4: The Les Paul Elegant has the dynamic sound chambers, not weight relief holes. The Les Paul Class 5 has the weight relief holes, and not dynamic sound chambers.
5: Gibson U.S.A. does drill weight relief holes in their Les Paul models. They drill 9 holes, versus 17 for the Les Paul Class 5.
According to Gibson, they have done extensive testing and as long as the holes are not near the bridge or tailpiece (which would affect sustain), they do not have an adverse impact on tone.
Just took a trip to the post office...76 LP 10.3..Tokai LR..8.6 Tokai LR..10.1 Goya LP..9.3 lbs..funny how the LR's differ, the lighter one is an 82' the heavier an 89', I guess they were following Gibsons lead...again
I've weighed all 3 of mine (93 Classic, 02 R7, & 02 R8), on beam type Dr. scales. Believe it or not, all three balanced exactly the same...never had to move the slide. They measured 8.25lb.
Did 'pre Classic' Classics (or any Classics for that matter) have any weight relief? Didn't see them mentioned in any of the above posts.