Soundfile faceoff suggestion...Hey EdA?

[GolferMike]

Saw a few posts around about the 1960 model Les Pauls having less sustain due to the thin neck. Has anyone done a unbiased A/B sound test....say a CLASSIC with .11s on it, a lightweight tailpiece and a mod-ed Antiquity...and say a Historic with .11s and a mod-ed Antiquity?

Might make for a decent little face-off (sounds right up EdA's alley after his great work with the magnet soundfiles).

It might give the CLASSIC guys some ammo if their cheaper guitar could keep up the Historic, of course it might just demote the CLASSIC guys to the little-kids table just in time for THANKSGIVING.

What does everyone think?

 

[EdA]

You gonna send me a Classic to compare? You might not get it back Well I dont have one to A/B it with. I had one before I got into the R9 thing. I didnt think it was as big sounding, but hey wood is wood, Im sure there are some good classics out there. There must be somebody here that owns both.

 

[toni]

GM,

"cheaper guitar" is only a price tag ! :dude
I went on the Historic because it was lighter, it had the big neck, long tenon bla bla bla...
I dig the Historic very much because i like "that specific Tone".

But i had a beautifull WineRed flamed Standard 1999 that was very very resonnant, but with a very different voice.
I sold it because i could not afford two guitar at that time, what a mistake ! :dead:

It is not risky to say that a Standard or a Classic LP would improve considerably with a lightweight tailpiece and a good aftermarket pickup like Rolph, Antiquity alnico V, Seths alnico V, Virtuals and probably many many more...spin

So, NO ! , the CLASSIC guys would not be demoted to the little-kids table.:dude

 

[blackdog]

"So, NO ! , the CLASSIC guys would not be demoted to the little-kids table."

Hey !!! Thanks Toni !!!
I feel much better now !!!! :lol2

BTW I used to think that MY Classic was lacking sustain and tone because it had a smaller neck. I was even trying to sell it !!!! :nut

But we're talking resonance here, and that happens BEFORE we even amplify the signal. So modded Antiquitys, Rolphs or Virtuals (or real PAFs for the purpose) can only cure part of the problem.

Following some advice from this forum I tried a few things like replacing the tuners with Grovers. Some of you said it was a good thing for your guitar, some said it wasn't. Well it happened that adding some more mass to the headstock of MY Classic it's resonance (acoustic loudness) improved noticeably.

Later on I tried the advice of moving the tailpiece higher....
Before this one the Lower-The-Better law of tailpieces was the standard that I followed. Well I found that "sweet spot" people like Big Al were talking about and now my Paul sounds loud and toneful acoustically. Basically twice as loud as before, and with a lot more "body" !!!!

Of course, amplifying this with a set of modded alnico V Antiquitys only adds more tone to my equation.

Bottom line is (IMHO) that there's an optimal resonant point for any given guitar, and you should try to reach it by means of the adjustable variables at hand. Theoretically there'll be some guitars where the optimal point can't be reached with the adjustment range available, these are the infamous "dogs", but for most guitars there's gold to be discovered....

So there's no such thing as an absolute stanfdard. Big necks, thin necks... There's only good sounding and better sounding Les Pauls.

My .02, anyway...

Regards,
L.

 

[Ed Rafalko]

In my house, there IS no table. But I'd buy a kiddie table just for the Classic owners if I let them in the house.

 

[blackdog]

Gee, EdR...

I'm not sure I'll feel all that confortable at your place sitting in that kiddie table...

Let's do something...
Whenever you feel like coming down to Argentina let me invite you to have dinner at the living room table, where all LP fans belong.
I'll grill you an argentine style BBQ that you'll never forget, and after a few bottles of good red wine we can START discussing LPs....

Who knows !!! Maybe you end up being right and I start saving for my own R9 !!!

But let me tell you something... I love you too.

L.

 

[Ed Rafalko]

Hey- Ive HAD Argentine BBQ before! I know what YOU'RE up to!
I was teasing, BD. I can't play a classic because the necks' too thin for my hand, which is big enough to wrap aroud DavePaf's or Snag's neck and snap it like a twig. The Classic doesn't have the neck tenon that I like, either. Those are the two reasons I don't play them.
Doesn't mean I don't like Argentine BBQ or don't want to snap Snag's or DavePAF's neck, mind you.

 

[blackdog]

BBQ...

Hey Ed, glad to know that you KNOW what I'm talking about, and that you HAVEN'T forgot already !!!

Aside from neck size considerations, prices of Gibsons and availability of Historics are a big problem here...

Prices for a good Classic or Standard range from $2300-3000, and one of the very few Historics I've seen around (a '56 GT) goes for $3300, even after being hanging on the wall of the dealer for 3 years...

In my job I get to travel often to the US, so I'm waiting for my next trip to try to locate a good R7, or maybe a nice '57BB like the one I had some time ago and regret having sold, or a nice 335, or...:duh

I guess you get the picture... :hee
Peace & Love.
L.

 

[Ed Rafalko]

How you think I could possibly forget Argentinian Barbeque washed down with Sangria spiked with vodka I'll never know.

 

[toni]

Blackdog,

You're right.
There is an optimal resonant point for each guitar.:dude

Ed,

your "hand is big enough to wrap around a neck..."
geez ! buy a 6 strings bass and play chords ! :lol2