LP terminology...

BroKen_H

BroKen_H

Re-member
Okay, I'm fair to noob at guitar, so I'd like to ask a few questions about Les Pauls. Sweetwater is running a 36 month SAC deal and if I can swing it by the missus, I might set aside $25-40 a month on an investment in my playing. I've got a super strat from Hamer and a Mockingbird (with the Floyd Rose). I'd like a Paul to round things out a bit.

First up, can someone tell me in simple terms what coil taps do?
For mostly rock guitar playing, should I stick with humbuckers? Are the Alnico pickups the right answer, or should I look to some others?
When they talk about different neck tapers, do they mean the curve of the back of the neck?

Sorry if some of these are rube questions, but I'm interested in the Alpine White w/Gold Hardware Studio with the coil taps. If coil taps are not going to give me tone flexibility (or some other gain), I'll go with a sunburst model without the taps and save the $15 a month...
Thanks for the help!
I really need to just schedule one of my days off to go to Sam Ash or Guitar Center (they're both an hour and a half away), but I really don't like to go play their guitars knowing I can't afford to buy and will order elsewhere...but then, maybe they'll make me a similar deal if I explain my situation. :)
 
Since youre talking about Les Paul's, which typically have humbucking pickups, i suspect that you mean coil split instead of coil tap. Here's a good description by Fender: Coil Splitting and Coil Tapping | Fender Tech Talk

Personally, on a Paul, I can't say that a coil split would get much use, especially if you have other guitars that can get single coil sounds. When I use my Les Paul, it's because I want a big fat humbucking sound. It's a simple, blunt instrument. It's a big, heavy, bone crusher, and I love it. Slightly shorter scale than a typical Fender style guitar, so I think that they play a little easier. Upper fret access isn't nearly as easy as a Strat or shreddy guitar, but that's a small consolation. They look great, they play great, they sound awesome. They're an icon of rock for a reason.

Just out of curiosity, what's the monthly payment difference between a studio and a traditional pro from the standard line? Might just be worth the difference.
 
For neck tapers, the only two that I'm familiar with are the '50s style and the '60s style. The 50s style ones remind me of a baseball bat cut in half lengthwise. They're fat and uncomfortable to me. The 60s or "slim taper" are right up my alley. They're not as wide at the nut, and are generally a pleasure to play IMO. If you're used to wide/flat Ibanez style shreddy necks, then I'd bet that neither would be immediately comfortable or familiar. But it's amazing how quickly a person can adapt.

I'm not a particular authority on pickups, I've only used a couple different kinds on my Paul. The crazy hot ceramic coil weren't very good, and my current alnico V are OK. I'm still pining for alnico II pickups.
 
What Tad said.... I can't see the point of a coil split on a LP, unless you're playing live and you have the occasional need for a single coil sound - but it probably ain't gonna sound like a strat or a tele or anything else recognisable.

I have a single coil guitar that has a coil tap, which is occasionally quite useful, however. Save your money.:thumbs up:

And gold hardware might look nice and sparkly and shiny now, but.... :eek: Plus other guitarists may think badly of you. Only you know if your self esteem can cope with this. :laughings:

Can't help you with the rest, alas.
 
Tadpui nailed it on the neck description and the pickups - I will go ahead and second the sentiment to avoid ceramic humbuckers as well.

FWIW, my LP Studio has the coil tap/coil split option and all I can say is that it is simply a waste of a few DPDT potentiometers. I think I tapped them one time in the 2+ years I've owned that guitar and it just didn't seem like a usable sound. Didn't sound like a single coil and didn't sound like it should be coming out of an LP. Save the $15 per month... :thumbs up:
 
All that single coils stuff was popularized by the Jimmy Page model.

Which he himself doesn't use. :D

A humbucker split sounds like shit

Prior to the Jimmy Page model, it was a fad in the 70s when people were looking for a jack of all trades instrument. It faded quickly.

As to necks, you got the 50s profile round and fat and the 60s profile flat and thinner. Nut width is the same on both.

For wood, Gibson uses the exact same mahogany on the lower lines as the high dollar stuff.

Alnico mags sound better than ceramic mags. The ceramic is more brittle.

If you're buying sight unseen, make sure you get it from a vendor with a good return policy in case you hate it.

There ya go some basics.
 
pikingrin said:
^^This is what I was trying to say. Instead of saying it outright, I was trying to be a little more diplomatic about it. :D
Click to expand...

Haha, you do well with diplomacy.
Me not so much.
:D

Gibson pretty much tries to appeal to two camps of new lp customers.
Those who want to sound like Slash, and those who want to sound like Jimmy Page.

Both of which are ludicrous goals. :)
 
I've got the coil split feature on my LP and never use it. I think it's as Armistice said--if you're gigging and want to take along fewer guitars, the coil split might cover a single coil sound in a pinch. But not as well as a Tele or a Strat. Who knows? Maybe you'll find a use for it, and maybe I will some day.

If you've got the LP itch, you're just going to have to scratch it. Then you'll decide whether it's for you or not. I just had to have an LP. Once the honeymoon had worn off, I realized my SG is a lot more fun to play--lighter, better access to the upper frets, and without the sharp corner that digs into my forearm. While the two guitars don't sound exactly the same, the family resemblance is there. Try one when you go to try out the LP.
 
I've not got a Les Paul but owning two guitars with pairs of Duncan humbuckers I think through coil split is a great feature.

Sounds particularly good on a Duncan 59 in the neck position. It won't rock like a humbucker but it's great for a mellower tone on cleans

You need to try it and see if you like it. Avoid buying unseen!
 
There is also a 70s neck and compound radius fretboard on some Gibsons, LPs included. I don't think you'd have to be concerned with those things on a Studio. Studios are usually either 50s or 60s neck. I like a 60s neck, but I could live with a 50s no problem.

Most guitar companies erroneously refer to their coil splits as "taps". There is a difference.

Coil Split - splits a humbucker into a single coil. This is what most "coil taps" actually are.
Coil Tap - takes a signal from earlier in the pickup winding for a lower output. This is not very common.

Add me to the list that hates hot ceramic humbuckers. You likely won't have to worry about these pickups with a Studio. I only know of one Les Paul model with the hot 500T ceramics, and it aint no Studio.

And if this special deal is on a leftover 2015 model, pass on it. That year will go down as a bastard in the history of Gibson.
 
The 2015s will probably be sought after in 30 years cos they'll be rare as fuck.
 
Thanks for all the help!
No one discussed the neck I'm looking at specifically. I have huge hands, so I'm looking at the soloist neck that comes on the HP line (supposedly wider?). Sorry I didn't mention that in the initial post.

This all may be moot as the 36 months thing went away and it's now 24. Still, in the HP line, if SGs are still good option for killer Gibson tone, I could swing this fine little article for $45 a month. I'm not sure I like a sunburst SG. Doesn't look quite right to me. Maybe cherry or black (my other two guitars are red already). These have mini humbuckers, though. Differences?
More information...for the same price, I can get the "faded" series, and they have the 450/490 pickups instead of "mini humbuckers". Or are those the ones I should be avoiding? Lots of perks on this one, too. White edged pickguard looks nicer, adjustable 0 fret (is this worth something? Looks like it would make setting your action easier...), and those G-Force things that I'd probably leave the battery out of unless there's some great advantage to them...I can tune a guitar. :)

Appreciate all the help, guys. Yeah, my ego can take the gold on white cause there wouldn't be a lot of other people seeing it (and it didn't cost extra), but it's moot, as I won't be buying the one with the coil splits. Hate to sound like I'm waffling on this, but I just didn't have enough information to ask the right questions in the first post. Glad to know about the pickups! Sad that I can't get 36 months and a nicer guitar, but the SG looks very nice.
 
I'm not sure I'd buy any Gibson brand new. Too much $$$$. You can get a lot more guitar on Craigslist, eBay, the usual places. If cash is an issue, or a personal loan is not realistic try patience. Took me a few years to pile up enough cash for my first LP.
 
I am a humbucker guitar player, so I think that a hb guitar is the starting point for me. I wouldn't say that it is a 'rock stuff' because it would reduce too much the abilities of a humbucker pup, HB pickups has its own personality, and while the bridge one can be annoying when played pure the middle and neck position can offer really amazing tones. Finally, and if you were referring to it when you mentioned the rock thing, yes, hb pickups are too much more easier to saturate in order to find 'that' rocker and heavy sound. ;)

Now I will disagree of what others has said that "coil split is useless" or "that it won't make sense if you already have a strat guitar" or such. I have a LP, a strat and a 175 (acoustic). My LP has coil tap for both pickups and it is not bad. First why refuse an extra feature that you can have almost for free... besides the sound of a coil tapped pickup does NOT sound like the same as a native single coil one, so it means that having a guitar with tapped pups AND a guitar with the real deal you will have plenty of tone options. I don't see why not take advantage of it.

Now Sky Blue have a point. You can have better LP guitars than a Gibson by a lot less. Gibson guitars are nothing else nowadays than a brand name. The latest ones I played (brand new) were at least disappointed. I have a friend that have two of them (a Standard and a Custom) and sincerely my shit-branded LP that costed me $100 and plus $100 in enhancements is too much better than his ones. Run away from Epiphones too, they are pure crap. I had a SG G-400 that gave to me two happiness moments: when I bought it and when I got rid of it.

:D
 
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pikingrin said:
The 2016s are still using the zero fret; not sure if that is across the board or only on select models but it's for sure still there.
Click to expand...

The "HP" guitars have those dumb brass nuts.

Brokenbrain, get a "T" model. They're Traditional style Gibsons.
 
BroKen_H said:
This all may be moot as the 36 months thing went away and it's now 24. Still, in the HP line, if SGs are still good option for killer Gibson tone, I could swing this fine little article for $45 a month.
Click to expand...

Do not pay 1000 bucks for that guitar. You can get a full SG Standard T for roughly that same price. I have a mini-hum SG Special. Pretty much that same model, except mine's a Silverburst. It's a great guitar, I love it, but I only paid 300 bucks for it.
 
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