I can't remember, but I think the LPC is one of the few they don't slice up or drill holes in. I think I'm right, but don't hold me to that. But that just proves the point I'm trying to make: Why should someone have to spend the cash that a LPC cost just to get a truly solid-body guitar? That's crazy! LOL!Yeah my LPC is a heavy beast. No pie slices there but I assume some holes under the cap. Then again I'm getting old. Still growls nice though so it's all good lol...
Yeah my LPC is a heavy beast. No pie slices there but I assume some holes under the cap. Then again I'm getting old. Still growls nice though so it's all good lol...
I just bought a Traditional two weeks ago because I knew about the price increases and the tuner thing. Wish that they'd had them in goldtop, but they didn't, so I went with the heritage cherry sunburst. I also put a plain truss-rod cover on it.My LP Traditional is 11 pounds on the nose. I talked to a Gibson builder at an expo and he says they used 7 swiss cheese holes on my yr/model, but it's also right on the cusp of when they started leaving them totally solid, so I don't know. I just know it's 11 pounds and sounds awesome to me. It's weight has never bothered me. Your Custom most likely has swiss cheese weight relief. That's the good kind. Just weigh it and see. If it's less than say 12 pounds it's probably got some relieving.
Looks as if I was wrong! LOL! I don't care what Gibson says, I think they do that because it allows them to get away with using inferior woods. I don't remember anyone clamoring for lighter LPs! They did it because it allows them to build guitars at cheaper prices. I've seen some of their adds that basically say that to get the real LP sustain and tone you have to go with the Traditional. Think I've bought the last Gibsons I'm going to buy in this lifetime.From Gibson.com....
"Today’s Les Paul Custom is based on the model from the mid-1950s, but with several modern appointments. The body is crafted with a hand-carved maple top, which is fitted to a body made from a solid piece of mahogany with strategically routed holes to lessen the weight of the guitar, "
That sounds like "modern weight relief" to me.
My Trad is a Gold top! It's awesome!I just bought a Traditional two weeks ago because I knew about the price increases and the tuner thing. Wish that they'd had them in goldtop, but they didn't, so I went with the heritage cherry sunburst. I also put a plain truss-rod cover on it.
I don't know about all that. Lots of people have complained for a long time about the heavy weight of LPs. Those people most certainly were clamoring for lighter LPs.Looks as if I was wrong! LOL! I don't care what Gibson says, I think they do that because it allows them to get away with using inferior woods. I don't remember anyone clamoring for lighter LPs! They did it because it allows them to build guitars at cheaper prices. I've seen some of their adds that basically say that to get the real LP sustain and tone you have to go with the Traditional. Think I've bought the last Gibsons I'm going to buy in this lifetime.
This will probably lead to an endless debate, but the following is from Sweetwater's ad for the 2014 LP Traditional: "The satisfying sustain of solid mahogany topped with premium maple. No weight relief chambering here - this Les Paul Traditional is solid wood, through and through. Of the hundreds of Les Pauls that come through Sweetwater on a regular basis, only a handful feature unchambered bodies. But to serious technical players such as Joe Bonamassa, chambered or weight-relieved Les Pauls just don't cut it. There's a certain kind of fullness and a distinct degree of sustain you give up when you lose that wood. From the first time you plug in your Les Paul Traditional, you'll hear and feel the difference this important detail makes."My Trad is a Gold top! It's awesome!
I've always been a cherry burst fan too.
I don't know about all that. Lots of people have complained for a long time about the heavy weight of LPs. Those people most certainly were clamoring for lighter LPs.
And I hate to break this to you, but the relieved LPs can sustain MORE because they're more resonant. A heavy solid chunk of heavy solid wood can theoretically sustain less than a chambered guitar.
Looks as if I was wrong! LOL! I don't care what Gibson says, I think they do that because it allows them to get away with using inferior woods. I don't remember anyone clamoring for lighter LPs! They did it because it allows them to build guitars at cheaper prices. I've seen some of their adds that basically say that to get the real LP sustain and tone you have to go with the Traditional. Think I've bought the last Gibsons I'm going to buy in this lifetime.
This will probably lead to an endless debate, but the following is from Sweetwater's ad for the 2014 LP Traditional: "The satisfying sustain of solid mahogany topped with premium maple. No weight relief chambering here - this Les Paul Traditional is solid wood, through and through. Of the hundreds of Les Pauls that come through Sweetwater on a regular basis, only a handful feature unchambered bodies. But to serious technical players such as Joe Bonamassa, chambered or weight-relieved Les Pauls just don't cut it. There's a certain kind of fullness and a distinct degree of sustain you give up when you lose that wood. From the first time you plug in your Les Paul Traditional, you'll hear and feel the difference this important detail makes."
Maybe it's all in my head, but I swear I can tell the difference in the sustain.
Looks as if I was wrong! LOL! I don't care what Gibson says, I think they do that because it allows them to get away with using inferior woods. I don't remember anyone clamoring for lighter LPs! They did it because it allows them to build guitars at cheaper prices. I've seen some of their adds that basically say that to get the real LP sustain and tone you have to go with the Traditional. Think I've bought the last Gibsons I'm going to buy in this lifetime.
........
And I hate to break this to you, but the relieved LPs can sustain MORE because they're more resonant. A heavy solid chunk of heavy solid wood can theoretically sustain less than a chambered guitar.
Yeah that's kind of what I was getting it. Keep the energy in the string. The chambering can make up for that by being more resonant. You can clearly hear the resonance in modern chambered Gibsons. The heavier bodies keep it in the string. It ends up being mostly the same either way when you're plugged into an amp. So it's like, fuck it. Who the fuck plays a Les Paul unplugged all the time?
The thing about that is that since the air in the chambre has no where to go it just becomes a fairly dead spot. Having less overall mass will homogenize two pieces of wood though. At the end of the day it's a pretty moot point when you stand it up against all the other stuff thats going on. That LP I did came out at a touch under 9lb without chambreing so go figure..
Like you though once I have found the basic characteristics of a solid body guitar and its timber I'd more inclined to look to pickups and amp to get the final sound I'm after. Way easier and more predictable than hunting through hundreds of instruments made of similar stuff...
I'm guessing the wood type and grain.So what gives?
I'm guessing the wood type and grain.
It could be. It certainly doesn't bother me. I didn't get that guitar to play Pink Floyd leads or anything like that. I love it just the way it is. I'm just curious why a bigger, as heavy a guitar as a Les Paul with much of the same construction design would sustain so much less.
But like anything else, it will sustain all day long with the amp's gain and volume cranked up.
I assume that was the theory in play with the design of the Yamaha SG2000. They have a big brass plate under the bridge to (I guess?) transfer energy into the body better. Mine will sustain for days. Santana made his trademark endless held notes with that guitar although of course his electronic bits were tuned for it.For sustain on an electric you always have to look at where the energy from the string is being dissipated.