Les Paul sound range

[houndman55]

Hey,

 

How well suited is the gibson/epiphone les paul for non typical genres. I.E. jazz, country, funk and disco? I realise that the coil tapping lends the les paul single coil like sounds but I'm talking about just a standard les paul with any combinations of the regular pickups. What I mean by non-typical genres I mean clean tone genres that you don't usually see a lp guitarist play. Most of the guys with a lp plays either blues rock, hard rock, rock n roll or any combination of those genres.

 

Peace out,

[LPguitarman]

Hey,

 

How well suited is the gibson/epiphone les paul for non typical genres. I.E. jazz, country, funk and disco? I realise that the coil tapping lends the les paul single coil like sounds but I'm talking about just a standard les paul with any combinations of the regular pickups. What I mean by non-typical genres I mean clean tone genres that you don't usually see a lp guitarist play. Most of the guys with a lp plays either blues rock, hard rock, rock n roll or any combination of those genres.

 

Peace out,

Les Pauls are versatile for any type of music. I've seen them used in every genre. The neck pickup alone, or used in combination with the bridge pickup give very sweet sounds for Jazz or Country. The bridge pickup along can rock. Back down on the volume or tone on either pickup and you can get even more variety.

[capmaster]

Well, no guitar model can substitute another one. Including all the switching options of mine, I couldn't do without Telecaster, Les Paul, Stratocaster, and SG. Having started with the latter in 1982, I meanwhile own some of these "Big Four" each and some other guitars, too. Even the specific characteristics of particular Les Paul guitars with the same pickup models are different.

 

The piezo'd ones clearly prove it all. Using the same type Graph Tech Ghost Floyd Rose systems, they reveal the very tone of a Les Paul (Gibson Alex Lifeson Axcess) and a Strat (two piezo & SSS modded MIM FR HSS Fenders with different bodies, different necks and different Fender Noiseless pickups). Like with piezos, no magnetic pickup could ever make a guitar another one, and no electronics, too. I tried several "virtual" guitar systems - they are poor compared to the real things, for feel and tone. Works with amps and effects, but not with guitars to my experience.

 

Each of my guitars is usable for a wide range of styles but will always deliver its specific tone. The best jazz guitar of mine is a Gibson Explorer with Dirty Fingers Plus, and it's the best metal guitar of mine, too. No doubt that my main Telecaster American Deluxe Ash is a great country guitar and my Les Paul Traditional 2013 is very fine for Rock 'n' Roll, but just them either come closest to the Explorer's metal tone when blown through a high-gain setup. No Strat, no SG, no whatever guitar, and no other Tele or Les Paul beats them with that.

 

I think it is best you take the time and check out for yourself what a certain guitar with a given amp setup might do for you. Any good guitar can be exciting and inspiring. In my case, my songs rule, and I am slave to my ideas. My guitars and amp emulations are my servants in the end. It's easier to control them than my bandmates... However, they all write songs, too, so it's always about give and take.

[Twang Gang]

Les Pauls are very versatile. It was not designed to be a heavy metal or rock guitar, but was discovered to produce thick meaty mid range tones when cranked through a high powered amp. I see many electric guitarists who always have all their volume and tone controls all the way up to ten, and then adjust for tone through the amp and effects pedals.

 

If you take a LP and play it through a clean amp, and use the volume and tone controls along with the various available pickup settings you can get all kinds of clean tones for jazz, country, etc. There are probably quite a few LP players that have no idea what their guitar sounds like turned down a little and played clean because they've never used it for that, but there is quite a range of tones that can be achieved.

[casey_vee]

Joe Bonamassa does a 3min vvideo of all the tones you can get before adding any pedals.

 

http://Joe Bonamassa's Gibson Les Paul tone tips guitar …:

 

Enjoy even if its not helpful.

[cody78]

If you look back through the history of the Les Paul, many varied guitarists have used them for many different styles of music. I think it's a shame that the Les Paul is so linked to rock & blues when it's capable of so much more. You can play any style of music on any guitar...ok some may be slightly more suited to a certain genre, but a lot of younger players do not know the history of both music and the guitar! Even players my age (30) don't know much about this subject.

 

For example; try looking up and learning the classical piece Asturias (Leyenda) by Isaac Albéniz and then try it on your Les Paul...or an old standard like Autumn Leaves...or even some Indian Classical music. These all sound great on an LP

[tabeck5]

The neck pickup on my LP through just about any Fender tube amp is incredibly rich and full sounding, very clean. If I am not mistaken, LP designed this to be a Jazz guitar. I am a bit surprised that more Jazz players don't use it more often.

[cody78]

The neck pickup on my LP through just about any Fender tube amp is incredibly rich and full sounding, very clean. If I am not mistaken, LP designed this to be a Jazz guitar. I am a bit surprised that more Jazz players don't use it more often.

 

 

Yes you are correct about it being a jazz guitar, Lester was a jazzer (though jazz/ pop crossover really) but his contribution to the design of the guitar has often been questioned. The then President of Gibson Ted McCarty actually designed most of the guitar and apparently Les Paul's only contribution was the original tailpiece and deciding on the colour options of gold & then a couple of years later black,... but if you read about the history of Gibson this has been debated for years as nobody seems to know exactly how much input Lester actually had

 

In regards to the LP not being used much in jazz, it surprises me too! They are great jazz guitars, as are Gibson SG's. They may not produce the traditional hollow sound of an L5 or ES 175, but sound mighty fine IMO. I have a couple of Gibson hollows and a number of LP's & SG's and I play jazz on all of 'em!

[tabeck5]

I feel the same way about my Les Paul as my Tele, people do have a pre-conceived notion as to what they "should" sound like and never realize that they are such versatile wonderful instruments. It is not just that they can do it, they do it all very well without needing any gimmicks, pedals, expensive amps, etc. My LP through a cheap Fender XD Vibro Champ (a little 5W tube import) can do Country, Jazz, Blues, pretty much any style or Genre

[casey_vee]

I feel the same way about my Les Paul as my Tele, people do have a pre-conceived notion as to what they "should" sound like and never realize that they are such versatile wonderful instruments. It is not just that they can do it, they do it all very well without needing any gimmicks, pedals, expensive amps, etc. My LP through a cheap Fender XD Vibro Champ (a little 5W tube import) can do Country, Jazz, Blues, pretty much any style or Genre

 

Totally. I think a Les Paul with the ability to coil split is the most versatile guitar out there.

[tabeck5]

I thought about this a bit and the setup of the guitar can have a dramatic impact on how well suited the guitar is for different Genre's. For Jazz anyway I have my LP neck pickup approximately 1/8" from the bottom of the high and low E strings (when depressed at the last fret). This is a bit lower than the factory setting, but backing it off gives a much better Jazz tone (warmer, a bit darker and a bit more responsive). Experiment a bit with the height to get it where you want it. The next is the amp EQ settings, I get pretty good results with flat eq on the amp then roll the tone know back until I am satisfied. I do use a MXR 10 band EQ pedal (one of the only pedals I ever found consistently useful) which doesn't change the character of the pickups but it does help to sort out the highs and lows.

[Plus Top Dan]

I've recently been experimenting with my guitars by deliberately playing the 'wrong' guitar for particular songs. By this I mean I've been playing my Les Paul for 'strat' songs such as Sultans of Swing, Apache, etc....

 

It's made me much more aware of the sonic differences when using the volume and tone controls on my LP and amp and coaxing different sounds from the guitar. I've also been doing the same with my Strats and playing more humbucker based songs. It's been a fun way of exploring the possibilities from each guitar.

 

If I were to A-B playing something like Dire Straits Telegraph Road with a Strat and then with a Les Paul, the strat would probably sound 'better' or 'more correct' as those tones are what my ears are used to hearing for that particular song, however, the Les Paul with the volume rolled off a bit isn't going to sound 'bad' by any means.

 

Just my thoughts on an interesting topic...........

[tabeck5]

Always a fun exercise, as is playing traditionally acoustic songs on an LP

[flyingfrets]

George Johnson (Brothers Johnson) used a Les Paul VERY effectively and for my money, you won't find two much funkier cats than these dudes.

[tabeck5]

[casey_vee]

Hell yeah.

[Anthony Buckeridge]

Quote: "How well suited is the gibson/epiphone les paul for non typical genres. I.E. jazz, country, funk and disco?"

 

Quote: "Well, no guitar model can substitute another one. Including all the switching options of mine, I couldn't do without Telecaster, Les Paul, Stratocaster, and SG" - Snipped for Shortness - "Each of my guitars is usable for a wide range of styles but will always deliver its specific tone."

 

 

 

 

In reality, a huge part of the problem.

 

Is the same as the underlying difficultly many Luthiers have experienced.

 

Trying to further Research, Develop and Evolve the both the Classical, Steel String Acoustic and even the Electric Guitar.

 

The thing is, the "Sound", "Feel" and "Look", but predominately the "Tonality of Sound" in most specific Musical Genres, has already been Absolutely Nailed, Firm and Resolutely Established by so many Great Players in Legendary Classic Recordings for such a Very Long Time Indeed.

 

A revolutionary Guitar Builder once demonstrated his supposedly science based Guitar Innovations to a symposium of Top Notch Classical Guitarists. All agreed the Instrument Projected Well and had a fine Volume of Tone. "The trouble is" the Greatest Classical Artists in the World told him, "It doesn't actually "Sound" like a Classical Guitar".

 

Both the Listening Audience and the Performing Player, and perhaps most importantly, Well Loved Artists and their Producers who need to Sell their Songs already have "A Sound" as well as a "Style" deep within their Psyche. And these Producers of Recordings, Sell the Image they Promote, to a Public that is just as Conservatively Steeped in their Taste, as we know, very many Players are in theirs. They anticipate and expect a certain "Sound".

 

But perhaps even more importantly, All This is involved with and a big part of Projecting the Hallmark Qualities and Characteristics, the Stage Personality and Life Values the Producer Artist and their Audience wish to be Personally Identified With. By analogy this is somewhat akin to the Wider Public, selecting a Daily Newspaper whose Values and Editorials, Directly Reflect the Opinions and Life Values that they themselves espouse, wish to Project, be Seen and Indentified With. They do not simply buy a Newspaper just to Read the News. They want to read the News, deliberately skewed and put over a Particular Way.

 

 

 

We could contemplate that seen in this context.

 

A Guitar is no longer simply in reality just a Guitar.

 

 

 

The Guitar has become, an Avatar.

 

 

 

It lends the Artist Identity.

 

It is an Extension and Exemplar of Values.

 

Powerfully Projecting Status and Innate Quality and Character.

 

Giving Simulacrum and Verisimilitude by adding Authenticity to their Performance.

 

For an Artist, it tells the World "This is Who I am" and it reinforces the Audiences "Sense of Group Identity".

 

 

 

 

 

Deep isn't it?

 

 

 

 

The single most important factor in creating the Sound a Player is getting, is actually the Player themselves.

 

In fact, I believe the "Spirit of the Sound", its "Essential Essence" actually originates from Deep Within the Player, and that what you Hear, the "Vibrations Created by Moving Air" as the Strings are Struck, Attacked, Plucked or Caressed is not a "Cause", but really an "Effect".

 

The "Cause" is actually Inside the Players Spirit, and the "Effect", the Sound you Hear is really but an Outward Expression of an Inward Reality and Feeling that the Player has towards the Music, which is in truth, the Sum of a Whole Lifetime of Emotion, Personal Experience, Accrued Technical Prowess and a Direct Result of Who they Have Worked With and been Exposed to and Influenced By. Its Their Life Story in Single Notes.

 

 

 

 

But the Salient Point is, it's the Person Holding and Playing the Instrument and Contributes Most to the Sound you Hear.

 

They are The Single Most Important Thing In Getting That Sound!

 

 

 

There are of course, many, many other contributory factors.

 

Fingers, Picks, Strings, Pickups, Wood, On Board Electronics, (Passive or Active) Instrument, Amplifier, E.Q. Settings, Speaker & Cabinet, Direct Injection Box, Pre- Amp and so forth.

 

And we could enlarge and amplify detail to the point, where certainly I and I am sure many others here could point where the Transformer Used in a Direct Injection Box makes a tremendous contribution to the Best Quality of Tone.

 

 

 

 

Many decades ago indeed, I was stood in a Music Shop.

 

It was by far the Largest in the Area, owned by a friend of mine which was why I was there, when a scruffy American Guy walked in, obviously a traveller, with a back pack on.

 

He walked around the Display of Guitars and finally lifted the Cheapest, Worst Playing Guitar off the wall. It had an Action that was "Difficult" and Strings that were Cheap, and the Wood this Very Early Chinese Guitar was made from wouldn't have been considered good enough to fabricate a Packing Case in this Country.

 

He Laid the Guitar on his Lap, pulled a Steel out of his pocket, and proceeded with a Master Class Display of Virtuoso Performance, that was nothing short of Breathtakingly Stunning. It's strange how even if you give a Cheap Guitar to a Great and Famous Player, they still get "Their Signature Tone" even when they are using different or less than their "Ideal Equipment".

 

Their Choice Equipment, simply Dials into ever more Precise Focus, Sophisticatedly Honing the Class and Quality, of what is in actual fact, Already There in a Complete Form, but in a Rawer Form.

 

It's this Observation that has led me to the Conclusion that "The Player" is "The Single Most Important Thing In Getting That Sound!"

 

 

 

 

That said, our friends comment.

 

"Each of my guitars is usable for a wide range of styles but will always deliver its specific tone." is a point well made.

 

Usually, each such Guitar will be coupled to a Specific Amp, and the Players Touch, Guitar Choice and Amplifier combine to provide an Ideal Session Tool for a Particular Genre.

 

But I have one particular Les Paul that is Manufactured from a Very Dense Piece of Mahogany indeed. Far, far Heavier and Denser than is usual for even a Heavy Les Paul. It just sounds Perfectly Toned for Jazz, to the extent that I simply tend to avoid using it for other Playing Styles to which to my mind, it is not quite as well suited. Happily, I have more than one single Instrument.

 

So how much of this is actually just all in my Head? Well it does "Sound" incredibly warm even for a Dense Les Paul, and this is of course what makes me think that way about it. However the Salient Point here, is that we are almost always predominantly dealing with Strongly Preconceived Notions and Well Established Stereotypical Ideas that have Deeply Moulded our Thinking and Feelings, far more than we are likely to give Credit for or ever Admit.

 

 

 

 

Guitar Manufacturers are themselves also responsible here.

 

The way they Market and Promote the Instrument is a Big Part of How we Perceive the Instruments Intended Use as Consumers.

 

But it is also for many Aspiring, Performing Artists and Musicians, a strong component in the Specific Image that they are trying to Project to their Audience and the Far Wider World beyond.

 

Their choice of Guitar Projects not only their Personal Playing Prowess, and the Lineage of Historically Significant, Legendary Great Artists they stand on the shoulder of, but heavily lends to their own Personal Musical Character and Stage Personality, along with concomitant Life Values and Level of Status.

 

 

 

 

Their Guitar is indeed an Avatar.

 

 

 

 

But the Limitations of what we can Accomplish.

 

Musically as well as in Sound and Range, are in reality.

 

Deep Within Us, Ourselves, rather than being in the Instrument.

 

 

 

 

Les Paul

 

 

McCartney and Slash on Les Paul

 

[capmaster]

The Latin word instrumentum simply means tool.

 

One might need lots of different hammers, screw drivers, wrenches, handles and bits for getting around with the parts working with. Same way a piece of music, instrumental or song, may call for different instruments of particular make.

 

Every guitar is a complex tool made of a certain number of parts with dedicated functions. When talking about fine ones, they usually are more than the sum of their components. When it comes to player, picking and strings, there are variations, but the guitar will remain a link of the chain. Effects and amplifiers also are links and will always depend on what happens before.

 

Making music calls for the discerning musician long before it will reach any producer of any style. Writing and arranging instrumentals and in particular songs take thoroughly creating a matching sound architecture. Every contribution has to be on its place in the end and add its share to the entity. When doing this nicely, the piece of music will be more than the sum of its parts, too.

 

Finally, there are sounds intrinsically tied to instruments of a certain build. Either neck plus middle pickups and bridge plus middle pickups combinations of a Fender Stratocaster are hard to imitate, closest using a Nashville Telecaster or Blackout Telecaster. Lots of styles calling for them won't work with anything else. Remember Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, or Nile Rodgers, best known as member of Chic. I think there's no workaround.

[Anthony Buckeridge]

Quote: "Remember Jimi Hendrix"

 

 

 

Jimi Hendrix Owned and Played:

 

A 1955 Gibson Les Paul Custom

 

A 1956 Gibson Les Paul Custom

 

A Yellow Gibson Les Paul Special

 

And 1967 Gibson Les Paul/SG Custom

 

 

Apart from the Les Paul Models he also had:

 

A Gibson 67 Flying V.

 

A 68 Gibson Flying V.

 

A 69 Custom made Left hand Flying V.

 

A Gibson ES-345 Semi Acoustic.

 

And an Epiphone Wilshire Manufactured by Gibson in the Parsons St Kalamazoo Factory.

 

 

 

Many Players simply used the Instruments they could afford early in their Career.

 

Session Musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Li'l Jimmy Page and others were no exception to this phenomenon. Later on we see, they accumulate a lot of Gibson's, though undoubtedly it is the case that at times, certain Instruments are often chosen by Hard Working, Successful Artists for Financial Contractual Reasons, their Lightness of Weight on Stage, as well as at times, Tonal Characteristics Peculiar to a Particular Model.

 

Sometimes, Models of Light Weight Brand's, have had to be especially Modified, beefed up in Sonic Power for Great Artists, to make them Deliver the Power and Tone that the Artist's are accustomed to.

 

At the end of the day, Eric Clapton just sounds like Eric Clapton, quite regardless of what make of Guitar he seems to Play.

 

That is my Point. The Sound is in reality, mostly to be found in the Touch of the Player.

 

 

 

 

Quote: "Nile Rodgers, best known as member of Chic. I think there's no workaround."

 

 

 

 

I understand your point of view.

 

But no one told Nile Rodgers about this!

 

Here he is Playing a Gibson Les Paul with Chic.

 

 

And here Playing with a Slash Solo both on Gibson Les Paul's.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxGSfXFhAJk

[capmaster]

In my opinion, they all knew why they bought and played their different instruments, likely better than me. Budget is one consideration, another one is what it may contribute to one's own performance. It also won't refute what I wrote in my previous post. Remember I didn't say anything about players using guitars of one certain build exclusively. I can't imagine that for myself, too, not since more than thirty years.

 

My musical directions underwent changes and keep on doing so, but I think I will either play guitars and basses or sell them. I will never turn into a collector. For me it is all about playing and tone of the music in my heart, guts and head.

[Anthony Buckeridge]

Capmaster.

 

Your thoughts and comments are very well observed and made.

 

I perfectly understand them, and furthermore believe that the overwhelming majority of Guitar Owners will too.

 

For the way most Guitar Owners think about such matters, is a By - Product of the Long History of Recording and T.V, Appearances by Great Artists and Musicians.

 

 

 

My point.

 

Is a completely different one entirely.

 

Yet both points are not mutually exclusive, they do not exclude each other, rather they depend on the existence of the other, and actually feed off one another.

 

In reality, my point is one that fully appreciates the "Status Quo" in regard to the manner in which the way most Guitar Owners think about needing so many different Guitars for so many different Sounds and Playing Styles.

 

And perhaps it concerns rather Philosophical and Thought Provoking Considerations, yet time and time again, experience has proved that there is room to question whether the Visual Effect of the Media and the Predominant Culture Guitar Enthusiasts have grown up in, has caused and trained Aspiring Musicians to think in a particular way.

 

 

 

And I believe it has!

 

 

 

Allow me to give you a couple of examples of the Power of this Visual "Cultural" Effect on the mind of Guitar Owners.

 

Some time ago, I read on a Fora, a long thread written by someone who had seen the late Roy Orbison on T.V. appearing to Play the Opening Riff to "Pretty Woman" with a Gibson Semi Acoustic. The thread was all about what a Great Sound the Semi Acoustic had made on the Recording, and what a Great Sound the Semi Acoustic gave the Opening Riff.

 

 

 

 

In point of fact, the Opening Riff of "Pretty Woman" was Recorded utilising a 12 String Acoustic Guitar.

Yet people always saw Roy on T.V. or in a Live performance with a Gibson or Gretsch Semi Acoustic Electric and the Visual Power of what they saw, Completely Overrode their Ability to Discerningly Hear what was on the Recording.

 

If you go back and Listen to the Original Recording now, armed with the knowledge that it's a 12 String Acoustic actually Playing on the Record, its completely obvious to the Ear, THAT is what it is. Yet common knowledge, amongst Guitar Owners would of commonly said otherwise.

 

 

 

 

Here's another one.

 

At the time of its release, everyone thought that Li'l Jimmy Page played Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love" on a Gibson Les Paul.

 

But at the time he Produced that Recording, there was no way he could afford such an expensive Guitar, and there were indeed very few of them about in his part of the World.

 

Jim would often stay overnight at a Session Musican Drummer and friends place in Edmonton as I did also. As Jim lived in Epsom, he would usually come to London with his Guitar for Session on a Train using the Tube and Taxi's. Like me, he doesn't drive a Car at all, so this was very helpful, when our Session Drummer friend would let us stay with him overnight.

 

Jimmy Page Recorded "Whole Lotta Love" using his White Fender Telecaster, yet when Guitarists saw him on T.V. with the Les Paul he finally got hold of, they unconsciously made the assumption through the Visual Power of what they saw, that he Recorded the Track utilising a Gibson Les Paul. Now for sure it's his Favoured Instrument, but back then, the reality was that such an Instrument was prohibitively expensive and hard to obtain. Yet common knowledge, amongst Guitar Owners would of universally said completely otherwise, in regard to the "Sonics".

 

 

 

Can you see?

 

Human Being tend to always think in terms of Cause and Effect.

 

All this is linked to the Degree of Importance and the Power the Human Brain assigns to Visual and Aural Stimulus, the latter of which is much smaller indeed.

 

And that can Limit our Ability to Listen Perfectly as we Ideally Should, Properly Discern what we are Actually Hearing, and lead us to False and Erroneous Conclusions regarding the relationship between Musical Instruments and their Sound.

 

 

 

 

As a Conductor, for me, this Ability to Listen and Hear is an Absolutely Prime Concern.

 

 

 

 

Today.

 

The Range of Sound Effects and Pedals that are available to the Average Musician is nothing short of Bewilderingly Staggering.

 

Yet back in the day, when Artists, Producers, Engineers and Session Musicians were actually Inventing and Creating the Musical Styles and Genres that we now recognise, this Equipment simply didn't even exist.

 

The people involved in Pushing Back the Boundaries, Crossing New Horizons and Creating these New Musical Styles simply took what they had, right there and then at their disposal. The Limited Range of Sound Equipment and Musical Instruments that currently existed, and used their Ingenuity and Inventiveness to find New Ways to Create Completely New Sounds and Revolutionary Musical Styles.

 

 

 

 

The Beatles Landmark Sgt. Peppers Album was Recorded using Four Track Tape Machines.

 

How do you Create Entirely New Sounds, Music and Effects with hardly anything but Basic Equipment?

 

Well its really the Vision, Talent and Creativity of the Individuals involved, seeing Possibilities instead of Obstacles.

 

 

 

 

Can you see my point?

 

It was the Creative Power of the Artist, Musicians and Engineers that really Made the Difference.

 

Complex Digital Delays didn't exist that you could fine tune the timing of. Sends to Tape Machines used for Delays, running at Different Speeds were all you could use, with the distance between the Record Head and Playback Head and Speed of Passing Tape, providing the Difference in Timing.

 

 

 

 

I could write for days about this stuff, but don't want to belabour the point.

 

Allow me to finish though, with a comment made by a Session Musician visiting a close neighbour.

 

Perhaps I should explain, that out in the Countryside where I have my Recording Studio and Musical Instrument Collection, one neighbour, one of the most Successful Female Artists and Songwriters in U.K. Recording History over the last 30 Years, also has her Studio.

 

Collaborations on her last Album involved people like Elton John and Steven Fry, and she's a Big Pal with Peter Gabriel, and a Member of Radiohead also lives close by, so along with the Great World Class Session Musicians there's a useful and helpful flow of World Class Talent that makes it a pretty interesting place for me.

 

Dog enthusiast Steve Gadd and Bassist Tony Levin were amongst the more recent Session Musicians. Tony in particular made the point, that unless he was asked to bring a particular Instrument, or use one, handily available in the Studio, he could do the Overwhelming Majority of his Session Work by bringing just One Bass Instrument. By making the Instrument he took along a Five String Stingray Bass, he could cover the ground of nearly everything that was required of him.

 

My point is that Experienced Sessions Musicians, (and Li'l Jimmy Page was a Potent Session Musician before he ever became a Gibson Les Paul wielding Rock Star) will often have a Wide Variety of Instruments, but the sheer work of carting all this Expensive Equipment about, is for most Musical Situations, both Ill Advised and Completely Impractical. So Session Musicians become very good indeed at Delivering the "Sound" the Producer wants, by virtue of the flexibility of "Their Playing Style" and the Way they have Equipment Adjusted that Processes the Sound Further and Shapes their Sound. But the Biggest Difference is simply in their "Weight and Manner of Touch".

 

 

 

 

This is a Practical Point, that the more you think about, should become obviously clear.

 

 

 

Finally.

 

Speaking personally, I have often found find that if I Play a Guitar with a Maple Neck, I will Play it Completely Differently to one with a Rosewood Neck.

 

Quite apart from all the other Sonic Differences in Various Guitars. I don't know if that is your experience, but I suspect that it will be that many, if not most people, approach "The Way they Play" and the "Type of Music they Play", completely dependent on the Specific Instrument they are Playing.

 

It's as if my Mind and Attitude towards that Specific Instrument has Already Been Pre-Determined with regard to what it is Capable of. What it Can and Will "Sound" like, the Type of Playing, and the Style of Music that the Guitar is Good For. I think experienced Session Musicians like Tony and Steve, as well as Great Sessions Musicians of Old like Li'l Jim, (Back in the day Jimmy Page and the late Jim Sullivan often worked together as a team on Recording Session Work, so to avoid confusion when Fixers were booking Musicians, they were known as Big Jim and Little Jim) have proved to me quite conclusively that given the Talent and Creativity; these Self Imposed Boundaries and Limitations, that are in so many Musicians Minds, can be completely broken through. And again, many Decades Ago, Musicians simply could not afford to own All these Different Instruments, so they merely used what they had.

 

 

 

 

An Innate Inventiveness and Creativity.

 

That took what was to hand and readily available to them.

 

And used it to Amplify, Extend and Augment the most Incredible Musical Tool.

 

 

 

 

The Creative Human Imagination.

 

 

 

Surely Les Paul himself along with the Gibson Guitar Company are the Finest Example of That!

 

As the First Les Paul Film Clip above in the earlier post Compellingly Reveals.

 

 

 

 

Capmaster.

 

I note you are from Bavaria.

 

I have many, many friends in that part of the world.

 

One of them is on the Supervisory Board of BMW in Munich very near you.

 

Innovation, Class Leading, Mould Breaking, Barrier Eliminating, Movement is on your Doorstep.

 

 

 

 

 

The Original Poster asked "How well suited is the gibson/epiphone les paul for non typical genres. I.E. jazz, country, funk and disco?"

 

 

 

 

I think the answer to that question.

 

Lies not in the Instrument, but in the Mind Set of the Player.

 

Their Personal and Culturally Imposed, Sonic Expectations and Playing Limitations.

 

As Nile Rogers superbly demonstrates using The Gibson Les Paul to Play the Funky Grooves of Chic's "LeFreak" in the earlier posts Film Clip, above.

 

 

 

The Limitation is not in the Instrument.

 

The Actual Limitation is actually Deeply Impressed.

 

By Widespread Cultural Influences and the Limits of the Horizon.

 

 

 

 

Of our Talent, Individuality and Creativity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a close neighbour, fresh from Landmark Historic Concert Success.

 

With plenty of Ideas about Musical and Artistic Creativity.

 

 

 

 

 

Ace Violinist Nigel Kennedy plays the Solo on this Track, all about Innovation in Sound.

 

 

 

 

 

Very Best Wishes

[nitrocat98]

Joe Bonamassa does a 3min vvideo of all the tones you can get before adding any pedals.

 

Joe Bonamassa's Gibson Les Paul tone tips guitar …:

 

Enjoy even if its not helpful.

 

Just watched that again the other night. Great little video!

[Jimi Mac]

The potential of a Les Paul is limitless!!!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXYCQi3H4bs

 

 

It can and will go anywhere and do anything, limited only by the player!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQbXPNkMS74

 

 

Les Paul himself was a jazz/pop guitarist, and he played it that way!

 

http://youtu.be/UOzB7I2y7Ic

 

'Nuff said!