R8 - Chambered?

[kieraneb]

Hi all,

 

I have a 2010 LPR8 F which seems incredibly light for a Les Paul. I can't weigh it, but I'd say it weighs about the same as my custom shop Strat. The thing is it doesn't have a CR serial number just the usual one starting with an 8. Does anybody know if any chambered reissues were made with normal serial numbers?

[pippy]

Hi and welcome.

 

AFAIK the chambered re-issues are all clearly marked as such (as you have already discovered).

My guess is that it just had a lighter than usual slab of mahogany used for a body-blank used as it's base.

 

I don't wish to sound unhelpful, but saying;

"...I'd say it weighs about the same as my custom shop Strat..." is, unfortunately, completely meaningless here. We don't know how heavy your Custom Shop Strat feels.

Furthermore, FWIW, I've had at least 3 '70s Strats that I'd swear were heavier than either of my LP R-I's but as I no longer have any of those Strats it cannot be proven either way.

 

R-I's usually weigh from the light-end of 8 lbs upwards if that's any help?

Try to get an accurate measure and see what you discover.

 

Please keep us posted!

 

Pip.

[kieraneb]

I don't have any scales to weigh it with. Will have to try and borrow some. If I remember rightly, the shop gave the weight of my strat as 7.2 lbs, so I can't see the Les Paul even being 8 lbs. Anyway, I'll see if I can weigh it somehow.

[Golden]

The thing is it doesn't have a CR serial number just the usual one starting with an 8.

 

I think they all do and are special orders by a few dealers.

 

http://www.chambered-reissue.org/history.htm

 

 

That said as mentioned its also very likely you simply just may have a lighter LP. Its not uncommon either but under 7.2 imho sounds on the light side. Had you said the higher end of 7 to 8-1/2 I would think it very likely. But hey you may simply have a light piece of mahogany too.

 

Let us know, and put photos up!

[kieraneb]

[Golden]

Looks purty! Just right! And LIGHT!!!

[Tim Plains]

Regular R8 serial number means it's solid. Google "Wildwood featherweight Les Paul". Plenty of light ones out there. Nice guitar.

[stein]

Indeed, you need to weigh it. Even a bathroom scale can get you within a half to a quarter pound.

 

One thing about weight, it can be a bit misleading trying to judge just by how heavy it feels. We can all judge light vs heavy, but when it comes to guessing the actual weight, it's far too easy to miss by a pound, even 2. And I think we are talking about 7 vs 8 pounds here, which is going from extremely common at around 8 pounds to highly uncommon at 7 pounds (for a solid).

[stein]

 

I don't wish to sound unhelpful, but saying;

"...I'd say it weighs about the same as my custom shop Strat..." is, unfortunately, completely meaningless here. We don't know how heavy your Custom Shop Strat feels.

Furthermore, FWIW, I've had at least 3 '70s Strats that I'd swear were heavier than either of my LP R-I's but as I no longer have any of those Strats it cannot be proven either way.

 

R-I's usually weigh from the light-end of 8 lbs upwards if that's any help?

Try to get an accurate measure and see what you discover.

 

 

 

Pip.

 

 

I don't have any scales to weigh it with. Will have to try and borrow some. If I remember rightly, the shop gave the weight of my strat as 7.2 lbs, so I can't see the Les Paul even being 8 lbs. Anyway, I'll see if I can weigh it somehow.

I might say, that in my estimation, it's expected a RI Les Paul to weigh less than a typical 70's Strat!

 

Fender didn't pay all that much attention to weight until a certain time when it became "hip" and it became common knowledge that most vintage Fenders were on the light side. I have a bad memory as far as years, but maybe the late 90's?

 

In my experience, MOST Fenders of the RI and such for most of the time would be about 8-9 pounds. When they became "hip" to keep the weight down, it was a struggle to keep them at a target weight of 7 1/2, with a lot being more like 7 3/4. I'm just making guesses here from a weak memory, but trying to say that MOST reissues at the low side were at the real vintage high side, think 7 1/4 to 7 3/4.

 

Who knows what they are doing now, as it seems the Fender Custom shop, or rather "regular production" custom shop for reissues has lost more than a step.

 

I said all that to say, that it would NOT be surprising at all to have a Fender reissue come in at 8 pounds or more.