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Lightest not weight relieved/chambered Les Paul


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From that group of three the current (2013) Traditonal is the ONLY one that is not weight-relieved/chambered. Before 2013 these, too, were weight-relieved.

 

If you want to get something made before 1982-ish you will get solid but they tended to be rather heavy - which is precisely the reason weight-relieving was introduced in the first place.

Some Norlin-era Customs weighed-in at over 15 lbs.

 

If you want 'solid' but 'light' then the 1959 Historic Re-issues are (generally speaking) the lightest of the current range as Gibson uses the lightest mahogany blanks for these instruments.

 

P.

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Check the Traditionals on Sweetwater, they have the weights listed. The go from around 8 3/4 to 9 3/4. My 2013 Traditional weighs about 8 3/4 and is very comfortable. I also have a Norlin 30th anniversary made in 1982 that weighs just over 9 just for contrast to the previous post.

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Although I live in Europe, I sometimes check the Sweetwater website for weights and looks of certain guitar models to get suggestions about them. Immediately before I bought my Traditional 2013, those at Sweetwater ranged from 9 lbs 5 oz to 10 lbs 6 oz. Mine is from Thomann and about 9 lbs 12 oz. The two modern weight relieved Standards of mine are 9 lbs 10 oz and 9 lbs 14 oz.

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Your responses are very helpful, thanks. Could you tell me if there is a significant difference in loudness between unplugged fully solid body LP and unplugged weight relieved LP? I am asking because would like to buy a LP that is not loud unplugged, as I don't want to annoy my family (e.g. when I play in late evening, which happens frequently). I know - that is not a very musical reason :) At the same time I like light weight guitars and found out that LP Studio 2013 (modern weight-relieved) are quite light (around 8 lbs, which would be perfect for me). However if fully solid body (LP Traditional 2013 or pre-1982, as you say) is significantly more quiet unplugged than LP modern weight relieved, then I can add an extra pound on my shoulder.

Thanks!

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Solid and weight-relieved are, to all intents and purposes, identical in unplugged volume; i.e. they are both quite quiet.

Chambered guitars are supposed to sound slightly louder than either of these although, conversely, some solid re-issues are remarkably lively and can project surprisingly loudly.

 

It rather depends on what you consider to be 'significantly louder'. I don't think there's much difference between the whole lot of them, TBPH.

Just buy what you like. It's not like any of the range sounds anything like an acoustic.

 

Learn to pick/strum more gently. For example don't use a plectrum; use your fingers. This knocks the volume down by half at a stroke!

 

P.

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  • 2 weeks later...

About loudness of the guitar:

 

I have a Les Paul Studio that is chambered, not weight relived.

 

This Studio is just a bit louder acoustically than my other, solid guitars. Not enough louder to disturb others.

 

I keep this studio beside my recliner and when we watch tv, I play it unplugged to practice all my chords and scales.

 

Though chambered, it's nowhere near loud enough to disturb others in the room, I've asked, they often didn't realize I was over there plucking away.

 

The chambered area creates a cavity that can resonate, whereas the traditional weight relief (aka swiss cheese) and modern weight relief are holes that aren't really big enough to really resonate the sound around their insides.

 

But even a chambered LP, played acoustically, is still very quiet.

 

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