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Okay, I think I don't like Les Pauls!


theflyingturtle

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First of all thank you for all the helpful replies. Having the ability to bounce ideas off of other guitarists helps me a lot so, really, thanks. I think I should add a little more. Right now I have a Strat, a tele, and a PRS Custom 22 and 8 or 9 acoustic guitars. I usually hang out in the acoustic forum. I am mainly a singer and rhythm guitarist but can play some lead but it isn't really my thing. It is basically blues and classic rock at my house. The guitars I buy usually act as different colors on an artist's pallet. The plan was to have a guitars suitable for any song when I friends come over to jam. If we do a Clapton number I have a strat If we do some Albert Collins there's a Tele, and if we do some Gary Moore or Zepplin there should be a LP. The LP was going to be the last electric I was going to buy although a semi-hollowbody... You know. What I find frustrating is that the LP produces some of my favorite recorded guitar work but when I pick them up I cannot connect those classic tones to my brain and fingers. I feel dyslexic when I play a LP and since they all seem to sound different I still can't decide which flavor sounds "good". I have played every LP at Guitar Center and my local music shops. I have played the range from Studio to R8 and the differences are too subtle. The R8 felt more solid and the pickups were clearer but the heavens didn't open up. When I hear a LP played in a concert it hits me square in the gut but when I play one it plays, feels, and sounds meh! It isn't technique or practicing. I want a LP badly. I want to learn first hand what it is about them that people love so much. I want to understand that before I die and all I've run into is a brick wall. I want to learn and I can't open the door. It is very frustrating and I've never, ever experienced this before.

 

Are you playing them through a TUBE amp when you are trying them? and are you playing with the tone and Volume nobs to see the many different sounds you can get? I play both Les Pauls and SG's. if you are use to strats, you may want to try a few SG's. I am partial to a standard myself, but the new ones, you need to rewire because they have PCB instead of normal Pots, caps and wires.

 

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I'm old. P-90's are highly over rated, and if not for Mississippi Queen nobody would use them. Any pickup would sound like that through 3 100 watt Sunn heads and 12 3 stacks of 8x12s.

 

rct

 

Edited for maff accuracy.

 

So I've been thinking about getting some Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P90's and putting them in my gold top for a different sound (since all my guitars have humbuckers). Sounds like that may be a waste of time?

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So I've been thinking about getting some Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P90's and putting them in my gold top for a different sound (since all my guitars have humbuckers). Sounds like that may be a waste of time?

 

No, not because I don't like them, it's never a waste of time to try pickups for yourself. I would say, however, that Phat Cats might not exactly grok the P-90 your head is hearing, I would caution that.

 

They would do Mississippi Queen right though.

 

rct

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No, not because I don't like them, it's never a waste of time to try pickups for yourself. I would say, however, that Phat Cats might not exactly grok the P-90 your head is hearing, I would caution that.

 

They would do Mississippi Queen right though.

 

rct

 

Well, I do like Mississippi Queen... Thanks.

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I have had a long time on again off again with P-90s. I usually like them right away, love them the first few months. After some use I get cranky about the noise, out in a bar or at home recording. I actually used some digital noise floor stuff to enable me to record my last P-90d guitar, and it went not long after that.

 

Good luck with it. When they are right it is magical, I just don't have much luck getting them right.

 

rct

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Good luck with it. When they are right it is magical, I just don't have much luck getting them right.

 

rct

 

Well, I'm gonna try something, probably the Phat Cat's. Right now it has 490's. When I first got this guitar (it's a '17 tribute) I liked it compared to the Epi's I had before. Then I got what is basically a LP standard but with Seymour Duncan Skinner Burst pups. That sounds so much better that i tend to gravitate towards it and don't play the tribute as much.

 

I know a lot's been said about wiring and tone, but the tribute has a PCB. I wonder if that has any effect on tone? I'm inclined to want to put in traditional wiring and electronics while I'm at it.

 

Sorry for the thread hijack...

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I'm old. P-90's are highly over rated, and if not for Mississippi Queen nobody would use them. Any pickup would sound like that through 3 100 watt Sunn heads and 12 3 stacks of 8x12s.

 

rct

 

Edited for maff accuracy.

 

Old enough to remember 'Live at Leeds'?

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Oh my yes. There's some volume that any pickups would sound good at also!

 

rct

 

Great album. Townshend got great tone.

 

Lots of great music made using SG Specials imo. Carlos Santana used a Special on Abraxas and played one at Woodstock. Tony Iommi used P90s in his SG as well early on, but I don't think they were Gibson. I think Paranoid was recorded using P90s....just going from memory though...so I could be very wrong.

 

I just watched Woodstock for the 15th time about a month ago on the late night movie, and there were a few P90 guitars in it. Townshend, Santana, the guy in Canned Heat. Maybe more after I fell asleep. ;-)

 

Robbie Kreiger used one in the Doors too.

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Update: I bought a late 70's Tokai to fool around with. It isn't a very inspiring guitar but it will do for now. So I still haven't given up on getting a Les Paul but from where I sit this was a good move forward until the right one comes along. It sure is a different animal than any of my other electric guitars! On a slightly better note, I also brought home an ES-135 that everyone that has played it has fallen in love with. The first two friends that played it offered to buy it! So I didn't quite "tic" the LP box but I got to check off the semi-hollowbody box.

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Update: I bought a late 70's Tokai to fool around with. It isn't a very inspiring guitar but it will do for now. So I still haven't given up on getting a Les Paul but from where I sit this was a good move forward until the right one comes along. It sure is a different animal than any of my other electric guitars! On a slightly better note, I also brought home an ES-135 that everyone that has played it has fallen in love with. The first two friends that played it offered to buy it! So I didn't quite "tic" the LP box but I got to check off the semi-hollowbody box.

 

Hi,

 

Is the Tokai a Les Paul copy?

I ask because late 70's Tokai 'Les Paul Reborn' models are hard to come by and not cheap.

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Hi,

 

Is the Tokai a Les Paul copy?

I ask because late 70's Tokai 'Les Paul Reborn' models are hard to come by and not cheap.

 

Yes it is a Les Paul Reborn but it is the lowest model, not one of the nice ones. As such it should retain its value. So far I have discovered that access to the higher frets is awkward and the radius feels very different from what I am use to. It may be all in my head and I may learn to adapt. I have grown to accept the lifelessness of the guitar and look forward to playing it and growing my discontent. That way when i do finally pick up a "good one" I'll know it by it's lack of shortcomings.

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Did you try to turn the tone knob to a 6-7 position and volume full ? Classic Paul tone . I like it on the neck p/up . You didn't state which amps but I am assuming you tried a few ! Tube amps are the way to go but lately there's some outstanding solid state's out there ! Good luck with your search , I'm sure you'll find one . Love my 10 yr old Studio .

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Did you try to turn the tone knob to a 6-7 position and volume full ? Classic Paul tone . I like it on the neck p/up . You didn't state which amps but I am assuming you tried a few ! Tube amps are the way to go but lately there's some outstanding solid state's out there ! Good luck with your search , I'm sure you'll find one . Love my 10 yr old Studio .

 

Who are you replying to?

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Did you try to turn the tone knob to a 6-7 position and volume full ? Classic Paul tone . I like it on the neck p/up . You didn't state which amps but I am assuming you tried a few ! Tube amps are the way to go but lately there's some outstanding solid state's out there ! Good luck with your search , I'm sure you'll find one . Love my 10 yr old Studio .

 

No now yet but I'll try that. Thanks.

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Because it sounds like baby talk?

 

Do you call a guitar a "guitary"? How about your socks? Are they "sockies"? Do you call a door a "doory"?

 

Like I asked, do you call a Fender a "Fendy"? Is a Gretsch a "Gretschy"?

 

I can sympathize with you. I had a friend who would replace words in songs with "baby talk." It's kinda funny the first couple of time and then it gets old - real quick.

 

To answer the question about not liking a Gibson, it's probably because of the scale difference and the way it feels when you play while sitting. A Stratocaster is much more comfortable IMHO.

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No, that model is nothing but limitations. It isn't a way forward so it's not a solution.

 

If you don't like Gibsons, it is fine, don't buy one. I always thought I wanted a real Gretch guitar and now recognize I am a fan of the look and that is all. Some people are diehard Gibson nuts like me and others are not.

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This again? I thought we had already gone over this. I don't "get" LPs but I am interested in finding out what they are about. That's what I'm doing. They are not intuitive to me but I am curious about them so I asked here about how I should proceed. As I work forward to understand them I ask questions. So why don't I just not buy one? That just sounds like gatekeeping that often runs rampant among "exclusive" groups. It might be intended as advice but reading "don't buy one" has so little value. It might be a type of truth but in this case I am looking into LPs in the way that I can so that one day I can say that I understand them. Stopping now... How does that help? I would think anyone seeking to learn about one of Gibson's products should be welcome and encouraged. It helps the learning process along and collectively makes this forum a better place to be.

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"Turtle," the only way you're going "Get"/understand (or not) the "worth" of any guitar, "Les Paul"

or otherwise, is to spend some quality time, playing one. You can read about them, watch a lot

of Youtube videos, extolling their quality, and and virtues, but in the end, the only way any

of that will mean anything to you, is to PLAY the LP versions that seem to appeal to you the

most, visually and/or spec wise. Find out, first hand, if they truly appeal to you, or not.

 

What We think, is largely irrelevant, save our own enthusiasm, for OUR particular guitars.

 

So, go play a bunch...see how you feel about them, after that! [thumbup][biggrin]

 

 

CB

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"Turtle," the only way you're going "Get"/understand (or not) the "worth" of any guitar, "Les Paul"

or otherwise, is to spend some quality time, playing one. You can read about them, watch a lot

of Youtube videos, extolling their quality, and and virtues, but in the end, the only way any

of that will mean anything to you, is to PLAY the LP versions that seem to appeal to you the

most, visually and/or spec wise. Find out, first hand, if they truly appeal to you, or not.

 

What We think, is largely irrelevant, save our own enthusiasm, for OUR particular guitars.

 

So, go play a bunch...see how you feel about them, after that! [thumbup][biggrin]

 

 

CB

 

Exactly. That's what I am doing for the most part except that I couldn't find a LP that stood out to me so I got a Tokai for now. As I spend time with it my understanding grows. I will find its shortcomings, strengths, and try to bond with it noting when I do jive with the guitar and when I don't. So far I have come to realize how different it is from a Strat. It seems to need a lot less gain and note selection seems more critical.

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Yes I have a guitar with humbuckers but It is a high gain animal and played through a modern, high gain rig. With the Tokai I am trying to do the LP/Marshall rock and blues thing. Right now I am still dialing in the amp because I just got it and still don't have a cabinet or a speaker for it. I may take both to my amp guy, drop them both off, and just tell him to call me when it sounds as good as it can. It's early days.

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