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Swiss cheese


Luap

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O' date=' and, are Studio's swiss-cheesed or chambered?[/quote']

 

Studios are chambered

 

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Les-Paul-Studio/Features.aspx

 

Hello everyone. I want to know' date=' are Swiss Cheese holes not bad for the body, tone and that sort of things? Is it not a bit a rough method?[/quote']

 

Swiss cheese was introduced in the 80's (i think) to create a lighter les paul. Later on, weight-relief was perfected with chambering.

 

more info Read "Weight".

 

I actually prefer swiss cheese holes over chambering.

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I actually prefer swiss cheese holes over chambering.

And why's that?

 

I don't believe weight relief holes (swiss cheese) affects the tone.

I think it does. Play a few reissues acoustically and then play a few with swiss cheese holes. I notice a difference.

Plugged in as well but one can argue a lot of that can be attributed to the pickups.

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I don't believe weight relief holes (swiss cheese) affects the tone. Chambering does however' date=' but in a good way IMO. It gives the LP an acoustic tone.[/quote']

 

Chambering certainly affects the tone of a Les Paul; chambered Les Pauls sound woodier and brighter unplugged, with generally more acoustic resonance than most solid bodied/swiss cheese Les Pauls. However, I don't like a bright, tight and woody Les Paul tone plugged-in. I don't dig it at higher volumes. Swiss Cheese or Solid Bodied Les Pauls come alive at higher volumes; their naturally darker and warmer tone gets tighter and more defined the more tube amp volume you throw at it. I think chambered Les Pauls are the opposite; they sound great at lower volumes, but their tone gets less defined/focused at higher gig volumes. Chambered Les Pauls also don't handle as much gain as solid or swiss cheese Les Pauls.

 

Swiss Cheese/Solid Body = smooth (jazzy) cleans.

 

Chambered Les Pauls = punchy (bluesy) cleans.

 

I dig chambered Les Pauls for vintage, woody clean tones. Think 'Gary Moore - Need your Love so bad'. I prefer chambered Les Pauls for those kind of tones. Chambered Les Pauls seem to have a faster, brighter and more agressive kind of attack to the notes, while Solid/Swiss Cheese Les Pauls have a mellower/smoother attack (which you all can hear plugged-in).

 

Swiss cheese or solid bodied Les Pauls also seem to have more 'depth' to their tone with a wider dynamic range (in general).

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It's for those of us who will pay attention to the difference that Gibson offers the Traditional LP. You know, the borderline cork-sniffers. Not quite ready to gain a reputation on the hardcore LP collector forums. Hanging out here instead, while saving up for a real Lester. I hope there are enough of us that they continue to make them because the idea of a chambered LP is scary to me. And the idea of spending nearly double the money on a Historic is also a little scary. So when the time comes, it will probably be a traditional or a pre-2006 Standard for me.

 

Hey that reminds, me, where has Little Kenny been?

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I don´t think that a solid wood guitar should have any holes, chambers what so ever. Then again my 1985 Les Paul has the Swiss Cheese Pattern. I really love that guitar and wouldn´t sell it just for that. But if I had to get a new one I´d go for a solid one.

 

I know that this is actually stupid. A guitar should be played and tested before buying it and if it´s good, you shouldn´t care for what´s inside.

 

And I really don´t think that either one sounds worse or better. Different yes.

 

Greetings

Kurt

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explain.?

 

I got my information from "The Les Paul Book" by Tony Bacon and Paul Day. Tim Shaw who worked for Gibson starting in 1979 came up with the idea. I can't believe that photo is of a stock Les Paul as Shaw went on to explain that holes around the bridge would be the wrong thing to do as it would hurt the tonal characteristics of the mahogany

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The bottom line is that there are nine (9) weight relief holes in production LP Standards, and seventeen (17) in the Class 5 Les Paul, and there is a difference between "dynamic sound chambers" and "weight relief holes".

1.The Les Paul Class 5 is the only Custom Shop model Les Paul that has weight relief holes (17 of them).

 

2: The Historic 58' & 59' Les Paul's DO NOT have weight relief holes (the lightest mahogany available is used for these guitars).

 

3: None of the Custom Shop Historic Reissue Les Paul Goldtop models have weight relief holes.

 

4: The Les Paul Elegant has the dynamic sound chambers, not weight relief holes. The Les Paul Class 5 has the weight relief holes, and not dynamic sound chambers.

 

5: Gibson U.S.A. does drill weight relief holes in their Les Paul models. They drill 9 holes, versus 17 for the Les Paul Class 5.

According to Gibson, they have done extensive testing and as long as the holes are not near the bridge or tailpiece (which would affect sustain), they do not have an adverse impact on tone.

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