LP Weight

[Just Strum]

Okay, before you start - I know it's been done before. I tried to revive an old thread, but I didn't see "reply" button. So just deal with a new thread or change the station (more of that humor).

 

I am reading a wide range of weights in the old post. Someone posted that Gibson's LP weights 10 to 12 lbs - is that true????

 

I'm real anal about weight, my ARC300 was just under 8 lbs and 8 or below is what I really like.

 

So, what is the average weight of a Epi LP (I'm not buying a Gibson)?

 

What to look for in an Epi LP?

[jcwillow777]

They vary quite a bit. I have tried some Epi LPs out that just seemed too light for me. I like an LP to have some weight to it. I have an Epi '56 Gold Top and it weighs 9 pounds. I have a Gibson LP that weighs 10 pounds. I also have an Epi '57 Jr. RI that weighs a little under 8 pounds.

[Just Strum]

I also have an Epi '57 Jr. RI that weighs a little under 8 pounds.

 

Now you are talking. all solids over 8 lbs should be outlawed or channeled.

[glenn1281733995]

DW'05 LP Classic Plus Top. 9lbs

[jcwillow777]

 

Now you are talking. all solids over 8 lbs should be outlawed or channeled.

 

I like a light guitars too. I have several that are under 8 pounds, but I like some weight to my LPs. I guess I'm just old school that way.

[iansmitchell]

 

Now you are talking. all solids over 8 lbs should be outlawed or channeled.

Ya gotta have sustain in your real deal paul.

It's like saying guitars with no tummy cut or arm cutaway(a la strat) should be banned.

 

Anyway, les paul ultra II for a light paul that also goes acoustic and looks amazing.

[Atomheart]

A Les Paul that weights under 7lbs feels fake for me. Mine is 8.8 lbs and I'd not like it lighter. The weight is an important part of the entire Les Paul concept.

[Just Strum]

Ya gotta have sustain in your real deal paul.

It's like saying guitars with no tummy cut or arm cutaway(a la strat) should be banned.

 

Anyway' date=' les paul ultra II for a light paul that also goes acoustic and looks amazing.[/quote']

 

But weight doesn't automatically = sustain. My ARC was light and it had sustain to a fault, it would never shut up.

[iansmitchell]

 

But weight doesn't automatically = sustain. My ARC was light and it had sustain to a fault' date=' it would never shut up.[/quote']

 

Well, maple is denser than mahogany, and therefore heavier, but an all mahogany guitar will have better midrange sustain than a maple capped guitar.

So yea, you're right.

But for instance, adding those massive steel blocks guitarfetish makes for strat trems to a squier bullet, will make it feel and sustain so much better it's practically a new guitar.

 

Weight and sustain may not be married, but they are dating.

[Everdying]

my epi LP custom was just under 9lbs.

[Dave]

Epi LP Custom - 10#

Gibby LP Studio - 9#

 

That was done using a highly repeatable digital bathroom scale. I weighed without the guitars and then with the guitars. The scale is one of those that reads the weight around 4000 times in several seconds, throws out the lows and highs and calculates the mean of the middle range (bell curve style).

 

The Goldtop I ordered this week should be here tomorrow. The listed shipping weight is 11.5#. I imagine the packing and the box account for around 2.5# of that.

[iansmitchell]

Epi LP Custom - 10#

Gibby LP Studio - 9#

 

That was done using a highly repeatable digital bathroom scale. I weighed without the guitars and then with the guitars. The scale is one of those that reads the weight around 4000 times in several seconds' date=' throws out the lows and highs and calculates the mean of the middle range (bell curve style).

 

The Goldtop I ordered this week should be here tomorrow. The listed shipping weight is 11.5#. I imagine the packing and the box account for around 2.5# of that.[/quote']

 

Don't epi's have heavier tuners and larger (metric) metal parts?

That, plus a thin vs. thick finish is likely what's changing the weight.

I think body alone, the gibson is probably heavier.

[Aubie923]

My Les Paul Standard weighs just under 9lbs. Having all that weight is part of having a les paul. It's part of what makes it a Les Paul. IMHO.

 

Try the Ultra II, the one I played was pretty cool, and it was not quite as heavy as my standard.

[RotcanX]

My Elitist LP is a little chunky at 8.5 lbs, but it's comfortable. People buying the Gibson RIs seem to be looking for something in the 7 - 7.5 lb range.

 

Back in the day when Gibson was basically letting things slip and unconcerned about their quality, a lot of Les Pauls started hitting the big numbers weight-wise. They didn't rectify this situation until 2003 when they started selecting the wood more carefully to avoid the overweight stuff. Unfortunately, as in so many guitar fallacies, many people came to think that this was the way it should be and that this overweight condition meant better sustain. However I'm pretty sure that if you actually measured the weight of any of the famous LPs such as those owned by Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton or Peter Green, you'd find them to be no more than 9 lbs in weight. As an example, the #9 guitar of the initial 25-piece run of Jimmy Page sigs weighs 8.6 lbs. It's the resonance of the wood that enhances sustain, not the density, and denser pieces don't resonate as easily or as well as the lighter pieces. IMHO.

 

[snookelputz]

My Epi LP Standard (2004) is exactly 10 lbs. My Epi LP Juniors are 9.0 and 9.5 lbs. One of my Gibson LP Juniors is 10.5 and the other is 9.5 lbs. The weight differences are apparent to anyone who wears one for a while. As my luck would have it, the Gibson in my avatar picture has the best tone, is the most playable and is the heaviest. Triple Crown!

 

I've seen and played an LP in the 11.5 range and it was a god-awful monsters to an old man with a bad back. The 1st riff was enough to convince me I could either play the guitar from a wheelchair or put it back on the stand. I also played one that was supposed to be down in the 6.5 area. It was awkward for maybe 2 songs because it felt like balsa wood or something, but after that I was more impressed with its total lack of distinguishing characteristics. Very plain vanilla fit, finish, tone, playability - all ok, none outstanding. Left a bad taste in my mouth, that guitar did. Most of the ones I've seen were in the 9.0 - 10.5 range.

[Steven Lister]

2 kinds of players:

--- the EVH showman type who need light guitars to run and jump around a lot

--- the Jimmy Page stand-in-place type who strap an LP down real low and play the livin' bejesus out of it

 

I'm with Jimmy..., somebody hand me my Elite LP rock(4.6kilos)-n-roller please.

 

Hit every BLUE NOTE baaaby..., I'm going to play on:-"

[JEPI]

Epi LP Custom - 10#

Gibby LP Studio - 9#

 

That was done using a highly repeatable digital bathroom scale. I weighed without the guitars and then with the guitars. The scale is one of those that reads the weight around 4000 times in several seconds' date=' throws out the lows and highs and calculates the mean of the middle range (bell curve style).

 

The Goldtop I ordered this week should be here tomorrow. The listed shipping weight is 11.5#. I imagine the packing and the box account for around 2.5# of that.[/quote']

 

I did the same method with the digital scale....

Epi LP Standard..........8.5lbs

Birdseye Maple Strat..10.5lbs ............J

[RotcanX]

The Epi LPs seem to be getting lighter too. We sold an EE Standard in Ebony a while back that was like a feather. I was pleasantly surprised when I picked it up to see how nice and light it was. I wouldn't be surprised that they've started relieving their LPs.

[Suicidehummer]

I just got a new Classic Custom, and going by feeling, it's lighter than my Ultra! I haven't actually weighed them yet though.

[tulsaslim]

I certainly concur that 'weight does not necessarily mean sustain' but I've gotta admit that in my life the guitars that had the best tone & sustain were generally pretty darn heavy. I played an 11lb. LP on stage for many years until I thought I was getting bursitis from it. I 'converted' over to an SG for a couple of months but came back to my LP. I missed that tone.

 

You guys may have noticed that even the 'holy grail' of Fender Strats (the '57's) are a lot heavier than the current models. I have noticed a correlation between weight & tone & although there's nothing 'carved in stone' I think for the most part weight (or mass) contributes positively towards good tone.

 

Of course other variables factor in as well, e.g. 'quality of wood'.

[Dave]

My new "Golidie" Epi LP '56 Goldtop came riding up with the UPS man last night. It weighs in at 8.5 pounds, noticeably lighter than my Epi LP Custom Flametop. Pictures are in progress.

[carverman]

My Epi LP Standard (2004) is exactly 10 lbs. My Epi LP Juniors are 9.0 and 9.5 lbs. One of my Gibson LP Juniors is 10.5 and the other is 9.5 lbs. The weight differences are apparent to anyone who wears one for a while. As my luck would have it' date=' the Gibson in my avatar picture has the best tone, is the most playable and is the heaviest. [/quote']

 

It takes a fair bit of engineering to reduce the weight to 8 lbs or less on a LP.

Not only do you have to be concious of the weight but also of the sustain on the LP.

 

My Epi LP Custom weighs in at (approx 10 lbs) and feels heavy for it's size.

The LP customs that I have built (2), had a target of 8.0lbs and I managed to get it

there with about a half pound of overweight. The hardware and p_ups can add anywhere

between 1.5 and 2.0 lbs, based on weighing those separately.

 

Getting a mahogany body/neck with a maple cap down to 6-7lbs takes some doing.

Not only do you have to select the right density of wood, but the thickness and size of the body

itself will provide some variation to the weight.

[carverman]

My new "Golidie" Epi LP '56 Goldtop came riding up with the UPS man last night. It weighs in at 8.5 pounds' date=' noticeably lighter than my Epi LP Custom Flametop. Pictures are in progress.[/quote']

 

Dave,

I have a vision (in my mind's eye) of an Epi LP Goldtop sitting in the seat next to the UPS man playing the

blues and asking him.."When are we going to get there?"

[antwhi2001]

For good unplugged natural sustain the 3 best guitars I ever owned were Gibson faded LP doublecut, Fender Tele FMT, (still got those 2) and an Epi Samick G400.

 

They are all less than 8lbs, and interestingly they are all set-neck mahogany guitars with relatively thin bodies.

 

I've had 2 Epi LPs and a Gibby Studio LP, and although it's very subjective, I reckon these thinner guitars were more responsive.

[carverman]

For good unplugged natural sustain the 3 best guitars I ever owned were Gibson faded LP doublecut' date=' Fender Tele FMT, (still got those 2) and an Epi Samick G400.

 

They are all less than 8lbs, and interestingly they are all set-neck mahogany guitars with relatively thin bodies.

 

I've had 2 Epi LPs and a Gibby Studio LP, and although it's very subjective, I reckon these thinner guitars were more responsive. [/quote']

 

A double cut will shave about 1/2 lb or more off compared to a single cut LP. The G400 and it's Gibby cousin

(SG) have thinner bodies (1.5 inches?) compared to the carved top LP with a typical thickness of 1 7/8 to 2 inches.

The set neck and it's corresponding tenon will give you a good sustain, although that is also arguable when compared

to the Strat with its' bolt on neck.

 

Epi LPs are generally around 1 7/8" thick so can't be considered a thinner guitar. They could possibly shave another

1/4 of an inch or so from the Epi LP's body (based on the neck heel area), and still have good sustain and accomodate the pots. That could cut the weight down by another 1lb or so...

but is it worth to mess around with a formula thats been in place for many years?