335 or a LP?

[LightninT]

Need some advice. I play rock, blues, and blues rock. My guitar instructor said he thinks I play the blues better than rock. He said for me it's 70% blues and 30% rock. I really like the tone of a LP but I'm not that familiar with the 335 other than I love Clapton's tone and Michael Burks's tone from one.I'm afraid if I do get a 335 I won't be able to get that thick rich sound that a LP has. I've been playing a G-400 SG and I'm use to the double cut that allows me to get all 22 frets with ease. A LP is a single cut, so I'm afraid I won't be able to play it well either. A 335 is a double cut. Should I get a LP or a 335?....or a SG Standard?

[BTD]

Have you looked at the 336 and 339? Closer in size to the LP, but semi hollows good for blues.

[Jon S.]

Have you looked at the 336 and 339? Closer in size to the LP, but semi hollows good for blues.

 

+1. If you're torn between a LP and 335, these are the way to go IMO.

[LightninT]

Have you looked at the 336 and 339? Closer in size to the LP, but semi hollows good for blues.

 

I've never heard of the 336, and I don't think the 339 comes in left handed (I'm a lefty). What would you say about a SG Standard?

[BTD]

336 almost same as 339 except bottom carved from single piece of wood (I think). Sorry, can't help on lefty question.

[stein]

To my ears, a 335 sounds a lot like an LP except thinker and richer.

 

But, the thing is, BOTH should be easy to get a hold of and try for yourself.

 

Lefty is a problem, but I would think that for finding lefties to try out, they would be at least as easy. But at least you could find plenty of righties to give you an idea.

[LightninT]

To my ears, a 335 sounds a lot like an LP except thinker and richer.

 

But, the thing is, BOTH should be easy to get a hold of and try for yourself.

 

Lefty is a problem, but I would think that for finding lefties to try out, they would be at least as easy. But at least you could find plenty of righties to give you an idea.

 

So a 335 sounds more thicker and richer than an LP? That might be the route I need to go for then.

[strat-o-steve]

If money is no object, since you play primarily blues music, I think the ES 335 (or almost any ES Series guitar) would be best for you. Les Paul Standards (Traditionals and such) weight a bit, and have high fret access issues you will have to develop some technique to get around. Les Pauls work great for almost everything, but the crunch they produce simply will not match the snarl that a semi-hollow electric can make (Think George Thorogood).

[LeoPaul422]

If I had to choose between my 335 and my LP for playing blues and rock, I would go with my LP especially for playing gigs. The LP is a sturdier instrument and you don't have the feedback problems that you have with a 335. A LP is much less expensive to repair or modify than a 335.

[Pin]

There are several things to consider here.

 

A 335 semi is a different beast to a Les Paul but don't forget that your amp and effects chain are going to also be a vital part of your sound. Some amps and settings can make any guitar sound thin and the converse is also true.

 

Interestingly, I have all the variations you are considering. I have an Epiphone G400; an Epiphone ES345 with varitone and a very heavy Gibson Les Paul plus I have the variants of a Squier Strat and Yamaha's Les Paul variant of a double cut SG2000. I'll leave the jazzbox Yamaha AE12 out of the equation.

 

The 335 type of guitars are fairly big and unweildy in comparison to the small SG and Les Paul types so that's also a point o think about. Yet, I love semi-acoustics. Many years ago I had a Gibson ES345 and it was a wonderful guitar and I'll always regret selling it. The Epiphone version is not bad at all but not in the same league.

 

And then there is the SG. In my view, no guitar anywhere beats an SG when it comes to easy access to the fingerboard whether it is a Gibson or an Epiphone. You just can't beat 'em and that includes my double cut Yamaha SG2000 and the double cut ES345.

 

But you know what - go where your heart lies - that is where you will find happiness!

[Achilles Papamoschos]

Need some advice. I play rock, blues, and blues rock. My guitar instructor said he thinks I play the blues better than rock. He said for me it's 70% blues and 30% rock. I really like the tone of a LP but I'm not that familiar with the 335 other than I love Clapton's tone and Michael Burks's tone from one.I'm afraid if I do get a 335 I won't be able to get that thick rich sound that a LP has. I've been playing a G-400 SG and I'm use to the double cut that allows me to get all 22 frets with ease. A LP is a single cut, so I'm afraid I won't be able to play it well either. A 335 is a double cut. Should I get a LP or a 335?....or a SG Standard?

 

Midtown Custom all the way..!

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Designer/Gibson-USA/Midtown-Custom.aspx

[Hydra26]

Yeah, can't forget about those midtowns.

 

Your signal chain can alter anything with enough processing. Just my opinon, I have a 339, it's an awesome gutiar. If you want to play any kind of high gain rock straight into an amp at high volume, forget it though. Painful feedback. A friend of mine has a 335, same thing. If you don't play a lot of high gain stuff, you might be able to get away with it and I feel the semi's have a slightly broader palette.

 

I love how light my SG's are and the fret access. Comparatively though, if you'll indulge the colorfulness, I liken an SG vs a LP in sound to a biker chick vs a prom queen. The SG has a thinner kind of trashier sound to it to my ears (which isn't to say it's bad, sometimes that is exactly what you need).

 

If ym back weren't in such poor shape, and I could only have one, I'd probably play a LP exclusively. To me, they seem like the best compromise for sound (each of these guitars has their own character to their sound so take that with a grain of salt), durability, ease of use, etc. I won't confuse the issue by talking at length about how much I love my Explorer Pro's or Moderne since they aren't typically available in lefty anyway.