That's crazy. I've been looking at Les Pauls (Gibsons to be fair) for a decade always checking out weights and I've never seen or heard of a solid body LP that light. I searched for 2-3 yrs for my last R8 which rings like a bell and is 8.5lbs. Again, congrats
I can't argue with you on the Norton--it's in the bridge slot of 2 of my guitars. I really enjoy the SD in my Charvel partscaster.
Small family owned US company providing quality pro level gear at reasonable prices. Not sure what there is NOT to like, even if all their pickups aren't your fave.
Yeah I use od boxes in front of pushed amps so apples and oranges I suppose. Old school Marshall 3 channel technique—crunch with a low gain boost in front (I never have any ODs ‘gain’ knob above 8:00), roll down the guitar vol for clean. Klon/klone, KOT, TS…for me even a good eq works well.