Looking for a new axe...opinions welcome!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter PaulyPanacea
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PaulyPanacea

PaulyPanacea

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Hey gang...

after many many years of struggling w a bad back ( have a few herniated discs) and playing alot w the Les Paul Custom...think i need to get a lighter axe to save myself a bit. Looking for a big full tone like my LP but gotta save some weight.

Been looking @ Suhrs , Andersons, etc...but not too familiar w them.

ready...set...GO!!!
 
I have a Fender Tele American Deluxe already in the arsenol...maybe ill just do a pickup swap and see how that works out...

in the meantime..fire away guys...
 
Light axe.
Back Problems?
Try Parker Fly.
I love mine for long sets.
 
TA DROP TOP..THE BEST GUITAR IVE EVER OWNED AND IVE HAD JUST ABOUT ALL OF THEM
 
Anderson Hollow Drop Top with a fixed bridge...light weight and huge tone.
 
I recently picked up an ESP Horizon nt-ii and love it.
Mahogany body, ebony fret board with jumbo frets.
I put a motor city afwayu in it and it sounds and plays killer.
 
Another vote for a TA drop top. I have a basswood/maple topped one that sounds realy chunky and is reasonably light. I also have a J Custom RG that sounds huge and really thick, but it's not exactly light weight (lighter than an LPC, though).
 
Anderson cobra or cobra s.
Mahogany body & neck, short scale, maple top, humbuckers.
 
the Weight relieved LPs sound like garbage to me...and PRS is NOT an option....not a fan.

May check out an Anderson tonight locally. we shall see
 
Shame that PRS isn't an option... definitely the best of both worlds in terms of weight and sounding HUGE... no super strat is going to get you as close as you want... I see a long series of guitar flips in your future :)
 
While TAs are great, I've played a couple drop tops and own a hollow body classic and neither sound anything like a LP. You might want to check out his Bulldog model. I haven't got the chance to play one but I've heard nothing but good things.
 
I recommend a Carvin SC90 built to your own specs. I got one (mahogany body/ neck) two weeks ago. It is hands down the best guitar I have ever owned. In fact, last night I sold my LP Traditional and ordered a second custom SC90. I'm also selling my Charvel and Edwards V. The SC90 really is that good! Relatively light weight and gets damn near the LP fatness. The playability is out of this world. Not to mention the C22B and C22J pickups are perfect.......no desire to swap them like I do on most guitars.
 
PaulyPanacea":141xlglw said:
Hey gang...

after many many years of struggling w a bad back ( have a few herniated discs) and playing alot w the Les Paul Custom...think i need to get a lighter axe to save myself a bit. Looking for a big full tone like my LP but gotta save some weight.

Been looking @ Suhrs , Andersons, etc...but not too familiar w them.

ready...set...GO!!!
I highly recommend you get this:

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Steve :D
 
I know how you feel and I mostly play my Les Pauls and nothing has that sound or that neck. No superstrat will ever come close.

1. Parker Fly amazing light weight but a bit sterile pick up wise. Love mine but could use more meat.
2. Ibanez GR320 or 520 they have the neck and come in p90's or hums. Not a Les Paul but sound real good
3. I know you said no PRS and I felt the same way but try an older standard 22 or 24. The weight is so much less and the neck feels Les Paulish to me. Mine has a custom McCarty neck on it.
4. Ibanez Artist
5. Les Paul chambered (not weight relieved but chambered)
 
Contact Dave McNaught and explain your situation. He can build you anything you want and exactly to your specs.
 
You should've known I was going to come in here and make a comment supporting PRS. The typical PRS is NOTHING like a LP. If you can find someone locally or a shop around town to let you play a short scale PRS IE: Santana, Ted McCarty SC or DC or a SC245, you might be pleasantly surprised. All three are available with big necks, all three sound huge and the shorter scale gives them the "Les Paul" -esque sound and feel. The biggest things you're going to have to overcome sound and feel wise are 1. the short scale/pickup spacing and 2. the body to neck angle. Very few, if any, other manufacturers build with as aggressive of a body to neck angle as Gibson does on the LP. I know that sounds like mojo talk, but it creates a specific feel. Super strats ala Suhr and TA have little to no angle what so ever which feels very different. The short scale on a LP gives you the ballsy neck tones too. The neck pickup is actually closer to the bridge pickup in relation to most other guitars.

My support for the three models I mentioned.

1. Similar set neck construction. The heels will feel familiar to you.

2. The short scale PRS (24.5") lean towards the Gibson feel (24.75)

3. The pickup positioning in relation to the shorter scales is much similar.

4. The average PRS is usually 7lbs or so give or take. The singlecuts will be a bit heavier than the DC models, but still substantially less than the typical LPC.


I wish you were local, I'd let you hold on to one of mine for a few days. My old PRS (96 Model Custom 22) really feels LPish to me, hence why I ended up flipping my 04 Standard a little while ago.



On another note, I was highly impressed by EBMM's Axis Super Sport the other day. Bolt-on neck, factory loaded Dimarzios, light as a feather and ballsy as all get out. Very mid-heavy tonality with sharp attack and a very signature "grind" to the mids. Might be worth a spin. Worth noting, the necks are narrow, but feel fan-fucking-tastic.
 
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