What’s the optimum weight for a Les Paul? And is there such a thing as too heavy?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JohnnyGtar
  • Start date Start date
My '71 Std weighed 10.4 lbs. Sounded so huge, and played insanely well. It is the guitar that all other Les Pauls I have owned we're measured against in both playability and tone.
 
I guess not if you sit down when you play? No one ever mentions this. I can’t play at all unless I’m standing so yeah, weight matters. My heaviest LP is 9.25lbs and I wouldn’t buy another that weighed more than that.

2007 R7 Black Beauty - 8.75lbs
2004 R8 - 9.25lbs
2023 R8 - 8.5lbs
2013 Custom Lite - 8.5lbs

Played the R7 for the first set (an hour) this past weekend and the heavier R8 for the second—I could def feel the difference
 
This was the heaviest I ever owned and I have owned a lot of them. All maple and koa….
IMG_3862.png
IMG_3863.png
 
I like high 8’s to very low 9’s. Heavy guitar equals heavy sound is a total myth. Had two LP customs from the 70’s that were at least 10 lbs and they were both too bright. I think the maple neck had more to do with anything over the weight. Also 70’s Strats that were tanks. I never played one that was particularly big sounding.
 
10.5ish pounds is about my upper limit. After 30 minutes, I really start to feel that weight in my back. Luckily most LPs aren't going to be over that, though some are.

Sound wise, I'm not sure it matters. My two favorite sounding LPs are the heaviest (57RI LPC and 68RI LPC both from the early 2000s), but I couldn't say whether it's because of the weight that I like the sound.
 





1997' Gibson CS 68' RI LPC, 10.5-ish, fat azz neck / long tenon. Until this guitar i was a 9lb 60's neck guy.
Big tone in big lumber. Take a walk on the wild side.
 
Yes and yes but those two numbers vary among players.

No way I’d gig with my heavy af ‘80 LPC. But my 8.3 lb ‘13 Std feels fine standing. The LPC sustains for two days and the Std is super resonant. Very different feel and tone between the two. The LPC is the high output (Tonenerd Psykes) and the Std is PAF-ish (High Order Maximus).
 
SpiderWars said:
Yes and yes but those two numbers vary among players.

No way I’d gig with my heavy af ‘80 LPC. But my 8.3 lb ‘13 Std feels fine standing. The LPC sustains for two days and the Std is super resonant. Very different feel and tone between the two. The LPC is the high output (Tonenerd Psykes) and the Std is PAF-ish (High Order Maximus).
Click to expand...
Some of what you're hearing there is the difference between 9-hole weight relief (your '80 LPC) and the modern weight relief (your '13 Standard). The modern relief is almost like a chambered guitar, and IME it does add a resonance that can be pretty cool and it is consistently a bit different from fully solid LPs.

Recent historic reissues are completely solid and some of them get surprisingly light, under 9.5 pounds. The older Historics could be 10+ pounds more often than not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top