Les paul guitars

Wednesday 4 Jul 2012, 3:12am

I was going to buy a les Paul Style guitar but iv been told its only good for certain kinds of music such as blues and rock and roll but I want to play a wide range of music so should I buy something like a fender style instead??

Wednesday 11 Jul 2012, 7:23pm

Try get a guitar with a single coil and a humbucker pick up on it as these are the best for getting all different sounds or there is a line 6 guitar that imitates many guitars and effects Jc

Thursday 12 Jul 2012, 9:09am

Its all bullsh*t that a guitar is more suited to a type of music, with all the FX around today you can sound like anyone,
buy the best guitar for your money, if you love it and it flies then buy what ever you want, don't let someone else tell you what's best they wont be playing it. strings over fretboard bolted to tree is still a guitar, look up the history of electric guitar its very young, I think fender are over hyped and the shape dominates the market so people think it must be good or better or magic.

Thursday 12 Jul 2012, 11:20am

Slaptastic is both right and wrong. He is wrong because certain guitars are more suited to a particular genre of music. You would not see a Jackson being played by a Flamenco virtuoso. Likewise, Metalica would not play whiplash using a nylon stringed acoustic. He is also somewhat incorrect with regard to the use of effects. No matter how many effects one has, you are unable to sound like Brian May unless you have his guitar, his amp, the sixpence he uses as a pick and have some idea of his playing style. He is correct in saying that you should buy the best you can afford. Cheap guitars sound nasty and play bad. Fender are not over hyped as he puts it. They are a very good, versatile guitar. Hendrix, David Gilmore and Eric Clapton to name but a few can't all be wrong can they. I am not advocating that you purchase one, I am just pointing out that Slaptastics remarks were inane. Strings over a fret board, bolted to a tree is not a guitar. Clearly he is not a guitarist. Each guitar feels different and sounds different. The more you pay, the better quality of instrument you acquire (in theory because back in the 70/80's Japan produced copies of USA guitars that were both streets ahead in quality and playability). You need to go play as many guitars as you can and then select the make and model that suits the sound you want to make, feels nice to you to play and fits into your budget. I own an SG and a Strat. Both are nice guitars. Both sound very different. The Strat is by far the most versatile of the two as the clean tones are far more varied. The SG's humbuckers do sound nice when overdriven. Of course the amp is as important as the guitar. If you have a pants amp, you will sound pants no matter what guitar you are using.

Thursday 12 Jul 2012, 8:17pm

slaptastic is both right and right.
if you want to be like everyone else then buy what everyone else is playing.....
if you have imagination and skill then don't follow the norm.
hendrix played fender because they were easy to fix....it could of been a gibson but they didn't have the right tremelo...
the year is 2012 be modern it's the way music has developed over the years keep pushing don't except the standard old story............ a synth is not a piano but it can sound like 1.....almost every modern pro guitarist is playing through an fx....

Thursday 12 Jul 2012, 11:53pm

slaptastic you need to go see an ear doctor or go listen to instruments. There is no way on earth does a synth sound the same as a piano. It will sound "like" one but not the same. Any musician will tell you that. If you want a piano sound, you go play a piano. Synths are what they are, synthesised sound. You use synths to make those types of sound and not to replace the said instruments. Cleanly you have not paid attention or you are deaf or simply stupid. As for your analogy that if a musician decides to play an certain instrument he is simply following others is such a misconception and insulting to every musician both professional and amateur. Then again, what can we expect as your hearing is not that good so it seems. You can make a guitar out of almost anything (even your tree would work) and there are plenty of examples on you tube to prove the point. However there is a reason why the top musicians play certain brands of instruments and that reason is because they make the sounds the musician wants to make whilst being nice to handle whilst doing so.

As for effects, guitarists have been plying through effects since they were made. There is nothing wrong with that at all but no matter how many effects you have, it will not make your equipment sound or play any better nor will you recreate equipment. Just like the synth and the piano, you may sound "Like " something but you will never recreate the exact sound. The proof of this is with the professionals. The Edge (U2 in case you don't know) uses every conceivable effects ever devised and yet he changes his guitar several times during a set. Why? Because you cannot recreate the sounds instruments make. You have to use the real thing to sound like the real thing.

Finally if what you say is true and you don't need to have the real deal to sound real, then why is it that guitarists can pick out the sound of valve and solid state amps. If what you say were true, then valve amps would be a thing of the past. Quiet the opposite. Valve amps are as much ion demand because the solid state amps can't recreate the sound of valves. Vox have even introduced a valve in a pedal board of theirs because they wanted the AC30 sound to be real and not artificial.

Judging by your name methinks you are a bass player. Maybe you would be better of discussing the bass and leaving guitars to those who play them.

Friday 13 Jul 2012, 9:20am

any playable guitar in the hands of a master will sound great,
if your not that good then a £5000 guitar wont make you sound any better,
les paul style guitars are used in all types of music, if thats the style you like then you can play what you want,
its still a fretboard with strings,
even if you owned all of brian mays equipment including his sixpence, you would only sound like him,
e:g. a synth is not a piano but can sound like 1, i:e. you are not whoever but a sound alike.
if recreating their sound is part of the performance then get fx that match, unless your a multi millionare muscian with a big ego and all the kit , you wont need ten guitars. all set up differently.
so which guitar is best for you ? simple. what ever you like its all bullsh*t unless you have big money and talent to match.

Friday 13 Jul 2012, 11:43am

Slaptastic you are really missing the point. Now pay attention and concentrate. There is a difference between hearing music and listening to it. Clearly you simply hear the sounds but you do not listen (or you have a hearing impediment in which case this is a whole waste of time). A guitar only sounds great if it sounds great. It does not matter who is playing it and since when is any guitarist called Master. Its not Kung Fu or Star Wars. The word you are looking for is virtuoso. methinks you need to do a bit of study. You are quiet right (for once) in as much that no instrument will make a bad musician sound better but in the hands of a good musician, a good instrument will sound fantastic. Les Pauls are used in a lot of pop and rock music but no so in Country, Jazz, folk, big band and classical. Why, because it does not have the clean tones and versatility other guitars enjoy. There is nothing wrong with the Les Paul. I like them but they are not suited to all music. Yu do not buy a guitar for it's style, you buy for its tones and playability. If the les paul was versatile, Gary Moore would have just used his, but he also used a Strat, a Charvel and a Takemine Acoustic both on tour and recording. Are you saying he was a tw*t and could have just used his Les Paul or some cheapo guitar because as you said a "master" can make any instrument sound good. I mean, why pay several thousands of pounds for a guitar when you can buy a happy shopper instrument for a few quid. They all sound the same and play the same. Right?

Methinks you are either lack funds or lack talent as your last sentence smacks of envy or bitterness. At the very least your comments reflect an uneducated and inexperienced individual who advocates bucking the trend because he is unable to participate in the current one an effective way. Please have the curtesy not to give poor advice.

Saturday 14 Jul 2012, 10:34am

Jevan
buy whatever you want its your money

Monday 16 Jul 2012, 11:44pm

all good points, but yea go with what feels right for you, it will be your sound, the type of guitar is not dependant on the type of music, that metallica and nylon string is rubbish, they wont use a nylon string guitar because they use electric guitars not classical.

the big difference you will notice with different shaped guitars is the sustain and sound, and the action of the strings.

i play a les paul made by westfield, a damn good guitar, reviews writen by real players have said, and one in partiuclar, it brought one westfield les paul so he could trash it at gigs, it played so will he brought another one and used them both for gigging and he nevered used his GIBSON les pauls again. the cost of my westfield was £90.00 from the net a couple of years ago and now they are about £150.00. westfield also make telecasters, stratocasters and les pauls.

Tuesday 17 Jul 2012, 12:04pm

Metallica use electric guitars for the sound. If nylon strung guitars made the sound they were looking for they would have used those. That was the point I was making. That all guitars are not the same. Can't you lot read. My point was valid. Also Westfiled do not make Les Pauls, strats or telecasters. They make copies. Also the review I have read have not been so positive although all said they were ok for a £100 value. From what I can gather, Westfiled customers are school kids or first time buyers. Personally, I wouldn't waste my hard earned on them.

Thursday 19 Jul 2012, 1:02pm

SLAPTASTIC AND DAVEBOBBIE YOU ARE BOTH f***king IDIOTS ,GUITARMAN 5889 IS TRYING TO EDUCATE YOU BOTH AND YOU PAY HIM NO RESPECT .GUITARMAN I WOULD NOT BOTHER IT IS CLEAR THAT THEY ARE BOTH WINDOW LICKERS.

Thursday 19 Jul 2012, 9:43pm

LOL Hi Bish Bash. Long time no hear from you. Whats the latest with the band.

Wednesday 25 Jul 2012, 3:03pm

If you're looking for a lot of bang for your buck, try out a Steinberger Transcale. They have a piezo fitted as well which give you lots of interesting sonic options. You can hear one being played on my soundcloud.

BBB

www.soundcloud.com/puscasonic
www.facebook.com/puscasonic

Saturday 28 Jul 2012, 9:17pm

It totally depends how much you have to spend. I recommend the squier stratocaster. It sounds great and for only a couple of hundred pound can't go wrong really. Obviously if you want hard edged shredder sound the its not the best option. But I would go to your local music shop and try a few out. See what you feel is best,afterall its you thats got to play it no-one else. I have a les paul and a strat but I'd say my strat is 1,000,000 times easier to play. Also I can make it sound not too far off a les paul with a few different effects thrown in for good measure.

Wednesday 22 Aug 2012, 4:35am

In my humble opinion,
1. Buy a guitar that's versatile. A good starting point is one with coil taps. Basically one that can produce both single and humbucker sounds. It's pretty much good for anything you would use an electric guitar for.
2. Avoid the very cheap (false economy) and the very expensive.
3. Buy the best guitar your budget allows, but don't be sucked in by brand snobbery . Most people that seem to have opinions on guitars if blindfolded wouldn't know if they were playing a £1500 Gibson or a £200 Epiphone. Before someone shoots down that remark, of course there is a difference, but not a £1300 difference. Same is true with Fender/Squier to a lesser degree. Don't. Shy away from well established budget brands like Westfield. A good set up and maybe a pickup upgrade and you have a quality instrument.
4. Don't be afraid to buy second hand. Bargains can be had. Most problems can be easily remedied by a local luthier or guitar tech.
5. Do your research. Read online reviews. Be wary though, sites like harmony central have review pages but there seems to be a tendency for people to praise their own choices. But any model that gets a good number of poor reviews there is almost certainly firewood.
6. If you like the way it looks, sounds and feels, it's the right guitar for you.
7. As evidenced above, there is a lot of people that talk out of there backside about guitars.

My tip: Anything made by Parker. They produce instruments across a wide budget range (200 or less s/h to £1000s). The styling is not for everyone, but it's hard to find a bad guitar with that name on it. I have owned 20 plus guitars over the years, from the very cheap to VERY expensive. I took an ebay punt at a parker pm10 (vaguely Les Paul shaped) for about £150. It is built amazingly well, plays like a dream, has some great features and has a range of quality sounds that rivals anything I have ever owned, even some with 10 times the value. But truthfully, almost any guitar with a bit of work can be made to play and sound good, save for the ultra low cost one's. Avoid the Encore and Elevation brands. There is a reason that they get put on ebay for a tenner and still get no bids. Happy hunting. Tell us what you buy.

Wednesday 22 Aug 2012, 5:07am

Just a couple of points on the above. Slaptastic, you are a tool. You have no place advising anyone on a subject you have no idea about. Go away. Guitarman 5889, you make some great points , but I can think of a renowned jazz player that played a Les Paul. The legend that was, er, Les Paul.
Also, many years ago I read a guitar mag interview with Evh. He had the opportunity to meet Brian May and play the red special through May 's rig, and was still unable to get that sound. A great sound is a combination of the gear and the player.


But I'll settle the debate. Buy a strat. Any strat. Then call me. I'll sell you a seymour Duncan little 69 tappable humbucker that fits in a single coil space. They are about £100 new. Mine is brand new in its box. Never got around to installing it. £50 to you.

Wednesday 22 Aug 2012, 2:08pm

AdCorby - at last a guy who talks some sense and who appears to know his stuff. Your description of slapstatic made me laugh aloud. After starting his career in country, Les Paul was indeed a jazz musician and I was taken by surprise that I had said anything to the contrary. Having read through my posts I found what would have given you the idea that I may have not known this. My comment about relating to Les Paul guitars not being used to play jazz is of course incorrect but my statement did not mean to say that. My comment read Les Pauls are used in a lot of pop and rock music but no so in Country, Jazz, folk, big band and classical." I omitted to include the word "much". It should have read ........ not so MUCH in Country blah blah blah. I apologies for the misleading statement. I shall go stand in the corner with Slaptsatic lol

I agree with all the points you have raised, in particular regarding buying second hand or previously enjoyed as I like to put it. A lot of first time buyers look at second hand instruments as if they will be worn out, broken or will not sound as good or look as good as when new. Looking good is probably true but all instruments will suffer wear and tear and eventually will loose it's brand new look. There are many a good bargain to be had on sites such as eBay. My advice has always to go to the local instrument dealer, try the guitars, decide what is liked best and then go see if it for sale on eBay. The self same model could be as little as half the price new and one could even pick up a better quality model for a few quid more.

Your comment about expensive guitars was interesting. Your view that most would not tell the difference if blindfolded was something I had not thought about and I think you may be right. There is a difference mind, much the same as if you sat in a Ford or a Merc blindfolded, you would be hard pushed to tell the difference, once the blindfold was off that would be a different matter. The same applies to guitars. The expensive guitars are the Mercs of the guitar world. Better quality components, look and feel better (although the blind fold test ought to be applied here to see if the price tag has a placebo effect) and of course just like the Merc, a four digit price tag on your guitar is something of a status symbol.

I own a 1980's American Strat. A special edition with very heavy body (swamp ash) and redesigned bridge to aid sustain, special wiring that gave 9 basic tones rather than the stock 5 tones. Hardware was gold plated and she was dressed in candy apple red. Today, after a couple of repaints and a third pending, the gold plate a distant memory and a broken switch that is no longer manufactured, she lies in a state of perpetual dis-assembly. This guitar cost me a grand back in 1980 which at that time was a massive amount of money and now it is doubtful that she will ever be used again (unless a donor switch can be found) but it was a grand worth spent as quiet simply it has been the best guitar I have ever played both in terms of its feel and its sound. So I think that the price tag is a touch relevant but it is by no means the most important.

Wednesday 22 Aug 2012, 9:13pm

I said it was all bullsh*t..............look above ....

Wednesday 22 Aug 2012, 11:03pm

slaptastic - in order to evolve from a tool into a human being you need to first become educated and refrain from making comments that are trite (I strongly suggest that you look this up in the dictionary).

If you think that the above is bulls*it you truly do not know what you are talking about and I wonder if in fact you are a musician at all but rather some poor lonely, socially inept individual who's only interaction with people is through the internet.

If you purport to be a musician then the guitar is not the instrument you play and should it be, you have little or no experience with them other than the guitar you own.

It is clear to see that Adycorby knows his stuff. Any one who plays will say that his opinions were valid even if some were to disagree with a point or two.

If you a were by chance referring to my comments then once again you have demonstrated that your moniker of Tool is clearly well deserved. I am not going to justifying what I have said as that clearly will be a waste of time as you understand very little. I am of the opinion that breathing may tax your brain clearly demonstrated by your latest profound comment.