If You Don't Own a Les Paul, You Don't Have Good Tone...

Rane

Rane

Experienced
I've got nothing against Gibson; they make fine instruments. I just happen to like a different style of instrument. I prefer thinner necks and a more modern looking body style.

However, every once in a while a certain fellow musician that I know finds the need to suggest that I need a Les Paul. That my tone would be better with a Les Paul. Implying that my guitar is so-so quality and I need to upgrade.

Now, I'd be fine with that if my instrument was an entry-level junker. But it's not. It's a neck-through flying V with top-notch internals, a sleek shiny white paint-job and binding all around. I even tried to tell this guy that my guitar was neck-through and had some good pickups in it. He wasn't deterred.

Perhaps he's just trying to tell me that my tone sucks?

Anyway, I thought the whole thing was just kind of funny. How about you guys? Ever have anyone try to set you straight about the kind of gear you're using?
 
I've kind of heard the opposite before.

That Fender guitars and amps are the best of the best. Guy also told me Mesa amps were modded Fenders so why buy a mesa? :/
 
You do know it's nonsense, right? Find a guitar that speaks to you. There are plenty quality guitars around.
 
Nothing against Les Pauls, but that's just one set of tones. They aren't better than others just different. Is a Les Paul, made better than other guitars? Not always.

There is no best guitar or best tone.

If I had the cash and wanted a Les Paul type guitar I think I would be looking for a Ruokangas Unicorn, or a good second hand Hamer.
 
Everybody is entitled to their own opinions but if anyone tells me that I should use some other kind of bass or gear, I smile and tell them:

"Opinions are like dicks,
It's fine to have one,
Just don't try to jam it down my throat."

To OP, I wouldn't take anybody's opinion too seriously unless it's someone you respect.
 
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After a gig, a guy came up to me and said exactly the same thing "What you really need is a Les Paul"
I then posted a topic on TGP "If one more moron tells me I need I Les Paul..."
It was all tongue in cheek but you wouldn't believe the reactions I got.
Some of them really are like religious fanatics.
And I do have a lot against Gibson.
I used to work for an importer for Gibson and Kramer.
They had a full time luthier fixing all the stuf that was wrong with the Gibsons.
The Kramers never needed any work.
IMHO Les Pauls are overpriced and overrated.
Sure they have a sound of their own but If I ever would want one, I would have it made by Chris Larkin:
500a44935c8320008f1c713a63e32b8e_S.jpg

Tim's Special

I've got an ASAD that IMHO gives me all the LP tones I need and then some:
mahogany body, LP scale mahogany neck, maple top and ebony fretboard, Floyd and the volume knob in the right place ;)
Larkin%2520ASAD.JPG
 
MarcoB said:
You do know it's nonsense, right? Find a guitar that speaks to you. There are plenty quality guitars around.
Click to expand...

Oh yes, I know it's nonsense.

stratamania said:
Nothing against Les Pauls, but that's just one set of tones. They aren't better than others just different. Is a Les Paul, made better than other guitars? Not always.

There is no best guitar or best tone.

If I had the cash and wanted a Les Paul type guitar I think I would be looking for a Ruokangas Unicorn, or a good second hand Hamer.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. For me, I love ESP's take on the Les Paul style. I'd buy one of those long before I ever bought a Les Paul.
 
People are stupid.

When it comes to instruments, they have to fit each person. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for you. I avoid things like "this guitar is just awesome" when talking to other guitarists. I try to talk about the features like "I like the compound radius fretboard as it's comfortable and doesn't fret out when bending". At the end of the day, guitars are tools, not some mystical talisman that makes you awesome.
 
Such bullcrap.
A crappy Les Paul is a crappy Les Paul just like a crappy Jackson is a crappy Jackson.
It's more on how well the guitar is built,the quality of wood,the attention in the making,and the dedication put in to the instrument.
These Les Paul fanatics thing they are the the owners of the finest guitars,I don't agree. There are so many amazing companies out there.
It also comes to the point that what speaks to you,what feels good in your hands,and something that you can have a personal connection with.

These are just silly myths,
Gibson has a very bad quality control now. What you play in one shop may sound pretty good and in the other shop that same model would sound really
bad. At the end of the day it's about you and what you like. I have had folks say you can never sound great with a digital modeller including the Axe FxII.
I ask them have you played it... Their reply is well no not really,so I tell them then your opinion is pointless and personally I have played and heard enough amps
to know what is good and what's not good for me. It's the same case for guitars.
 
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Now a days it’s probably more luck than purpose to acquire a really good Les Paul, for a “normal” price. I’m 54 now and I’ve only played one Les Paul that was truly spectacular and that was about 35 years ago. I don’t remember what year build it was but it was a standard; it was the guitar of a friend of mine. Played dry this guitar unfolded an unparalleled tone and vibrancy that I haven’t experienced since, the entire neck was a sweet spot full of inspiration and it almost played itself. That being said, since then I have went out several times wanting to buy one but none that I have tested really spoke to me in nearly the same way.

The last time I went out on a buying spree I wanted to buy a Gibson SG 61 Reissue and after having tried a few I saw this Epiphone Elitist version of the 61, compared the 2 and it turned out a no brainer in favor of the Epiphone Elitist version, It didn’t cost much less but was many times better all-around (probably the reason why they’re not built anymore, too much competition for the mother Gibson).

Bottom line is there is no right and wrong it’s a question of having the right tool for the right job. For my job I have 6 guitars and none of them is a Les Paul (yet).

Cheers!
 
To me it's not about "better or worse". I've been playing a Les Paul for years and loved it, then I played the Tremonti PRS for a while and also loved that. I was into modern metal then and the PRS would give me a more transparent sound with huge bass and overtones (not sure if that's the right word. The really high end of the spectrum, I mean)
When I started playing in a cover band I realized that for Guns'N Roses songs like "Sweet Child" I wanted the Les Paul sound again, which would really make a difference. In my oppinion the Les Paul is not just "something really good" you can go to for a quality upgrade.
It has a rather distinct sound (being bassy and "round" for the lack of a better word)...
And then of course there's playability. I really miss the fretboard of my Peavy Wolfgang, which was way easier to handle for my rather small hands than is the Gibson OR the PRS. But so far there has always been some kind of compromise ;)

P.S. a word about the quality: apparently the gibson built quality has really decreased. When I brought mine to the shop for adjustment the guitar tech was impressed with the model and asked when I had bought it. He told me that the general quality was a lot better some years ago...
 
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I tried several LPs and did not like the sound or the feel. The same experience with Music Man JP6 EBBMs. I tried 3 of them and just could not get the sound I wanted from them.

My go-to guitar for a while was a ESP Eclipse II. Wonderful solid mahogany guitar with ebony fret board. I even put blackouts in it and it sings. A few month ago I was browsing the net and saw the blue crab PRS P24. It took my breath away and I had to have it! I cannot put it down and it has become my favorite. The ESP was demoted to drop tuning :( I have always wanted a PRS and now I want another ;)
 
I love Lesters. They're awesome guitars when they're awesome guitars.

But having people tell you this and that? Whatever - just words man, nothing more.

Opinions are like assholes - everyone's got one, and if it ain't yours, it typically stinks.

Cheers,
V.
 
I love Les Pauls too. But I prefer chunky necks and short scales and dual humbuckers. Plenty of amazing songs recorded playing Les Pauls.

I love Fenders too. As many if not more great songs recorded with them.

To me it's all about what I'm feeling at the time and while I have a lot of guitars with a handful of them being very similar in configuration and design each has their own vibe and application. If I had to pick only one to play for the rest of my life I'm not sure if I'd pick a Les Paul to be that guitar. But if I had a great Les Paul and was told that it was the only guitar I'd ever be able to play again I'm not sure that I'd mind that much.

Luckily I am not in that situation. I can play whatever the hell I want as long as I can afford it. What I won't do however is pretend that I should tell someone what they should or shouldn't play. I mean can you imagine how boring music would be if everyone played the exact same gear since the inception of time?
 
I know what you mean... I'm not like that with guit-fiddles, but I sure am with my Axe-FX II. But the sort of judgement and criticism is accepted here...
 
I'd have to ask a few questions. Did the guy just have a Lester fetish? Or did he hear something in your tone that he thought a Lester would fix? Did he just think you'd look like a badass holding one? There is something nice about a Les paul. Personally I can't justify the money with all the alternatives out there. My other guitarist has three of them and they are nice, but he has about $7,000 in those three guitars. I'm too much of a cheap ass for that. :)
 
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