I kinda want a Les Paul

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by rmp

I have two Gibson USA Pauls and one Heritage H-150 (it belongs to a good friend who hadn't played it in 20 years. he wanted "someone" playing it so I'm only happy to oblige)

I have a 95 Standard that weighs close over 11 lbs,
The Heritage is close to 11lbs

These are HEAVY guitars, a wide padded strap is really mandatory for standup playing.

my 2002 Standard isn't as heavy but it's not exactly light either 9.8lbs

IMHO, there is NOTHING that compares to one of these bad boys plugged into a Marshall

I have three Marshalls, JVM 50w head with 2 2x12 cabs. (Beastly!)
and two combos. JTM-60 2x12 w/2x12 cab and DSL40 1x12 combo

The sound, well it's heavenly really.

I wouldn't hesitate to own a third one.

Infact, I've been considering adding a Goldtop standard back to the fray
My FIRST lp was a 74 Deluxe Gold Top I got in highschool

I'm retiring soon, and I've toyed with gifting me one as a retirement gift

probably wont happen, cuz I don't NEED it

but like you said NEED? Pfffffffffft!

My advice?

DO IT!

This is what I expect from y'all, top shelf enabling!

Thanks rmp, joking aside, I appreciate your thoughts. Right now my thoughts are Les Paul Goldtop, 50's, DSL40CR. Sounds like you would approve. I can be convinced otherwise but I think I could do a lot worse than that right there.

Main thing I NEED is to get better. The people in my house NEED it more than I do...

Originally Posted by imwjl

What's your budget comes to mind? Start with my standard advice for guitars, bikes, and skis - delay gratification and try stuff.

If you're not brand or logo focused be aware that like many acoustic makers have their version of a Martin or Gibson iconic model, same is true for electrics.

Budget is OK, I'm selling a guitar that will fund it all and probably a bit more. "Delay gratifiation and try stuff" is good advice. Will do both, thanks!

[Joseph Hanna]

I think a whole lotta Les Paul romance has blossomed over the last 3 or 4 years of which a great deal of that has been Bonamassa. He can make a Fender amp and any Les Paul sound unworldly. Other than Joe, I haven't heard a truly Les Paul signature-stamped sound since Paul Kossoff ( although Paul always insisted his tone was about the Marshalls and not the 50's Les Pauls) except perhaps Mark Knopfler's metamorphosis away from a Strat and more towards the Les Paul. Anyway, the point is, in the right hands, it's an incredible tone machine, albeit much more difficult to drag Its personality out of its shell.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

I think a whole lotta Les Paul romance has blossomed over the last 3 or 4 years of which a great deal of that has been Bonamassa. He can make a Fender amp and any Les Paul sound unworldly. Other than Joe, I haven't heard a truly Les Paul signature-stamped sound since Paul Kossoff ( although Paul always insisted his tone was about the Marshalls and not the 50's Les Pauls) except perhaps Mark Knopfler's metamorphosis away from a Strat and more towards the Les Paul. Anyway, the point is, in the right hands, it's an incredible tone machine, albeit much more difficult to drag Its personality out of its shell.

Interesting comments. And I very much agree with the last comment that I have "bolded" above.

I think Mark Knopfler's use of the Les Paul has really inspired me. I'm working on his song, "Boom, Like That" about Ray Krock and McDonalds, and his Les Paul tone is simply killer.

The first main solo is at about 2:15, though unfortunately they don't show him playing the Les Paul. There's another solo at ~3:22 and another at ~4:58. I'm working on these solos right now. They really make me appreciate my Les Paul.



By the way, I am using Guitar Rig 7 in my computer. The amp sounds in this software sound extremely close to Mark Knopfler's sound and Guitar Rig 7 costs only $200. It's worth considering if a person is just playing at home. I never use an amp anymore when recording because Guitar Rig does such a good job and gives me so much flexibility. Guitar Rig is using AI to help them build more realistic amps and I think it's working. They are calling their new technology "ICM" (Intelligent Circuit Modeling). I have had several generations of Guitar Rig but their latest Guitar Rig 7 is a very nice improvement in sound quality where ICM has been used.

- Glenn

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

I think a whole lotta Les Paul romance has blossomed over the last 3 or 4 years of which a great deal of that has been Bonamassa. He can make a Fender amp and any Les Paul sound unworldly. Other than Joe, I haven't heard a truly Les Paul signature-stamped sound since Paul Kossoff ( although Paul always insisted his tone was about the Marshalls and not the 50's Les Pauls) except perhaps Mark Knopfler's metamorphosis away from a Strat and more towards the Les Paul. Anyway, the point is, in the right hands, it's an incredible tone machine, albeit much more difficult to drag Its personality out of its shell.

Thanks Joseph. Interesting, but I'm not sophisticated enough WRT electric guitar tone to know what the bolded really means for me. Certainly I'm not someone who would know how to drag personality out of a guitar. What about a Les Paul makes this a thing vs other guitars? Or maybe this is all over my head, which is fine.

[Rolph]

I've had a '58 Burst, a '80 Heritage LP Std., a Modern, a robot loaded, weight relieved something from Gibson. There will never be anything like the '58's, but the first two were ruining my neck and left shoulder, and my golf. Glad I sold them, I'm sure the owners are too. Now I have a Sire Les Paul, Larry Carlton model. Great sound, $500 instead of $3500.

[Bob Womack]

Oh, and by the way, my '74 LP above weighs 9.8 lbs. The weight-relieved 2018 weighs 7.8 lbs. I got the newer one because, as I matured, the '74 seemingly put on weight. I've been playing the '74 since '77.

Bob

[rmp]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

This is what I expect from y'all, top shelf enabling!

Thanks rmp, joking aside, I appreciate your thoughts. Right now my thoughts are Les Paul Goldtop, 50's, DSL40CR. Sounds like you would approve. I can be convinced otherwise but I think I could do a lot worse than that right there.

The DSL40s are nice amps

with the extended (6 button) footswitch, there's very little you can't do with that amp

Another good choice for a LP is a Fender Deluxe,
ya, you'll need a good OD to front end it, but that's a nice pairing too.

good luck with the hunt, once you get the itch, hard not to scratch..

[LAPlayer]

Most of the "ifs" you ask about are totally personal preference. Yours is the only one that matters. I would play my Tele and ask myself - what sort of difference do I want from my LP. Buy that. Buy the difference in neck, pickups.... that you are looking to get from a LP. I'm sure you already know this (but many don't) but there is no such thing as getting so-and-so's sound by plugging in and playing. You will have a host of accessories to get a specific sound based on the accessories that so-and-so uses. Additionally, not only is there a cost to getting "that sound" but we/you will never have the studio, gear, engineer.... that so-and-so had when they developed that sound. What I always suggest is to buy whatever you want and then dial it in to get your sound. GLWH (good luck with hunt).

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by LAPlayer

Most of the "ifs" you ask about are totally personal preference. Yours is the only one that matters. I would play my Tele and ask myself - what sort of difference do I want from my LP. Buy that. Buy the difference in neck, pickups.... that you are looking to get from a LP.

Understood, but I'm trying to figure out what I can from experienced players...as I don't have strong opinions on any of it. I liked Bob's answer on getting a "Standard" LP 'cause it's...standard. That actually makes a ton of sense to me. Pickups I can swap, so I think I'm buying the neck, the platform, and the look. Just not sure what neck, So I'll wait a bit and keep playing a bunch.

Originally Posted by LAPlayer

I'm sure you already know this (but many don't) but there is no such thing as getting so-and-so's sound by plugging in and playing. You will have a host of accessories to get a specific sound based on the accessories that so-and-so uses. Additionally, not only is there a cost to getting "that sound" but we/you will never have the studio, gear, engineer.... that so-and-so had when they developed that sound. What I always suggest is to buy whatever you want and then dial it in to get your sound. GLWH (good luck with hunt).

All makes total sense, thank you. I think for now I want something that sounds loud and awesome, you know, for the fun of it. Malcolm tone (or thereabouts) seemed like a good place to start as there isn't all the signal chain stuff, from what I hear it's his Gretsch plugged into a Plexi. For now I'm focused on keeping it simple and learning to play better.

Whatever I get guitar/amp-wise, I want to think it's awesome later as well. Just want to make sure whatever I get is a good start, and works just plugging into the right amp w/o all the pedals and signal chain stuff. I can figure that out later. Good initial tone, good pedal platform (whatever the heck that means) so I can expand it later.

I think I want a 50's standard like this:


This amp sounds rad:


https://friedmanamplification.com/sh...taco-v2-combo/
I'm not sure it's worth the extra money over a Marshall 20 (Origin or DSL) if I replace the speaker. Sounds like fit and finish is better, and it may have better overdrive. But it's mostly gonna sit in my house, so not sure I care that much about premium build quality. Maybe it's worth it just for tone. Appreciate anyone's input.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

I think I want a 50's standard like this:

I always wanted a gold top. In fact I was shopping for one in 1977, or a red one, but could only afford the sunburst I ended up with. I'm glad it grew on me.

Bob

[LAPlayer]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Understood, but [B]I'm trying to figure out what I can from experienced players...[/B
I think I want a 50's standard like this:

Good. Glad I could help. Again, you probably know that the AC/DC riffs and the Young brothers (Angus on lead, Malcom on Rhythm) sound didn't come out of LPs. Just for my edification, please (as everyone else may know) , are you wanting a LP to play AC/DC leads on. Which makes perfect sense since you can play anything on any guitar. OR, are you looking to play AC/DC riffs that sound like the originals (GS / Gretsch).

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by LAPlayer

Good. Glad I could help. Again, you probably know that the AC/DC riffs and the Young brothers (Angus on lead, Malcom on Rhythm) sound didn't come out of LPs. Just for my edification, please (as everyone else may know) , are you wanting a LP to play AC/DC leads on. Which makes perfect sense since you can play anything on any guitar. OR, are you looking to play AC/DC riffs that sound like the originals (GS / Gretsch).

I want a Les Paul because I want a Les Paul.

Yeah, I know all about Malcolm’s Gretsch. Figure I can get close enough with the LP. Not trying to exactly match tone, just want a great humbucker guitar into a great amp to keep things simple.

It’s more about a cool song library that I love and some easy chords that will let me focus on tempo, groove, timing, and playing over backing tracks as a substitute for playing with a band. Would be nice over time to be able to play the Angus parts over it, but that’s a ways off. Maybe never.

[LAPlayer]

Sounds like you have a winner there. Get a good strap.

[Russ C]

The neck angle is pleasing to me.
They’re heavy for sure but a wide strap means I don’t notice it - for two 1 hour sets anyway. Standing for more hours? - yes I would want a chambered one and I can’t see any reason not to do that but I really don’t mind holding a substantial guitar when I’m on stage - they’re small and the weight seems to compensate.
I’m a P90 nut and I will advise anyone who buys a new Gold Top with those pickups to get the thing shielded. That should be done in the factory but either way the end result is well worth having.

[rmp]

I love it

GT 50s Standard - boom
that is pretty much the Les Paul I would choose as my "retirement" guitar.

sounds like a good excuse right?