Confusion about Les Paul Standard

I don't really know the business end of it, but yes I believe Gibson owns Epiphone. And just as Squier guitars are built to Fender specs, Epiphone's are built to Gibson's. And while Squiers and Epis are built from less expensive materials, they are not necessarily inferior. If you get ahold of a good Epi LP it could be much better than a bad Gibson LP.

Les Pauls usually sound very good without an amp IMHO. The are warmer and darker sounding than a Strat played acoustically or amplified.

The LP neck is a little shorter than a Strat. This is helpful to me, I do not have large hands. But someone with large hands might prefer a Strat. It is easier to play up high on the neck on a Strat than an LP in my opinion. A Strat tends to have a faster neck in many people's opinion. I don't have trouble with either one.

Amplified you will hear a big difference between an LP and a Strat. An LP is much warmer sounding. The humbucker pickups sound great and tight with distortion. You cannot get Country type twang out of an LP. But they sound very good played clean, you can get a nice warm, almost acoustic guitar tone out of the neck pickup especially.

They are good guitars. You just gotta try it for yourself and see how you like it.

Cool, thanks....I am not particularly well endeared when it comes to hands or arms..........

My questions are:

1. What is the difference between a Epiphone and a Gibson LP Std? I have done some reading on the Epiphone website and it appears that Gibson bought Epi out etc.....this is really vexing me.

Yes, Gibson did buy Epiphone some years back. Daimlier bought Chysler who had subsidiaries of Dodge and Plymouth. Companies buy companies, companies produce like goods under different labels. There is a difference, one is high end, one is designed not to be high end. You will find armies that call Epiphone "epiphony" and tell you that trying to compare a made in the USA Gibson to a made in Korea or China Epiphone is like comparing the Mona Lisa and a childs fingerpainting. There are equal armies that swear their Epiphone is every bit as good and better dollar for dollar than an overpriced Gibson. There are other camps that will tell you that non-related brand Les Paul style is better than the Epi and cheaper too. There are basic differences. Gibson uses a slab of maple over a slab of mahogany in the body, Epi use a maple veneer (thin piece) over the mahongany slab. Gibson uses a better grade of woods overall. Gibson uses a higher grade of electronics. Gibson uses nitrocellulous lacquer (slower process), Epi uses a poly urethane (faster). Gibson fans will tell you that each of these things (eletronics in particular) makes Gibsons sound better. $1000 to $2000 better? You and your ears have to decide for yourself.
2. I do most of my practice with my Squire, but without an amp, its not the best sound but its meaningful to me, does the LP Std have a reasonable acoustic (ie not through and amp, i know its not an acoustic guitar) sound.

Electric guitars should be plugged in to be appreciated. You will also get better response on your hammer on pull off practice. And really appreciate sustain and vibrato. Get a set of headphones if sound levels are a problem where you practice. But I have played my Epi LP unplugged and find it no different than a strat unplugged.
3. I have heard that playing with a LP style guitar is quite different, does anyone have any opinions about this. I realise its a personal thing, but I am interested in peoples opinions and experiences.
The first thing you will notice is the weight difference. LP's are heavy guitars (mahogany body). You'll want a wide padded strap. The second thing you might notice is that the neck might fell different than your strat. LP's have a slightly smaller scale then strats, makes the neck a bit shorter and feel wider. You'll probably also find that your strats neck plays faster. No proof on this, just peoples opinions.

If my calculations are correct $300 AUD is about $225 US. A good condition EPI Std with a hard case is a good deal if you have the means and desire.

Mike

Cool thanks, I do spend some time practicing through an amp, head phones and a practice amp.....I do however spend a lot of time in front of the TV practicing in the ad breaks ;)

If Les Pauls are dark and warm, and Strats are bright and twangy, where do Explorers fit in?

Sorry to steal the thread but I got a Les Paul and Explorer, and wanna find use for both.

Explorers belong on the wall, seen and not heard!!! haha. Ive never played a Real explorer, just reissues so I couldnt tell you... Anyway though, I find that the biggest difference playing a LP and a strat is where your arm sits. A LP is like playing an undersized accoustic with the flat edge youll fand your arm in more of an L position, with a strat you can have kind of a V arm position because of the body cutout. I find a strat a lot more comfortable to play... and I just wont play LPs for a few other reasons I wont muddy your decision with :D The sound difference... how to explain... LPs are Motown, Strats are more old rock and roll. Hope this makes sense.

Your best bet is just to try it, only you can really know if you like it.
I have A Squire Strat and an Epi LP and I like them both.

Most everything has already been said, but:

Going from a Start to a LP, you will probably find the LP trying to fall off your lap...If you get a Gibson LP, you might believe the LP is cursed, and is trying to make your $2,000 a waste!!

just make sure its the proper epiphone and hot the junior models

easist way to check is to look at the neck joint, if you see screws its not a proper les paul

les pauls use set neck/glued in neck construction so there is no neck plate or screws (unlike strats and fenders in general)

set neck is meant to get more sustain, but both my ibanez guitar and my fender jazz bass are bolt on neck and they have quite a lot of sustain

my comment is an elaboration of Taso's:

If you are used to playing a strat and if you sit down and rest the guitar on your leg, you are going to find that the LP is rather tail heavy. The strat is balanced more or less on your leg where the solid chunk of mahogany on the lp will make the neck want to creep up. Its a big adjustment potentially and was for me. I found that SG's are much less noticable for this.

In regards to epi versus gibby: about 5 months ago I went on a heavy shopping run for a new "heavy axe", a guitar that was heavier then my strat for harder rock. I was hell bent on getting a Gibson Les Paul standard at least, maybe a supreme. Folks on this board and also other professional grade players all told me to not put too much weight on my "gibson or else" perspective. They turned out to be right. I played MANY guitars and I found the following to be pretty accurate:

1) Not all Gibsons sound like that 1974 Goldtop you played once....
2) Not all Gibsons sound better then Epiphones.
3) SG's are more consistent (controversial statement I know)
4) Higher end, American Made guitars are usually (I stress usually) better sounding guitars then thier asian cousins.

So I wouldn't just conclude that an epiphone is an inferior instrument. Besides, you can always sell it to another friend or use craigslist if you don't like it.

My $.02

i believe the neck sizes are different to. Most strats i think are 25.5" and lps are 24 3/4" or something like that.