Les Paul sound vs. other guitars

I'm no expert but I think with electrics is less about the construction since the are solid and more about the pick ups. Although I'm sure the body construction will affect the sound to some degree.

Any guitar that has humbucker pickups will give you a similar sound to the LP(not exactly the same but similar).

I'm just like you I wanted the LP because of the sound and I always thought Slash was a bad dude. But I couldn't afford an LP when I started so I got an Epiphone SG copy, which has humbucker pickups and has a similar sound and I liked it alot. I then bought a Strat that classic Fender sound.

As soon as I get enough money I will buy a LP....everyone needs at least one Strat and one LP in their lifetime.

It is mostly:

1) pickups
2) wood type
3) neck construction

So any mahony guitar with a neck-through construction using proper humbuckers will sound like a standard LP. Godin, PRS, Dean and many others make very good LP-like guitars.

I don't think any of the guitars you mention have a neck-through design, they have a set neck, which means gluing the neck to the body. A neck-through has one piece that goes from the headstock to the rear of the body (right under the pickups and the bridge, etc.). The "body" consists of two "wings" glued to the side of the through neck. This results in both great stability, but even greater sustain than a set-neck design.

Nice catch greybeard. You're 100% right. Not very many mass produced guitars are through body. You'll see it on a upscale bass from time to time. I think Carvin makes one.

A couple more things that make a difference in sound:

Nut material: More important than most people will give credit for.
Tailpiece design: Radically affects natural sustain.

If you want the LP sound, get an LP. They have a lot of tonal characteristics that you aren't going to find on any other guitar. For more detail on all that, head over to http://www.lespaulforum.com .

They'll set you straight.

Not sure if you were talking to me, since I mentioned no guitars, just brands. But in case you were, I don't think I quite understand what you were saying. Dean has multiple series with neck-through constructions, starting at around $400 and up (vendetta, Custom 450 etc). PRS definitely had, or has, neck-throughs as well (Custom 24). I am quite sure Godin has them as well, but I can't remember the model, and I don't exactly feel like looking it up.

So if you were talking to me, could you clarify your post a bit?

Scale length (the distance from nut to bridge) as also a big factor in a guitar's tone. Moreso than wood; it's right up there with the pickups.

Most Godins -- if not all -- are bolt-on.

Just one more opinion: After having strong feelings about this in the (distant) past, I've concluded that the bolt-on, neck-thru, set-neck argument which is based on supposed merits of one over the other for sustain and or tone is specious. There are well-known examples of each type that sound very good and sustain well and other examples of each that suck. A guitar is a system of many components. Buying one mainly based on neck attachment technology is a waste of time considered and possibly money. A guitar is a system -- play the whole system and evaluate the sonics and feel and design and construction quality based on what you like, not on what some marketeer or figurehead endorser-player tells you. There are good Gibson LPs, dud Gibson LPs, great Gibby LPs. What accounts for the differences in timbre and even sustain is probably something other than the neck joint. The same may be said about Fenders and other brands.

Do you like the LP scale, the humbucking tone (of whatever of the 10s of varieties of pups might be installed), the massive feel, furniture-like construction? Then get an LP. It works for you. You prefer Teles? Cool, get a Tele. For many of us, no one guitar is everything (ask Nick). Different guitars do different things better for different players. As many of you know, quite a number of LP-wielding guitar gods use them on stage, but will often use something else in the studio (such as that lowly Tele Jimmy Page has used). Lindsey Buckingham has said he prefers single-coil pup sounds, but when he join F-M, he willingly switched to a humbucker for live performances to get a tone that more effectively cut through the mix of that particular band. Different tools for a different applications. Plus, I think I'd go crazy if I had to play the same damn guitar all the time -- none of them are that good.

I agree with you, Greg. The argument over guitar sustain (even though we all enter into it) is irrelevent in most of today's playing.
A guitar is the sum of all it's parts and one of it's main constituents is a natural product (wood) that can produce different results, even from two adjacent planks from the same tree
As for the neck-through designs, I can't imagine that a PRS neck-through is going to be any where near as "cheap" as an LP - that's assuming that they actually do make one (I couldn't find one on their site). The only Dean that I could find with a neck-through is the Custom. There is a demo model on sale on ebay US for a buy-it-now price of $549, which is pretty good for a neck-through.

I don't want to start any sort of war here, but I think you're completely wrong Arjen. Honestly, it's very rare to find a neck through guitar from a mass production guitar manufacturer.

I've seen a respectable number of Godins, and never seen one with a neck through construction. To the best of my knowledge, PRS hasn't made a neck through since they started doing mass production, before that it is conceivable that a custom neck through could have been produced, but certainly nothing recent or common. Custom 24's have set necks.
Just one more opinion: After having strong feelings about this in the (distant) past, I've concluded that the bolt-on, neck-thru, set-neck argument which is based on supposed merits of one over the other for sustain and or tone is specious.

Maybe not completely meaningless, but guitar construction is definitely an art where execution is more important than design. Given that all other factors were equal, I would choose a guitar with a neck through over a bolt on, but since all other factors are never equal, you have to base your decision on the complete sound of the final product.

Undercat: It's very possible I am completely wrong, so feel free to correct me anytime. However:

Dean Custom 450
Dean Vendetta 4.0

These are certainly mass produced guitarsfrom Asia, costing around 450 each. It is still possible that this is not correct, but that would mean Dean is actively lying towards its customers...

As many of you know, quite a number of LP-wielding guitar gods use them on stage, but will often use something else in the studio (such as that lowly Tele Jimmy Page has used).

I was going to mention that. I believe nearly all of Led Zeppelin I was recorded with that beat to hell Tele. Though, I'm a real big fan of Pagey's live sound over his studio sound. It's really raw and ballsey with an oh-so sweet crunch and is part of what made their live playing such an adventure versus listening to the albums.

This is such a great thread ...

I agree with so many of the varied opinions posted. The LP sound is so different from one LP to the next. I especially like the analogy of an LP like 'furniture' cause they are so solid ... :wink:

So many guitars ... they each feel so different in your hands and only you can determine if that neck is the one for you! As stated in the past try as many [guitars] as you can and try to keep an open mind!

Maybe not completely meaningless, but guitar construction is definitely an art where execution is more important than design.

I think this is true, as well. There is a lot to go wrong in the actual implementation of almost any type of neck joint. I also suspect (but have no evidence) that different types and combinations of wood may benefit from different attachment methods.

-G

I admit to not being incredibly familiar with Dean's products. I have more experience with their acoustic line, but still relatively little.

That's a nifty little fact there that those 2 guitars come with neck through construction. Though I found them listing closer to $750-1000USD, it's neat to see that they're out there.

I also caught wind of the notion that Jackson has a guitar in the $1800 range that uses neck through construction. Is this true?