I have a fender standard strat that just felt right the first time I played it. I'm seriosuly considering my next guitar to be an elitist les paul by epiphone. I was trying out the les pauls and I noticed big changes between the two. First of all, the les paul neck is not as wide as the strat's and the strings are alot closer together. Did anyone else notice this? I'm worried that the neck size would make a les paul unplayable for me. btw i tried out the epiphone zakk wylde guitar. Also, can anyone tell me why bending strings is ALOT easier on the zakk wlyde les paul than the standard strat?
The neck on a Les Paul is actually wider by 1/16 - it's 1-11/16" versus the 1-5/8" for a standard strat.
Two things make it easier to bend on a Les Paul: First, the scale length is shorter - it's 24-3/4", the strat is 25-1/2" - so the same gauge strings will be under less tension at pitch on the Les Paul. The other thing has to do with fretboard radius...
If you took an end view of a fingerboard, the shape varies from flat (classical guitar fingerboards) to rounded. The rounded ones are actually conical, but you can picture them as a slice of a cylinder. The diameter of the cylinder ranges from as little as 7" to as much as 20". The tighter (smaller) the radius, the easier it will be to play bar chords... and the larger the radius, the easier it will be to get a low action.
Fender necks are among the tighter radii out there - although there are a number of necks available, a lot of strats will be 7-1/4" radius. The Zakk Wylde LP is a 12" radius. Combine the short scale length with lower action, and it'll be a lot easier to bend on.
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I have heavy strings on my strat, and don't have a problem bending at all. How long have you been playing for?
The string gauge also might have somethign to do with it.
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like noteboat said, a lot of the ease of bending has to do with the scale length. the les paul, have a shorter scale length means there is less tension on the strings. less tension means easier bending. my only problem with shorter scale lengths such as this is that it makes things a little cramped when you get past the 12th fret. but any playing below the 12th may seem easier, especially if you are doing wide stretches. they won't feel quite as wide
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Another thing you may or may not have to adjust to is the archtop vs flat. If you want to avoid that, you might consider a Les Paul Junior or an SG.
thanks for the help guys, but I want to se if its just me or not. Did any of you notice a difference between the space btwn the strings on a les paul. I found the strings very close together, and that was rather hard for me to play with
I'm sure the measurments are just as Noteboat indicated but when I traded my SRV strat for a Les Paul Classic I didn't notice a big difference. I kept resting my hand on the tailpiece of the strat causing it to bend when I didn't want it to. I feel much more comfortable playing a Les Paul. I now have two of them.
Larry
I guess it's the Zakk Wylde les paul that feels weird to me, maybe because that's how he likes his guitars set up. I remember playing a epiphone les paul custom, and it feel rather normal.
The Zakk Wylde LP is quite a departure from the "typical" LP -- for example, the neck is maple (instead of mahogany).
-Greg
-=tension & release=-
Hi.
you know they make strats, well copies, with humbuckers...
But that doesn't count....
I been sitting here for 5 min.s trying to write which is "better"
Ok, now it's 10 min.s
Alright I give up. I'll stick to something with F holes in it :)
I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but when
you're a 22lb sledge, do you really have to be?
i went to The Tea Party concert last night as a strong believer that Fenders kill Gibsons. but Jeff Martin's Les Paul sounded so damn good, i'm a changed man.
I played with a really fine guitarist last night... the guy's been playing jazz for about 40 years, teaching for 25. We played on a number of guitars - he had a sweet ES175. He couldn't get comfortable on my Strat... because the strings are closer than on a Gibson. Kinda what I thought from the nut widths ... the Gibson strings should be farther apart.
I'm headed to Guitar Center later today, so I'll see if they have a Zakk Wylde I can check out - maybe it's different.
I also got to play two Bourgeois acoustics last night, including this one:. Very, very nice guitar.
It was interesting... the other guitarist had trouble following me when I played it - he'd always played that one himself, and the vine inlay gave him problems following my changes.
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I havn't been playing all that long (less than a year), but the small neck width differences were HUGE to me. I initially bought an Epiphone "Special II" and a Squier Strat. (I'm military overseas and there is NO guitar or music shop near me. It's the internet or nothing.) I found that small extra width of the Epi neck made it a LOT more playable to me. I liked the tone of the Squier, but like one of the others said, just couldn't get comfortable. Also, the back angle of the neck on the Epi vs. the straight neck on the Squier made a difference. I guess its all how a guitar fits YOU. I ended up selling the Squier to a teenage kid who wanted to get started. Eventually I'll get good enough (I hope) to warrant buying a real Les Paul. Well, that's my two cents worth. Thanks.
Play what makes you want to play
I have an American series strat and Les Paul Standard, and I don't see how anyone can really compare the two. They both just ooze quality and craftsmanship, but they are so different. It's like comparing a Mercedes to a Corvette. They are both great but entirely different.
and you don't have any problems switching between playing the two?
