How heavy is your Les Paul? (poll and comments please)

[WezV]

i havnt got my epi here at the moment as i just lent it out - but the first comment it got was about how it was heavier than it looks

[Denim n Leather]

One of my Agiles is 9lb
The other is 10lb

[Lukie]

Recently I started weighing my Lion model (like a Les Paul) guitars as I was building them to get an idea of how heavy they would end up.

Thought you would have been all over this right from selecting woods of certain weights and density for quality control. I've heard a few luthiers say they do this to ensure their guitars are the "right weight" to get the best tones

[il˙ti]

I weighed my Les Paul. It's about 10lb. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever played one that's heavier.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Recently I started weighing my Lion model (like a Les Paul) guitars as I was building them to get an idea of how heavy they would end up.

Thought you would have been all over this right from selecting woods of certain weights and density for quality control. I've heard a few luthiers say they do this to ensure their guitars are the "right weight" to get the best tones

Oh - believe me we have been all over this for years
Years ago when we first started doing the Lion model we zeroed in at about 8-9.5lbs as the best bet
Over the years we have had guys ask for specific weights - sometimes higher and sometimes lower than what had become our typical weight range.
Also recently scoring some excellant Brazillian mahogany that hads been in storage for over 30 years made us have to review things a bit as it was superb , but just a bit on the heavy side .
We chambered some of the Lions we made with it and on the Lion cub we couldn't so it was a bit on the heavy side , but sounded so good

It was more a case that we had a few customers in this week discussing comparative weights of guitars, and we had the scales out with the customer weighing a few we had in stock, that made me think to raise it as a subject and it was more by way of an introduction that I said that I had started to weigh them

[Philly Q]

The big surprise for me was that my Gibson Faded SG is only 7lb 2oz. I knew it was lighter than the Love Rock, but not that much...

SGs can be really light!  My Tokai is 7lb 3oz and my SG-X is 6lb 8oz.  My Epiphone LP Juniors, PRS Mira and McCarty and  Edwards V are all under 7lb.

But the "champion" is my Melody Maker, at 5lb 10z!  And it rings like a bell.  :D

[choucas09]

Ha, my Parker Fly is 5lbs.

[Philly Q]

Ha, my Parker Fly is 5lbs.

I've never understood how they manage that, it's a solid wood body under the outer shell, isn't it?  I know the neck is basswood rather than maple or something, but surely that can't make such a difference.

I've never played one, but I've picked a couple up and couldn't believe how light they were.

[TheIronBeast]

My old Gibson Les Paul Standard was just over 8lbs but I sold that and bought the Feline Lion Cub which weighs just over 9lbs. When you pick up the Lion Cub it feels rather heavy but when slung over your shoulder the guitar feels great and very smooth and easy to play.

[choucas09]

Yeah Phil the Fly neck is basswood wrapped in carbon and the body is carbon on the back and wood front, mahogany on mine. I think they save a lot of weight in the general thinness of the body.

[LP_LOVER]

What strikes me the most is that all the Les Pauls in the 8-9 lbs range are always LP Standards.

It seems much, much harder to find a weight relieved LP Custom that weighs in this range. I've played and owned countless Les Pauls and I'm a believer that the 8-9 lbs range is most perfect, above all in tone; open, lively and dynamic with lots of balls and shiteee loads of sustain. As a LP purist, I think it's the trick to find a great piece of wood in the 8-9 lbs range. Too light in weight = bad. Too heavy in weight = bad. Bad wood = bad, no matter the weight. I'm mainly talking about the influence of weight on the tonal balance and characteristics of a Les Paul (assuming you're having a good piece of wood).

[viking]

I never looked at the weight on a scale.Just the "feel" ,balance and tone.I'll try to find a scale and have a look at my '53 LP...

[LP_LOVER]

You're right Viking; initially you buy that particular LP because of the way it feels (which has to do with the balance of the instrument). The neck plays a very important part too (I prefer a '59 neck profile). Of course the tone is important too. But you already should notice if it's a light, medium or heavy Les Paul, from the first moment you hold her. When I bought my '08 Custom I already knew it weighed between 8-9 lbs, without even weighing it actually. When I got home my thoughts proved to be exactly right (8.8 lbs).

In the end it appears that two most balanced sounding and feeling LP's I've ever played both weighed between 7-9 lbs (a Standard and Custom). Lighter ones seem to 'breathe' more in general compared to the heavy ones, assuming they're all good pieces of wood. 'Breath'/'Vocality' is something really great for a LP (whether you're playing with medium/high gain or clean). These qualities are not easy to find in a LP, as it depends very much on that individual piece of wood; pickups can only represent what's already there.

[PhilKing]

I don't have any scales so it's hard to tell you what mine weigh, though I can tell you that the heaviest is my old 71 55 Reissue Custom and the lightest is my 53 conversion.  The weights low to high are 53, 54, 86 Goldtop, 55 Custom.  The old woods are definately lighter but still sustain and sound great.

[choucas09]

Now that is a drool-worthy set of Gibbo's.