Author Topic: Going from a Strat to a Les Paul... (Read 4960 times)

everton_fc · « **on:** November 20, 2006, 06:00:59 PM »

Just curious to know if there are many people out there like myself who are born 'n' bred Strat players, but have dabbled with playing a Les Paul.

I'm currently "dabbling" myself and it's taken me a few days to get used to the differences in tone, charactersics of the guitar etc etc - I'm so used to playing a Strat, but it's fun "learning" to play another model of guitar - it's weird 'cause it's like I still play the same things but learning how the LP reacts differently to the Strat.

Any other players out there found this type of thing? Would love to hear your experiences, cheers

Twinfan · « **Reply #1 on:** November 20, 2006, 06:06:22 PM »

I play a variety of stuff - Strat, Tele, LP, SG, Ibanez RG etc. I'm used to flipping between them on different days so it only takes me a short while to adapt enouh to cope with the change in neck/woods/tone.

The one thing that strikes me is that it's funny how you still sound like yourself even through different guitars. I'd like to think I change from SRV to Slash in one easy move but that just isn't the case!

38thBeatle · « **Reply #2 on:** November 20, 2006, 07:44:17 PM »

I have occasionally gone over to a LP-never in a live situation, only at a rehearsal.I used to have a "mate" ( who turned out to be a cheating lying b*stard but I won't go into that) and he used to let me use his LP- I think it was a late 1960's model-can't say for sure. At first I couldn't get on with changing all the amp/effect settings and was glad to get back to my Strat but after a while I found that I was a fan of the bridge pup and I also liked the nice big in between tones.Now this was around 6 years ago and I hadn't made the switch from bass to lead long before that and I think I would cope a lot better now-I think I am more at home on a Fender but at some stage on my life, I would like to have maybe a semi.

everton_fc · « **Reply #3 on:** November 20, 2006, 08:53:42 PM »

I'm so used to the way a Strat plays, using the tremolo arm, all the pickup selections - playing sensitively and wildly - I'm just on a crash course now to learn about the dynamics of a LP, neck/bridge pups, rolling off volume & tone - in some ways I think It may improve my playing... who knows...

indysmith · « **Reply #4 on:** November 20, 2006, 09:28:38 PM »

i started on a yamaha pacifica (strat style) and moved on to an ibanez s series (superstrat style), but lately i've just bought a les paul junior and a les paul custom. I love having them, they feel far more chunky, and they sound a whole lot 'meatier' with more mids. However, i think i play better on what i'm used to. the les pauls appeal to me when i want something thick, brutal and pure rawk, however, i always feel that the strats (ibanez especially) is far more practical and versatile than the les paul. It's lighter, got more pickup selections, an easier-to-handle neck, never EVER goes out of tune, oh, and it's got that trem bar that i'm constantly reaching for and not finding whilst playing my LPs.
Yep, if i had to choose one of my guitars to come to the desert island it'd be the Ibanez. Sounds weird, but it also seems stronger. the Ibanez is (metaphorically) a thin rod of titanium and carbon whereas the les pauls are big clubs of wood.

Philly Q · « **Reply #5 on:** November 20, 2006, 09:57:22 PM »

Quote from: Twinfan

The one thing that strikes me is that it's funny how you still sound like yourself even through different guitars. I'd like to think I change from SRV to Slash in one easy move but that just isn't the case!

I sound equally piss-poor whatever guitar I play. Does that mean I have my own individual style?

I know what you mean though. I think it's partly not being able to change the way you play, partly subconsciously trying to get "the sound you hear in your head" - when I play a Tele or Strat I tend to pick more gently to make it sound warm like a Gibson, when I play a Gibson I try to make it sound bright. Maybe I should stick to P90s...

I go through "Fender" phases and "Gibson" phases, but over the years I've settled more and more on the Gibsons. I like the neck shapes, I like the way an SG balances (even though theoretically it's neck-heavy). Strats always feel more awkward somehow.

Bainzy · « **Reply #6 on:** November 20, 2006, 10:15:27 PM »

I tend to use LP's instead of Strats every now and then, and I'm even planning on building a few, but I can't play them for more than a few weeks without getting irritated by the lack of clarity, attack and smaller fret gaps. I definately think humbucker equipped strats are far superior to Les Pauls, and when I add binding, fancy woods etc they even look as good too.

_tom_ · « **Reply #7 on:** November 20, 2006, 10:25:05 PM »

Quote from: Bainzy

I tend to use LP's instead of Strats every now and then, and I'm even planning on building a few, but I can't play them for more than a few weeks without getting irritated by the lack of clarity, attack and smaller fret gaps. I definately think humbucker equipped strats are far superior to Les Pauls, and when I add binding, fancy woods etc they even look as good too.

I'm starting to agree with you there. I've been playing my LP almost non-stop for a few years now, and I've just got bored with it. I'm slowly doing up my old strat copy, and I'm guessing I'll start playing that more and more.

You cant beat the sound of a good Les Paul into a good crunchy amp though :)

JamesHealey · « **Reply #8 on:** November 21, 2006, 07:47:05 AM »

I've owned pretty much every guitar design, strat, super strat, tele, les paul, sg etc.. and i've come to the conclustion strats are king with a hum in the bridge

SamR · « **Reply #9 on:** December 07, 2006, 12:29:45 PM »

Seems like quite a big jump, even things like Ibanez's are classed as super strats, les paul is a completely different shape, theyre very chunky in my opinion, the tone is amazing but im not into thick bodied guitars.

Id say the half way point between a strat and a lp would be something like a PRS? I own a bottom of the range SE, and ive played a few in Pro Music Technology and some of them felt quite chunky but with a slight strat shape.

Or maybe im just talking cr@p. :P

indysmith · « **Reply #10 on:** December 07, 2006, 04:56:17 PM »

Quote from: SamR

Id say the half way point between a strat and a lp would be something like a PRS? I own a bottom of the range SE, and ive played a few in Pro Music Technology and some of them felt quite chunky but with a slight strat shape.

Or maybe im just talking cr@p. :P

yeah i think PRS has such success due it being the first real commercial cross-breed between the two giants.

carlaz · « **Reply #11 on:** December 08, 2006, 10:56:54 AM »

Quote from: _tom_

Quote from: Bainzy
I tend to use LP's instead of Strats every now and then, and I'm even planning on building a few, but I can't play them for more than a few weeks without getting irritated by the lack of clarity, attack and smaller fret gaps. I definately think humbucker equipped strats are far superior to Les Pauls, and when I add binding, fancy woods etc they even look as good too.

I'm starting to agree with you there. I've been playing my LP almost non-stop for a few years now, and I've just got bored with it. I'm slowly doing up my old strat copy, and I'm guessing I'll start playing that more and more.
You cant beat the sound of a good Les Paul into a good crunchy amp though :)

Agreed on pretty much all counts. It's a "right tool for the job thing".

I love my LP to death and always have. That said, I wouldn't mind picking up a Tele-style to do that sort of thing, and as for Strats ... well, I've never really warmed to Strats for some reason, but I dig the PRS-styles (proper PRS-styles, that is!) that take things I like about Strats (longer scale, more frets) and marry them to things I like about LPs (fatter tone! :)). So I wouldn't mind picking up some o' that. 8)

Different guitars (different pedals, different amps, etc.) sound different and are good when you want the sound that they make. :)

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #12 on:** December 11, 2006, 02:41:23 AM »

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Les Paul guy, had the same LP for 12 years - it's an awesome guitar.

Been playing my 'other' guitar a bit lately though ('72 Tele Custom) and that's a really nice guitar too. Not settled on the (im)balance between the neck 'bucker and bridge single coil though - may go with a single coil in the neck to bring things back in balance.

:twisted:

PhilKing · « **Reply #13 on:** December 11, 2006, 12:11:35 PM »

I used to use a Strat and SG Junior when I last gigged a lot. I always found it easier if I used the SG at the start of the night and the start later. It seemed easier to make the change from the Gibson scale to the Fender. At home it is much easier to switch and not notice (though now I also have a lot more guitars with different scale lengths!).

Bainzy · « **Reply #14 on:** December 12, 2006, 12:40:19 AM »

Quote from: indysmith

Quote from: SamR

Id say the half way point between a strat and a lp would be something like a PRS? I own a bottom of the range SE, and ive played a few in Pro Music Technology and some of them felt quite chunky but with a slight strat shape.

Or maybe im just talking cr@p. :P

yeah i think PRS has such success due it being the first real commercial cross-breed between the two giants.

I agree - but I don't think it's the ultimate solution. The 25" scale length tends to be a bit indistinctive as opposed to capturing the best parts of the others, and I've always felt the rest of the guitars lacked a bit of character too. More of a "jack of all trades, master of none" guitar.