Dogsinplastic
avuncular to no one
Obvious spin-off thread, but I figured I'd give it a go.
I actually love Les Pauls, or at least a shit ton of music that has been created, recorded, or played on them. In my youth I lusted after a few in guitar mags and at the shops, but I've never owned one and have no real desire for one (at least not the classic carved top versions...really only the Special).
All of my guitars are either Fender style or have Fender style bridges (Am Std Strat, '69 Thinline RI Tele, ASAT Special, PRS Custom, PRS CE-22 maple top) or acoustic bridges (two Taks, Ibby Talman, Morgan Monroe short-scale 12-string cutaway, and Godin A-5 bass). So hitting the opposite of what someone mentioned with the Strat, I find the strings to be too far from the body.
Additionally, the controls aren't as easily at my fingertips as my collection. And while neither huge handed or fat fingered, I do find the 24 3/4" scale a little cramped (yet I totally fine with 25" scales). Then there's vibrato bridges...I love the Strat bridge and many of its non-locking variants. Not interested in the limited range of Bigsbies, the Maestro, or sideways vibratos. And I don't want a Floyd jammed on there. The Stets-Bar would work though.
Lastly, mod factor...Les Pauls are good for swapping pups, but you can't add pups without hacking into it or as easily mod the electronics. Obviously their electronics can and have been modded heavily (Zappa's LP Custom always pops into my mind, but Strats and Teles offer a bit more flexibility and relative reversibility. Pop two HBs in your Strat with 1 volume, 1 tone, 3-way blade and a pair of coil tap/phase switches, but don't like it? Pop your original three single guard back on and no one is the wiser. Of if you do like it, you can swap back and forth rather easily with one or two solder points. If you have a the swimming pool route, you also won't potentially alter the tone of the instrument by routing and removing wood.
So what's your beef...if you got one?
I actually love Les Pauls, or at least a shit ton of music that has been created, recorded, or played on them. In my youth I lusted after a few in guitar mags and at the shops, but I've never owned one and have no real desire for one (at least not the classic carved top versions...really only the Special).
All of my guitars are either Fender style or have Fender style bridges (Am Std Strat, '69 Thinline RI Tele, ASAT Special, PRS Custom, PRS CE-22 maple top) or acoustic bridges (two Taks, Ibby Talman, Morgan Monroe short-scale 12-string cutaway, and Godin A-5 bass). So hitting the opposite of what someone mentioned with the Strat, I find the strings to be too far from the body.
Additionally, the controls aren't as easily at my fingertips as my collection. And while neither huge handed or fat fingered, I do find the 24 3/4" scale a little cramped (yet I totally fine with 25" scales). Then there's vibrato bridges...I love the Strat bridge and many of its non-locking variants. Not interested in the limited range of Bigsbies, the Maestro, or sideways vibratos. And I don't want a Floyd jammed on there. The Stets-Bar would work though.
Lastly, mod factor...Les Pauls are good for swapping pups, but you can't add pups without hacking into it or as easily mod the electronics. Obviously their electronics can and have been modded heavily (Zappa's LP Custom always pops into my mind, but Strats and Teles offer a bit more flexibility and relative reversibility. Pop two HBs in your Strat with 1 volume, 1 tone, 3-way blade and a pair of coil tap/phase switches, but don't like it? Pop your original three single guard back on and no one is the wiser. Of if you do like it, you can swap back and forth rather easily with one or two solder points. If you have a the swimming pool route, you also won't potentially alter the tone of the instrument by routing and removing wood.
So what's your beef...if you got one?
