Serious question: How do you play a Les Paul?

[marnold***]

Since I was driving past the closest Guitar Center today, I decided to stop in to see if they had a Tribute T Les Paul. Turns out they did in gold top! It looked cool and I liked the finish. You can feel the grain on the neck of the wood, which I liked. It'd probably smooth out some over time as my '51 did. It needed a bit of a setup. The neck had too much forward bow and the bridge probably could have been lowered slightly--a two minute fix. There were some very minor fit and finish issues I noticed. For example, the cover on the back of the guitar behind the switch was not centered in the cutout for it. A minor thing that wouldn't affect playability at all, but I expected better from a made-in-the-US guitar.

Les Paul's have never been in my wheelhouse. The guitars I've owned have mainly been superstrats. I found the balance of the guitar on my lap to be . . . odd. There is more guitar on the bridge side of leg cutout than a typical strat so I felt like it would fall off my lap if I didn't keep my hand on it. That was minor and something I would adjust to. The bigger issue I had was the upper fret access. I was messing around with the "Albert King box" on the highest frets and I was really fighting the guitar. It seems hard to keep my thumb behind the neck when playing up there because of the neck joint. Is there a trick to that or something? It didn't seem anywhere near as easy to play up there as my '51 to say nothing of my Jackson.

I'd like to hear from you Les Paul folks about that.

[duhvoodooman***]

How do I play a Les Paul? Geez, I dunno--I never thought about it much. Maybe because a LP was the second electric guitar I acquired (my '89 Strat Plus was the first), I'm just used to them? An LP feels very natural to me, though I play my Strats & Teles more often. I don't find lap balance an issue, and I'm a "thumb wrapper" rather than a "thumb on the back-er", like many self-taught players, and upper fret access doesn't seem to be an issue. So I guess it all comes down to what you're used to (or what you get used to).

This is an interesting thread, because I find it's much more common to hear from Gibson devotees about how Strats are so much harder to play! But I can't really relate to that, either....

[marnold***]

I messed around with my Jackson a bit and I think I discovered another reason. I tend to have my thumb on top of the neck for leverage for soloing up top. The strat-ish double cutaway allows me to do that easily. With the Les Paul neck joint and single cutaway I can neither get by thumb on top of nor behind the neck. Is there a trick? Maybe I'll have to watch some Bonamassa and Slash videos closely.

[marnold***]

After doing a bit of Googling I discovered that I am by no means the only one to have this issue with a Les Paul. Most of the responses people give fall into one of three categories:

1) That's why I don't play a Les Paul
2) You'll get used to it
3) I don't play that high on the neck anyway

The good news is that it seems to have killed any GAS that I had for a Les Paul.

[duhvoodooman***]

....The good news is that it seems to have killed any GAS that I had for a Les Paul.

No problem. More for the rest of us.

[marnold***]

In watching a few videos it seems like Joe B's hands are big enough that he can keep his thumb at the top of the neck anyway. Slash seems to go to the "rock star" pose with the neck almost straight up in the air. That would seem to use the weight of the guitar itself to your advantage. From what I've read, it seems that I would eventually get used to it. Given the amount of time that I (don't) already practice, that might be a while.

Of course, a pastor friend of mine moved to North Dakota. An older lady in the congregation gave him this beautiful Les Paul that had just been sitting in her attic. I'd probably make time in that situation.

[duhvoodooman***]

....An older lady in the congregation gave him this beautiful Les Paul that had just been sitting in her attic.

He might want to have that guitar looked at by someone who knows their stuff. From what I've read, between 1958 and 1960, a total of roughly 1600 "Bursts" were produced, of which somewhere around half have been accounted for. And the question of how many are still out there waiting to be discovered is often couched in terms of these missing guitars "collecting dust in somebody's attic." So while it's a total long-shot, a Burst of that vintage in decent/unmodified shape is worth at least $100K and many are worth much more. Just sayin'....

[marnold***]

He might want to have that guitar looked at by someone who knows their stuff. From what I've read, between 1958 and 1960, a total of roughly 1600 "Bursts" were produced, of which somewhere around half have been accounted for. And the question of how many are still out there waiting to be discovered is often couched in terms of these missing guitars "collecting dust in somebody's attic." So while it's a total long-shot, a Burst of that vintage in decent/unmodified shape is worth at least $100K and many are worth much more. Just sayin'....

I suggested the same thing. I don't know if he took my advice or not. I'll look and see if I still have the picture.

[Spudman***]

I have a few Les Paul type guitars, and on the more traditional styles I just stay away from the 22nd fret. Lol

Seriously, I like playing them and something feels good about having a big ol fat chunk of wood breaking my shoulder. I took that to the extremes and now mainly play a PRS SE Tremonti Custom. It's yuuuge, and heavy, but it does have sweet access to the upper frets and I like the neck shape better...most of the time. I've got fat necked Les Pauls and thin necked Les Pauls, and I enjoy drifting back and forth. I don't seem to have any issues with either neck dimension, but I will say that the fat necks take a while to re-adjust to, but once I do I really like it and constantly ask myself "is this what I like best?" Then I pick up a different guitar with a smaller neck and love that too.

Mostly I've found that I play them slung a little lower than other guitars and have the neck pointing up more at an angle. Seems to work for me, and sitting down I've never really felt out of kilter so I'm either adjusted or it's just never felt odd to me. I also play them a lot with both pickups on and adjust the volume for each pickup to vary the tone blend. I can make subtle but perceptible changes that work for many situations...but there ain't nuttin like slammin it to the bridge and wailing either.

If you are used to super strats then ya it's going to be different. Just give it some time and love it for what it is.

[stingx]

I have a Les Paul and an Esquire that both have chunky necks but to me they can feel as comfortable as a Wizard neck. It's a hard thing to describe, really. I love playing my JV strat with soft V neck but can easily jump to my LP with 50s fat neck and play just as comfortably. I'll admit, I can really rip it up way more on a thinner neck but there's something I find less tiring and more playable about a good chunk of wood. Call me odd I guess...

[Jimi75]

My LP has a chunky neck, but is extremely comfortable and easy to play, because the neck has no shoulders. I never had an issue reaching the highest frets. Bear in mind I have hands that are smaller - not tiny, but no Buddy Guy claws...

[shupe13]

I play mine like a madman!

Seriously I understand where you’re coming from. I love the looks and sounds of a Strat. I can make myself play one but I don’t enjoy it. My first guitar was a 1984 Flying V. So the abr bridge, tone pros tailpiece and 12” radius is home for me. In ‘85 I got a Kramer. Didn’t care for it so in ‘86 I traded it in on a new SG. Then I grabbed an Explorer the following year. Then Lesters. It’s just natural for me.


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[Jimi75]

Maybe a little off, but I’ve learned to appreciate and value the sound characteristics of an instrument more and more over the years. I had quite a few Les Pauls over the years. Actually, I grew up playing on a Strat and would say I am a Strat guy. The truth is I always boght Les Pauls for the look and I always forced myself to play them regularly at home and at gigs (changing guitar for songs etc). All this was senseless until I started to listen and to feel the Les Paul, until I stopped comparing it or even try to make it sound like a Strat. I hope you know what I mean. Only then the instrument started talking to me and started showing me it’s sweet spots. In the end I’ve started to play and compose differently on the Les Paul and here for me starts the bis advantage of different instruments. Even my beloved Strat has its limitations...You will reach 22nd fret on a Les Paul if you need it - but I’d suggest start knowing your instrument for what it really is. In fact, the Tribute Les Paul was the real door opener to me. Light, simple, fantastic playability, beautiful, and foremost inspiring.