Question for Les Paul Owners

    Now you know WHY they named your guitar "The Soloist". It was specifically designed for full access to the top of the neck when soloing. My BC Rich, Hamers, PRS are the same way - no problem to play on the highest frets.


    But, a Les Paul Custom was my main guitar for many years - it still gets some play time. Here is the trick to playing above the 12th fret on an LP :
    When I play high on the neck of a Les Paul (or, a little higher on a Strat) I don't keep my thumb behind the neck - I just use finger pressure, counterbalanced with my right forearm. The strings are skinny enough to bend that 22nd fret D to an E, F, maybe a G (depending on string gauge and individual guitar).

    Thanks for the tip. I bumped into that solution as I was improvising in A way up there. It was doable, but rather awkward. I guess 10 years with the Soloist has spoiled me in that respect. I will use it for tunes I dont need to go higher then G on :)

    Quote from viabcroce

    BTW, I'd like to see the pics but it seems you need a google account in order to log in :S


    :)


    Most forums I go to allow me to upload a pic. Here only takes a url as far as Ive seen. So I used Google Photo to allow folks to see it. Didnt know you had to have an account to do so. Sorry.

    Very nice guitar , enjoy !

    1988 Branko Radulovic Hand Made Strat in Macedonia (SFRJ)

    2006 Steve Vai vwh moded with SS frets and Sustainac 2006 (Japan)

    2008 Fender YJM , moded (USA)

    2010 Tom Andersons Drop Top 2010 (made in California)

    2017 Charvel GG sig Caramelised Ash (USA)

    2022 Gibson ES 335 2011 Custom Shop Cherry of course ( Memphis)

    If you keep up this pace you'll be getting a PRS before long..... Didn't notice if your Les Paul has coil tap or not. I like my Les Paul most out of my guitars, but I did have a push/pull installed with series/parallel so I could have flexibility no matter the guitar I was using.

    "More Guitar in the Monitors" :thumbup:

    LOL! My 2000 Jackson Soloist SL1 has the same playability as the PRS so I feel no need to spend money in that direction. Ive got all the bases covered with the Big 3 I have (and the Variax to boot). :)


    Yes, it goes one better then the coil tap and switches completely to a single coil on both pups. Damn near sounds as nice as the same tones on my Strat. That surprised the hell out of me.

    Congrats on the new guitar. Very fetching withe the zebra pups!


    Sell em all and get a boutique instrument to your liking. Lots of great luthiers have refined all the classics to perfection.


    I tried an all Brazil rosewood PRS. It's also the only PRS I played, such a waste of good wood, was down right crude compared to a Lentz Croyden, no offence to any PRS owners, but the difference needs to be experienced.

    Allow me to tell you the differences between your Traditional 2 and a 2014 Les Paul Standard, and why a Traditional is a much better guitar than a Standard...you did good.


    2014
    Traditional - has fret edge binding.
    Standard (and all other USA models except the Traditional) - from 2014 NO MORE fret edge binding.
    Traditional - solid body
    Standard - chambered


    2014 NEW specs on all models including Traditional.
    No more Nickel plated hardware, all hardware now changed to Chrome plated.


    Traditional & Standard (USA models) & Custom Shop.
    Tune-O-Matic "Nashville" bridge (Ping Works) made in China or Taiwan.
    ABR-1 bridge - made in the USA (Custom Shop)
    Tone Pro Klusons - Made in Japan
    Grovers (Ping Works) made in China or Taiwan.
    Capacitors - made in Asia (99% of all capacitors are made in Asia)
    Stoptails - made in the USA
    Aluminium Stoptails - made in the USA (Custom Shop)
    Switches & Jacks - made in the USA (Switchcraft)

    Since this thread has gone off-topic already I want to add my pov to the guitar discussion:
    When I started to extend my guitar collection (already had Gibson Les Paul and Fender Strat), I thought I need some of the often discussed higher end guitars. PRS, MusicMan are popular brands. But I ended up buying a couple of more exotic guitars, some of them being pretty cheap bitches. And I was rewarded with amazing new sounds and possibilities I hadn't even expected to exist.


    One great example for the above is my Hofner 175. An old and imperfect guitar built in 1964 that isn't very smooth and easy to play, but it has such an AMAZING amount of character you simply can't find on the highly discussed and perfectly manufactured high end guitars.


    So basically, I just want to suggest that you don't get caught to much by popular opinions but keep looking off-road as well. You'll be surprised how much more there is to discover apart from the usual suspects. :)


    Cheers
    Martin


    Thanks for the informative list! Its nice to have my instincts to buy this guitar backed up by some great facts. :thumbup:


    As it turns out, while its not chambered, it does have the "Swiss cheese" version of weight relief. Which is fine by me.


    The only slight downside I see is that playability above the 12 fret is not as good as my Jackson Soloist. But the Stratocaster I recently got also suffers from the same limitation.


    Good thing Ive 3 great guitars with different tones and capabilities. ;)

    Edited once, last by lasvideo ().


    At this point lifestyle and finances bring an end to any new guitars. I have the versatility I want with the LP, Strat and Soloist.


    My focus is now on enhancing and expanding my skills. Ive already started spending several hours a day with online lessons on scales, techniques, etc . After only a few months of doing this Ive experienced a real broadening of my skills.


    Having cool guitars is nice. Being able to express myself while playing them is a joy I look forward to experiencing more over time. :thumbup: