Ergonomics of LP Body

[jtroska]

I like Les Paul bodies, admit-ably, because they look more "bad ass", imo, than Strats.  But I hate the Gibson 24.75" scale.  That's why I've been browsing the Warmoth sites:  I'm considering building a Les Paul with a 25.5" scale.

But does anybody know how that feels when it's hanging by a strap?  I like the way a Gibson hangs but I just don't feel like 24.75" provides enough tension for the kind of punchy sounds I like.  That, and the short scale feels like a mandolin.

Does the extra 3/4" make it feel off balance?  Does it feel like it hangs too far left?

 

[CD]

It is going to feel different since the neck pocket is strat compatible so it won't be exactly LPish in that aspect, but I don't think you would notice it hanging differently.

 

[-CB-]

Does the extra 3/4" make it feel off balance?  Does it feel like it hangs too far left?

Take a tip from the trapshooters, and wear a thicker shoe on your left foot... it'll hang straight that way.

 

[Volitions Advocate]

I've got a warmoth LP with a 25.5 inch scale neck.  the korina body is chambered and really light.  but the guitar doesn't seem too off balance.  definately different from a real LP, but even with a mahogany neck its still quite manageable.

 

[willyk]

Does the extra 3/4" make it feel off balance?  Does it feel like it hangs too far left?

Take a tip from the trapshooters, and wear a thicker shoe on your left foot... it'll hang straight that way.

Brilliant CB;  Here was I cutting a piece out of my strap and sewing it to the other end :icon_jokercolor:

 

[jtroska]

It is going to feel different since the neck pocket is strat compatible so it won't be exactly LPish in that aspect, but I don't think you would notice it hanging differently.

That's my other reason for wanting to try a Warmoth:  I hate the Gibson neck joint.  So I think that difference would be an improvement.

 

[jtroska]

I've got a warmoth LP with a 25.5 inch scale neck.  the korina body is chambered and really light.  but the guitar doesn't seem too off balance.  definately different from a real LP, but even with a mahogany neck its still quite manageable.

Is that mahogany neck stable?  And how thick is it?  I was thinking of doing a maple neck because I do a lot of alternate tunings and figured the harder maple wood would be more stable.  But I'm also wondering if a heavier maple neck would be too much weight on one side.  Strats get away with it because the strap hook is further left.  But an LP body wouldn't offer the same kind of support.

I hate bendy magogany necks but maybe the double truss rod would fix that.

 

[bpmorton777]

I was at the shop a couple of years ago and this guy brought in something like a 25th annaversery lp that had been in a fire. we all noticed that the neck was maple...if you like maple necks, go for it, thats what Warmoth is all about. i dont think the tone of the guitar would be all that different..maby a bit brighter. you can always adjust your amp settings.

Brian

 

[WMHOLP]

I have a Warmoth Les Paul with a 25.5" scale.  Mahogany body, maple top, indian rosewood unfinished neck, macassar ebony fretboard.  I used a Warmoth Pro compound radius thin contour neck with 1-11/16" width at the nut.  Believe it or not, it is nicely balanced.

 

[jtroska]

if you like maple necks, go for it, thats what Warmoth is all about. i dont think the tone of the guitar would be all that different..maby a bit brighter. you can always adjust your amp settings.

Brian

I'm convinced that the pickups have WAY more to do with the final tone than the wood.  Obviously, it has to sound good acoustically before the pickups can send anything good to the amp.  Hard to figure out and explain exactly.  Obviously, a semi-hollow and hollow and solid all sound completely different regardless of pickups.  But it seems like wood and construction have more to do with envelope (attack, sustain, release) and pickups determine the harmonic balance.

Right now I'm thinking mahogany on a flat-top LP body because my current flat-tops sound better than my arch-tops and I want the quilt maple top (not available on arch-tops); maple neck for stability (if I don't decide it'll be too heavy); and whatever fingerboard wood I decide looks / feels good since it probably doesn't really affect the sound in any discernible way.

I hoping to get something heavy-sounding but articulate for heavy rock, alternative, and metal music.

 

[jtroska]

Now that my Warmoth Les Paul is together enough to judge, I'll answer my own question in case anybody else searches it.

The 25.5" scale neck on the Warmoth LP body balances very well.  Everything hangs exactly where I want it.  I was worried it might feel too far left.  But my worries are over.  For anybody who wants to try it, fear not.

 

[jealousblues]

So with the way warmoth makes the bodys (bolt on ect...) the neck joint is going to be more like a PRS CE guitar correct?
Bolt on, straight out (as opposed to the angled LP neck)

I wonder if it would be possible to make a stratlike (with lp headstock) neck for a guitar like this?

 

[Orpheo]

So with the way warmoth makes the bodys (bolt on ect...) the neck joint is going to be more like a PRS CE guitar correct?
Bolt on, straight out (as opposed to the angled LP neck)

I wonder if it would be possible to make a stratlike (with lp headstock) neck for a guitar like this?

a neckangle is possible aswel. just read the website. also, a stratlike neck, 25.5 inch, is possible too. again: read the site.

 

[jtroska]

I wonder if it would be possible to make a stratlike (with lp headstock) neck for a guitar like this?

ummm... well, yes.  That's what this thread was all about.

As far as the neck angle, Warmoth offers 3:  Straight; A very mild angle for tremolos; And a slightly bigger angle for Tune-O-Matics.  I have the larger Tune-O-Matic angle.  I haven't measured it against a Gibson, but eyeballing it tells me it's still slightly less than the Gibson angle.  Maybe I'm wrong on that but it's the impression I get.