Spec'ing new LP build

[dglady]

I've been playing guitar for lot's of years.  My main guitar is an American Strat which I can play for hours on end.    I've always wanted to have a LP ... love the sound but have never found one I like to play mainly because of the neck...too fat and I don't like gloss finish on neck backs.  Thin necks fit me.

So I'm planning to build my own LP using Warmoth components.  But I'm looking for a guitar that plays like butter and can get tone like vintage LP, Dickey Betts & Gary Moore.  Here are the general specs I've come up with so far:

Body:
LP carved top solid Mahogany body with DL Quilt Maple
2V / 2T strat cavity
3way toggle
TOM/STP bridge
HxH  or
HHH with P90 in middle

Neck:
24 3/4 conversion Indian Rosewood with PauFerro FB  unfinished
1-11/16 width
standard thin
10-16 radius
6150 frets
corian nut

Re colors I'm considering one of:
Blue Dye, Turquoise Dye or Blue burst w/ black back/burst over
Blue Dye, Turquoise Dye or Emerald Green with clear back

I don't know what PU's I will use yet. 

Having trouble deciding.

Do the wood combinations and components seem right for the tone and playability?

Information, thoughts and suggestions appreciated.

 

[hannaugh]

If you're wondering what a blue burst with a clear back looks like on an LP, you can have a gander at my guitar in these threads: 

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=7298.0

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=7694.0

My axe has wild maple rather than quilt though.  Also, check out Orpheo's LPs.  He has a huge collection of Warmoth LPs that will show you just about every option you can imagine. 

 

[Orpheo]

I wouldn't go with a RW neck, but with purpleheart or wenge. 2 major benefits.

1: it matches better with the blue or turquoise top!
2: it sounds better for your purposes. it will give you a bit more highs on the bridge position, which is good for the country-esque licks Moore plays every once in a while, and it will also give you a buttery, silky smooth neckpickup-tone, perfect for blues solo's, and it's got an overall dirtyness which is great for almost every style. rosewood is just a bit too 'warm' and mellow, unless you pair it up with a solid stainless steel bridge (tremolo )

 

[dglady]

Hey Hannaugh & Orpheo ...thanks much for your reply.  Hannaugh, that burst blue wild maple top is beautiful.  Which color binding is that, white?  How much does that body with wild maple top weigh?

Orpheo thanks for the insight re the neck wood.    Not so sure I  want to go with  the Purpleheart  but the Wenge looks interesting.  Would PauFerro FB still make sense?  I was under the impression warm wood should be matched with bright wood.  But that's why I'm asking.  Want this guitar to play smooth as silk and sound very fat LP'y.

You mentioned a tremelo bridge ... which is what I'd prefer ... does a trem bridge affect the tone alot?

 

[hannaugh]

The binding on my LP is ivoroid.  I love it.  It's not as dark or yellowish as the cream, but it's not white.  It matches my cream pickup rings perfectly.  

My rosewood/maple neck sounds great.  There is a reason that combination is everywhere in the guitar world.  If you go for a wenge neck, do it for feel and not because you're scared that rosewood won't sound good.  Rosewood is awesome on necks.  Keep in mind if you choose Pau Ferro though that it is a heavier wood.

A trem bridge has a very different feel than a TOM/stop.  In my opinion, the TOM/stop has better sustain.  For certain styles I go back and use my old guitar with the trem bridge.  For some reason I can play a little faster on a guitar with a trem bridge.  That said though, I think that is because I'm used to the feel of a trem bridge since that's all I played for years.  It all depends on what type of music you're wanting to play.  If you're playing stuff that requires heavy tremolo use, I would say go for a regular tremolo bridge, but if you use it sparingly and you like the sound of a TOM/stop, you can also go for a Bigsby and have both.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Don't forget about a 24 3/4" conversion neck.  A 25 1/2" scale may make a LP sound a little more Stratty.

 

[Orpheo]

I've got several les pauls with trem and fixed bridge. I am a heavy fan of kahlers, especially the hybrid series, cause those trems have a LOT of mass (sustain!) and lots of metal translates into a lot of brightness, edge and growl, what I like. the hipshot, which I like too, will make the clean tones a bit less 'massive', more airy, but with crunch and high gain, it sounds just like a les paul.

also, i don't think that a pau ferro board will differ alot of an ebony or RW board, cause I'm a firm believer that a neckback and neckshape (just fat vs thin, not for example boatneck vs fatbck!) has more influence in tone than the board. I'd use whatever you like in looks and feel. I love ebony: it looks 'classy', it feels great, and it's never really black, its got always little yellow and red streaking, which I like. I don't like a 'busy' looking fretboard.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

In my opinion, a Les Paul comes with a TOM bridge.  Its part of the sound and feel.  If you already have a Strat you are happy with, I would keep the strat, and build the Les Paul true to tradition with a TOM bridge.

I understand having preferences for a tremolo or a fixed bridge, but by combining the best of a strat with the best of a Les Paul, it seems to dilute each one a little bit.  I say enjoy both guitars, and appreciate the differences in construction and let each speak for itself.  They are different for sure, but thats part of the beauty of collecting guitars. 

Maybe put a tremolo bridge on your second Les Paul build!

 

[Orpheo]

In my opinion, a Les Paul comes with a TOM bridge.  Its part of the sound and feel.  If you already have a Strat you are happy with, I would keep the strat, and build the Les Paul true to tradition with a TOM bridge.

I understand having preferences for a tremolo or a fixed bridge, but by combining the best of a strat with the best of a Les Paul, it seems to dilute each one a little bit.  I say enjoy both guitars, and appreciate the differences in construction and let each speak for itself.  They are different for sure, but thats part of the beauty of collecting guitars. 

Maybe put a tremolo bridge on your second Les Paul build!

well, I don't look at my trem-les pauls as a strat in a les paul casing. Its really a les paul, for me. Its about the shape and carved top for me, and less about the bridge and 'right woods'. a kahler trem (locked down) has the same feel and tone of a ToM, but can dive when needed aswell, which makes it very versatile. but indeed, my 'second' les paul got a trem, but it became my mainaxe

 

[dglady]

Thanks everyone for your input.
Seems the more I learn about all this the more questions I have.
More questions for you LP experts re my W LP build (which will be very soon provided I can make up my mind ....  :cool01:

1) for a carved top LP, with a mahogany body, does maple top provide tone characteristics or is it just for great looks?

2) how, if any, does W chambering of LP carved top affect the tone?  (I'm interested in keeping weight down  ... but absolutely want awesome 'lespaul' tone.

3) do necks of wenge have real smooth feel?  Also says it's a heavy wood ... how heavy is it ?

 

[riverbluff]

Maple top is just for looks.

 

[Orpheo]

Maple top is just for looks.

absolutely NOT! the top on a les paul is 7/8'' thick. you want to tell me that such a huge top has no effect?! the studs go in the MAPLE top, not the mahogany.

a mahogany top on mahogany will sound much warmer, sweeter, more mellow, than a maple cap!

the maple top on mahogany gives you a classic LP tone. the wenge neck with ebony board will only emphasise that. I've got wenge, canary, ziricote, rosewood and padouk, and all these guitars sound just like a les paul.

a chambered LP will have a more 'airy' mids, more woodyness in the tone, not so tight. I prefer solids over chambered. a super-lightweight mahogany back will have the best of both worlds: woodyness of chambering, the tightness of solid.

wenge, and ALL exotics feel supersupersmooth. on a les paul, it isn't heavier than a regular LP. my LP with wenge neck/ebony board, solid mahogany back with AAAA flametop, hits the 4 kilograms, just barely. if you want a les paul TONE,  just be prepared to have some weight. if you only want it for the looks, you can have it chambered out, use lightweight mahogany as a back and use a ToM (those are lighter than a floyd, cause the relative density of the wood chopped out for the floyd is less than the floyd itself...)

 

[shanejw]

I personally like the 3 HB approach.
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=6390.0;attach=5545

 

[Orpheo]

@shanejw: i totally agree. Especially with 3x concentric pots, so you have volume+tone for each pickup, and 2 3way toggles, to use as a 'regular' switch for bridge and neck, and the second to control the middle. supereasy and intuitive to work with, and a superwide range of tones.

 

[shanejw]

Orpheo, those are some great control/switching ideas!

 

[Orpheo]

Orpheo, those are some great control/switching ideas!

and its really easy to use.

afterall, which pickup combinations/pots/switch do you use mostly? well, for me, its bridge/volume and neck/volume and sometimes tone for both! so..well... why not use concentric pots, with the locations for the neck and bridge controls on their usual spot, with the upper part being volume and the lower part being tone; you don't do many toneswells, but volume swells (if you do it on a lester at all!) are more likely to be done, so: volume goes above.

the neck-tone position is on my guitar the concentric for the middle. easy to reach if needed, but not too easily!

the bridge-tone spot will be used to toggle the middle pickup in and out. its easy here too. you have the output wire of the middle pickup and the output wire of the 3way toggle for neck/bridge/both. just solder it together as if you're wiring it up as 2 regular pickups. easy

What I did, as a way of experimentation (and because there was already a hole )  was have a toggle near the bridge volume pot. it looks crooked, stupid and crazy, but that works even better!

 

[dglady]

Want authentic LP tone ... sounds like I should go with solid body.  ... and put paddin' on my guitar strap  :hello2:  Thanks so much for your replies.

 

[Orpheo]

Want authentic LP tone ... sounds like I should go with solid body.  ... and put paddin' on my guitar strap  :hello2:  Thanks so much for your replies.

solid is imho always better, but thats only due to taste. I also dig the lighter mahogany backs; they're solid too, but have something remenescant of a chambered one.

the problem is, what is an authentic LP tone? Ace frehley's tone? jimmy page's tone? duane allman? zakk wylde? slash? The Darkness?! I am a huge LP fan, and I have yet to find a les paul which can deliver all those tones which are supposebly authentic LP tones! thats why I said to myself, f*ck, I'll just BUILD something, and it will at least have something in common with the tones one of those guys deliver. Thats why my greeny LP sounds and feels like the 'greeny' LP (with a duane allman vibe every once in a while), my sunburst LP is a 'jan akkerman' LP (bit like Ace, but better, haha), etc etc. All the tones you want or associate with a les paul, can't be done from ONE les paul, though you can get VERY close with totally different woods and pickups thats why my favorite, and most allround guitars, have nothing in common with a 'real' les paul, except the shape and topcarve.