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Why does everyone hate maple necked Les Pauls?


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I use to believe this, I no longer do. Its a oversimplification

 

 

I can hear it now that I have the same pup in one that has a maple neck and one with a mahogany neck.

 

Its quite noticable with the guitars I have - IMO and with the ones I have.

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FYI, both my maple-necked '80 LPs (one Deluxe, one Standard) have volutes. They're not overly bright compared to my R8, but I would say they have just a bit of an "edgier" quality to them. They all three have vastly different types of pickups though, so it's not so easily quantifiable. The R8 is MUCH better (more resonant) acoustically though.

Maple-necked LPs are good enough for Zakk! :rolleyes:

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Nah, he leaves it as hairy as nature intended.


As for peeps 'hating' maple-necked Les Pauls ... how many folkses here have even seen one outside of pictures?


Pas moi.

 

 

I think a lot of us own them...they made a TON between the early '70s and early '80s. Unless you're thinking about maple fingerboards...I've never seen one of those in person.

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Plenty of us like them, but it may be the fact that maple necks coincide with N*rl*ns:mad:


They're very {censored}ing stable and can hold a very very low action, even in ponds

 

 

Having played many LP's including Norlins, historics, original LP's from the '50's, and all the other ones offered up by Gibson over the years, I tried a AAA Standard limtied at our local GC and compared it to 20 or so other LP's including the historics, and my own R9's and Cloud9 R9's and that maple neck LP made the rest of the mahogany neck LP's sound toodark, dull and unitieresting by comparison.

 

So...I bought it and got rid of all of my other LP's. It is the best sounding LP I have ever played.

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I love my 78 LP Custom. Its has a 3 piece maple neck that has the perfect contour. It has a ebony fretboard that is so smooth and the action is incredible. Because the frets are low, you get the wonderful feel of the ebony as you play. I've never played a guitar that feels "better". I used to have a 91 PRS Cu24 with 10 top that I thought was the end all of guitars, but this Norlin era machine just knocked it off the pedestal I had for the PRS.

Here's my Custom.

IMG00011-1.jpg

Norlin eras are inconsistent, but when you find a good'n, its real good!

BTW, if anybody happens to have that PRS I'd love to get it back for sentimental reasons. It was serial number 9477. It had a pau ferro board, tiger flame finish and tremolo. :D

Here's an old pic of it.

jlw_pics_10.jpg

That old crate amp I was playing though was a friends that I was testing. Even the PRS couldn't do anything for that amp............lol. :D

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When Les Paul was working with Gibson designing the Les Paul, he found that an all-mahogany guitar sounded too muddy. The problem with a maple body was too much weight, too bright and tinny a tone (Les came from a jazz background)...and (believe it or not) too much sustain.

Mahogany with a maple cap was his solution but I sometimes wonder if he just didn't consider the simpler option of an all-mahogany body and a maple neck. At any rate, the formula is written in stone now and can't be changed.

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Anyone ever seen a Maple Fingerboarded LP?

 

 

 

Zak has at least one.

 

I used to have a custom with a maple neck and ebony fretboard, i didnt like it but that's all personal taste. The 70's maple necked lp's also get bashed for their pancake bodies and weight, usually around 12lbs. They're definitely solid but sound sort of a mix between a paul and an L6s.

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The mahogany neck is the biggest strike against LP's in my book. My non-playing friends don't understand when I make offhand remarks like, "If he doesn't pay up I'll snap his neck like a Les Paul...:cop:"
;)

I think the overall weakness of the Les Paul neck has more to do with the headstock angle and the resulting two pieces (if it was a 1 piece it would be even weaker) required than the type of wood.

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BTW - two of my AL LP style guitars have maple necks and they play great. so do the mahogany ones.


 

 

Fwiw, I have an Agile Valkyrie with a maple neck, and the difference between it and my Epi G400 SG (that could be attributed to the necks, anyhow) were so negligible as to be non-existent.

 

And I still have the Agile, the Epi is long gome.

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When Les Paul was working with Gibson designing the Les Paul, he found that an all-mahogany guitar sounded too muddy. The problem with a maple body was too much weight, too bright and tinny a tone (Les came from a jazz background)...and (believe it or not) too much sustain.


Mahogany with a maple cap was his solution but I sometimes wonder if he just didn't consider the simpler option of an all-mahogany body and a maple neck. At any rate, the formula is written in stone now and can't be changed.

 

 

no, it wasn't Les Paul that came up with the mahogany back, maple top concept. it was Ted McCarty and his engineers. Les' contribution was the crappy tailpiece bridge, the Gold color and the solid wood body concept. and, the bridge and the gold color even came later after the first prototype was built. Les wasn't even around when McCarty and co were designing Gibson's first solidbody. after they built the prototype, they approached Les to try it out and ask him to endorse it and use his name. Les and Mary liked it so they had a deal. and Les later designed the bridge/tailpiece and suggested the Gold color for the top. also, the carved top wasn't Les' idea either.

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