Is weight a deal breaker?

[veinbuster]

Perception is interesting. Santanas have been mentioned a few times and the three I have never felt heavy to me. Not even the one with a Rosewood top. I probably won’t weigh them and risk spoiling the illusion, be wise they just feel right to me.

 

[Tonart]

It started my thought that if a guitar resonated well unplugged, that was the bigger key.

Good one. I’ve in fact come to the conclusion that the unplugged tone of an electric guitar is really the same as the plugged in tone. Both come from the same source afterall (how the strings vibrate), but go through different routes to reach our ears.

 

[dogrocketp]

When I was just out of college, I got my dream guitar, a Les Paul Deluxe. At the end of a 3 or 4 set gig, I would have a massive bruise on the front of my hip, and pain to match. It was all light weight for a while, until I got my old CE24. Now I don’t care how much they weigh, just how much they vibrate when I play them.

 

[Serious Poo]

I tend to treat guitars as they are, so if one is heavy and sounds great then that's what it is. As it turns out I own a couple of boat anchors, but they sound incredible so I play them a lot. I wouldn't want to gig with them, though.

 

[Casi1]

For me, it depends on the guitar. I prefer the 7 to 8 lb range, just because of 1) back problems and 2) I acquired a few in the range due to early generalizations about weight vs tone. I had a few guitars where lightweight equaled resonance and heavy equaled a full deep rounded tone. So I assumed that those generalizations were always true, then I realized that those observations were more about woods than weight... at least that’s been the case with my guitars.

For example, my Crestwood weighs less than 7 lbs and sounds HUGE while my 9.5 lb LP Custom sounds less full than both the Crestwood and my 8 lb McCarty. I never would have guessed that would be the case.

 

[Rockabilly69]

I won't go over 9.5 lbs. I just sold a KILLER sounding R6 Gibson Historic reissue because it just killed my back to sling it too long. It was 10 lbs even! I replaced it with an 8.5 lb R4 and I really like playing it. Fortunately for me my 1994 Custom 22 is 8.2 lbs! Now that's a weight I can deal with!

 

[bodia]

Now THAT is a large club.

I think I've had 4 of Pete's previous guitars. Counting all guitars, and not just PRS, I think that puts me at about 2% of what he's rolled through

 

[shinksma]

I can't say, for certain, if I have a limit I won't or would prefer not to go over.

I certainly appreciate the lighter guitars I have. I picked up my Al D Prism the other day, and then switched to my SC HB II, and immediately noticed the difference, of course, and I remember thinking "I wonder if the Al D is right at the limit f what I would want to wear for a gig?"

When I was just out of college, I got my dream guitar, a Les Paul Deluxe. At the end of a 3 or 4 set gig, I would have a massive bruise on the front of my hip, and pain to match. It was all light weight for a while, until I got my old CE24. Now I don’t care how much they weigh, just how much they vibrate when I play them.

Interestingly, I too have a Les Paul Deluxe (1979), and it is quite heavy - heavier than any of my PRSi, I am quite sure. I don't play it much, more because I prefer my PRSi than the weight.

 

[Rockabilly69]

This guitar is the current heavy weight champ of my guitars 9.8lbs, but I NEVER gig with it, it's a lap guitar, although I do record with it...

Here's a clip of it... https://soundcloud.com/daniel-weldon-1/seven-days-with-gibson-l5s-bob-dylan-cover

 

[AP515]

I had a 10.4 Lbs. Les Paul and had to sell it. Just too heavy. My LP now is 9.4 Lbs. I can play it, but in a gig it would be in the rotation, not an all night guitar. I generally look for the 8 or less range.

 

[Jimi D]

I’ve owned some heavy weights in my day, including an 11 lb first run Joe Perry Les Paul that would ruin my back for a week after three sets... Over the years I’ve found my preference is to light, resonant guitars that vibrate against my ribcage so that I know they’re alive... as a result, I don’t own a guitar that weighs more than 7.6 lb, and I refuse to buy a guitar I can’t play first as a rule. My current “Les Paul” is a 7.5 lb SC245 Goldtop that rings like a bell and sounds absolutely HUGE plugged in; I played it for over an hour in the shop when I picked it up, though I knew I’d be going home with it in the first two minutes. But this was after two and a half years of searching and playing innumerable LPs and clones that didn’t do it for me... basically, I’ve become a really picky PITA in my old age.

 

[Jazzedout]

The last one I bought is a chambered Strandberg at 5lb.
I do tend to prefer lighter guitars nowadays...

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Not a dealer breaker for me, either. As a matter of fact, the 594 I have now I snagged specifically because it was the heaviest one they had. Double cut at 8 lbs 9 oz. Not sure if it sounds better, but I thought I'd travel that path. I play sitting down most of the time anyway.

Did I miss something?

 

[bodia]

Did I miss something?

Nah. It was last January.

 

[Ovibos]

There’s lots of alternate straps out there that probably ameliorate a few extra pounds, but we must all think they look uncool.

 

[AaeCee]

Only a deal breaker for me when the weight goes beyond single digits, decimals excluded of course.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Nah. It was last January.

Phew!

 

[HANGAR18]

I must've been living under a rock because I'd never heard of people concerned about guitar weights until the interwebs and guitar forums appeared. I get why you'd want to know, especially those with shoulder/medical issues, but weight has never stopped me from buying a guitar if it sounds and plays good. At the moment, my McCarty is the heaviest guitar I own, but I couldn't tell you exactly what it weighs!

Once upon a time I owned a 13 pound Les Paul Goldtop with soap-bar pickups. For a long time I seemed to have a personal policy of "the heavier the better" because "that's where the tone came from". But now I know better and having been through a life changing back injury, I now seek the lightest and thinnest guitars I can find. The only exception to that rule is the McCarty 594's double cuts and my SC245 that I can't bear to part with regardless of how fat & heavy it might be.

 

[WA Paul]

Weight is nearly as critical as all the other elements I look for in a guitar due to back injuries - I can currently only play standing up. I can tolerate going up to maybe 8.5lbs and most of mine are 8lbs or less. I even traded in my PS TOL that I loved because it kept exacerbating my back, neck, shoulder pain for days after playing it (9.25lbs). My PS P245T was ordered specifically to be 8lbs or less, a tall task for PRS but they did it! It feels lightweight, well balanced and has all the tones I’ve wanted with the best neck carve (PV) for me these days.

I have one exception, but it’s tied with my P245T for #1 - my custom order Huber Orca Trem. Lightweight Spanish Cedar with Braz neck - the neck weighs a ton! Guitar came in a 9.75lbs, a huge disappointment for my goal of 8-8.5lbs. However, due to the lightweight body (than typical bodies) and heavier neck (than typical necks), it’s balance is extraordinary. I bought a different type of strap that takes the load off of the shoulders. Once home repairs are done I’ll have a better chance to see how it really works. Using my regular strap, I do notice the weight after about 40min, but the back aches aren’t as bad as they were with the McCarty Trem TOL that weighed half a pound less.

As for weight and tone, I used to believe the heavier weight, the better the sound. I no longer believe that. My DC594 weighs 7.4lbs and it’s a beast. Ditto the P245T and Pernie P22 at 8lbs. The 10lb LPs are long gone!

 

[Ghostmaker]

I'd rather have a guitar that's a bit heavier, as opposed to lighter. With singlecut style guitars, I like it when there's a bit more heft, like 10lbs or more. It just feels cool, like a big machine.

Too light just feels off, like I'm holding something brittle.