I'm permanently disabled, so I haven't had the privilege of owning any really nice anythings. The best guitar I ever had (and my favorite guitar model ever made) is the original Gibson LP Studio Gothic with the moon & star inlay at the 12th. It was my 2nd guitar and my only guitar from 2003-2012, when I became homeless and had to quickly sell everything. I still kick myself every day for losing that guitar. Didn't have an instrument again until 2021.
Now I have a PRS SE Mira and Gibson LP Special Tribute Raven (almost a Gothic, but no archtop and no moon & star inlay, but it's lighter, which is a plus). I've had them both in drop-D for 3 years, both have the same set of pickups, and I just always played the LP because it sounds better to me. The Mira had kind of a tubby/boxy low-midrange. But I just put heavier strings on the Mira and tuned to drop-C, and now I can't put it down. The low-mids now sound great, thick and rich like they are in drop tunings. It's like the way that piece of wood resonates was meant for the lower notes and heavier strings.
The Mira has the most responsive and adjustable truss rod I've ever had. It's super light, I can stand with it on a strap over my shoulder comfortably all day. It's easy to play. The LP is no more than 1.5 lbs heavier, but that one gets painful on my shoulder after a few hours.
Also, the 3rd (G) string on the Mira almost always had fret buzz that made it bwaaang like a sitar. The now F string in that spot doesn't fret buzz anymore.
I'd have to put the LP in drop-C to really compare, but without that comparison, the Mira in drop-C is now the best-sounding guitar I've ever played.
(Btw, what's up with this forum and pictures? Why can't we put pics in a post? All it has is a URL field when you click the pic button...)
