That Les Paul tone.....

I don't know. My McCarty gets me my Gibson vibes with additional bonuses of functionality and comfort.
 
I love a variety of guitars from many price ranges that I own, many modded.
I lean toward my SE CE and Core PRS’s most of the time.

Now that I have my Artist PRS McCarty double cut 594, I much prefer it to my 2 G-LP’s and an Epi-LP.

If I could only keep one, it would always be the 594.
 
I think PRS has its own tonal signature and the various models have different flavors or colors around that fundamental sound. And oh what a wonderful tone it is! An LP has a different fundamental sound that to my (not so good) ears has more of a low/mid push but a good one has some nice top end as well.

As others have mentioned I have found playability to be more cumbersome with an LP. The custom shop build quality is decent, but I find PRS to have much better quality control, fit, finish and playability hands down. The PRS models just feel better in my hands than other guitars, especially the new pattern vintage carve. Their wood selection and quality are simply consistently better than nearly everyone else and that PS high gloss nitro is the best finish for giving that ‘dipped in glass look’ but not too goopy in terms of impacting playability. Satin nitro is 2nd for me. Plus most LP are just too dang heavy for me these days due to my back issues.

I have previously owned 4 different LPs, a Studio from 91, a STD Plus from 96, Class 5 from 2002 and a AL from 2011. All are gone now as I switched to all PRS for a while. I find the shorter scale length models give more of that warmer tone but still that fundamental PRS tone with all the clarity and brightness they’re known for. I’ve tried the SC594 a couple of times in the past year - a SH I didn’t bond with, then a WL with RW neck I enjoyed, but was too heavy.

Then came the ME I SCT from Steve and it nails that ‘PRS In a LP space with a trem’ really well. I believe it is because ME I SCT has 1) South American mahogany body, 2) SC neck joint, 3) all Braz neck which tends to accenuate some of the lows and highs. This is the Guitar Alex Lifeson should have been playing instead of that LP Axcess model. Check that, my forthcoming P245T with PV neck carve.

My first electric PS has a SA hog body with Pernie neck and I swear it has more of that low/mid ‘oomph’ than the now standard African Mahogany wood used today, which technically isn’t a mahogany but a close cousin. I spoke with PRSh directly about this during my recent PS build wood selection (I wanted more of that low/mid push and was wrestling with the thicker SC594 vs SC245 body shape and scale) - I decided to listen to his advice and stick with African hog - whom am I to argue with the master and his legendary ears? Given how much I love the SCT ME I I decided to stick with that formula (Braz neck), but with 24.5”scale. So I’ll be able to empirically test the SA hog versus African hog tone difference this summer when she arrives!

Related to this topic, I recently strayed from PRS land and bought a Nik Huber Orca Spanish Cedar body (only 7.5lbs!) as the Cedar supposedly nails that old growth South American Mahogany body tone. I don’t have such a guitar to compare it to anymore, but this Huber is the single best LP style guitar I’ve ever had my mitts on. Totally nails that LP style tone with great clarity (also 25” scale) with crazy light weight. The Haussel 59 pickups are quite good and split well. The SC594s I’ve had were close but different. So, this is more ‘diversifying’ sonically. I like the Huber neck carve, but the PRS PV neck is still the best I’ve tried. I’m really enjoying this guitar but it is a compliment to my PRS collection, not a replacement.

I still have my DC594 guitar in my avatar and that one isn’t leaving - killer guitar and tones, but not LP like, maybe LP-esqe. Even in the DC shape, the more hog to maple ratio body, classic scale length and the dark Peruvian hog neck really give it a terrific fundamental tone that is highly versatile with the coil splits.

I still have 6 PRS (plus my PS build, a P245T with PV neck carve) so that will be 7 versus 1 Huber and 1 Knaggs (Severn, HSH super strat style). So, I still believe Paul and company build the best guitars, but I do like to stray occasionally :rolleyes:
 
I have played Les Pauls for years and have three R9s - One I replaced the pickups with the latest “vintage spec” - this one sounds the closest to a vintage LP to my ears - it has always sounded the best of the three, being quite resonant, cutting with an aggressive midrange character. The next one is completely different and smooth and jazzy. The last is korina back and oak top (it was a bargain) - this one is totally different again being bright with the best note separation (closest to my PRS). I also have a hollow P90 with wraparound tail and a 3 pickup custom with bigsby - again obviously sound completely different!

While my I’m waiting for my Private Stock 594 to be built, I am playing a PS Paul’s guitar - I’m sorry to offend Gibson fans (and I am one - though not of the company today) but it totally destroys all my LPs on pretty much any subjective measure.

The scale length is a big difference and for some things I prefer the 25” of the Paul’s. I like the ability to get a bit of Strat time by going single coil also. The 594 I played is close enough to be within the tonal variation of a great LP style tone but with all the improved PRS engineering and character.

My analogy is that a PRS is like driving the best modern sports car (pick you favourite) but - I will take an AMG ;-). Gibson LPs are like a vintage Aston Martin DB5 or 911 - beautiful but like driving a truck compared to modern engineering. Still fun but flawed - and some people just love the flaws - they call it character...

I still love my LPs I just rarely play them now since I discovered my PRS guitars (including two SEs).

It’s a really fun debate over a beer :)
 
I’ve put this elsewhere on the forum, but I thought it might be of interest-


Wow. That is impressive. I've been secretly lusting after one of these for quite some time. I've never seen one in the wild but I was at a GC in. Minnesota last year and saw a 3 knob guitar high up on the wall. I was SOOOO ready to price battle over the thing but it was not a BM , so bummed.
 
I wonder if it irks the Gibson purists that he has a PRS strap on that $250K LP?
 
I own one of each, a 2016 Gibson Les Paul Standard with a mahogany top and a 594 DC Wood Library. Both look, sound, and play great with no tuning or intonation issues.

I don't really notice or dwell on the differences between them, I'm just focused on getting the best sound out of whatever I'm playing. I feel too lucky to own either one to spend my time splitting hairs. I do consider the 594 to be the nicer of the two, but it also cost twice as much. Whenever I reach for one or the other tho, I'm not really thinking of anything, I just grab one.

Maybe I'm simply not spoiled enough or expert enough to care :)
 
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While my I’m waiting for my Private Stock 594 to be built, I am playing a PS Paul’s guitar - I’m sorry to offend Gibson fans (and I am one - though not of the company today) but it totally destroys all my LPs on pretty much any subjective measure.

Funny that you mention this, because I have a 20th Anniversary of PS Limited from early ‘16. Essentially, it’s a Paul’s Guitar with a narrowfield middle pickup, and a thicker mahogany body with thinner maple cap.

It’s easily the most interesting guitar I own, and it certainly gets just about any tone I’d need.
 
If more people just admitted that preferring a Les Paul was a fashion choice, I could totally stand behind that.

If you look up comparisons and blind tests on some of the other guitar forums out there, there's enough evidence that some PRS nail the idealized sound enough for some folks to not be able to pick out which is which. Look 'em up.
 
I agree with Les, the 594 is the closest you will get out of PRS to an LP. It is a great guitar! I found that if I roll back the volume just a bit on the 594, you can come very close to vintage LP sound on all 3 PU settings

I'm on this ship as well. It gets really close
 
If more people just admitted that preferring a Les Paul was a fashion choice, I could totally stand behind that.

If you look up comparisons and blind tests on some of the other guitar forums out there, there's enough evidence that some PRS nail the idealized sound enough for some folks to not be able to pick out which is which. Look 'em up.
I am not one bit surprised.
 
Sounds like an awesome guitar!

Funny that you mention this, because I have a 20th Anniversary of PS Limited from early ‘16. Essentially, it’s a Paul’s Guitar with a narrowfield middle pickup, and a thicker mahogany body with thinner maple cap.

It’s easily the most interesting guitar I own, and it certainly gets just about any tone I’d need.
nds nds a
 
That said the closest I can get to sounding like Jimmy Page on Whole Lotta Love is with the power out of phase setting and sweet-switch up on one of them – same settings on the other sound way different.

Didn't he play that on a Tele?

I don't know. My McCarty gets me my Gibson vibes with additional bonuses of functionality and comfort.

As it should. McCarty was more responsible for the Les Paul guitar than Les Paul was and his influence/inspiration on the McCarty models carried over.
 
If you look up comparisons and blind tests on some of the other guitar forums out there, there's enough evidence that some PRS nail the idealized sound enough for some folks to not be able to pick out which is which. Look 'em up.

This is like the blind taste tests for vodka.

People claim to love Chopin and Grey Goose and whatever, but when push comes to shove they choose Stoli b/c it's the most like the 'ideal' 'neutral' vodka taste.

What you claim you want and what you actually do are not a 100% overlap.
 
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