Guitar Weight... What's your take?

[candid_x]

There's probably as many exceptions as rules, but as a generalization, I'm more apt to choose a middleweight for a balance of focus and girth of sound.

 

[Pablo]

To me, light guitars tend to sound better... and be easier to carry around ;-)

 

[mikeller]

I good-to-go with the weights on all my balls. And I don't subscribe to the theory that heavier guitars sound better. Way too many other factors influence the sound.

 

[brokenvail]

I have always preffered heavy guitars. It felt like the extra mass produced thicker tone. I recently hurt my back. I have a buldging disk that is pinching a nerve and now all I do is dream about lighter guitars these days. My 1979 F guitar which I love will probably be sold and if this gets worse I may one day have to switch to the P brand guitars because their as light as a feather. For now I am thinking of a 25th because the chambered body will make it a bit lighter and it's what I need.

 

[whitestrat]

What does?

The title.

 

[the24thfret]

The guitar hero instruments are way too light for me.

 

[marduke]

Anyone who has played extended live sessions know what a Les Paul can do to your back.

I remember doing a session at church where between the music and the message lasted around 2.5 hours. My back felt like it needed surgery.

not just your back, your shoulder too.. i used to play my LP at church and youth, and yeah... my shoulder used to ache for ages... and now i have ongoing issues with that shoulder.... but the EBMM's are great! i think its also the balance of the guitars that helps too, and when i got the silo spec i was amazed at the lightness of it! even compared to the JP6!

 

[hbucker]

I don't think there is a rule for what makes a guitar better or worse. IMO, this is a personal preference thread. Although I think saying "heavier is better" as a rule is a bunch of garbage. EBMM proves that wrong all that time.

I agree with the comment about the length of time that you're playing. Play for more than an hour or two straight with a guitar that's too heavy for me and my back starts getting really stiff in strange places. ...And I'm not small and I don't have a bad back.

Guitar feel, weight and balance (I hate SG's) are probably the most personal preference aspects of guitar choice. Nobody but the player will every care at all about these aspects.

 

[Astrofreq]

I LOVE the fact that my axis weighs nothing. The Spaceball 3000 was extremely light too. I also found that different Axis' weigh differently. Some are heavier than others within the same model.

 

[candid_x]

I was pretty amazed at big sound that came out of my little featherweight Axis Sport.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

Anyone who has played extended live sessions know what a Les Paul can do to your back.

I remember doing a session at church where between the music and the message lasted around 2.5 hours. My back felt like it needed surgery.

In long sessions like that, my backup is a very light semi-hollow....and I've been known to swap guitars between songs.

jack

 

[PugNinjas]

I agree with the folks that hit on the overall balance of the instrument...never under estimate the benefit of a comfortable strap too

 

[Stu-Pendus]

I was lucky enough to have worked on several guitars in the early 90's belonging to a certain,well know British Rock,Les paul player and apart from some mods to his wiring,the secret of his sound is the fact that his number 1,2 and 3 Les Pauls are the lightest that i've ever felt and by quite a margin too so for me the lighter the better.

 

[DrGonzo5150]

I agree with the folks that hit on the overall balance of the instrument...never under estimate the benefit of a comfortable strap too

+1

For me each guitar has it's own tone and mojo, be it heavy or light...
But these days, the only ones i'll play for extended live sessions are well balanced.