japanstrat
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Post from a member called burst on the les paul forum who is/was a Gibson employee, this is what he has to say about the weight-relief holes...
Originally posted by burst
We've been sitting here watching this thread unfold for some time now and decided we would put our two cents in. Several of us having over 100 years of combined service with Gibson have been discussing this issue, here where these wonderful guitars are made, along with you guys. Each of us share the same enthusiasm for the Les Paul as you do.....maybe even more so because it has become a way of life for us.
Over the years, this discussion has been dug up from its grave and revisited many times. Its kinda amusing to hear it all over again, the same statements, passion, defensive posturing, and love for the product. So, that being said, we'll give you the inside scoop for what its worth.
Weight relief was brought about simply to utilize the limited supply of quality mahogany. We only request and purchase the highest grade of mahogany. However, when you receive truck loads of thousands of board feet at a time, some of the mahogany might not be as light as we would like. The desire to have light weight wood has nothing to do with trying to achieve a certain sound. It was intended to lighten the load up on a musicians back. Gibson's no.1 complaint in the early 70's was "these guitars rock, but are way too heavy. We listened to the consumer, and instituded the weight releif still present today in the Les Paul Standard. The mahogany on the Les Paul std and the Les Paul Reissues come from the same forests, the same trees. Most of this wood is purchased by the same guy. The wood is processed to a body "blank" size and the lightest ones get sent to the Custom Shop for use. A Reissue will have a non-weight reliefed back, and you pay a premium for the costs associated with setting those backs apart. To keep the remainder of the mahogany backs from being too heavy, weight relief holes are added. This is an extra step in the process and adds cost. We wouldnt do it unless it was necessary. All of the mahogany is High grade, on all Lp Reissues and Lp Standards......weight is the only difference.
Through the years, Gibson has learned a lot about how wood affects the tone of a guitar. Regardless of what some people say, it has been measured so many times that the proof is undeniable. There is no more tonal difference between a weight reliefed back and a solid back than there is between the respective models themselves. You can take 10 Les Paul standards and the frequency output varies a negliable amount between them. The same is true for the Les Paul Reissue. If you take the two models head to head, you'll find some that match almost identically in output frequency, and some vary. Basically, there are many factors that play into how a guitar sounds. The grain tightness of the neck, the density of the wood, the fingerboard hardness and grain structure, the pickup variances, the length of wire used to solder the pots, the type of plating, gold/nickel/chrome. All of these and more make more of a difference in sound between units, when measured, than the weight relief does.
Both the Les Paul Standard and the Les Paul Reissue are wonderful guitars that still carry the Les Paul legendary sound. Artists play both models, some prefer one over the other. Thats what makes it such a great guitar. Every one is like buying a baseball glove......you try several on, but one just seems to fit you just right.
Everyone has an opinion and some people will defend their's as the "truth" no matter what. The fact is, this issue has been settled many years ago by a guy named Les Paul. He has been very involved in all of the innovations and changes over the years to make sure that we stayed "true to the course". He played a "log" that had no body.......and it sounded great.
There are guys here that play over 100 Les Pauls a day 5 days a week. They'll tell you they all vary in sound and always will.........wood is a wonderful thing. You gotta love it........its the best guitar in the world!
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1337977
Originally posted by burst
We've been sitting here watching this thread unfold for some time now and decided we would put our two cents in. Several of us having over 100 years of combined service with Gibson have been discussing this issue, here where these wonderful guitars are made, along with you guys. Each of us share the same enthusiasm for the Les Paul as you do.....maybe even more so because it has become a way of life for us.
Over the years, this discussion has been dug up from its grave and revisited many times. Its kinda amusing to hear it all over again, the same statements, passion, defensive posturing, and love for the product. So, that being said, we'll give you the inside scoop for what its worth.
Weight relief was brought about simply to utilize the limited supply of quality mahogany. We only request and purchase the highest grade of mahogany. However, when you receive truck loads of thousands of board feet at a time, some of the mahogany might not be as light as we would like. The desire to have light weight wood has nothing to do with trying to achieve a certain sound. It was intended to lighten the load up on a musicians back. Gibson's no.1 complaint in the early 70's was "these guitars rock, but are way too heavy. We listened to the consumer, and instituded the weight releif still present today in the Les Paul Standard. The mahogany on the Les Paul std and the Les Paul Reissues come from the same forests, the same trees. Most of this wood is purchased by the same guy. The wood is processed to a body "blank" size and the lightest ones get sent to the Custom Shop for use. A Reissue will have a non-weight reliefed back, and you pay a premium for the costs associated with setting those backs apart. To keep the remainder of the mahogany backs from being too heavy, weight relief holes are added. This is an extra step in the process and adds cost. We wouldnt do it unless it was necessary. All of the mahogany is High grade, on all Lp Reissues and Lp Standards......weight is the only difference.
Through the years, Gibson has learned a lot about how wood affects the tone of a guitar. Regardless of what some people say, it has been measured so many times that the proof is undeniable. There is no more tonal difference between a weight reliefed back and a solid back than there is between the respective models themselves. You can take 10 Les Paul standards and the frequency output varies a negliable amount between them. The same is true for the Les Paul Reissue. If you take the two models head to head, you'll find some that match almost identically in output frequency, and some vary. Basically, there are many factors that play into how a guitar sounds. The grain tightness of the neck, the density of the wood, the fingerboard hardness and grain structure, the pickup variances, the length of wire used to solder the pots, the type of plating, gold/nickel/chrome. All of these and more make more of a difference in sound between units, when measured, than the weight relief does.
Both the Les Paul Standard and the Les Paul Reissue are wonderful guitars that still carry the Les Paul legendary sound. Artists play both models, some prefer one over the other. Thats what makes it such a great guitar. Every one is like buying a baseball glove......you try several on, but one just seems to fit you just right.
Everyone has an opinion and some people will defend their's as the "truth" no matter what. The fact is, this issue has been settled many years ago by a guy named Les Paul. He has been very involved in all of the innovations and changes over the years to make sure that we stayed "true to the course". He played a "log" that had no body.......and it sounded great.
There are guys here that play over 100 Les Pauls a day 5 days a week. They'll tell you they all vary in sound and always will.........wood is a wonderful thing. You gotta love it........its the best guitar in the world!
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1337977
I would expect him to defend the guitars he makes, and especially on a forum where everyone owns them. In saying that i totally agree that there would have to be some good chambered guitars out there and i don't necessarily think it is just the chambering that robs these guitars of tone actually i think the shoddy neck to body joins are more likely the culprit. They can say what they like about output frequencies, if what he is saying is true then they would all be great guitars and they are obviously not. I completely understand the way frequencies resonate and if you honestly think that the changes Gibson have made to their guitars over the years has been for the benefit of the player and not their bottom line you'd be sadly mistaken. The Japanese are replicating the original specs of the LP's for a very good reason, they were superior guitars.
