Been playing my les pauls a lot these days, specially after purchasing a new 2008 Les Paul Standard, which is chambered. I have several older Les Pauls, oldest one I have is a 1977 goldtop standard which weights about 11 lbs.

Gibson has recently been chambering their Les Pauls and claim that it enhances the tone of the Les Paul, resonate and sustain better.

Comparing my 77 to the 2008, I can honestly say I can hardly hear the difference. In a blind test, you will not be able to tell the difference IMHO.


What your opinions on chambered les pauls?

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I've not tried a chambered Les Paul. However I do have a BluesHawk, which is chambered, as the soapbar 90's and varitone selector switch.
It is an excellent blues guitar, great tone, very good sustain and is very light.
I also have the Fender Stratosonic, that is chambered and another great sounding guitar. Mine has the twin pups but there is also a p90's version I would love to try. I would also like to try out the chambered LP.
Sounds nice.

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I know I love my Paul, but it is just too much weight to sling at a gig that runs past 45 minutes or so. That’s what put a strat in my hands in the first place was weight control.. I’ll agree with you 100 % that at least to my old ears the difference I can hear is minimal to nadda. How ever; every bit of weight you can shed is tops in my book. Last time I compared the two the chambered weight difference was hardly noticeable from just picking them up… I suspect its just new industry B.S. to sell guitars. If it sounds good and your back can support it, then its all good. They used to make a custom light back in the 80’s that was thin and light as heck. Gibson pulled it after one production year. They are in this traditionalist thing with their classic line up of guitars and refuse to make many changes, which I just don’t understand at all. Seems to me the more you offer the more you are gonna sell in the long run…

Cheers
Bill

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Over at the Gibson les paul forum there were some dicusssion between the chambered and non-chambered les pauls. There are of course the purist which are against the chambered design. They also claim "they can hear the difference", but some admiting never had played a chambered les paul So their argument is a moot point.

My stand is neutral, as I like the chambered due to relieving the weight of the les paul, man lugging my 77 les paul is like wearing ankle weights and having three strats around your shoulder, but as far as Gibson claiming it "enhances" the tone of the les paul is debatable as I cannot hear a difference between a non-chambered and a chambered les paul.

You can hear a big difference between a hollowbody guitar like a gibson 335 and a soldbody guitar so why can't I hear a difference between a chambered and a non-chambered les paul?

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Bluseguitar65 wrote



I love the sound of the 335; Probably more than any other guitar, there Blues monsters. Even know there much lighter than a les Paul their enormous and that is more of a turn off to me than the weight, its like strapping on a car, just don’t feel right to me and I never had GAS for one past my love for the sound.


There will always be purist and that’s ok cuz they buy guitars too but some day the baby boomers will be gone.. You cant spend all your time resting on your laurels. Gibson aint one of just a few companies anymore. There are hundreds of companies out there and just as many custom builders offering products up to date with the time at way more affordable prices; I honestly don’t know how they stay in business

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My experience was different. I went to pick one up, not knowing it was chambered, and was shocked when it felt as light as my Strat.

Just my $0.02...

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I love the sound of the 335; Probably more than any other guitar, there Blues monsters. Even know there much lighter than a les Paul their enormous and that is more of a turn off to me than the weight, its like strapping on a car, just don’t feel right to me and I never had GAS for one past my love for the sound. [quote]

I have always had GAS for a Gibson 335 I absolutely love those things but they've always been out of my price range.

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Any guitar body that is hollowed out will change sound for sure. The lighter body itself is going to cause the neck anchored to it to vibrate differently . It's common sense that hollow, semi hollow, solid they all have differing sounds do to type of construction . Take a acoustic guitar and double the thickness of the top its sound is going to change or take a LP that weighs 9lbs chambered and one that is 11lbs solid there is no way they are not going to vibrate strings differently . Weight itself changes the forces required to make it vibrate . Now can many of us with our old ears tell who knows but I am sure some can.

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My only Gibson Les Paul (a BFG) is chambered. It's very loud acoustically and it sustains like crazy, but I think that all Les Pauls (or most) are like that. It's very light for a Les Paul, but it's still heavier than my Fender Strat. I played a three hour long concert with it once and I'll never do that again because of what my shoulder felt like the next morning.

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See that is what is puzzling me. Yes, I totally agree in the tone/sound difference between a hollowbody guitar and soldibody guitar by the physics that you have already stated. Gibson has practically redesigned the Les Paul Standard far from it's original design ( I wonder what was Mr. Les Paul's opinion on the chambering of his signature guitar?). Gibson practically made the Les Paul a hollowbody guitar. I will not classify a chambered Les Paul a solid body guitar at all.
There is an obvious sound difference between a hollowbody and a solidbody guitar, one can easily hear the difference, you don't have to be a musician to hear the difference. Its that obvious, but why isn't it obvious on a chambered Les Paul vs. a non-chambered Les Paul? Gibson makes all these claims on the pros of chambering, but when it comes to the final product, you really can't tell the difference. I really would be very interested on Mr. Les Paul's take on this subject. God rest his soul.

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I just picked up my 07 LP Standard Faded, which is also chambered, and I like the weight of it compared to my now-gone Epiphone Les Paul. I would say the Gibson is a pound lighter and I can feel it; the best thing is that the LP sound and sustain is still there.

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I'm not exactly sure what shape the chambers take, but Gibson has been "weight relieving" their Les Pauls for a long time. That was done by just drilling a bunch of holes in the mahogany body before the maple top was glued on:

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My other guitar is a Strat.

I don't like the feel of LPs so much, but I love that weight, it feels so solid and anchored in my hands.

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I don't like the feel of LPs so much, but I love that weight, it feels so solid and anchored in my hands.

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The pic is a weight relieved Les Paul. Gibson started doing that since the 80s, but the chambered Les Pauls, are made with larger air pockets, like a hollow body guitar. Gibson claim it enhances the the tone of the Les Paul.

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