Actually how heavy is a Gibson Les Paul?

[gitapik]

My '69 Gold Top is just a shade under 10lbs...so it might as well be 10lbs.

For the first couple of decades, it wasn't an issue. Now it is.

However:

I went on a search for the perfect strap. The guitar is just too nice not to play anymore. There are some great straps. Some work for other people but not me. Basically, at that weight, it comes down to the fact that, regardless of width, padding, or elasticity, if it's weighing on my trapezius muscle, it's gonna get to me after about a half hour to 45 minutes.

I found this guy, Nick in Louisville, KY, on an LP forum. He patented a new design. Works just fine for me.

 

[MarshallHeart]

This started life as a 1974 Les Paul Deluxe - 10.42 lbs
View attachment 483421

oh my god, you can use that as an anchor...the poor LP!

 

[arlum]

My Traditional with an absolutely solid body, (no weight relief just like the originals), weighs close to eleven pounds. I love it. A quilted maple heritage cherry top and a pair of Jim Wagner Godwood pickups give me the closest sound to a late '50s model that I've ever owned. And Yes! I believe the solid body has a great deal to do with the tone. Smooth. Sustain for days. Haunting. Trippy.

 

[CCK1]

This one is almost 11 pounds.

 

[jrblue]

I've never weighed mine because I'd rather say "I don't know" than "11 pounds." Like most posters here, I'm enough of a He-Man Master of the Universe to handle a larda$$ LP in the Guitar Powerlifting Championships, but as a musician and simple human, I've realized that it's easy to get an instrument that is physically more pleasant to handle and play. You know: actually appealing, not just tolerable. I have an SG and a Strat in the low 7s, and they are wonderful to handle. With all the pedals and amps available, no one needs a cinderblock-on-a-strap to get "tone." Honestly, not only am I done with too-heavy LPs (= most LPs), but I'm also pretty much done with LPs overall. Just not a very well-executed design, in terms of handling.

 

[1 21 gigawatts]

6.4 lbs

 

[golfnut]

My Fenders are all light ranging from 5.5 pounds to 7.5 pounds. The Les Paul Standard 50's I just bought weighs 9.2 pounds. 2 Years ago I lost 65 pounds and keep physically fit. So the 9 pounds is more than tolerable.

 

[THX1123]

There is a hypothesis that the heaviest Les Paul has a mass that is more than 1 million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every large galaxy contains a supermassive Les Paul at its center.

The supermassive Les Paul believed to be at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is most likely S/N 71232560. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a very large ball that could hold a few million Earths or 1.6 Quattuorvigintillion Stratocasters.

 

[trapdoor2]

Gee. I've been playing a 13lb banjo since 1987...never considered it was heavy. I have one that is 15lbs...don't play it much...too loud.

A 9lb banjo would be considered a lightweight in bluegrass circles.

That said, I think LPs just seem heavy for their size. Denser maybe.

Years ago, George Gruhn handed me one of the Guild "Nightbird" LP knockoffs he designed and I nearly tossed it into the ceiling...expecting "LP heavy", but actually lightweight (7lbs?). Nice guitar...

 

[Jared Purdy]

Enjoy ...

View attachment 483370
With thanks to CoftonT

My 2019, 60th Anniversary CS R9 weighs roughly 9/lbs, roughly the same weight as my Fender CS Strat, made of swamp ash. Not sure where this thread was going or coming from, other than loose facts.

 

[brookdalebill]

I now have 4.
Three of them are stupid heavy.
This one ain’t, it’s just heavy.

These are stupid heavy.

 

[Wallaby]

You know it's heavy if it beeps when it backs up.

 

[bendercaster]

My Deluxe and my Jr. are both 9.2lbs. That makes me think the Deluxe is weight relieved, just not very much.

 

[jrblue]

Mine's about 10, and I didn't like that aspect at first and dislike it more and more. Since I have other guitars, I don't have to choose something that's somewhat annoying even though, of course, it's manageable. I gravitated to my SG (when I wanted a humbucker guitar) and found that I simply like it more, not simply because of weight, though it is a light guitar, but also because mine has a really thin neck, and because it's a '87 reissue "61 LP/SG Custom, it has a great ebony fretboard and the 3 pickups (which I rewired Frampton-style). With a pedal, I can duplicate those hefty LP tones, but mostly I don't because I like the more open and airy, slightly lighter tonality of this SG. I think most players can dial in classic LP tones without having to hoist a railroad tie of a guitar. I wonder why Gibson has failed so miserably in arriving at and marketing a nicely weighted LP.

 

[Sax-son]

Les Paul's have forever had a reputation of being a heavy guitar. However, I would rather have them that way and sound good rather that mess with the formula that has made them what they are. Mine is probably close to 10lbs and it sounds and plays killer. I also have a 10 lb Telecaster that sounds awesome as well. I usually play those sitting down though and there is no problem there.

If you want a light Gibson style electric, then get an SG.

 

[MickM]

I don't even care anymore. I know how much weight I'll tolerate with a Tele, a strat,(have a Cray that goes 6.5 lbs/favorite strat) and a LP. I go into it knowing that the Pauls are going to be heavier (Have a recent '50s 'burst, a Black Custom shop w/p-90s and a maroon deluxe) all go about 9-11 lbs best guess.
A "few" Teles mostly around 7-7.5 lbs. but for a blue sparkle GE Smith that has to weigh 10lbs easy.
Lately been bellying up to a Collings I-30 Hollow body with Lollar P-90s that might go 6 lbs. Great sounds and comfortable but doesn't sound like a Tele, Strat or a Paul. So round we go!

 

[bobio]

2022 Gibson Les Paul Studio - 8lbs 4oz.
Shipping today from Sweetwater....woot woot

Obviously, it has a weight-relieved body.
I personally don't like anything much over 8.5lbs or much under 8lbs.

 

[Hey_you]

My new Les Paul, R4 Custom Shop RI VOS, weighs 8.6 pounds. It is not weight relieved.

 

[chezdeluxe]

My 2013 Les Paul Traditional (non weight relieved) is 10 lb on the nose. Most of my playing these days I am sitting down so no problem.

 

[gridlock]

My Les Paul Custom Historic ‘57 RI (solid Mahogany body and Ebony board) weighs 11.25 lbs.