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Very Resonant Gibsons, Do you have one ?

EFLOW

Active member
Joined
Jan 21, 2006
Messages
590
Hii,

I have two Standards, how they sound when i play unplugged are just amazing ! bright , loud
it's almost an acoustic guitar !

I have never found a guitar like that : Charvel, ibanez, ESP, Fender : No !
Gibsons are the best , 2000 SG Std and 2015 SG Std.

Very good vibrationsd, the body and the neck work like an acoustic guitar, I love this feeling :jim
 

Progrocker111

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Messages
4,013
I like resonant electrics too, but interesting is, that i have had some, which were fairly quiet and bright acoustically and amplified they were often better than acoustically louder ones. So to me, its not always the rule - the more resonant and louder the better...

Very resonant Les Pauls, often lighter in weight tend to have pronounced mids and very airy tone, which is not always what i am looking for. :)
 

ajay taylor

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2015
Messages
188
I play my 2014 PEACE unamplified quite a bit. I haven't had a Les Paul that was so easy to hear every note in a chord when it isn't plugged in. It doesn't matter. Barre chords or Cowboy chords. They just all sound clear without an amp. Same thing with single notes and lead. It is just easy to hear everything when it isn't plugged in. The thing that I really like unamplified are Harmonics. They really sound good without an amp. Amplified, I like the tone of the '61 pickups. I was prepared to get some Seymour Duncan pups, but the amplified sound has really grown on me. The guys in the band really like the sound.

There are several things that make this guitar unique for a Les Paul Peaceful Orange PEACE. It was an early one, so it's factory hand-wired. Plus, the grain on the top kicks some serious butt. It's the last guitar that I'll ever sell. I'm sure that You're attached to Yours too. Some guitars just grow on You.
 
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Trans-Am

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
4,686
Depends on the wood and set-up right out of the factory. I have a 2000 Classic, 2005 Standard, 2007 Custom and R9 that resonates unplugged quite loud. Plugged in? It's you have an 11 on the volume.:yah

Old wood is good wood...........Who knows what, where, when your log was made of to be a Paul model.
 

Don

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2001
Messages
5,732
Only kind of a Gibson- I have a 1964 Epiphone Olympic that rings like a bell! What an awesome piece of wood!
 

EFLOW

Active member
Joined
Jan 21, 2006
Messages
590
My 2015 SG Standard is not vintage and it is very resonant guitar, incredible !
 

renderit

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
I got a pot full of them! I love 'em! Nothing better than feeling the vibrations in the neck.
 

sgtones75

New member
Joined
Oct 1, 2022
Messages
6
I have a very resonant 2021 Historic Les Paul. It’s light at 8.3 pounds. I also have a 2022 historic Les paul at 8.7 pounds which is resonant but not as much as the other.. Plugged in, believe it or not, I prefer the Les resonant 2022. It’s sweeter, smoother, and has more mids. Les distortion. I think the resonance of the 2021 is too much. I know that goes against the grain! The 2021 has too much bass for my liking on the neck and not enough bass on the bridge. It’s sounds killer, don’t get me wrong but with my set up the 2022 has a tone I enjoy more. The neck and bridge are more balanced. I will say the neck pickup on the 2021 is so clear when I roll down the volume. Wish I had that clarity in the neck p/u in my other one.
 

Tollywood

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 16, 2022
Messages
394
Nope!

Well, my 356 is pretty resonant unplugged but it’s a semi hollowbody. Plugged into a tube amp I get everything I want out of my Les Pauls.
 

NINFNM

Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2018
Messages
75
Yes, and is something I value as I play unplugged a lot. The lighter the liveliest is what I found.
My standard sounds a lot more complex and louder unplugged than a heavier custom I had:

IMG-20220610-WA0013.jpg
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
"Resonant" and "Resonance" have to be the most missapplied and wrongly used terms for solidbody guitars. Unplugged acoustic tone of Les Pauls are claimed to be resonant or have amazing resonance by many, yet it is the amplified tone that is. I find overly loud unplugged tone rarely sounds better than more focused subdued ones when jacked up. Mushy more often than not.

I listen for clear balanced tone and volume. A brang with each note in a chord heard with equal clarity without too much midrange smearing or overpowering. Single string notes have pleasing clear tone with good attack and sustain. No sitar or quack tone, no dead notes or overpowering ones. Just to evaluate how it may sound amplified, because unplugged sounds thin and plinky and way better amplified, with a cord not a microphone.
Then I plug in and get real. Real loud.
 

Any Name You Wish

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
493
Well, when I was shopping for my R9 I played quite a few. First I played them all acoustically. Then I plugged them in and completely forgot all the acoustic impressions and I bought the one that really sang plugged in and felt good in my hands. I do the acoustic check to ensure the neck and frets don't have a problem, for the most part anyway. All the R9's I played were pretty lively unplugged. New strings are going to be a lot louder than old ones.
 

BlueGuitar!

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2019
Messages
74
The new standard faded series is pretty resonant. Almost as resonant as my chambered studio premium plus, but for different reasons of course
 

charliechitlins

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 16, 2021
Messages
1,016
My '65 Firebird III (non-reverse, 3 P90s) is really loud and rich sounding acoustically.
I guess something to do with the thin mahogany body and the big cavity for the 3 pickups.
 

ajwain

Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Messages
80
Well, when I was shopping for my R9 I played quite a few. First I played them all acoustically. Then I plugged them in and completely forgot all the acoustic impressions and I bought the one that really sang plugged in and felt good in my hands. I do the acoustic check to ensure the neck and frets don't have a problem, for the most part anyway. All the R9's I played were pretty lively unplugged. New strings are going to be a lot louder than old ones.
It’s no surprise to me that in your opinion, the acoustic resonance has no bearing on the amplified tone; I totally and completely agree… particularly at gig volumes.
I’m not decrying guitars which “ring” in your hands, and you can feel them “alive” against your body. Those attributes are addictive and are very important to some people.
However, the true test of a good Les Paul is how it responds to pick attack… the “bloom” of a note when amplified, and the way it cleans up whilst retaining it’s character when the volume is rolled down. Feel is also vital, so it has play well, but this and a lot of aspects of amplified tone are synonymous with a good set up.
 
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