2 les pauls weigh the same, but one feels heavier?

[J-Dizzle]

Anyone else had this?

One of my LPs, which I've gigged with a lot, is at the top end of my weight preference. It is 4410g or 9.72 pounds. Much more than that and they start to become a bit too heavy to gig with as my shows usually go 2 hours.

I recently got another one online and whilst it plays amazing, it feels so heavy. I even went & bought a wider strap for it. I also semi-considered selling it.

The other day out of curiosity I weighed both guitars on my luggage scale and was shocked when both weighed in at exactly 4410 grams. I weighed them both again several times to double check, with the same result.

They're both les paul customs so they are extremely similar. One is a 3 pickup version the other with 2 pups.

Its a bit mindbending. And even though I now know the weights are the same, the one I got more recently still feels heavier.

Any one else experienced this?

 

[edwardn222]

Are the neck profiles dramatically different? From my personal experience, LP’s with thinner necks feel uncomfortably heavy on the body side. Maybe just a difference in weight balance between the two guitars?

 

[Roxy13]

I think it's the weight balance and how they sit on your shoulder.

 

[integra evan]

Weight balance for sure.
Does the three pickup one feel heavier on the shoulders?

 

[Musha Ring]

I think it's the weight balance and how they sit on your shoulder.

100%

I have a 2016 Gibbo Trad and a 2020 Epi LP Custom that both weigh the exact same. 9 lbs, 6 oz last I checked.

They feel different when picked up and held and sat with. The weight sits differently. I find the weight distribution of the Gibson is more spread out whereas the weight of the Epi is more centered around the neck joint area. That said, they're both very comfortable to me.

Awhile back I bought an older Epi Custom in a limited finish. It's quite light, can't remember the weight. But because the weight is centered around the neck joint it tends to want to pull away from me. I'd make the argument that as you get more to the extreme ends of light and heavy, a Gibson may be more comfortable, but that's mostly just conjecture.

 

[J-Dizzle]

A bit more info.

Both have a medium neck.

The heavier one has a volute & 3 pickups.

 

[CyFan]

Is it always the second guitar that you hold that feels heavier?

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. I am ashamed.

 

[diogoguitar]

TL;DR: balance matters more than weight in my experience. If the guitar is body-heavy or neck-heavy, it will feel heavier than it really is.

Here are 3 examples:

• A jackson I owned weighed 7.48lbs ... very light for a jackson, but was neck heavy... felt heavy.. and I had to keep holding the neck so it wouldn't fall
• A 6.5lbs headless Kiesel a little while ago.. it was supposed to feel light, but it didn't. The body was so heavy that it made the guitar feel heavy.
• At the same time, I have a strat that weighs 8.4lbs, which is heavy for a strat... but the body and neck are so well balanced that it doesn't feel heavy at all, even after a 2h gig