edit: Base LPC still 9-hole

[searswashere]

Edit: still 9-hole.

 

[gball]

Just checked right now - it's showing 9-hole relief:

Gibson | Les Paul Custom w/ Ebony Fingerboard Gloss

<p><em>Gibson Custom Shop is the pinnacle of craftsmanship, quality, and sound excellence. Each instrument celebrates Gibson's legacy through accuracy, authenticity and attention to detail.</em></p>As the flagship model from Gibson Custom Shop, the Les Paul Custom lives up to the high standards...

www.gibson.com

 

[searswashere]

Just checked right now - it's showing 9-hole relief:

Gibson | Les Paul Custom w/ Ebony Fingerboard Gloss

<p><em>Gibson Custom Shop is the pinnacle of craftsmanship, quality, and sound excellence. Each instrument celebrates Gibson's legacy through accuracy, authenticity and attention to detail.</em></p>As the flagship model from Gibson Custom Shop, the Les Paul Custom lives up to the high standards...

www.gibson.com

I'm wondering if I missed it by checking on mobile.

Back to the 68RI I guess!

 

[AJK1]

A ? after the word relieved in the thread title would have been more appropriate
Especially when the OP is wrong

 

[searswashere]

A ? after the word relieved in the thread title would have been more appropriate
Especially when the OP is wrong

Damn, almost like OP didn't know that when they made the thread huh! FFS.

 

[AJK1]

Fail… next…

 

[searswashere]

Fail… next…

I'm glad not everyone on guitar forums is like you

 

[AJK1]

I'm glad not everyone on guitar forums is like you

I’m glad not everyone on guitar forums is like you

 

[kelsodeez]

I'm glad not everyone on guitar forums is like you

I’m glad not everyone on guitar forums is like you

I'm glad no one is like either of you because you're both special in your own ways

 

[InTheEvening]

I guess this makes them…a “holy” grail guitar.

*I’ll see myself out*

 

[AJK1]

Both my Customs and my Jimmy Page LP are 9 hole weight relieved and they all play, feel and sound killer
Perfect !

 

[musicmaniac]

Edit: still 9-hole.

 

[Christosterone]

My 2017 nashville black beauty 3 pup custom (run of 150) has no weight relief
thats the main reason I bought it

its a friggin boat anchor…especially with the Bigsby…
the sustain is bananas…well, not as much as my ESLP but it’s close

-chris

 

[gball]

I only have one with weight relief and I don't really mind it, not sure why so many people avoid it so strenuously. I have found over the years that the weight-relieved ones have a tiny bit of a midrange honk that the non-relieved ones don't (and the more relief/chambering, hollowing, etc. there is the more of that honk is present) but that's kind of a good thing for a lot of styles so I like having the option.

 

[Christosterone]

I only have one with weight relief and I don't really mind it, not sure why so many people avoid it so strenuously. I have found over the years that the weight-relieved ones have a tiny bit of a midrange honk that the non-relieved ones don't (and the more relief/chambering, hollowing, etc. there is the more of that honk is present) but that's kind of a good thing for a lot of styles so I like having the option.

I love swiss cheese, modern, ultra modern and ES fully chambered les paul’s..

they Are all different…the one with the oddest tone/sustain is the recording
i actually don’t know if it has any weight relief…it’s a 2012 1972 re-issue so may have Swiss or none….it’s heavy…very heavy so likely none

 

[efstop]

If you get an LP with a dense chunk of mahogany, 9-hoie won't take much away.
How else could a Tribute with a 1/4" thinner body and 9-hole relief weigh 9.2 lbs?

 

[ARandall]

I have found over the years that the weight-relieved ones have a tiny bit of a midrange honk that the non-relieved ones don't (and the more relief/chambering, hollowing, etc. there is the more of that honk is present)

I'm thinking that might just be the dense wood (if its the 9 hole) rather than the relief. I do agree chambering starts to become a tone-altering aspect - due to the sheer amount of wood removed you are getting more toward a semihollow type construction.

The OP here is one of those that seem to judge guitars on what they aren't rather on what they are - or the 'green eggs and ham' syndrome.
There is zero chance of being able to tell if the 9 hole weight relief is doing anyhing to the tone of the guitar - it is too insignificant compared to all the other aspects given each bit of wood making up the body is unique anyhow.

 

[1allspub]

Two of my 4 LPs have 9-hole weight relief (2010 LPC Silverburst and 2016 Trad) and two don't (R8 and R9). It makes absolutely ZERO difference to me. Both of the weight relieved ones sound awesome (as do the non-weight relieved ones). You have to judge each guitar on its own, as a whole. Every time. Period. (BTW, that's not to say that you can't swap out easily removable parts (eg, pickups, bridge, tailpiece, etc). Or that you can't prefer the feel of ebony to rosewood, or prefer light weight guitars to heavy guitars... just that the basic construction of a LP body is pretty much what it is and that's not gonna change short of major renovation and/or reconstruction.)

If my choices were a very tonally excellent piece of wood for a body that had been weight relieved or a rather dead piece of wood that had not... I'd rather have the tonally excellent weight relieved one. Now, there's nothing wrong with wanting a non-weight relieved body. I get it, I wouldn't want 9 holes drilled into the bodies of my two RIs... just because one of their charms to me is the fact that they are trying to mimic (as closely as possible at any given time given a number of factors) the way they were built in the 50s... and weight relief would violate that.

TBH though, on the new 2019+ Gibson USA Standards, I wish they would 9-hole them... many of those are bloody boat anchors and more than once I've found a Standard with a finish color, a top, a neck profile, and a fretboard (ie, color) I wanted on Wildwood's website (which is great at providing all the pertinent specs) only for it to be 10 frikkin' pounds. I get it that the market asked for non-weight relieved GUSA guitars again... so Gibson is just giving the people what they want... but I personally think the obsession with weight relief (and/or non-weight relief) is unjustified and kinda silly. Just my 2 cents. YMMV DSTM WAFH

 

[SNick]

I would hate to weigh my Swiss Cheese Studio before the holes. It's 9lb 8oz as it sits now. Any one estimate how much weight is reduced on average. I know the density of each piece of wood differs but a rough estimate would be nice, or a approximate percentage would even be better. Tone wise it does not matter to me.

 

[IronHeadSlim]

My ‘21 LP Std 60s weighs 10 lb 2 oz and my ‘21 LP Classic is 10lbs 8 oz. They are both resonant and sustain nicely and acoustically sound the same to my 64 year old ears. I like heavy for the sustain psych factor and I don’t play long enough for it to bother me. On another note, I have chronic neck pain I can’t figure out…

In my experience, I don’t think the nine holers are much different sonically than solid.