Is my new Lester a dud?

[Mindfrigg]

Subjective question I know, so I'll elaborate: Just got me a new LP Trad., mail order. And I mean NEW. Retailer sent it to me the day they got it from the factory. Pickups were wound last month. It's possible I am the first person outside the factory to play it.

It's beautiful. Feels great. But sound-wise, it's OK, but just doesn't quite sing for me. Sounds like a Les Paul, but is just a little... I don't know... tight. There is a midrange honk that I'm not used to in a LP. I hear it, even acoustically, so, doesn't seem to be a pickup issue. Plus I have already tried it with a few different pickups. The lower strings are also quieter when amplified, than I am used to. Again, this has held true with several different pickups. So, here is my question:

In you opinions, are these the unchangeable tonal qualities of this instrument? Is this more or less how it will always sound no matter how much I play it or what I do to it? Or is there a possibility this is a symptom of the guitar's newness. Might it "open up" with time and a bit of playing? Are there other changes, beyond swapping pickups, that might get it to sing a little more? New caps, etc.?

No need to remind me that no one really knows for sure. I know you are not wizards. I'm just humbly seeking your experience and your best guesses.

Thanks!

-akleven

Must be one of those god-awful chambered LPs. You need a Norlin my friend.

 

[ToneasaurusRex]

. . .
In you opinions, are these the unchangeable tonal qualities of this instrument? . . . Might it "open up" with time and a bit of playing?

My opinion is that guitars can and do "open up," but it takes a long time. A guitar that is played often will do this faster than one that isn't, but it's still a long time. Let your ears be your guide and if it doesn't sound good to you NOW, send it back. There are plenty of guitars that sound great leaving the factory and will only sound as good or better for the rest of their life. Find one of those and you will be happier.

Peace

Rex


EDIT: I mean, my 50s Tribute with P90s sounds AMAZING to my ears. Nine hundred bucks, less than 2 years old. It sings, it snarls, it weeps, it proclaims. At night, when I'm tired and weary, I want to go home and plug it in just so I can hear those sweet sounds. If you're not experiencing the same thing, brother, then make a switch. Life's too short.

 

[Pete M]

You can go through all the upgrades you want - I would suggest a new, different, brand of strings. For instance I FRIKKEN LOVE D'ADDARIO STRINGS. YOU SHOULD ALL GO OUT AND BUY THEM!!!!! I currently use 9s. Make sure there is no buzzing or anything anywhere, pay special attention to the nut and the bridge and swap the bridge out if possible as some bridges are just pure crap, get it set up by a pro, etc, etc

However, you have to ask yourself if you're willing to put the time and money into it for no guaranteed results. You should be able to tell if it at least has potential and this has a lot to do with how you FEEL about the guitar and it's current sound. For example, a beautiful R9 might be worth the effort, an Epiphone LP is always going to be junk. IMO the Gibson standard line is all over the place in between, you at least need to convince yourself that it has some potential and some value to you, otherwise get rid of it. You will never bond with it.

 

[akleven]

Must be one of those god-awful chambered LPs. You need a Norlin my friend.

My other LP is a Norlin. I love it, but after many years, my shoulder could use a rest!

 

[Mindfrigg]

My other LP is a Norlin. I love it, but after many years, my shoulder could use a rest!

Was just bustin' yer chops akleven!

Chalk it up to 'Norlin' backlash.

 

[akleven]

My opinion is that guitars can and do "open up," but it takes a long time. A guitar that is played often will do this faster than one that isn't, but it's still a long time. Let your ears be your guide and if it doesn't sound good to you NOW, send it back. There are plenty of guitars that sound great leaving the factory and will only sound as good or better for the rest of their life. Find one of those and you will be happier.

Peace

Rex

Not bad advice, but I think part of why I bothered to post here is because I only semi-trust my own judgment on this. I am just so damn, finicky and emotional about stuff like this. And I have been dreaming idylic dreams about "my next great guitar" for a very long time. If I'm honest with myself, I doubt if I could be really sure of any guitar at this price, without quite a bit of fussing and tinkering. (All of which makes it harder and harder to return the thing.) With nothing to reign me in, I could easily burn through 20 perfectly good guitars, searching for some unattainable thing that only exists in my mind (paying various shipping charges, gas prices and annoying the hell out of my girlfriend along the way), before finally just getting tired, settling on one and making all the same adjustments I would have ended up making to this one.

All the opinions have been welcome and appreciated, but at this point I am unlikely to return the guitar. If I haven't bonded with it in a month or two I will probably sell it, and take the loss. I just wanted to get enough opinons and tips to help me decide if the guitar was worth working with. At this point I think that mission is accomplished, and I am basically keeping the thread alive just to see if I can pick up a few more interesting tips.

Thanks!

 

[akleven]

[Y]ou have to ask yourself if you're willing to put the time and money into it for no guaranteed results. You should be able to tell if it at least has potential and this has a lot to do with how you FEEL about the guitar and it's current sound. For example, a beautiful R9 might be worth the effort, an Epiphone LP is always going to be junk. IMO the Gibson standard line is all over the place in between, you at least need to convince yourself that it has some potential and some value to you, otherwise get rid of it. You will never bond with it.

I think this post perfectly decribes the point of this thread. It's my first mail-order guitar, and it didn't wow me right out of the box. But I have turned guitars around before, and so I wanted a little help determining if this guitar had "potential" for me. I always felt that if it had any at all, I would probably keep it. At least long enough to give myself every chance to bond with it. Which includes whatever upgrades etc.

Frankly, I think the Forum came through with flying colors! I have decided that the thing has enough potential to warrant a real "break-in" period. (You can decide for youselves whether you think it is the guitar, or ME that requires breaking in!) Thanks gang! And feel free to keep those tips coming!

 

[Mindfrigg]

Not bad advice, but I think part of why I bothered to post here is because I only semi-trust my own judgment on this. I am just so damn, finicky and emotional about stuff like this. And I have been dreaming idylic dreams about "my next great guitar" for a very long time. If I'm honest with myself, I doubt if I could be really sure of any guitar at this price, without quite a bit of fussing and tinkering. (All of which makes it harder and harder to return the thing.) With nothing to reign me in, I could easily burn through 20 perfectly good guitars, searching for some unattainable thing that only exists in my mind (paying various shipping charges, gas prices and annoying the hell out of my girlfriend along the way), before finally just getting tired, settling on one and making all the same adjustments I would have ended up making to this one.

All the opinions have been welcome and appreciated, but at this point I am unlikely to return the guitar. If I haven't bonded with it in a month or two I will probably sell it, and take the loss. I just wanted to get enough opinons and tips to help me decide if the guitar was worth working with. At this point I think that mission is accomplished, and I am basically keeping the thread alive just to see if I can pick up a few more interesting tips.

Thanks!

Sounds like you hyped yourself up and maybe you had unrealistic expectations. Happens all the time with movies, restaurants, significant others.
Any well built guitar has a good native tone in there somewhere. If your amps and efx are tuned in to another guitar, the next is bound to sound like crap, many times, until you tweak it. Same settings don't flatter, all guitars, as I'm sure you already know.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

WRONG!!

 

[Mindfrigg]

The truth it is, impetuous one!

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Well, lets hear an A/B.

 

[Mindfrigg]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sen8Tn8CBA4]Spaceballs: Surrounded by assholes - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Pete M]

I go through similar things buying guitars. It is hard to avoid buying on the internet. I usually want a certain model/brand that shops never stock or a price they just couldn't do.

You can use guitar shops to your advantage though to get a baseline for what makes a good guitar. I recently bought an acoustic, but before making a decision I went and played every acoustic I could find in the local stores. I knew there was no way I was going to pay their prices, I just played everything. Good ones, bad ones, cheap ones, expensive ones. To give you a taster I played nearly the whole standard line of Matons and Cole Clarks, a few Corts, Takamines, Breedloves, Epiphones, Fenders, Martins, and Gibsons over a few weeks, often returning to the same guitar on different days to rule out the wow factor.

Anyway to cut a long story short, once I had a good idea of what a good and bad guitar sounded like I ended up buying a second hand Eastman E20 which was only 3 months old off of Ebay. Great deal and all the features I wanted. When I got it I could instantly tell that it was a great guitar even though the strings seemed to be the factory originals and were worn out, also the action was high, but it still sounded beautiful and resonated like a tuning fork. It definitely had the potential to be a fantastic guitar with a little work. If it hadn't turned out to have been one of the best acoustics I'd tried, I would've flipped it. However if I just bought it without the research, and didn't know how to fix minor issues or spot major issues, I wouldn't really have any idea if I had a dud or not.

Yeah it's a risk, but I've been back to the same shops since and none of their acoustics are even in the same league as mine.

 

[pete rallis]

well, i have looked for years to get "that" sound...I bet I went through every setting/string/pickup combination there was on my 77 LP...finally, I put all back stock, and it just sounded great...time to age was what it took..for me and the guitar..

 

[shiplett77]

maybe it's your amp?

Each guitar is different, so not getting to play it before you buy it is one of the draw backs of mail order. I've purchased guitars that way, and ended up selling ever single one over time.

Only you can decide what you think. Is the tone going to change over time? No. You can add an eq or run it through a different amp and you may get a desirable tone. However with your current set up, that is how that guitar is going to sound.

Oh. . and POST PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!

Rock on brotha!

 

[akleven]

I go through similar things buying guitars. It is hard to avoid buying on the internet. I usually want a certain model/brand that shops never stock or a price they just couldn't do.

You can use guitar shops to your advantage though to get a baseline for what makes a good guitar. I recently bought an acoustic, but before making a decision I went and played every acoustic I could find in the local stores.

My shopping experience was very similar. I'd like to support my local shop. But 12 months interest free financing? The local just can't compete with that. I played bunches of guitars (mostly LP's and PRS's) over the last year and a half. And listened to countless sound-clips and YouTube videos before settling on an LP Trad. But there's nothing like falling love with that special axe you stumble across in the shop. Though for the record, I have had that backfire on me too!

 

[brokentoeswalker]

Maybe it's time to look into getting a pro ear cleaning. It could just be your ears are fooling you.

 

[akleven]

Maybe it's time to look into getting a pro ear cleaning. It could just be your ears are fooling you.

Then I might have to pay attention to my technique! That won't do!

 

[River]

I go through similar things buying guitars. It is hard to avoid buying on the internet. I usually want a certain model/brand that shops never stock or a price they just couldn't do.

Now, that just makes a whole bunch of sense.

 

[akleven]

Turned a corner tonight and now I feel she's definitely a keeper! Switched from 11s to 10s, tried that top-wrapping thing, and made some truss rod adjustments. I don't know which (if any) of these things did it, but I now feel she's starting to get in the zone! There is still an odd dead quality to certain spots on the 6th string, but I now feel a solution will be found. I have a Callaham bridge on the way, which I hope will help. Thanks everyone!!!