Les Paul Deluxe?

[dsound]

I notice that there are different stlye PU's in the LP Deluxe that's different from Standards, Studios, Classics, etc. Does anyone know what the difference is in design and sound? While we're at it, is the only difference between a Studio and a Standard the trim and other embelishments?

Thanks

[dbbubba]

The LP Delux had mini humbuckers which were smaller humbucker pickups.
They sound different, but not horrible.
Les Paul himself says that the Delux was his favorite LP model.
Pete Townsend used modified Deluxes in the '70s (his GTRs with the numbers on them.)
Firebirds had the mini buckers and they can sound pretty good.
they were just never as favored as the full size 'buckers or the P90s.

And to the eye that was the difference in Studio and Standard.
the studio is a Standard w.o. binding.

Do realize that any two LPs of the same model and manufacturing date can differ drastically!

Danny Brown

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

Pete Townsend used modified Deluxes in the '70s (his GTRs with the numbers on them.)
Firebirds had the mini buckers and they can sound pretty good.

Townsend's had coil tap switches and sometimes an extra DiMarzio HB in the center.

Firebird mini's are different than LP mini's. The Firebird ones seem to have even less output and are twangier.

[everybody's x]

the deluxe rules and those mini-hums sound amazing

[dbbubba]

True about Townsends GTRs, but they were stage GTRs too.

The minis sound decent.
They aren't as cool as full size 'buckers or P90s.
Then again the LPs that they are on are on were from the '70s era that produced the multi laminate LPs and Gibsons.
Deluxes were a lesser quality GTR than earlier LPs and good later LPs.
They are shaped like LPs, but are pretty far removed from a "good" LP.

But if it's all you have access to... rock on!

DB

[HudHudson]

I have a '72 SG with mini-humbuckers that sounds amazing. More bite than regular humbuckers so it sounds more like Pete's SG Specials than Angus' SG Standards.

[GPl]

Yeh, I have a "75" (bought in 75) Deluxe modified with HB's. I love the sound but never did like the feel of the neck.

[dbbubba]

Yeah, Gibson had that stupid volute on the back of the necks.
That was to reinforce the wood at the fragile neck to headstock area.
It always felt wrong and didn't last too long thankfully!

Thanks Gibson, but I don't need a stop to tell me where the end of the neck is!

I know where a '76 LP Custom that I once owned twenty five years ago is for sale, but I don't want that guitar!
I had a '68 custom before it and the '76 just sucked in comparison.
The body was made of seven pieces of wood and the neck was a three piece.

Gibson LPs only got worse when they made the silverburst and bronzeburst Customs.
That was the low point!


Danny Brown

[Phrygian]

The necks were chunkier, the bodies were sandwiched as opposed to one nice slab of mohogany. I've hated every deluxe I've played so far. Didn't mind the sound though.

[dbbubba]

I don't want to play a GTR that I don't like the feel of no matter WHAT it sounds like.

And LP Deluxes DON'T sound that good to me.
Compared to a decent GTR.

Danny Brown

[preben]

I have a '79 L/H Deluxe and absolutely love it. I much prefer it to the Custom (same vintage) that I used to have before it. I have seen some models that had the sandwiched body but mine has a one piece mahogany body. And obviously (unlike the reissue) the maple neck with the rosewood fretboard. The maple neck definitely adds to the more 'spanky' tone compared to a standard or a custom - of which I MUCH prefer the Standard if that gives you more of an idea of what I like in a Les Paul.

I TOTALLY don't agree with the mini-humbuckers not sounding nice. Each to his own and all that but to me they sound a lot smoother than the big ones (which I love as well, don't get me wrong) AND they have a great clean sound which I find almost always seems to find a nice hole in a mix to sit in. It's quite a compact sound and more Stallone in Escape From Victory than the powerhouse Rambo qualities of the bigger buckers.

Apart from Pete Townsend the only other well known player I know that used to use one was Scott Gorham out of Thin Lizzy. Listen to Live And Dangerous: the right side is Gorham on the Deluxe (and the worlds tightest trousers!!) and the left side is Brian Robertson on a Standard. And the rest is just magic.

Oh yeah, and I think the guy from the UK band 'Reef' used to play one as well.

[Blast9]

I totally agree preben

My mate has a gold top LP deluxe also from '79... It s a truly magical beast... Fat and fruity or growly and big, loads of definition... Very versatile.

The combo of quarter sawn maple neck and top works well with the mahog body (no sandwich here!)

Plugged into an AC30 or Hiwatt 50 it sounds amazing... Instant AC/DC or STP

Here's a clip of his band: That's a 1973 Hiwatt and an AC10 he's plugged into, panned hard L/R (no Ac/DC tone in this clip... more STP)

http://fevertreemusic.com/tracks/satellite.mp3

The guy from Travis used one too, and prices started going through the roof after their chart success

[Rogervandeberg]

I have a 2002 LP deluxe goldtop and i really like the sound and feel of it. I like to define the mini-humbuckers as follows: IMO you get some bite of a single coil, but also thickness from the LP sound we all know. In the studio it is a great instrument for solo's, because it is fat but does cut through the mix unlike some others.

You have to like a thick neck though!

[drundall]

Hate deluxes.

When Gibson bought Epiphone, they also inherited a shitload of parts, including the minihumbuckers. When the Les Paul came back to life, it was issued with P90's, and it happened that the mini's fit into the P90 slots without routing, so to save money on production and use these spare parts, the "humbucking" model Paul came with the mini's. The other choice was P90's. Eventually they brought back the standard with full size humbuckers.

[7161]

The necks were chunkier, the bodies were sandwiched as opposed to one nice slab of mohogany. I've hated every deluxe I've played so far. Didn't mind the sound though.

eh?... My '72 deluxe has the finest neck of any les paul I ever played and everyone who plays it agrees, it's the only reason I bought it in fact

the pickups.. ok, if you want to do 'gritty' driven sounds or sound like the Stones or whatever of that era, for old skool sounds they are superb, and they work ok on say a jcm800 up to a point at full gain, but add some higain with a pedal in front or on an amp like a jcm2000 etc and they squeel like a total pig.

[the-oger]

Best description so far….“bite of a single coil, but also thickness from the LP sound we all know”

I have an early 70’s Deluxe and a late 70’s Custom. I find the Custom better for more modern “fat/thick” sounds, but it is often TOO fat… saturates the soundscape very easily, you have to pull your amp gain back further to get definition. The Deluxe however always seems to sit very nicely in a mix.

Another thing, the Deluxe responds much better to aggressive playing… you can really “spank” the guitar to get a wider variety of tones out, and that always seems to convey far more performance energy than the Custom, which is simply “always there” sonically.

I have a nice little collection, and the Deluxe is 60% my go-to axe... it makes me wanna play. thumbsup

As was mentioned above, if you run a Deluxe through a higher gain amp/distortion pedal you’ll likely have feedback problems.

Summary:
- P90 = crisp tone, great attack
- Mini Humbucker (Deluxe) = crisp tone, great attack PLUS some fatness
- Full Humbucker (Custom) = very fat / thick but less definition.

In my opinion anyways.

Oger

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

Yeah, Gibson had that stupid volute on the back of the necks.
That was to reinforce the wood at the fragile neck to headstock area.
It always felt wrong and didn't last too long thankfully!

Thanks Gibson, but I don't need a stop to tell me where the end of the neck is!

I know where a '76 LP Custom that I once owned twenty five years ago is for sale, but I don't want that guitar!
I had a '68 custom before it and the '76 just sucked in comparison.
The body was made of seven pieces of wood and the neck was a three piece.

Gibson LPs only got worse when they made the silverburst and bronzeburst Customs.
That was the low point!


Danny Brown

I'm with you 70's gibsons generally are caca. That stupid volute, the way the top isn't really carved compared to 60's LP.They look and feel like knockoff's of real gibsons. 68 was a great year for LP especially the custom. I have a 69 LP custom that I got in 73 for $425 from the old We Buy. I have a friend who has a 71 335 that is pretty good,
but that's the first time I ever saw a post 69 Gibson I thought was OK. On a different note, for those of you who dig Gibson type guitars, check out these Agile guitars. For me it's like a trip back to the 70's when you could by a real guitar for 3 or 4 hundred bucks. They will benefit from better pickups, but I can't get over how good they are.
I got an L5 copy that is really nice with an ebony fingerboard [you can't get an ebony board on an electric guitar pretty much for under a 1000 dollars] for 400 dollars, it's nuts.