Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

[mr_sooty]

I was curious about this. You hear guys like Rhett whatsisface on You Tube going on about how the 335 is the greatest most versatile guitar ever and it's the one to rule them all, but does it actually sound any different from a Les Paul? I am curious because a 335 has a center-block, so the pickups are mounted on solid wood, so does adding hollow wings to the guitar make any difference to the tone? It seems unlikely to me in theory. The only way to really know is to listen to them blind. So I found this video. I guessed which is which correctly, but I put it down to dumb luck. You have a fifty fifty chance of getting right after all.

[werdna]

I don't have much faith that many people can hear the difference.

It's like wine tasting.

One night a colleague and I won a wine tasting event, by a mile - 75% answered correctly. But it was almost impossible for us to tell the difference between the wines, and neither of us enjoyed the expensive stuff any more than the normal stuff. There were people in the competition with cellars worth tens of thousands of pounds who got terrible scores. Wine is really just foul tasting Ribena. But if you can afford expensive wine, and you want bragging rights, good on you.

[kdawg2a]

335's look cooler though, right?

[Bg]

I don't have much faith that many people can hear the difference.

It's like wine tasting.

One night a colleague and I won a wine tasting event, by a mile - 75% answered correctly. But it was almost impossible for us to tell the difference between the wines, and neither of us enjoyed the expensive stuff any more than the normal stuff. There were people in the competition with cellars worth tens of thousands of pounds who got terrible scores. Wine is really just foul tasting Ribena. But if you can afford expensive wine, and you want bragging rights, good on you.

Which is why I drink cheap wine. If it doesn't make me gag it does its job

[mr_sooty]

I was watching another video about the 4 guitars every guitarist 'needs' (Man there's a lot of bullshit on You Tube): Apparently it's Strat, Tele, LP and 335. I thought, why does anyone NEED an LP and a 335? I mean I can understand you might WANT one, I own lots of things I definitely don't need. But really, apart from 'to show your uni friends you're serious about jazz', what is a 335 actually giving you tonally that an LP isn't? (or vice versa, you know, if you have a 335, do you NEED a LP?)

[robthemac]

I play at low enough volumes to be able to hear the acoustic sound of my electric guitars. So can certainly hear the difference when I play.

I did a blind test when I had my PRS SC and 335. Could definitely hear a difference, but that's something with a little more difference.

[jeremyb]

Clean tones I think it makes a difference, add any gain in and you might as well be playing a broomstick....

[Dharmajester]

335, the one classic guitar I've never owned. The bodies always feel too big for comfort and I've never felt jazz enough to justify owning one.
However a good one can definitely cover 90% of a LP's range and other territory a LP would never enter.

[olegmcnoleg]

I was curious about this. You hear guys like Rhett whatsisface on You Tube going on about how the 335 is the greatest most versatile guitar ever and it's the one to rule them all, but does it actually sound any different from a Les Paul? I am curious because a 335 has a center-block, so the pickups are mounted on solid wood, so does adding hollow wings to the guitar make any difference to the tone? It seems unlikely to me in theory. The only way to really know is to listen to them blind. So I found this video. I guessed which is which correctly, but I put it down to dumb luck. You have a fifty fifty chance of getting right after all.

Did my partner ask you to pose this question?

[godgrinder]

With same amp, similar pickups and same scale length most guitars would probably sound very close in a youtube clip.

[vinylguy]

I have a 73 guild starfire which is like a 335 but $10k cheaper and I can confirm that they are a very versatile guitar. The solid bodies I have owned ( Epiphone Coronet, LP junior, Tele ) have all been a lot less versatile in terms of the type of music they can handle. One of my guitar buddies who is actually a pretty good player fell in love with mine last week as he demonstrated styles from African to funk to jazz to rock and blues all through the Starfire quite happily. Sounded superb throughout. The pickups at that stage were GFS vintage 59's.

[vinylguy]

Footnote: I dont find it very comfortable to play sitting down.

[GrantB]

I can hear the difference. But as said, add a bit of gain and things become hazy...still, feedback and added looseness in the mid range can give it away even then.

[GrantB]

Also, I think modern 335s and Les Pauls using current production hardware do sound more alike. I just think current pickups and pots etc aren't going to make the intrinsic aspects of the machine stand out as much. I could be waffling however.

[Miza]

Surely the brightness coming off that maple cap makes a big diff to the LP tone?
I've always felt the LP and Tele share a lot of DNA in terms of that spanky, tight tone.
Dean DeLeo's weapons of choice. And Jimmy Page.