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

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

Post by Jay »

I thought I heard those wings flappin' on guitar 1 and then see it is actually the LP. Never trust your ears, vision only to determine what sounds good and what not...
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Re: Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

Post by Zaulkin »

My ears may not be able to tell a difference, but my eyes can. And I want both. :twisted:

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

Post by Miza »

And, I guessed wrong. :lol:
That tone knob must have been rolled way back.
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Re: Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

Post by GrantB »

Oh, I didn't listen to the clip...just based on my experience. Most YT clips are awful tone wise. I'm assuming this one is as well?
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Re: Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

Post by Miza »

GrantB wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:03 pm Oh, I didn't listen to the clip...just based on my experience. Most YT clips are awful tone wise. I'm assuming this one is as well?
Yeah neither did I, until after my comment. Don't bother. They sound the same.
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Re: Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

Post by Molly »

Not that it matters but the 335s I've played always sound really flat acoustically.

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

Post by jimi »

Thanks to Jay for the photo.

If I put together a video of these 2 you'd have no problem telling them apart. But then they have different pickups, different string gauges etc going on. Probably different fret sizes, wood types and they're about 15 years apart in age.

Image

I'm not one for guitar changes for different songs anyway, and I've done my whole set with each of these on different gigs.

The biggest difference to me is that edge of feedback thing, the 335 isnt uncontrollable like a fully hollow guitar (I had an SA50, couldn't gig with it, too much squealing), but you can get the 335 to feedback with a lot less noise than the LP, and can use that as a texture in the song.

The 335 is less drag on the shoulder too, though still a bit heavy. Makes a difference on a 4hr gig.

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

Post by mr_sooty »

GrantB wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:03 pm Oh, I didn't listen to the clip...just based on my experience. Most YT clips are awful tone wise. I'm assuming this one is as well?
Maybe, but so are most live sound situations, and you can still probably tell the difference between a strat and a Les Paul. I find it very difficult to hear any thing that would give the guitar away as being a semi hollow.

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

Post by murky »

Argh. They both sound like s#*t. Maybe it’s the playing. Maybe it’s because the older I get the less patience I have for bad playing. Argh.....

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

Post by Slowy »

olegmcnoleg wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 6:32 pm
mr_sooty wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:20 pm 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.
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Re: Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

Post by Polar Bear »

I’ll bite.

I have a 335 and an LP both with the same bridge pickup, Dimarzio 36th Anni. My 335 also doesn’t have F Holes, so how that makes a difference in this instance, I don’t know.

The 335 is significantly warmer sounding, smoother almost. Harmonically, it is richer sounding, with a beautiful, natural feedback on certain notes that the LP doesn’t come close to.
The LP on the other hand has significantly more bite, cut and attack. Both great sounding, but the 335 is a much more versatile guitar, and my number 1 for both live and recording.

Both guitars are over 30 years old, but within 4 years of each other, if it’s of interest, and I also have coil taps in the neck pickups of both guitars. There’s not a gig I couldn’t do on the 335 and not be excited by how it sounds still.

Whoever said a 335 is the most versatile guitar out there, I tend to side with, especially with the coil tap on the neck.
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Re: Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

Post by calling card »

I hear a growl in 335 sound, I like it. Big balloon like thing they are.
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Re: Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

Post by Slowy »

Miza wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:14 pm Surely the brightness coming off that maple cap makes a big diff to the LP tone?
Why? A 335 is a maple block wrapped in a maple plywood box.
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Re: Les Paul v 335 - can you really hear the difference?

Post by olegmcnoleg »

Slowy wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:08 am
Miza wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:14 pm Surely the brightness coming off that maple cap makes a big diff to the LP tone?
Why? A 335 is a maple block wrapped in a maple plywood box.
And maple is used because it is strong, cheap and easy to press into curves shapes. Ply is used because it is LESS resonant, to avoid having feedback problems maybe? And it is cheaper still. So, just a budget guitar then. ;-)



They sound great to me though.

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

Post by mr_sooty »

Polar Bear wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:31 am I’ll bite.

I have a 335 and an LP both with the same bridge pickup, Dimarzio 36th Anni. My 335 also doesn’t have F Holes, so how that makes a difference in this instance, I don’t know.

The 335 is significantly warmer sounding, smoother almost. Harmonically, it is richer sounding, with a beautiful, natural feedback on certain notes that the LP doesn’t come close to.
The LP on the other hand has significantly more bite, cut and attack. Both great sounding, but the 335 is a much more versatile guitar, and my number 1 for both live and recording.

Both guitars are over 30 years old, but within 4 years of each other, if it’s of interest, and I also have coil taps in the neck pickups of both guitars. There’s not a gig I couldn’t do on the 335 and not be excited by how it sounds still.

Whoever said a 335 is the most versatile guitar out there, I tend to side with, especially with the coil tap on the neck.
Would be interesting to hear recorded comparisons. Especially blind ones.

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