I know there are a couple musicians who may be able to help out, so here goes…
I’m looking to buy a guitar for a friend of mine. He’s not a pro and just wants something he can play around with. That being said, it does need to sound decent. He loves the sound of a Les Paul but hates the weight. Even Strats are toward the heavy end of what he wants to use. What guitars are out there that are full size but light enough for my friend? Steinbergers seem to fit the bill, but is there anything else?
Thanks.
Steinbergers are great guitars, (I’ve got two!) but pricey and usually a bit heavier than people think they are. The newer post-Gibson and “Spirit” guitars are garbage compared to the originals.
My opinion: the best reasonably priced, decent sounding guitars are made by Ibanez. But stay away from their signature series instruments, they aren’t worth the extra cash.
No substitute for a Les Paul mind you, but good luck finding a Les Paul for under $1200 these days.
Depends on what he wants to play and spend:
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a Squire Telecaster can be had for $200 and meets a lot of folks needs.
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if less weight is required, go to a music store and try a few out - Silvertones are pretty light, and a number of other makes are as well.
Unfortunately, we don’t have much to go on. A number of criteria apply:
Type of music to play/tone desired
Level of musical exprience
Willingness to modify guitar (e.g., get a certain make and swap the pickups)
Money range that is okay
Size of the player’s hands - dictates neck size, etc…
Bottom line? It depends; all I can say is that weight should be further down the list of criteria - yes it can matter but only after a few other issues are decided upon…
Perhaps I wasn’t clear about a few issues.
This guy isn’t looking to be the next big thing. He’s looking to plug in and play some of the tunes he remembers playing long long ago. He was a decent player a few decades ago, but all he’s likely to do now is perhaps get together with a few friends and play in a shed out back. Consequently, I don’t want to spend a lot on a guitar. under $750 is required, under $400 is ideal. He played classic rock like Fleetwood Mac and Bad Company, to give you an idea of the tones he might use. Anything with a decent tone would work.
Weight is really an issue. Even when he played in a band, he wouldn’t use a Les Paul because it was so heavy even though he loved the tone. His first reaction to my Steinberger was “This feels great!” not referring to the action but the weight and sensation of holding the guitar. (Once he started playing he did like the action too.)
Thanks for the help.
Pretty much what the other responses have said.
Ibanez solidbodies tend towards light weight. Most of the ones I’ve seen have humbucking pickups in at least the neck and bridge positions. While that doesn’t make them sound just like a Les Paul, it means they’ll generally come closer to that goal than, say, a Strat or Telecaster would. (FTR, Strats and Teles are good guitars too–thoroughly proven and reasonably priced–but are usually configured with single-coil pickups.) Depending on the model, Ibanez prices range from inexpensive (under $400, IIRC) to omigawd; their low-end to mid-range axes provide particularly good bang for the buck.
All IMHO, of course, and subject to some bias: One of my own solidbodies is an Ibanez and I love it.
This is a popular brand, and if you’re in the US there’s a good chance of finding a music store near you that carries it. Since instrument preferences are very subjective, the ideal approach would be for you and/or your friend to find a reasonably well-stocked shop and basically try out everything within his price range. You might find something even more to his liking that none of us in this forum will have thought about.