A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

I've just sort of wandered into the conclusion that generally a double cut is superior to a single cut. As I play more at the upper frets I'm finding the sc design to be fairly limiting. Pretty ridiculous that as I get up towards 15 I have to move my thump to the underside of the neck. I suppose for lots of players they never get up there so it doesn't matter. It just seems if guitarist weren't such traditionalists even most teles would be DC by now and gibson would be making 90% double cut les pauls. Is there any good reason single cuts still exist? Am I the only one that runs into problems playing high frets on a sc? At this point I'm considering replacing many of my SC guitars with DC variants.

When I saw the title I thought you were trying to choose between South Carolina & Washington DC.

That’s easy, South Carolina and Double Cut guitars.

Yes.

I have a lot of both and enjoy playing them all and no I don't play a lot on the high frets but some.

Just because I feel like being an instigator today . . .

I learned to fret with my thumb more on the back of the neck. My grip changes very little as I get down there. I never understood wrapping your hand around the neck like your trying to choke it unless you fret with your thumb.

These talks of cuts makes me crave a good steak.
We just lost a nice $20+ london broil when our chest freezer pooped last week.

I dig double cuts if it balances; no neck dive.
I too struggle with SC upper register access, especially the blocky LP heel.
The AXL LPs I have (from the Ubuyguitars thing a few years back) have a sculpted heel.
It helps but still.

Would like to try an AL-3200 but things like chest freezers going poopy and the like keep me from saving / funding any purchases lately.
That and fear of the future.

I wrap the thumb at times as I need it for the big bendsezzs.

fatjack wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 10:59 am I learned to fret with my thumb more on the back of the neck. My grip changes very little as I get down there. I never understood wrapping your hand around the neck like your trying to choke it unless you fret with your thumb.

I'm not particularly a thumb wrapper but I suppose my thumb is a bit farther around the back than classical position. I need to play with that idea some more. But of course then I lose my excuse to rebuy half of my guitar inventory.

nomadh wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:01 pm I've just sort of wandered into the conclusion that generally a double cut is superior to a single cut. As I play more at the upper frets I'm finding the sc design to be fairly limiting. Pretty ridiculous that as I get up towards 15 I have to move my thump to the underside of the neck. I suppose for lots of players they never get up there so it doesn't matter. It just seems if guitarist weren't such traditionalists even most teles would be DC by now and gibson would be making 90% double cut les pauls. Is there any good reason single cuts still exist? Am I the only one that runs into problems playing high frets on a sc? At this point I'm considering replacing many of my SC guitars with DC variants.

I was allowed by my local music store owner to take home and test a used mid 80's Les Paul Custom to see if I might want to buy it. The only damage was some grooves in the back from the former owners Rock Star Giant Belt Buckle. The grooves were not through the finish, but put most people off buying the guitar even when price was reduced significantly.

I used a book from the library (Dan Erlewine?) and did a painstaking setup with new strings to Gibson's exact specifications. It was then a phenomenal player. One of the very best I have ever played. The two reasons I passed on the purchase were the cost vs my finances (even with the large discount), and the difficult access to the upper frets. I played this thing for many hours a day over several days after the setup was complete. By the end of that time I was getting better at it, but it was still so much harder than my Strat Style guitar that I ultimately passed. Looking back, I wish I had bought it, but my money was very tight back then.

I have told this often, and here tell it again. After I returned the guitar, a couple of days later the store owner called me and asked what I had done to the guitar. He said everyone who picked it up now was blown away by how great it played, and people were waiting turns to play it again. I told him I put on new strings and did a setup to Gibson specifications. He offered me a job doing setups right then. I should have taken him up on it. But I had put over 8 hours into the setup and didn't think it through that I would have learned how to do them faster over time.

He sold the guitar very soon after I returned it. But the upper fret access was still just as tough as ever.

love the CAPS on the Rock Star Giant Belt Buckle

jtcnj wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 1:53 pm love the CAPS on the Rock Star Giant Belt Buckle

Thanks. I try to incorporate a little humor into my posts when I can. I am glad you liked it.

To be fair, the guy who owned the LP new and put the buckle marks in it was a (Local) Rock Star. He was my first guitar teacher, and to this day one of the best players I have seen/heard play live. He was definitely good enough to step into a major metal/rock band had they needed a new guitarist and songwriter. His reluctance to leave our small town environs pretty much assured that never happened.

Lots of great players / musicians out there that never get the exposure or the big break.
but look at "popluar" music today......

The Who, decades ahead with the quote "rock is dead" - in the mainstream anyway.
I like the way Pete's shadow falls on the stacks behind him.
He gets some big air.