Would you guys add anything else to this list to make a Les Paul more liveable and lovable? Any other guitars you'd like me to add to this series? Enjoy :)

Only having 1 guitar helps "cope" with the down sides🤣

I believe that a guitar chooses the player. The great thing is that there is a guitar for anyone.

3:20 I couldn't stop staring at the Low E being out of the saddle >.

Ways you get along: 1 Ask how it's doing. 2 Tell it your name. 3 Be good friends.

Good points for any player. We all fall in and out of love with gear.

1. String butler 2. Babicz bridge 3. Lighter strings - hell yes (I have extra jumbos) 4. Push pull pots are awesome 5. I grease the nut slots.

I'll never understand hating on LPs. They are just iconic and beautiful on every level.

I’ve been a Les Paul guy for 50 years. Bought my first strat 5 years ago. Love both for different reasons.

Guitar is not made to be hated. They're perfect at their own way :)

Finally! I got my Les Paul set up perfect! It only took me six years. I do love it now instead of resenting it.

I love the intro where he chucks the guitar on the roof of the shed and then falls on his face as he runs back towards the house. Effin priceless. That alone earned a sub! :-)

A tip for people who want to wrap the strings over the tailpiece... Keep the ball ends from old strings and slip the new strings through them before running them through the tailpiece. They act like a spacer and will keep the unsightly first part of the strings mostly inside the tailpiece so they wrap over nicer. Looks better too. Or, just use the tailpiece normally, and raise it. If you aren't sure about over-wrapping, keep in mind, it will cause marks/damage to the top of your tailpiece after a short while, so if you don't want to ruin your tailpiece, just raise it instead.

When I learned to use the volume and tone on my Les Pauls, it completely changed my guitar playing. There are just so many incredible tones at your fingertips. Straight into a dirty amp and almost everything imaginable is right there built into the guitar with the knobs and switch. Damn, I love a Les Paul. Or any 2 volume, 2 tone guitar, really.

I did all 10 of your suggestions on my LP and now I love it again. The tone is now incredible. Thanks so very much.

Les Paul are the best looking guitar ever made. Thats the only reason why my first electric guitar was a Les Paul, and I still love it :D

I played fenders for years and just recently got me a Les Paul standard gold top 50s edition. I can’t put that thing down. I love the Gibson scale length over the fender all day long now. I can’t believe I’ve never played a Les Paul before.

I had 10's on my LP, but wasn't really excited about how they felt. So I changed to 9.5s, and now, it plays like it has 9s, but sounds like it has 10s. I'm now pretty happy overall with the guitar.

Such a first world problem 'learning to live with a $4000 guitar'

1. Ask the great fusion guitarists why they do not use Les Pauls (forget Robben Ford) 2. Take the neck off, make it a bolt-on, 3. with a reshaped body for easier upper fret access 4. Make a big cavity on its back then cover it to make it light 5. Chop the headstock off and reshape it to get straight string runnings from nut to tuners 6. Put the jack hole on the top, 7. Mount a 2 edge advanced trem system, 8. File a belly cut, 9. Mount a real single coil to the neck, 10. Put the pup selector to a convenient location. Bonus: Trade it for a good guitar 10.

And for that humbucker level think also at 6:14, you can get more brightness when you lower pickup and raise those screws on the pickup. That is good for neck pickup if it's a little muddy. And for 9:17 top wrap think, put another ball through the string so that the spiky part stays in the tail-bridge hole.

If you hate a LP, become a guitar tech and make adjustments. You will be rewarded with an axe with a ton of balls.

Top wrapping was the most significant modification I made to mine and I’m in love with it.

You’re string gauge recommendation vs scale length was well considered and not something many would think of. Good job!

I have a 23 year old Epiphone LP standard that I'll never sell. I run 8s and it plays like butter and stays in tune. With some Seymour Duncan pearly gate pick ups the guitar is a monster. Of all the guitars I have owned over 50 years that humble Epiphone LP is my all time favourite, even over my made in USA 2015 Gibson LP traditional.

This is one of your best vids yet. I just went through a major change in my LP Custom Elegant. I put a set of Pearly Gates in and this changed everything! Amongst other things, it changed the electronix into a working set by removing the faulty soldering that was on it. And now, when running it through a Slash signature WahWah ... well i found my signature sound. This has made me play that thing so much more!

After a life with Strat I came to love the Les Paul in my late 40's. I left my Fender Strat 2002 go for a Gansom Les Paul Custom (Japan) 1974, all original, repaired headstock and lovely, careful use. It struck me like lightning with is warm tone and exceptional sustain and now it's no turning back. I have two strat style guitars left and a number of Les Paul's instead. A Gibson Les Paul Traditional 2011, ebony is the top but I can't say it plays and sound better than the Ganson.... Thanks för a great channel!

I don't know. I just started playing a year ago. Bought a Leo Jaymz because I seriously wanted the American flag. I didn't know what I was getting into. At this time I have changed all the hardware except the tuners. Nut, saddle, bridge. Changed out the pickups for A2 Buckers, and bumped up the pots to 500k, and I am super satisfied. If it wasn't for your channel I would never have considered modifications on that level. Now I play everyday and have a guitarsonal of my own. I'd just like to say, Thanks for sharing. So far the journey is pretty Sweet.

Along with setting your pickups, don't be afraid to experiment with the height of the pole screws to make further adjustments to your tone.

Mark Agnesi enters the chat

Especially in the middle position I like rolling off the tone for the neck, roling off the volume for the bridge, and blend it. Really good for ambient tones.

Thank you for the positive video Darrell Really enjoyed it

Wide straps make such a difference... I had a Warwick that was 14lbs, and an absolute monster for long gigs, but it sounded amazing. Once I got a nice thick strap, it made the long shows a lot more pleasant

I love my Les Paul. It's only a Studio model, but it plays like melted butter. Sure, I'd love to have a higher priced model, but that's just not going to happen, I'm afraid. Still, wouldn't trade it, nor sell it.

Never have I considered people not loving Les Pauls haha. Since I discovered rock n roll through gnr and zeppelin I thought it was the coolest thing since whipped cream, and I’ve kept that sentiment to this day. Still have my Epi that I bought almost 15 years ago and still love it. One day when I somehow have 2.5 grand laying around I’ll cave for a Gibson. It was my first dream guitar and it’s remained in that caliber ever since!

I noticed on my own that you may have to reverse a bridge string adjuster to get perfect intonation on one of the strings or more. I love your over the tailpiece stringing advice. I hate the angle of some of my strings and the angle promotes buzz. Thanks Darrell.

Great series, DB! Great info. Your video about Stratocasters really helped me lock in some newer tones. GG’s!

I'm guilty of leaving my Les Paul sit for months at a time and have thought of selling it. I went into the video thinking I would be able to guess a bunch of the suggestions, but most of them were great surprises. Lots of great ideas. Thanks for making the video.

“Know what a les Paul is and what it’s meant to do and what it can’t do.” - the best point in this video.

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top Pro in cherry burst. Broke the headstock off, glued it back together with Titebond and it plays better than It did and never goes out of tune. It is beautiful. sounds amazing. And I would never sell it. Love the Les Paul.

Turn the bridge saddles so that the flat edge faces up the neck. This is an instant improvement regarding tuning stability.

Picked my 2004 standard out of a choice of 5, didn’t think it could better. Practiced setups on cheaper ones until I got good, then went to town on the LP. And wow, thing turned out so good I simply stopped playing my Gretsch 6120 hotrod, tele thinline deluxe and my jazz master, no matter what I did no setup could match the Gibson, eventually sold the lonely things.

I have four brands of guitars, but my Gibson Les Paul is by far my favorite. I have my setup almost the same as you described and it is perfect! I raised my tailpiece, and it seemed to add to the sustain and eased the bending! Thanks for your video! Great job!😊

My dream guitar is any type of les paul, so I would always love it, but I get ya.

I changed the way I have been tuning my guitars, especially electrics. After filing nut slots, lubricating nut and saddle, changing break angle, I also tune using more than open strings. I tune open, 3 up, and 5 up. Making sure all three are as close to the notes as I can get them. That often means a compromise. But when I play I don’t get the “off” sound with some chords. The fret placement is a compromise anyway, I have learned. I am so much happier especially with first position chords where some strings are fretted and some are open.

If you go over the top of the tailpiece, slip an extra ball-end (off of old set of strings) over the string then put it through…it helps take pressure off of the string where it’s twisted (I broke a couple of strings until a guitar tech told me that little trick).

Gibson has drastically improved in the last few years in my opinion... I NEVER played a les paul that I liked even though I loved the classic iconic look, but recently I picked up a 60's standard and fell in love with it! It just played perfect, stayed in tune & looked amazing, so of course I bought it.... maybe its because the plek all their guitars now makes them better? Maybe it's because I've been playing for so many years now that I've become a better guitarist? As far as the weight goes it's heavy especially doing 4 45min sets almost every Saturday night, but then I see the pics of what it looks like onstage and that makes it worth a little bit of neck and shoulder pain🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

Good vid, my friend. I was clueless for years and your suggestions are all totally solid and agree with what i've learned about my les pauls.

Darrell, you need to get a SG and do a video on it, so I can watch and like it! Just do it!

Some useful tips here. I own an LTD EC256, which is a bit of modern take on the LP, but the saddle and all that stuff is virtually standard. After watching this video I raised the saddle to get less of an angle on the strings, and also lowered the bridge pickup and found myself liking it even more instantly. It may be a placebo effect of course, but raising that saddle must make for less tension and probably help the guitar stay in tune. Next up, going up a step in string-gauge. I find myself being one of those who digs in pretty hard when I play which means that I kind of force the strings out of tune. Thicker strings will probably help.

I actually went down in gauge on my 339 and it’s the exact feel and sound I was looking for. I liked the guitar before, but it’s my dream guitar now.

#2 Tuning Stability: Wrap your strings correctly, this greatly improves tuning stability. You can also install locking tuners, preferably ones where you're not having to drill new mounting holes. String changes with locking tuners is so so so so so much faster! Great vid as usual!

Man, the blue Les Paul is absolutely beautiful. I wish Gibson sold a Les Paul Modern with that finish.

If the weight issue resonates with any viewer, I would highly recommend Epiphone's 2014 Les Paul Florentine. I absolutely adore mine. Sounds and feels exactly like a Paul, at about 2/3 the weight. They made an ES Les Paul that is even lighter still, but the neck dive can be strong. Plus, the Florentine model retains all of the back panel access for easy pickup and pot replacement.

Hey to Darrell Thanks for the vid ( and all of the others that you do ) My 2 cents I've owned a few Les Pauls over the years. A proper set up is crucial. Either learn to do it yourself ( which I did ) or take it to a tech you trust. Next is strings. Different manufacturers have different characteristics - sound and feel. I prefer Ernie Balls I buy Ernie Ball separates and do a custom set .10 .14 .18w .26w .36w .48w I play blues , R&B and rock And the key to that is the 18 wound on the G

I started using a “String Butler” on my Les Paul and, they work surprisingly well. Also, a device called a “String Stretcha” works incredibly well and I use it for all string changes. I use StringJoy 9.5’s and wholeheartedly recommend them.

I have a basic Gibson Les Paul special with p90s, maple neck. So amazing. It’s like my strat Gibson equal. Not flashy, functional and sounds amazing/feels great.

That graphite pencil trick works. I do it with all my guitars when I maintenance/string change them. I have a guitar with a Bigsby on it (which are notorious for slipping out of tune) and that thing is always in tune.

I'll take the hated guitar off your hands.

Ha! Number 5! I bought this Les Paul because I have always wanted one and when I first saw it…it was beautiful! It was amber and a nice flamed top. I picked it up and thought that it wasn’t as heavy (8.2lbs) as all the others I have hefted over the years. So…I bought it then and there. However, I never liked that I didn’t have good access to the upper frets. (Anything higher than E at the 12th was a struggle) I started to hate it and regretting buying it. I tried for years to offer it up to somebody for much cheaper than I paid for it. (I paid $3200 cad back in 2007 (?)) No takers. Thank .god! Because I had a really think gauge strings laying around to put on an acoustic (011’s) and thought that I would put them on the LP and tune it down a whole step. Wow!!!! I love this guitar!!!!! Now I can play really low and write new stuff to boot! So glad I am rotten at selling stuff. In truth, I’d rather gift it to a kid who was showing promise and would love the thing. Sorry, again, for the essay. Lol

Thank you Darrell. I learned something about the saddle and tail piece. Have been getting buzzing from my saddle and just had no idea why. Was totally putting me off from playing my guitar .

So true. I’m looking for my perfect Les Paul .. great points

Les Paul is easy to fix. Just add body, neck joint and forearm contours, balance it, reduce the weight, fix the nut, reduce thickness, change headstock angle, re-carve the neck, re-fret to stainless steel, swap to lock-in tuners and you're set. Simple and easy! Something everyone can do at home.

You have restored my faith in Canadians with your wisdom sir!

Thanks for the suggestions.

Hey! Darrell, great video. Now could you please do the same video with a cheap Squier. Please 🙏

Great advice, love it. Bone nut well slotted as well.

Les Paul’s are like a Porsche 911. Just because the design is old school, and many other brands have more modern design and features, doesn’t mean it isn’t still awesome at what it does. It’s rough when you first use it, but the more you do, the more you fall in love with it.

Wow, that was an interesting list, Darrell, including a few things I'd never heard/thought of. Thanks for another very informative video! 👍👍👍

Strictly my opinion but try to know what guitar you are getting for what it is. LP'S are awesome they may not be for everyone. Great video

I appreciated the point that a les paul is an older design and has its own unique quirks. At the end of the day...over 25,000 of them, its still objectively a functional, effective design that has been used in every genre of music that incorporates an electric 6 string. It's little over rated thanks to a handful of musicians waving them around on stage like a scepter of musical royalty, but still a great choice and one of my personal favorites. As long as people have ears they'll want to hear electric guitars, as long as people have hands they'll want to play them regardless of whatever the hell gibson is or is not doing.

My strings START at 11! Take that Nigel Tufnel!

it's hard to live with 50's designed instruments. Les Paul, Strat, Tele, Flying V, ES 335. They are just outdated designs used by modern players but it's hard to live without them too. I can't play any guitar comfortably as I do with my Flying V even if it's just a Les Paul with an airplane shape.

That's the same with a Stratocaster... You love it or you hate it for the tones or for the body shape or whatever... To understand that every guitar construction has is special character and charm is also the first step to understand why music is versatile... Metal, blues, rock and all other music styles... So we have to find out what we want and than we have to choose the right guitar for it and for our personality...

I'm a drummer first or was but more a keys man now. I'm on my second LP a 1960 Tribute Plus in Black Cherry with Gibson pickups& wiring love it. I've learned you need to let these things out of the case to breathe more or out of tune they go as they've a mind of their own!

I been playing Stratocasters from back in the 80's got a Gibson LP standard in 2017 love the rap over the bridge with the strings.

I learn so much from your videos. This one is excellent! Thank you from a proud Gibson Les Paul Standard owner! Edit: When I first got it, it did not sound as amazing. I got some Stringjoy Signature 10/48's and replaced the stock strings. Now it is one of the two best sounding guitars I own (PRS Paul's Guitar is the other). Just passing it on in case anyone wonders about those strings on a Les Paul.

As always great content. Very user friendly information. Thanks for sharing these tips.

I absolutely love both of my Les Pauls. I was pretty surprised when you mentioned tuning issues, because I've never had tuning issues with either. I barely have to touch the tuners after playing for days. I also like the hefty weight. It feels like I'm playing a solid substantial instrument. But you're right that proper set up is key and can make or break any guitar, cheap or expensive.

I got a Czech Republic Epiphone Les Paul that plays fantastic. It was not in proper shape when I got it, but I changed alot of the components and did a setup. Now its probably my favourite guitar I have.

I was about to sell my les Paul. But I started to use more the tone and volumes knobs and now its my no 1 guitar 😂 so true it does everything. Sometimes we just want to trade the guitar because we don't wanna see what we have

Excellent Video Sir! My Les Paul will get back into playing rotation thanks to your helpful tips! \m/

Top wrapping was a game changer for me. Made the guitar feel so much more alive somehow.

Adjust the pickups and pole pieces, if you change the strings, stretch them, do a properly setup and tonation, turn all your controls on the guitar back a liiiitle bit, use stereo cables and the best amp you can afford aaaaand have fun 😄🥳👍 🐈

I use 7 or 8's and the clarity and note separation is phenomenal, holds tune after the strings break in some and I couldn't be happier.....

I have a Les Paul, that I loved to play when I got it. But overtime it's been sitting in the case, unplayed. I decided to bump up the string gauge from 9's to 10/48 hybrids, do a little setup. Now it's a beast of a guitar, feels so satisfying to pull a powerful bend :D Next time, I'll try the top wrap

Hi Darrell, try your pencil trick on the saddles as well. Oil does work, but depending on the type there is risk in it getting sticky over time and collecting gunk. I like the application technique (q-tip)... it drastically reduces the chance of getting too much on or having it go in the wrong spots. Love the videos, keep up the great work!

I have a 2019 Gibson Les Paul Tribute that plays better than most Standards I've played. I have Gotoh locking tuners, and a self lubricating nut. I also have a butler string thingy. Thing is a beast. It's a satin honeyburst, although your blue one makes me wanna sell mine and get yours LOL. Great video as always. You're amazing.

Ha! You make me feel guilty over my les Paul! It's a 1960 old heavy beast! After 4 hrs my shoulder feels it!. I also have a high end 1984 stratocaster. Most of the time I use my mexican special edition modded twice the cost. I use 10s on all of them. You reassured me I will never let go of my les paul. Great video! ☺️

I've said it before and I'll say it again, a 24 fret HSS strat with a versatile swt of pickups, a Floyd and a tremol-no unit installed will give you all the versatility you'll ever need in a guitar. It will do any song in any genre flawlessly (Also: pro tip for anyone rewiring a strat - make it a neck/middle Vol, bridge Vol, master tone control set-up. You can turn the neck and middle all the way up for leads with the bridge backed off slightly, all the way down with the bridge on max for switching to cleans, or use it as a killswitch like on a Les Paul)

I have an ‘87 custom lite.. I can’t say I ever hated it…but I can certainly understand why someone would…oh and for tuning issues with “older” LP don’t overlook your bridge..they can collapse in the middle and cause all types of problems… replaced mine with a tone pros and it brought it back to life in a way I never thought possible!!

The wide strap works! Also, let's give a tune-o-matic bridge a shoutout for allowing bending in tune.

Well done Sir.

Also too appreciate your les paul. Listen too some old frampton or the LRB. Their sound was outstanding!

These are great! Going to try 11s with a setup.

I like that cool guitar LP. It's amazing a one of the best model of the guitar history.

Love the Les Paul sound and looks amazing. Comfort and build can be hit or miss for me.

What a great video. I guess I'm in the case of ignorance is bliss. My first and only electric was a Les Paul. So it's kinda all I know. But I wasn't aware of many of these tips.

Darrell, should you ever decide to "thin the herd", please keep my contact info. for that blue Standard. Love that combo.

I use the kliq aircell guitar strap. I have a hefty goldtop LP standard and it would really wear my shoulder and back out. I ended up with the short version of the strap which worked out better because the guitar is closer to my body. The kliq air cell has made a big difference.