Guitar Weight. Does it matter?

[msmith4432]

I am about to buy a new guitar, I'm getting a Prs McCarty, he is my question there is one that I can get a good deal on it it's 6lbs 7 oz.. most mccartys are over 7lbs, the light weight concerns me. Of course I can pay full price and get slew of the from 7 pounds to 7.5 pounds.
What have your experienced been with lightweight guitars, I will have to buy this guitar over the internet so I don't have the luxury of checking it out until I have bought it. Thanks for your opinions and inputs

[a.hun]

If it plays well, sounds good, has nice sustain and resonance, well the weight doesn't matter ultimately.
Important to play any instrument acoustically first before plugging in. You can weed out poor ones that way, if they are crap acoustically they'll still be crap amplified. But you can get great sustain and resonance with heavy or light instruments, though there are some general differences.

Personally I prefer lighter instruments. Doesn't mean I wouldn't buy a heavier one. In fact the last electric I bought (my second Squier CV Tele) is a HEAVY lump at >4.2kg. (For comparison my other two Teles are about 3.3 and 3.65kg.) I'd hate to have to gig it, it is heavier than all but one of my basses! But that is fine, it sits at a mates place purely for recording and it records brilliantly.

A mate (who prefers slightly heavier guitars) describes the (general) differences very well:
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https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... st-3291039" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... st-1236003" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FWIW I'd never buy an instrument without having tried it myself hands on...


Andy.

[msmith4432]

Thank for the input! Unfortunately I have no other choice but to buy over the net, I have bought many that way and gotten some really good ones, 1 amazing one a couple really mediocre ones and one that was the most dead guitar I have ever owned.

[a.hun]

Well it is just pure pot luck then...


Andy.

[Stu Cazz]

Wood density makes a difference.
With an electric I dare to say the most influencial parts to the sound would be the neck and it's fretboard material.
Other things that people ofter forget are action and pickup height.
You can mess up an excellent instrument with the wrong action, you will notice even unplugged.
Once trough an amp, if the pickups are to close to the strings you can kiss your "tone" goodbye!
All of the above matters much more to me than weight.

[msmith4432]

Let me reframe my question, I am familiar with age old debate of heavier and lighter guitars such as low end and reonomce and all the many many nuances. However would it deter you or concern you to buy a guitar that is about 1 pound lighter than 99% of the other guitars that are the same make and model. It would be like finding an LP standard that was 7.5 pounds

[Les Paul Lover]

7lb5 is about the weight of my LP Standard faded (chambered, from 2008). A great instrument, bought online due to lack of option where I lived at the time.

They were selling like hot cakes anyway, few shop had any in store.

As for that PRS I dunno, but SG are pretty light guitars and pretty ace to play..... I bet my SG is less than 7lb.

[bclaire]

Normally, I would say weight matters - the lighter mahogany that Gibson used in the 50's really contributed to the sound, and lighter Teles sound better than the super dense ash that Fender used in the 70's. (I used to have a '73 Tele and there was nothing I could do to make it sound better)

That said, personally I don't feel that PRS's sound like anything in general so I don't know that weight is going to affect that any...

[msmith4432]

Normally, I would say weight matters - the lighter mahogany that Gibson used in the 50's really contributed to the sound, and lighter Teles sound better than the super dense ash that Fender used in the 70's. (I used to have a '73 Tele and there was nothing I could do to make it sound better)

That said, personally I don't feel that PRS's sound like anything in general so I don't know that weight is going to affect that any...

I remember how you feel about Prs.. and honestly I felt the same way for years. I have been diehard LP player but I have played some excellent Prs guitars lately and own 1 really good Prs, so I have had a change of heart concerning Prs.

I had an LP standard that was probably a little under 8, however I have never owned a guitar that was under 7 pounds so that's what concerns me.

[Ronnie Robinson]

Personally I think there are numerous factors than make a good sounding guitar and the weight as a stand alone factor is not important especially if that guitar is a bit lighter.

The worst guitar I've ever had was was. 9ib Gibson LP traditional.....It sounded rubbish! And was a good example of a guitar whose parts were not working as a whole.

Nowadays I predominately play SGs ...They play and sound great and are obviously light (not sure on the weight).


I've owned a PRS McCarthy in the past it was a very good guitar ..... I think you should go for it

[msmith4432]

Personally I think there are numerous factors than make a good sounding guitar and the weight as a stand alone factor is not important especially if that guitar is a bit lighter.

The worst guitar I've ever had was was. 9ib Gibson LP traditional.....It sounded rubbish! And was a good example of a guitar whose parts were not working as a whole.

Nowadays I predominately play SGs ...They play and sound great and are obviously light (not sure on the weight).


I've owned a PRS McCarthy in the past it was a very good guitar ..... I think you should go for it

I'm leaning toward the 7.5 lb guitar.. that's is still light for me as I have always played LPs and my main one is 9lbs on the dot. So I think much lighter than 7.5 would just feel weird hanging on my neck

[a.hun]

Let me reframe my question, I am familiar with age old debate of heavier and lighter guitars such as low end and reonomce and all the many many nuances. However would it deter you or concern you to buy a guitar that is about 1 pound lighter than 99% of the other guitars that are the same make and model. It would be like finding an LP standard that was 7.5 pounds

Nope, wouldn't worry me!


Andy.

[PBA]

Weight would not particularly bother me. What WOULD bother me was one guitar with a surprisingly low price and a different weight to nearly all other similar guitars. I'd be especially worried if the guitar was made by a company who claim to focus heavily on quality and consistency; a company like PRS...

[msmith4432]

Weight would not particularly bother me. What WOULD bother me was one guitar with a surprisingly low price and a different weight to nearly all other similar guitars. I'd be especially worried if the guitar was made by a company who claim to focus heavily on quality and consistency; a company like PRS...

I fully agree. It was the lightest McCarty I have ever seen and it was brand new and about $750 cheaper than retail in that model.. I ordered the other one today

[a.hun]

Well, who knows? TBH though not a particular PRS fan myself, they are one of the makes I'd be slightly less unlikely to buy 'blind'. Simply because of their superior consistency. So (just to be cruel! ) maybe you were missing out on a really nice one there, just because of it's lower than normal weight. Though chances are, yes, it probably wouldn't have been so heavily discounted if it really was a cracker. Who knows though?

Hope the one you do get is stunning. I've played a few PRS guitars, all of which were 'nice enough I suppose', but one of which really was a beauty. (Had P.90s whatever it was, a really superb guitar.)