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gibson bfg les paul
Should I get a Gibson Les Paul Studio or BFG?
I am tring to decide whether I should get the studio or BFG. Which one has more sustain? Which one rocks harder? I play alot of classic rock. I also play Jimi hendrix and red hot chili peppers (please don’t suggest a fender, I already have one). I play some heavy music as well such as “Chiodos” and coheed and cambria. I use a Marshall DSL 401 amp.
I have heard so many good things about the BFG. I heard it is the best les paul ever made, I doubt it, but if people are that happy with it then it must be pretty good. I also like the looks of both guitars, so don’t suggest one because of that.
If you have any personal experience with either guitar, please let me know all you can.
I can’t go and play it because the nearest guitar center doesn’t have any BFGs. So if anyone has played either, just tell me what YOU think. I don’t want to hear anymore of this crap about people not being able to answer my question, just share your own experience of the guitars. Please.
Hi Arthur–
I’ve played both, and while the virtues of either can no doubt be debated endlessly, my personal tendency is towards the Les Paul Studio. Looks and/or price have nothing to do with it; it’s simply a matter of versatility. The P-90 neck pickup is a single coil, so if you ever decide you want the sweet sound of a Les Paul neck humbucker going through a fully-distorted Marshall, it ain’t gonna happen with a BFG. Besides, you stated you already have a Fender, so there’s your weapon of choice if you want that bell-like clarity of a single-coil neck pickup. Further, that P-90 isn’t a standard humbucker size, so if ever you want to go for maximum versatility and swap out the guitar’s pickups for, say, some EMGs, you’d be faced with the dilemma of either an active/passive hybrid pickup setup (EMG-bridge and P-90-neck), or routing out the BFG’s neck pickup socket to accomodate the standard humbucker size. Neither situation would I recommend, hence my inclination towards the LP Studio. Nothing is quite as guttural or has the “oomph” of a real neck humbucker, and if ever you want more of that “oomph” from your Les Paul Studio, swapping out the stock humbuckers in favor of some EMGs is a snap as they fit perfectly in its existing pickup sockets.
Hope this helps— Please let us know what you decide to do; us music gearheads are ALWAYS interested in the “how” and “why” of such things!!
P.S. Your first answer (David) also makes a great suggestion: try both at a music store under similar conditions. Further, have somebody you know play the same riff/lick through both guitars without you knowing which is which, and let your ears help you make the call.
Gibson Les Paul BFG
