Why didn't Les Pauls have tremolo bar?

Dean wrote: Two different guitars. I guess really the Gibson Les Paul should be compared to the Telecaster, the Strat with the Gibson SG.

Snow Dog wrote: You could always get a Custom Les Paul with a tremelo arm.

Dean wrote: ^ it's model dependant

Edited by Snow Dog - January 18 2013 at 10:47

OK

SGs are simply less common than LPs, just as Teles are less common than Strats. You can get Teles with and without trems too.

The Les Paul is incredibly popular without anyway. It is obviously not such a desired thing anyway. 

Slartibartfast wrote: Unless I missed something here it was because of the design of the body.

Yeah, installation is trickier on guitars with a carved top versus a flat top. Lots of Floyd Rose users prefer the tremolo flush with the bridge. This saves the tuning of the other five strings if a string breaks. This is not an option on the Les Paul for some physical design reason. If memory serves me, it's because the strings do not come in from the back through the body of the guitar as they do on Strats and Strat-like guitars. They come from the front on a Les Paul through the bridge.   To have it flush, you actually have to gauge a hole in the body for the tremolo to pivot downward. I've seen one customized like this at a second hand shop, very distressing. I could only hope it was an imitation Les Paul.   A Floyd Rose on a Les Paul needs to be elevated or "floating". You can get the elevated or "floating" installation of a Floyd Rose on a Les Paul Classic Custom, the kind Steve Hackett has. I wanted one of these but it's a little shy of twice as much as the Les Paul Classic Plus that I now sleep with.

Edited by HackettFan - January 21 2013 at 08:24

Because trems are garbage bridges.  Kills sustain, intonation & tuning integrity, especially in the 1950s

cstack3 wrote: Triceratopsoil wrote: Because trems are garbage bridges.  Kills sustain, intonation & tuning integrity, especially in the 1950s Good answer!  The Les Paul was originally intended as an upscale guitar, and Les himself saw it more for jazz-clubs, dance bands etc.  (especially the "Black Beauty" Les Paul Custom).  One of the tonal secrets to the Les Paul, and the source of its amazing sustain, is its construction and integrity of design...the carved top is a cap of flame maple glued onto a solid mahogany body...this cap is very hard and allows the energy from the vibrating strings to propagate from nut to bridge, providing a nice ringing sustain.  Players who have used this to maximum advantage include Fripp and Hackett.   Although certain Gibson guitar designs (SG, Flying V) have used the Gibson "vibrola," I don't think they were ever used on the Les Paul.  The Vibrola isn't bad, but tuning is a problem & I only know a few who used it extensively (Andy Powell of Wisbhone Ash comes to mind).  A few players installed Bigsby vibratos on their LPs, but those are notorious sustain killers!  http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=646376 Fripp is an interesting character....although he used a non-trem Les Paul Custom through much of the formative years of King Crimson, he adopted the Roland synth-guitar system for the "Discipline" era, and his guitar had a factory trem (I've spoken to him about it).  I think Adrian Belew, who was a "Twang-Bar King," had an influence on Bob!!   Later on (Thrak period), Bob had the Fernandes company in Japan build him a Les Paul Custom copy that incorporated advanced synth pickups, Fernandes sustainer, and built-in trem!!   His 1953 LP Custom was far too valuable to risk traveling with, and the new Fernandes guitar allowed him to trigger synth patches such as Mellotron samples....amazing to watch!!   This guitar is the secret weapon behind his "Soundscapes" techniques: http://fernandesguitars.com/the-news/547-robert-fripp-soundscapes-in-new-york-city.html I own both trem-equipped guitars (Charvel Model 6) and non-trem guitars (Les Paul etc.).  At most, I use the trem to impart a slight "wiggle" or shimmer to notes, particularly during solos.  I avoid the hair-metal "dive bomb" sound effect completely, as I don't think it is a very dignified/musical tone!  Players using trems on Les Pauls these days include Steve Hackett and Alex Lifeson, who has a Gibson signature LP including a whammy!   http://gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-Custom/Alex-Lifeson-Les-Paul-Axcess.aspx Oops, sorry for the dissertation!!