Heavy guitars are terrible

I'm not talking about tone, I'm talking about weight.

Above is a Schecter C-1 FR-S in a color called Charcoal Grey. This is a fine guitar...

...but the damned thing weighs over 8 pounds from what I could find out about the instrument. And this is why I would never buy it.

For what it's built for, the C-1 FR-S probably plays and sounds amazing. But I could never be comfortable playing one standing or seated. It's just not happening.

Anyone who says weight = better tone is an idiot

There are some guitarists - mostly Les Paul Players - who say that it is the weight of the guitar which brings the sinfully sweet "sustain for days" notes.

No. Wrong. It doesn't. Not back in the day, not now, not ever.

I use Les Paul guitar fans as the people who use the weight argument the most because it is they by default who own the heaviest guitars. While certainly true that not all Les Pauls are heavy, the poor souls that buy the Traditional model have to deal with a guitar that typically weighs over 9.5 pounds. And the Standard? The 2019 model is "only" about 8 to 8.5lbs.

All I have to say to the Les Paul guys is this: Go play an ES-335. It's typically under 8 pounds. You will love it. Noodle a little bit on one of those and you will never use that stupid heavy-guitar argument ever again. If you're willing to pay over 3 grand for a Les Paul, then you're willing to pay over 3 grand for an ES-335.

Like carpal tunnel? Use thick strings

It's usually also true that those who "prefer" heavy guitars "prefer" thick strings too. That's a one-way ticket to hand damage. As in permanent hand damage. As in damage that the body cannot heal. Ever.

Fender sends most of their electric guitars from the factory with a .009 to .042 string set installed. Gibson sends their electric guitars with .010 to .046 sets. There's a reason for that. It's because those set sizes are appropriate.

The only time I can see heavier strings being appropriate on electrics is in two situations. Either for someone that plays tuned down to D standard or lower, or someone that plays jazz. And the jazz player isn't playing a Strat or a Les Paul, mind you. He's playing a semi-hollow or hollow body, which the Strat and Les Paul aren't.

If it's heavy, it goes back

There have been more than a few times when I've gone to the guitar store, see a guitar I like on the wall, pick it up and then immediately put it right back because it was too heavy. I can tell almost instantly if a guitar is too heavy just from picking it up by its neck before even sitting down with it.

If the guitar fails the weight test, one word enters my mind: NOPE.

On a final note, one of the heaviest electric guitars I've ever picked up is one that will probably surprise you. It was a Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster. As I've come to know, that guitar is typically 9 pounds, which for a Telecaster is nuts. Most Teles are usually a little over 7.5lbs, and that includes both Fender and Squier. But for whatever reason, the pine body used on the CV '50s is Les Paul "boat anchor" heavy. Whatever pine is being used for that specific guitar is some seriously dense stuff. Good guitar? Yes, great guitar, in fact. But it's a boat anchor. If you happen to own one that's not 9 pounds, you're one of the lucky ones that didn't get a back-breaker guitar.

Published 2019 Mar 22