The gibson les pauls are not the same as all the other guitars, most of the high pricing is do to the quality of wood they use, mahogany, rosewood, this is why they are so heavy, and why they get such a beautiful sound, resonation from the wood. pickups are a lot of the sound you get , but so is the quality of wood the guitar is made out of. the rest is in your fingers.Even though the quality of wood is the best, I still think it is overpriced. as far as tele master saying his tele weighs more than a les paul that really boggles my mind, I have two les pauls, a tele, and a jackson, my tele is way lighter than any of them ??? Ive had my les pauls for thirty years so Im a little bias on anything else. lol. ROCK ON