Scalloped neck opinion

Im thinking about getting my Gib. Les Paul special scalloped from the 9th fret and up and replacing the bridge pickup(i think thats the pick up thats mainly used for solo, i get them confused)with a dimarzio (sp?) pickup
any comments??
and has anyone played on a scalloped neck and are Di marzzio(sp?) pickups any good?

Don't do it.

what exactly happens to/is a "scalloped neck"? sure sounds painfull though!

From what I've heard about les paul neck joints it might make more sense getting the scalloping done on a guitar that's more playable in the upper register.

Dimarzio pickups are good if they fit your preference. I like them, but at the same time lots of people prefer their emgs, or Seymour Duncans, or Bare Knuckles, or whatever. It's more personal perference than anything else. Same with which pickup you use for solos, use whatever sounds best to you.

Originally posted by Jimmi431
what exactly happens to/is a "scalloped neck"? sure sounds painfull though!

hmmmmm....i think ill keep the pickups but why dont some of you tihnk i should get the neck scalloped...i knoe itds a different feeling but it has its advantages

Scalloping is fairly expensive and I don't think it would be easily justified on a LP.

Originally posted by ketsueki15
hmmmmm....i think ill keep the pickups but why dont some of you tihnk i should get the neck scalloped...i knoe itds a different feeling but it has its advantages

Nothing wrong with a scalloped neck, I have two guitars with scalloped necks. But on a Les Paul...?

I think the big question is.... Have you actually ever played a scalloped neck, or are you just going by what other people have said about it. I have a few guitars with scalloped necks, some scalloped from the 12th fret on, some completely scalloped, some like my green JEM, only scalloped on the last 4 frets. I like them a lot, but my favorite guitar that I play more than others doesn't have a scalloped board. It's personal preference but I would suggest playing a guitar with a scalloped fingerboard for a few hours before taking the file to your Les Paul. I would, if I didn't know anyone with a guitar like that, would go buy a cheap guitar like a Jay Turser Strat ($150) and take a 3 corner file, a half round file, and some masking tape to protect the frets somewhat, and do a scallop job on the neck myself, then play the **** out of it. It's not a hard job to do yourself, but it is time consuming.

thanks...i always get them confused for some reason
You have got a point.... do you tihnk a scalloped neck would ruin my Les paul??
Ive played one once but not long enough to decide...no of the stores around me have scalloped necks..
Would getting a better pick up be a bad idea?? or should i leave the pick ups

Eh, I scallop my necks.

Its not expensive, its free because I do it myself.

Try playing one before you do it though. If you like it, cool, do it to one of your guitars. But if you don't, don't even bother with it.

Whether it would ruin you Les Paul or not, thats up to how well you do it, and whether you like scalloped necks at all :P

For the pickups it's always a good idea trying out pickups before buying them, or making sure there's a good return/exchange policy. Sound and tone is a very personal preference.

If you can't try out a specific pickup or if you're only going off descriptions of stuff online (which can be dangerous, byw), try out stuff between companies to find which company you like best and then use their customer support to help pick one out. Those guys always know a rediculous amount about which pickups work for different people and setups.

thanx...i was going to get it done by the tech person at guitar center in Atlanta Georgia but im afraid it will be to different...will it change the way my Les Paul sounds since hes gonna be carving wood out?? I think ill stick with the Humbuckers i have

hmmm okay so not only does it sound painfull it also looks it! what advantages does it bring?

i cqn only say that i got my frets 16-24 and 30-36 scalloped and it REALY helps. it takes a bit more practice and sensitivity to play on a FULLY scalloped neck though, since the lower notes can quickly be off when you push a little too hard. but i can totally and absolutely recommend scalloping the higher registers of your guitar.

I've never actually played with a scalloped neck, but that's probably because I very seriously doubt there's a single scalloped fretboard in the entire state of Iowa.

Yeah, thats another advantage of doing it yourself..

MOST luthiers you find at just any guitar shops will pretty much just scallop out the same amount of wood all the way down the neck. When I do it myself, it allows me to control exactly how deep each is. The first fret for example, isn't very deep at all, but up at 24... yeah, its pretty deep.

As for changing your sound, in my experience it will (its a more noticable change on say, strats though). But its a very sbutle difference. And generally can only be heard without very much distortion. I dont' think I've ever heard someone say that it sounded WORSE, just different.

so yo guys dont think that scalloping my guitar from maybe say either the 9th or 12 fret and up would do any damage if i got it done by a pro??

I would think long and hard about it first and then go talk to a guitar tech and see what they tell you. I just value my investment toooooooo much to jump at a whim. YA KNOW?

it will definitely do NO damage to the guitar if done by a pro. not even if you do it yourself carefully. the only thing is, that this process is irreversible. so if you end up NOT liking the feel of scalloped necks, you are boned. but the guitar will still be good.