Quote (PSPZorZ @ Jun 13 2010 07:06pm)
It's not "an LP". It's "a LP" as in, "a Les Paul".
Nobody literally would speak and call one an EL-PEE. It's a Les Paul, LP = internet abbreviation that is never spoken.
An LP would be grammatically correct in both verbal and written English forms. People speak in abbreviated forms all the time. "Watch the NBA game last night?" "The tempo of this song is 140 Bpm." "Get that new blackberry from RIM?"
My personal opinion on the LP, (other correct form 'the' since it's not any abbreviated LP it's the specific one in mention) is it's a short scale with a small body. This creates two problems for me in a studio. Scale means it's intonation is really tricky to get bang on. For rock and heavier forms of music or even live, the intonation can but hidden amongst the overdrive or noise so it's not that bad, but clean sounds tend to sound out of tune. The body size is a drag to play sitting down which is done quit frequently in the studio. Ever notice how uncomfortable it is to play one of these suckers on your lap? It was designed by a 5'2" dood. Doesn't fit most poeple.
On the other hand, if you always play standing up and you just love to play LP's, (you could drop the article all together and say LP without 'an' or 'the' but in any case, 'a' would be totally incorrect unless you say/write 'Les Paul' which he didn't) then go for it. What was it Zappa said? "Buy the instrument that sings to you." What ever guitar you get the best results from.