Kiwi Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I've come to notice that quite a few recognised guitarists, such as Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton just off the top of my head (although I know for sure that there are quite a few more), usually start out with Gibsons or similar guitars, to wind up with a Fender. Does this imply that Fenders are guitars for the elderly, or is there some other weird reason as to why they slowly turn into Fenderists? I don't speak for myself when saying that some of Pete Townshend's best work was done on an SG, during the strand of golden years with The Who when he used an SG Special. What are your takes on this? I know we've got some Fender guys here that might give us some more insight. I myself sometimes can't understand why someone such as Townshend would've gotten himself a Strat when his SG was so much more "him"... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 You think the SG more more "him," but maybe Pete Townshend disagrees. Clapton started using Strats almost exclusively in 1970 - he wasn't even 30 then. I think for a lot of British artists, Gibson might have been easier to find at the beginning. Fender didn't have a British distributor in the early 60s, so used Gibsons were easier to find than Fenders. George Harrison wanted a Strat from the beginning, thanks to Buddy Holly, but didn't get one (along with John) until 1965. He used Gibsons throughout most of his years with The Beatles, but used Strats quite a bit afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Interesting thought. But look at Page or Beck Wait...doesn't jeff bexk use fenders now? I'm quite happy with gibson guitars....I'll try a Strat eventually, but theres no rush...there is one american made one in my local music shop ( imagine that!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Hmmm, seems those that changed over went with Maple Fretboards. Page, on the other hand, used Rosewood Fretboards and went to a Les Paul. Hmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Well.... I guess I'm about as old as anyone here. Never cared much for Fenders except their basses and amps. I like a flatter fretboard really. I think the way I play lends itself much better to that kinda fretboard, too. I think it'd be kinda cute to have a Tele, but don't care enough to go buy one, even a fake one, although I've wondered about a Gibson style neck/fretboard on a tele body... I don't think it's an age thing at all. Sound maybe. If anything, it seems to me that with age there's a tendency to go increasingly with acoustics or hollowbodies or both, along with playing whatever the heck trips your trigger 'stedda the latest sorta thing. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Well....I guess I'm about as old as anyone here. Never cared much for Fenders except their basses and amps. I like a flatter fretboard really. I think the way I play lends itself much better to that kinda fretboard' date=' too. I think it'd be kinda cute to have a Tele, but don't care enough to go buy one, even a fake one, although I've wondered about a Gibson style neck/fretboard on a tele body... I don't think it's an age thing at all. Sound maybe. If anything, it seems to me that with age there's a tendency to go increasingly with acoustics or hollowbodies or both, along with playing whatever the heck trips your trigger 'stedda the latest sorta thing. m [/quote'] He did say 'recognized' :- :-[biggrin] Sorry...:- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Well... "recognized?" Frankly that's exactly what I meant, but was using some of my own experience to note the acoustic thing, especially. How about Clapton and Knopfler playing acoustic. I didn't see it, but didn't N.Y. play an acoustic at the olympics? Seriously, I think there's a lotta that sorta thing. In fact, I find it kinda interesting how a lotta both rock and country pickers/singers as they get a bit older tend to do more "standards." I'll wager that, like Clapton doing "Nobody knows you when you're down and out," that in his youth he played it, but it just wasn't what would make money. After one becomes a "name," as you noted, it stopped making any difference. Or, as in my case, it never made a difference in the first place. <grin> m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Well.... I guess I'm about as old as anyone here. Never cared much for Fenders except their basses and amps. I like a flatter fretboard really. I think the way I play lends itself much better to that kinda fretboard' date=' too. I think it'd be kinda cute to have a Tele, but don't care enough to go buy one, even a fake one, although I've wondered about a Gibson style neck/fretboard on a tele body... I don't think it's an age thing at all. Sound maybe. If anything, it seems to me that with age there's a tendency to go increasingly with acoustics or hollowbodies or both, along with[b'] playing whatever the heck trips your trigger 'stedda the latest sorta thing. [/b] m The sooner this mind set take hold the better. No matter what level of player you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 They just got "cheap" when they got old. My Dad did the same thing..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I dunno... When I needed the money, I was pretty happy to play lots of stuff that I enjoyed, but... there was more of an audience inclination than my own involved. Long set of stories... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyVader Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I was thinking about this myself...I think it has more to do with attitude and tone....the players you mention now play with less 'distortion' and 'bite'...they have mellowed with age...(Yes even Pete. I saw him with the Who last year)...Strats are also cheaper (though that's not a factor with these guy's) and 'in my opinion' easier to play...they are also way less sexy than their Gibson counterparts...sorry, I played a Strat for years, but I am sooo un-interested in them now...they leave me cold...I guess it's down to personal preference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Well... "recognized?" Frankly that's exactly what I meant' date=' but was using some of my own experience to note the acoustic thing, especially. How about Clapton and Knopfler playing acoustic. I didn't see it, but didn't N.Y. play an acoustic at the olympics? Seriously, I think there's a lotta that sorta thing. In fact, I find it kinda interesting how a lotta both rock and country pickers/singers as they get a bit older tend to do more "standards." I'll wager that, like Clapton doing "Nobody knows you when you're down and out," that in his youth he played it, but it just wasn't what would make money. After one becomes a "name," as you noted, it stopped making any difference. Or, as in my case, it never made a difference in the first place. <grin> m [/quote'] Neil Young has had a lot of folk influence all along. Have you heard the album "Harvest"? It has a lot of acoustic as well as banjo, lap steel, and piano. It's a great album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG fan 420 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Good question Kiwi, I wondered the same thing. I appreciate a good strat or tele, but IMO, nothing has the sexyness or the tone of a Lester or SG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bol316 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I've come to notice that quite a few recognised guitarists' date=' such as Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton just off the top of my head (although I know for sure that there are quite a few more), usually start out with Gibsons or similar guitars, to wind up with a Fender. Does this imply that Fenders are guitars for the elderly, or is there some other weird reason as to why they slowly turn into Fenderists? I don't speak for myself when saying that some of Pete Townshend's best work was done on an SG, during the strand of golden years with The Who when he used an SG Special. What are your takes on this? I know we've got some Fender guys here that might give us some more insight. I myself sometimes can't understand why someone such as Townshend would've gotten himself a Strat when his SG was so much more "him"... Weight ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I think any of us playing in the '60s had a lotta "folk" sorts of influence. And in ways, too, our "folk" stuff hadda lotta pop and rock influence. I remember playing "San Francisco Bay Blues" with harp and kazoo <grin> at a college I transferred to in their "folk festival" and folks just going kinda, "say what?" But within a month I was in a rock band and... hey, it paid better. Nowadays, folks who played in the 60s are getting back to what they like, I think. That includes not only tunes... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Funny...Tony Iommi started out on a Strat--he had an SG for backup, but when the Strat broke down he started using it full-time. Jerry Garcia's time in the spotlight began with a hollow-body (a Guild Starfire.) Near the end of his life, he was mainly using custom-built instruments. In between, he used a wide variety of guitars--a few Fenders, a few Gibsons, a whole bunch of custom-built axes. I've never seen Angus Young or Ace Frehley pick up a Strat. These are exceptions, mind you. I've noticed the trend as well--my guess is that the Fenders are lighter and therefore easier on their aging backs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I'll wager that' date=' like Clapton doing "Nobody knows you when you're down and out," that in his youth he played it, but it just wasn't what would make money. After one becomes a "name," as you noted, it stopped making any difference. Or, as in my case, it never made a difference in the first place. <grin>[/quote'] It's on the Layla album - louder and distorted, but it's the same song he recorded for Unplugged twenty years later with a Martin 000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I dunno... When I needed the money' date=' I was pretty happy to play lots of stuff that I enjoyed, but... there was more of an audience inclination than my own involved. Long set of stories... m [/quote'] Absolutely, the audience gets most of my consideration when picking songs to do at the Gig. But when you're home just playing, or if you're still learning the nuts and bolts, it's good to play what your ear wants to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hlarry14 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 There is an interview with Pete Townshend in the new Premier Guitar (online) magazine where he talks about his guitar choices: http://digital.premierguitar.com/premierguitar/201004_1?fm=2#pg134 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I own, and have for decades, Both Fender (Strat and Telecaster) and Gibson Les Paul's and various Semi's ("Lucille" at the moment). I can make a Strat or Tele mimic a Gibson, fairly easily...but I have NEVER been able to get that Fender Strat "Clean Spanking" single coil tone, from any Gibson, I've ever owned. P-90 equipped Gibby's can (sometimes) come closer...but, still don't have the cut, that a Strat, or even a Tele, has. With mounds of distortion... Sure...but then "who cares" what guitar it is, in that case?! ;>) CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 That's something else I find - some people who insist they won't play anything but Les Pauls, for their sound, have so many effects loaded on top of it that it doesn't matter what guitar it is. I have a song right now with a heavily-distorted guitar track - a lot of people would think it was a Les Paul or some other humbuckery sort of guitar, but the truth is it was recorded with my Martin's undersaddle pickup. It was handy and felt good, and with the effects I have on top of it, it's unrecognizable as an acoustic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG fan 420 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I can make a Strat or Tele mimic a Gibson' date=' fairly easily[/quote']I respectfully beg to differ, I've never heard any strat sound like Tony Iommi's SG on the early Sabbath records, Blackmore's strat is the only one that i've heard that even comes close. Also i've never heard any of Clapton's strats reproduce a tone as fat as "The Fool" on Disraeli Gears. Feel free to discuss[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 It seems to me, very generally, guitarists who are also lead singers eventually gravitate to Strats. Whereas Les Paul players seem to more likely be dedicated to only playing guitar. Of course there are exceptions and nothing is written in stone. Very few guitarists play only one type of guitar anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 For me, I like Single coils for playing lead, and humbuckers for rhythm. Nothing wrong with either of em, just how I feel and the sounds I get. I really want a Strat and a semi hollowbody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I respectfully beg to differ' date=' I've never heard any strat sound like Tony Iommi's SG on the early Sabbath records, Blackmore's strat is the only one that i've heard that even comes close. Also i've never heard any of Clapton's strats reproduce a tone as fat as "The Fool" on Disraeli Gears. Feel free to discuss[biggrin'] Ok...but, I think more of that, is the Amp(s)! I can get much closer, to a Gibson tone, with a Telecaster and an overdriven Marshall (or equiv) (Think of "Led Zeppelin I and a large portion of LZ II...) than I can get a nice clean "twang" of a Fender amp, and said Telecaster, or Strat, from an SG LP, or 335, etc. Your results may differ/vary. That's cool. But, to me....in my experience, I stand by my original statement. But...it's all Good, just different. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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