Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Les Paul v.s. Strat


Icon

Recommended Posts

I would burst into tears and sell all my gear if I was made to play just the strat.

I like to have the strat for the different sound but at home I play only my Epiphones.

 

Les Pauls and other Gibson style guitars are just so much more comfortable for me.

I'm constantly picking the middle pickup on the strat, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 80
  • Created
  • Last Reply

 

You have a preconception about Teles. People like Jimmy Page recorded a lot of Zeppelin "Les Paul-stuff" with a tele. Frampton remarked his tele sounded like the fattest Les Paul he ever played. Bluesrockers like Black Crowes seem to favour them. And Richie Kotzen and Guthrie Govan' date=' 2 contempary "shredders" go far beyond what is considered Tele-realm.

 

[/quote']

 

+1 and lets not forget Jeff Beck and his esquire.....a tele can be the meanest sounding axe around with the right setup....sure they can twang with the best of em...but they bite plenty hard too! Tele's are alot like LP Juniors to me...a plank with very simple electronics and strings on it...but they ROCK!

 

On Strats....probably the most comfortable of all guitars for me to play....I never hit the knobs ...in fact on LP's I find myself wishing the volume knobs were closer....to each his own I guess. I love em all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...but i do find the middle pup to be in the way so' date=' I occasionally scrape against it during solos...[/quote']

 

I do too! Since I usually use the neck or bridge pickup anyway, my middle pickup spends 99% of the time lowered to be flush with the pickguard.

 

You have a preconception about Teles. People like Jimmy Page recorded a lot of Zeppelin "Les Paul-stuff" with a tele. Frampton remarked his tele sounded like the fattest Les Paul he ever played. Bluesrockers like Black Crowes seem to favour them. And Richie Kotzen and Guthrie Govan' date=' 2 contempary "shredders" go far beyond what is considered Tele-realm.[/quote']

 

Agreed. Don't forget Tom Morello! Plays a Tele on really hard rock songs all the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This kind of thinking on the surface might seem innocuous or immature but it can be ultimately dangerous:

 

My guitar is better than yours

My music's better than yours

My car's better than yours

My family's better than yours

I'm better than you

My girlfriend's better than yours

My house is better than yours

My town is better than yours

My lifestyle is better than yours

My religion is better than yours

My political party is better than yours

My country is better than yours.

Our guns, planes and bombs are better than yours

 

 

That being said, a quote from the Dan

 

I stepped upon the platform

The man gave me the news

He said you must be joking son

Where did you get those shoes?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My main axe used to be an Epi Les Paul Deluxe. Y'know, the one with the mini-humbuckers, that you can't really find these days (I think it was made circa 2000). About a year ago, I replaced it's "favored-guitar" status with my new Strat. Lately, I've been playing both about equally, depending on the music:

 

What I like about my Strat:

- It's VERY versitile. With five pickup options, it's easy to get different sounds with just the guitar and an amp.

- All things being equal, it's cleaner. I can set my volume on about six and go from clean to bitey with just right-hand attack differences.

- It gets a nice "poppy" sound for blues

- With the longer neck, it's got higher tension and action. I prefer that in general, 'cuz I can dig in almost as if it were an acoustic (I like 11's for my strings)

- It's very comfortable to play.

 

What I like about my Les Paul:

- The "woman" tone. There's something that's just super-smooth about an LP's neck pickup and a closed tone with Marshall amp. Talk about classic!

- Independent volume controls per pickup. I can set my neck pickup with high volume and my bridge pickup with low volume to get a "radical dynamic shift" with a flip of my pickup selector switch. Very useful in grunge and '90s alternative rock.

- With the shorter neck, it's "faster" than my Strat. I discovered this especially while learning to play Led Zeppilin's "Rock and Roll." I have troubles playing that song on the Strat, but it's easy on the LP.

- All other things being equal, the LP rocks more than the Strat, 'cuz of the higher-gain pickups.

 

The best thing about having both an LP Deluxe and a Strat is that their volumes are close enough not to need to change up my settings when I switch from one to another. The LP is a *bit* louder, but that mostly comes out with more distortion. Mini-humbuckers and single-coils are pretty close, though.

 

I think my next guitar would either end up being an Epi Dot (i.e. 335 clone) or a Fender Telecaster, 'cuz they're both so different from my current setup that it only expands the family.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whenever I think a Tele might be too 'country' I just think of ol' Bruce Springsteen. Thing about a Tele is that it will cut through any mix. I like 'em all but I tend to use P-90 or humbucker-equipped guitars a lot these days mostly because three of the guys I play with use Teles and the rest use Strats...whole lot o' twangin' going on.

 

tele2.jpg

Squier Tele Standard, with maple neck from a Tele Custom, single ply 5-hole black PG, and Fender Vintage Telecaster pickups.

 

To answer the original question, any blanket statement that one guitar is simply 'better' than another is silly and not worth considering. Too many variables to be taken into consideration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Apples and Oranges!" Both are great guitars, as are many others! And, many guitarist have both,

or many different models... for different applications/tones. No one guitar can do it all! Beyond that...mostly personal preference, I'd have to say!

 

So, there really is no "better or worse," just different.

 

CB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This kind of thinking on the surface might seem innocuous or immature but it can be ultimately dangerous:

 

My guitar is better than yours

My music's better than yours

My car's better than yours

My family's better than yours

I'm better than you

My girlfriend's better than yours

My house is better than yours

My town is better than yours

My lifestyle is better than yours

My religion is better than yours

My political party is better than yours

My country is better than yours.

Our guns' date=' planes and bombs are better than yours[/quote']

 

Very very true. An even worse situation is the one where 'I don't like that' suddenly becomes 'that sucks'. I don't like Heavy Metal music all that much; however that's not to automatically say 'it sucks'. Same for Country music, which gives me the heebie-jeebies but nonetheless I have to realize that for millions of people, it is their favourite. Keep your mind as open as possible and who knows what new frontiers you can explore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love both my Strat and my Les Paul. Funny, I never had a problem with the volume knob on my Strat, but that could be because that is the guitar I learned on. I like using it for volume swells while picking. I do often hit the switch on my LP though. If you really want an awkward guitar to play, try my Steinie!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To add to the discussion of Telecasters being "country" sounding --- well, yeah, they can twang like crazy, and Leo Fender developed the Tele with country players in mind (rock and roll hadn't been invented yet!!)

 

But all of the following are heavily associated with Telecasters, and ain't NONE of 'em country!

 

Jimmy Page (early Zep)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's)

Joe Strummer (Clash)

Andy Summers (Police)

Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders)

Mike Stern (fusion monster --- played with Miles Davis)

Prince

Willie James Fulton (Tower of Power)

Roy Buchanan

Steve Morse

Albert Collins

George Harrison (the rosewood model seen in "Let it Be" and also used on "Abbey Road")

 

Pretty amazing that the first production model solidbody electric got so much right and is still a classic design almost 60 years later!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Play a Strat.

 

Play a Les Paul.

 

Get a BC Rich Bich so you can giggle over the name (I actually like the black Warlock my friend has...).

 

Get a Rickenbacker semi-acoustic so everyone can ridicule you with their Dot or Sheraton.

 

Then order any generic Ibanez guitar (not bass) and use the headstock to spear your friend with it for liking a Fender over a Gibson.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems to me that most professional players have some kind of LP and some kind of Strat.

 

Eric Johnson has an SG and a Stratocaster.

 

Herman Li played an S and now has a signature Ibanez guitar that's an S with a freaking awesome finish and DiMarzio pickups; Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, etc. also play such guitars.

 

Iommi plays a Gibson SG as far as I know (his own signature model).

 

I can't name anyone who plays anything outside Fender, Gibson, and Ibanez primarily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel sorry for the guys that have to have one be "better" than the other. I love all styles of guitars and realize the flaws and strengths in each design. I started playing with Strats and when I finally tried some other types of guitars I was appalled. I said hell no, the Strat just feels right! But I thought to myself man, I love the guitar and look at all those players who just smoke on the Les Paul. It took me a bit longer to get acquainted with the Paul but now that I am I feel like all types of guitars and neck shapes are ok. I don't mind the differences and can play them all. Since I love collecting as well as playing this is just a bonus. To say one is better is just ludicrous and a disservice do oneself. The more the merrier! So now I can sit down and go from an Epi LP, to a Gibson Es335, to a Strat, a tele a PRS and a Martin and they all feel comfortable and right at home

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dont get me wrong about the tele. I think its a great guitar and yes, many notable players have been associated with it in different genres. There's just something about it that doesnt appeal to me in the same way as a strat or LP does. maybe its my preconceived notions, maybe not. Maybe its my ear, maybe not. I have picked up countless teles in guitar stores and tried them out. It just doesnt do it for me. (not to offend anyone - and i apologize if i did).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah' date=' I know a girl with a BC Rich Warlock. ...Just don't know any professionals.[/quote']

 

I was talking about professionals, not "a girl." Kirk Hammett with his ESP's, Avenged Sevenfold with their Schecters, Mark Tremonti with his PRS, etc, etc, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I think he played an SG on the first 3 albums. Then moved on to a Yamaha to end with a PRS.

 

Yeah, he's finally settled on PRS, but earlier he has ran the guitar gauntlet himsel. From Starts to LP's, SG's, the Yamaha SG2000, to his signature PRS and few other PRS models. So much simpler to have the "one" guitar, but IMO kind of borring I think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I think he played an SG on the first 3 albums. Then moved on to a Yamaha to end with a PRS.

 

Yeah, he's finally settled on PRS, but earlier he has ran the guitar gauntlet himsel. From Starts to LP's, SG's, the Yamaha SG2000, to his signature PRS and few other PRS models. So much simpler to have the "one" guitar, but IMO kind of borring I think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...