raf66 Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Hi everyone. I'm a pretty novice player with only 2+ years of experience. I had always wanted an LP so when I took up guitar 2 years ago I picked up an Epi LP (after my initial purchase of a Taylor 310 acoustic) and I just love the sound. It has the crunch that I dearly love and that most of my guitar heroes play (Journey, Bon Jovi-I know, Ritchie mostly plays a Strat, REO Speedwagon, etc.). However, to the point of my post. I had never really been interested in a Strat (i.e. that OTHER guitar) until about a month ago when I was visiting my grown-up candy store (GC) and an arctic white MIM Strat called to me. I picked it up, played it for awhile, fell in love with it and purchased it. Obviously due to its recent purchase (and the fact that I love it), I find that I play it far more often than my LP. It is stunningly beautiful, it's soooo much more comfortable (and easier) to play and it has a lot of tonal variety that I'm not able to get in my LP. However, I just can't get the same wonderful crunch sound out of it that I can out of my LP. And palm muting, forget about it. I can't even come close to the same sound on the Strat with that technique. Anyway, I'm not sure why I felt the need to share what most of you will likely consider relatively unimportant info. I guess I'm just lamenting the fact that the guitar that has THE sound that led me to playing the instrument in the first place is just more difficult and less comfortable for me to play. Of course, the design and weight of the LP probably has a great deal to do with why it sounds so incredible to me. Does anyone else find the physical differences in the 2 styles to be as pronounced as I do or am I just a wimp that needs to play/practice more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Both. Just like the rest of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I don't think you'll find many guitarists that don't have both a Les Paul and a Strat. I happen to be one of them, but a Les Paul or SG is third on my list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluezOldy Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Both.Just like the rest of us. +1 And then you have to get an SG and a Tele, a semi-hollow ....... :-) Something for every mood & tone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evol04gt Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 play a tele... perfect blend of the feel...doesnt have the crunch but its a GREAT simple perfect design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Hmm....This isn't so unusual. Every guitar has its place. A strat has its place. A Les Paul has its place. As someone who has played with strats for a few years, it's got some great qualities for some types of music. (A very bright tone, and IMHO it sings when its set on the neck pickup or phased with the middle pickup..) BUT>.......Put that guitar on the bridge position? Eh, nothing short of slapping a humbucker in there will even get you a semblance of that sound, that magic sound that rock is based upon, which is the Les Paul and the Marshall. (Yeah, everything else is a variation thereof). I still like jamming on strats though....own 2 of 'em....but I have to admit that for recording...eh, you can't beat a Gibson Les Paul. (It's just too bad that the buggers are so expensive that there is a loathing to even take them out of the house! Hence...Epiphone...) PS: There is ONE difference between Fender and Gibson....You can take a Squier guitar made in Indonesia (or a MiM or MiJ strat) and mod it to sound just as good as their American counterparts. But...can't do that with a Gibson. No, not even an Epiphone...I'm growing to really love my Epiphone, but I don't consider it in the same category for tone as the Gibson I own...even though it's heavily modified...but it does have a tone of its own...(and it still beats a strat any day of the week when it comes to playing with crunch or exploring tonality through an amplifier using partial distortion.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I have to disagree about the Fender bridge pickup... I have Vintage Noiseless pickups in my Strat, and absolutely love the sound I get from the bridge, through my Valve Junior. Sometimes I have to "soften" it, and use the middle and bridge together. I find I can get Gibson-esque tones from the Strat if I use all three pickups - that's fourth position on the five-way switch, plus the bridge engaged with the toggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I have to disagree about the Fender bridge pickup... I have Vintage Noiseless pickups in my Strat' date=' and absolutely love the sound I get from the bridge, through my Valve Junior. Sometimes I have to "soften" it, and use the middle and bridge together. I find I can get Gibson-esque tones from the Strat if I use all three pickups - that's fourth position on the five-way switch, plus the bridge engaged with the toggle.[/quote'] Well, a lot of tones are subjective...but to be honest I just do not like the sound from that bridge pickup....(personal preference.) Every time I hear it's sort of like when someone is scratching a blackboard....or when listening to a Robert Cray album...(killer guitar player...but yeah, he's got a penchant for that bridge pickup...eh, as aformentioned, personal preferences, but nothin' sings like a humbucker in that position...just my opinion...not even 2 single coils phased together.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biff Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I bought a Fender MIM std a while ago, I play it for a couple of hours once or twice a week but so far I haven't bonded with it at all. I changed the pickups to GFS '62 texas staggers and it sounds ten times better than with the originals, but I still don't get any kicks out of it. I just can't find anything inspiring in the single coil sound nor the guitar, It's the same with the American Deluxe my friend has, it's an excellent guitar and nice to play but I have no feelings towards it whatsoever, it's just like dating a girl you don't fancy. Epiphones, otoh, I just can't stop playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 play it through a little bit of reverb... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 ON a related note... Funny story. Two weeks ago I saw a cover band out in Virginia. The lead guitarist had..(and no, I'm not kidding) a genuine 1959 Fender Stratocaster. (You should have seen the case for this thing alone! Sheesh!) The other guy (singer/guitarist/splitting lead duties) showed up with a 300 dollar Epiphone LP Goldtop. The 300 dollar guitar held its own....(and the guy's amp wasn't even as good as the guitar player with the strat..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesstringer Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Both. Just like the rest of us. +2 - Well said bro , as usual - Nuff Said ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I have a Gibby LP studio, an Epi LP Custom flametop, and a Fender USA Strat. The Strat sounds great, except for the bridge pickup alone. I never play the middle or bridge pup by theirselves. I like the Tele bridge pickup sound a lot and may get one one day. One a Strat, I like the neck and the two in between combos, which you have to have to do the later Clapton style. I gravitated to the LP sound as my standard, though, after playing a Strat for 25 years prior. Its just a fatter sound. I'd buy a P90 goldtop LP if I were to find a good one in a pawnshop at a decent price, just to have the P90 growl and the goldie looks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 But...can't do that with a Gibson. No, not even an Epiphone... Gotta beg to differ here. Mine has been extensively modified, and while it was a real good guitar out of the box, the things I did to it made it even better (tailpiece, bridge, pickups, switch, caps), and it more closely emulates a Gibson, which it will never be, and I've come to terms with that. It is what it is, and I'm kool with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raf66 Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 Thanks for all the replies. I really like all the sounds you can coax out of the single coil positions and like I said, the Strat is just such a comfortable guitar to play. But man oh man the LP in the bridge position simply sings. I'll just enjoy them both for the strengths that each one offers. I consider myself very lucky to be able to have two great electric guitars to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biff Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 .. like I said' date=' the Strat is just such a comfortable guitar to play.[/quote'] Congratulations are in order then - IMO the Strat is the most horrible piece of equipment to play.. I just don't get it, do I need a beer belly or something to enjoy them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I too, have both. On my Highway 1 Strat, I had the bottom tone control wired to the bridge pickup, and the middle tone control, for the others. That way, I can roll of some of the "piercing" treble tone, from the bridge pickup, to fatten it up. Works pretty well, especially with overdrive/distortion. It's not a Les Paul sound, (and I didn't want or expect that), but it's great, in it's own right. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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