Old adage

[martinh]

"better" guitarists play fenders because they are harder to make sound good because of thinner tone with single coils and less sustain,"

 

Well, aside all matters of personal taste; the basis of the argument - "if it's harder to do it that way it must require a "better player," is nonsense!

 

If we strung everything with fence wire, it'd sure be "harder to make it sound good."

 

If we all used transistor radios for amplification, it would sure take a lot of talent to make them sound good.

 

In fact, if we all played suspended upside-down by a wire over an alligator pit, it would be harder to sound good. SO WHAT? The man who chooses to play a fencewire equipped Strat through a transistor radio, suspended over an alligator pit, is "far more talented" than a guy using other gear? Huh?

 

Only music teachers and other guitarists place any value on how hard it is to play a particular piece, instrument etc. The listener, which is who you are playing for every time you get up on a stage, properly could care less how difficult it is to play a piece. They only care if they like what they hear. I' ve never even heard another guitarist say "I'd resepect him more if he played that on a Strat."

 

Ps: My own experience is actually the opposite. If I had no idea what I was going to be asked to play, and could only take one guitar, I'd take a Strat, or probably a Tele, because, to me , it's the easier guitar on which to cover all bases.

[AlanH]

Good post martinh!

 

I don't subscribe to the view that humbuckers, sustain and distortion cover up your mistakes. These can actually be very very hard to control.

 

Switch a guitar in to single coil mode, clean up the amp and it's a piece of p**s, IMO. Add a smidge of chorus and reverb/delay (which are often used with strats) and it's not very hard at all to sound rather good.