Gibson VS Fender

Gibson VS Fender

  • Total voters
    100
Re: Gibson VS Fender

I would 'suspect' that because the tonewoods we've used forever (Alder, swamp ash & ash, maybe basswood) are all from here - MIA has the opportunity to buy choice woods and probably has a wood sage that QCs the stuff. I'm sure that the other countries have comparable woods in density and strength, but our ears are used to the American woods. IN the electrics it's not as big a deal as the top of an acoustic/classical but when the instrument resonates it affects the signal leaving the jack...
One other thought - QC is where checks are made to ensure the products are free of defects and the art of checking repeatedly to ensure a level of quality. Different tonewoods will NOT violate a checklist or a "Is the signal between 300 and 500mv" test... material selection makes sometimes stark differences but you'd never know it from a checklist made up by a floor super or a quality guy. (I'm one of those evil Quality peeps!)


Gibson - warmth is king for me and it's effortless with the Epi/Gibsons I've owned or encountered.
 
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Re: Gibson VS Fender

blueman335 said:
I see Fender purchases falling into three main catagories:

1) Players that understand the unique nature of these guitars and know how to get great tones from them (this would include everyone on this forum, of course :14:).

2) Players that get them "because everyone else has one." Like it's an obligation for a musician, a rite of passage. Nice guys, but not necessarily independent thinkers. A lot of people fall into this catagory. The lemming effect.

3) As with so many unplanned pregancies and arrests, alcohol also plays a part in the poor decision-making behind many Fender purchases. You see it on TV all the time. A guy in a wife-beater T-shirt, being led away in handcuffs; his wife at the door of their mobile home yelling: "You throw his ass in jail, officers!" Inside 'Hee Haw' is playing on the TV, and all around are the signs of a scuffle: lamps knocked over, and empty beer bottles and cowboy hats on the floor. After an evening with the boys at a local tavern, he came home wearing one shoe and proudly holding a new Strat (he doesn't like the neck, but he'll change it). Once he got inside, things got out of hand, and in the ensuing argument, both parties made references to each other's mothers. Yes, it's sad, but this scene is played out hundreds of times every day across this great land of ours.
Click to expand...

Number 1 surely fits my strat and Tele needs.... ;o)
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

No contest, in my mind. Gibson all the way!!!! For me, Gibson feels higher quality, more refined, better feel and tone.

For me personally, give me my Gibson LP Standard and I am good for life. I am a Gibson guy at heart. That said, I have both and a PRS and will always have variety.

Both have their place in my collection, but I reach for Gibson and PRS first and then Fender.
 
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Re: Gibson VS Fender

I've already opined...but...2 Votes for Gibson from me...and MARSHALL for that matter! :)

BDW051112694.jpg


BDW051112349.jpg


BDW051112350.jpg
 
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Re: Gibson VS Fender

Fender, specifically, the Fender Stratocaster.

As much as I like what a few guys have done with Gibsons throughout history (none more so than Paul Kossoff), I find them incredibly dull to play, particularly Les Pauls. The analogy I have always made is that they are like driving an automatic car, they just kind of play themselves, but the results for me have never been as tactile and immediate or responsive to dynamics as a Strat, the manual car that needs to be driven but delivers the more satisfying experience, in my analogy. The nicest Gibson I've played was a late 50's Les Paul Junior doublecut. It had its own funk and character, but I still couldn't fully bond with it. The only Gibson model I've ever felt I could bond with would be a 335, but even then I would be cursing it for not being as versatile as a Strat.

The truth is, in all these years of playing professionally, I have never needed anything other than a great Stratocaster to do everything I've been called on to do. Modifying the original design by putting an SSL-5 in the bridge was all that was required to make it capable of accomplishing anything within the range of styles I play. The same individual instrument for over 30 years and it still manages to surprise and delight me.




Cheers...................................... wahwah
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

I want a guitar, with a telecaster body shape, that's made out of mahogany with a maple cap. It needs to have a set mahogany neck, with a rosewood fretboard, that is not bound. It needs to have the fender scale, and a traditional fender headstock. It also needs to have humbuckers, the traditional fender control layout for a tele, but a TOM bridge.

Where do I vote?
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

phil_104 said:
I want a guitar, with a telecaster body shape, that's made out of mahogany with a maple cap. It needs to have a set mahogany neck, with a rosewood fretboard, that is not bound. It needs to have the fender scale, and a traditional fender headstock. It also needs to have humbuckers, the traditional fender control layout for a tele, but a TOM bridge.
Click to expand...
Good luck finding something besides a partscaster with a fender-like headstock. The Carvin TL60 was the closest thing I could think of. It's not a Tele headstock and it's neck-thru and the scale is 25" instead of 25.5" Unlike the picture, you can get it with a string-through set bridge.

tl60-main.jpg
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

wahwah said:
Fender, specifically, the Fender Stratocaster.

As much as I like what a few guys have done with Gibsons throughout history (none more so than Paul Kossoff), I find them incredibly dull to play, particularly Les Pauls. The analogy I have always made is that they are like driving an automatic car, they just kind of play themselves, but the results for me have never been as tactile and immediate or responsive to dynamics as a Strat, the manual car that needs to be driven but delivers the more satisfying experience, in my analogy. The nicest Gibson I've played was a late 50's Les Paul Junior doublecut. It had its own funk and character, but I still couldn't fully bond with it. The only Gibson model I've ever felt I could bond with would be a 335, but even then I would be cursing it for not being as versatile as a Strat.

The truth is, in all these years of playing professionally, I have never needed anything other than a great Stratocaster to do everything I've been called on to do. Modifying the original design by putting an SSL-5 in the bridge was all that was required to make it capable of accomplishing anything within the range of styles I play. The same individual instrument for over 30 years and it still manages to surprise and delight me.




Cheers...................................... wahwah
Click to expand...

Great post and totally where I'm at for many many years playing strats! The SSL5/6 or a Twangbanger in the bridge with a nice neck and middle single coil ,and I can cover every single song or style of music our band does..
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

For the sake of this thread I would choose Fender. In the real world I would choose PRS and get the best of both companies.
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

I chose Fender mainly because I have two Fenders, Strat and Tele, and one Gibson, Nighthawk. My Nighthawk is killer and I am kind of jonesing for an LP so it was close.
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

I don't care. I can find a way to make music and express myself with almost anything if i have to. If you want to connect with a listener, it's more about yourself than the chunk of wood hanging around your neck.

If you actually have something to say that might be of interest to a listener, guitar brand choice is a distant second, at best.
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

Erm, which one invented the Broadcaster? I'll vote for dose guys.

To be honest, If I were only allowed to play one make of guitar for the remainder of my life, I would die of boredom. Variety is the spice. Construction methods, scale lengths, pickup designs all aid some musical applications and obstruct others. Some tones are only possible from one specific instrument design. e.g. I love the clank of a plectrum style Rick 4001/4003 but not enough to own one or to wish to restrict myself to only that sound.
 
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Re: Gibson VS Fender

Just didn't care enough to put much thought into my answer because dumb thread is dumb. I picked Fender simply because of the telecaster. Some Fenders I hate, some Fenders I love; some Gibsons I hate, some I love.
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

I voted Fender. I dont hate Gibson or wont make a statement like I will never buy a Gibson.
But I like Fender better. I like strats and teles. Even the basic standard tele and strats you I like better than Standard Gibsons.
 
Re: Gibson VS Fender

I've always had a love/hate relationship with Gibson. When you find a good one take care of it and never let it go!!! It always seems like when you do find one that sounds and plays good, the QC people let it out the door with all kinds of blemishes.

The closest I've come to owning a Fender is a Squire Jagmaster. Did have a Peavey Strat copy that I gave away - It's the only poplar body guitar I've owned, and probably the last. Certainly can't compare this to a decent Fender Strat made from ash or alder. Although there was nothing wrong with the build quality of the American made Peavey.

With the current build quality of the Fender and Squire guitars being as good as it is, as well as the better quality materials they are made of, I think I would choose Fender, even though I don't own one. The quality of the Chinese Squires looks pretty damn good to me, and they are offering several models now in alder. My only beef with the Chinese Squires is the universal pickup routing. It may make pickup selection and placement unproblematic, but I'd rather they left the wood there.......
 
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