Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

[Detroitblues]

I was reading a thread where a guitarist must get rid of one guitar out of two. Which you'd get rid of and which you'd keep and why? Let's asssume pickups are not a factor and there isn't a guitar replacing it.

Fender USA Stratocaster, Black, Maple Board

Or

Gibson Les Paul Studio in Gloss Black

If you had to get rid of one, which one and why?

 

[JeffB]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

Whichever one is less inspiring to play.

 

[Detroitblues]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

My vote is to get rid of the Gibson Studio because it is a Studio. If it was a Les Paul Standard, I feel it would be reverse decision only because I don't like the stripped down studios with no binding or inlaid headstock.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

Sorry I dont see the room for debate... seems like which is your preference... coke or pepsi...

Whichever makes me happier in the pants stays... and without the 2 guitars in question sitting on my lap i cant say for certain.

 

[Detroitblues]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

I'm not the one parting ways with it, it was a question posted on another media outlet. I thought it would be an interesting subject to bring up here. I'm not judging anyone's choices, just starting an interesting debate. Sort of like if you were on a desert island and could only have one guitar....

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

If those were my only two guitars, and they were equally good, I'd get rid of the Les Paul. It's a much sexier guitar, and I love Studios, but a Strat is a great guitar to have if it's your only guitar. It's a lot easier to get a large variety of tones out of them. Les Pauls are a bit more stubborn when it comes to easily coaxing a lot of versatility out of them. In other words, the Strat could cop the Les Paul's tones a lot more readily than the Les Paul could cop the Strat tones.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

I was reading a thread where a guitarist must get rid of one guitar out of two. Which you'd get rid of and which you'd keep and why? Let's asssume pickups are not a factor and there isn't a guitar replacing it.

Fender USA Stratocaster, Black, Maple Board

Or

Gibson Les Paul Studio in Gloss Black

If you had to get rid of one, which one and why?

You're on the Gear Talk group, too?

 

[greekdude]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

If those were my only two guitars, and they were equally good, I'd get rid of the Les Paul. It's a much sexier guitar, and I love Studios, but a Strat is a great guitar to have if it's your only guitar. It's a lot easier to get a large variety of tones out of them. Les Pauls are a bit more stubborn when it comes to easily coaxing a lot of versatility out of them. In other words, the Strat could cop the Les Paul's tones a lot more readily than the Les Paul could cop the Strat tones.

I agree, but those Strat tones dont come right out of the box. It takes serious modding for such a variaty of tones. But in the end the Strat is the guitar to do it all.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

I disagree that it takes a lot of serious modding to get a Strat to cover a lot of territory. Style/technique aside (the most important factors), it really comes down to basic amp and pedal settings, not modding the guitar itself. Strat single coils are a great base on which to build however much thickness you want using outboard stuff. But thinning out a Les Paul proves to be much harder, and probably does involve mods to the guitar, or some tonal trickery in the studio.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

Knowing my history, I'd probably be selling a Les Paul before a Strat. I just gel better with Strats.

 

[greekdude]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

I disagree that it takes a lot of serious modding to get a Strat to cover a lot of territory. Style/technique aside (the most important factors), it really comes down to basic amp and pedal settings, not modding the guitar itself. Strat single coils are a great base on which to build however much thickness you want using outboard stuff. But thinning out a Les Paul proves to be much harder, and probably does involve mods to the guitar, or some tonal trickery in the studio.

If we enter this territory of thinking, then i bet few non musicians will ever care or tell if you play an LP or a strat type guitar or how modded they are. Personally to make my strat versatile and i mean :
- DMZ FT2 bridge, DMZ FT1 middle, DMZ chopper neck
- tone for bridge, while keeping the rest of the functions intact
- push/pull for bridge series/parallel
- push/pull for neck series/parallel
- toggle for adding bridge on all positions

wasn't that trivial. Lots of sleepness nights, burnt fingers, testing, unsoldering, re-soldering, scerwing the pickguard, unscrewing the pickguard, etc... But it was very worth it in the end. I doubt Les Paul or any other guitar with back routed electronic cavities and 2-pups electronics would be that hard to mod.

PS
I believe that SC pups are equally restricting tone-wise as much as unmoded HB pups, if not even more. You can always roll the volume down on a HB, but can do nothing about this ultra noizy lifeless and anemic SC. But its all a matter of style. I am both a rock, folk, blues player + metal shreder. I cant live having even one of my guitas in unshredable state. But thats just me.

 

[El Supremo]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

I'd sell the Les Paul studio, simply because it's a studio. Besides that, with some some pedal help you'll easily beef up your strat. Even with vintage style pickups.

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

I'd get rid of the studio, I'm a Fender guy and I love Gibson designs too (330,335, and SG) but I just can't gel with LP style guitars.

 

[dominus]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

Sell the Strat now, hold on to the Gibson for a year, then sell the Gibson and buy another Strat and pocket the profit. Duh.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

Sell both and buy a pile of squiers and epis. I would then light those on fire and take the money from the youtube hits and buy a Godin.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

....or keep the Strat, to strictly answer the question I guess.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

Not a fan of Fender US AmStd. Not a fan of black studio's either but that's less of an issue. So it'd be the studio. If it was a AVRI versus a LP Classic that might be more challenging.

Plus I can't have a single coil in bridge guitar as the only guitar.

 

[Securb]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

Can I put a hum in the Strat?

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

In other words, the Strat could cop the Les Paul's tones a lot more readily than the Les Paul could cop the Strat tones.

This, for me.

In thinning out my former herd, my american standard strat did beat out a gibson LP studio faded.
I thought for the longest time that I needed the thick hot output of humbuckers to do harder rock sounds, and a big slab of mahogany with maple on it to put humbuckers in. To some extent, yeah humbuckers just sound "right" for overdriven power chords and thick leads. But does a strat with the bridge pickup tone rolled off sound pretty good, too? Yes it does, as least to me. When you have the extra attack of a single coil you can always dial it back and you can EQ in some bass and maybe add some compression from a pedal or overdrive box. A strat can't do everything, but add in that they're light and ergonomic, easy to play on higher frets, usually cheaper than a les paul, they are easier to replace some parts on, they don't get headstock breaks when a butterfly flaps its wings in Africa, and they don't chamber the cheap ones like they do with LPs, so umm... I like strats better, especially if I had to keep only one, which has happened to me.
Other guitars may come and go but I always will keep at least one strat.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Interesting One Must Go Thread: Fender vs. Gibson debate

I'd rather keep the strat. More flexible and more modification possibilities. Probably lighter weight and sits more comfortable on the body. Whammy possibility is a plus but really I am a huge sucker for the strat neck pickup. And as others, including Clapton, have said it is easier to get a les paulish tone out of a strat than the other way around.

An afterthought, the strat is also easier to repair if the body or neck gets damaged or busted with the screw together design. Just replace what's broken and you're good to go. Neck breaks in an irrepairable way on a paul and you're stuck buying a new one.