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| Honky Tonk Man |
I am by no means a guitar expert, but I do know what I like and dislike. For me, a model of guitar that has never impressed me is the Fender Stratocaster and it’s always puzzled me as to why it’s so acclaimed and highly regarded. As far as public notoriety goes and with artists themselves, I guess it was Hendrix who bought the guitar to the fore, yet it was his ability, as a musician that got him acclaim, not the guitar he used. What I’m getting at is that I guess many picked up a Strat because of Hendrix. Before him, as far as I know, it was only Buddy Holly who was renowned for using one and over here in the UK, Hank Marvin of The Shadows.
ANYWAY, my real point and query is why is the instrument loved and revered so much by musicians? I think it could be because it’s such a veritable and a real all-purpose guitar. You can strum a long with it, get rocky sounds out of it and play blues too, but one thing that the Stat can never shake off is its sound. What I HATE about this instrument is it’s clear, clean, crisp sound. There’s no dirtiness and absolutely nothing enthrals me about this guitars sound. Don’t get me wrong, there are literary thousands of songs out there featuring the strat, which I love, but I still dislike this guitar.
What does everyone else think? Does anyone agree with me, or are you all in the Fender Stratocaster fan club? 
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| corgi37 |
I'm a SG man myself. Mainly, cause i cant afford a Les Paul! hahaha. But, in 2 years, i'm getting one when i go back to Honkers. Lovely sunburst with gold hardware. Was only around $500 Aussie dollars. It's a Epiphone though, not a Gibson. I got a Epiphone SG when i was there last Feb, and i love it. Though i've dropped the bitch 3 times. |
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| Maxlugar |
I'm an SG man simply because it's the most beautiful guitar ever made and sounds like a rock and roll earthquake with a tornado up its ass.
That said, I would love a Les Paul like the one you describe. To me it's the classic look of hard rock. Not to mention the sound!
I too do not like the Strat look. I think it is indeed the versatility that brings most people to this guitar. It usually comes with a whammy bar too, which is nice. But I prefer the Tele look. Neither one can match the full bodied sound of the Gibson though. But there are ways around that with amps and effects.
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| Barney Fife |
My main electric is an early '70s Gibson ES-335. The sound and feel are great.
Fenders are good throw-around guitars because they're cheap, tough and can be repaired easily. My throw-around guitar is a Mexican Tele that has a humbucker in the neck position and a 5-position pick-up selector (in phase, out of phase, etc.).
Strats can of course get a dirty sound if you have an amp that overdrives the signal. Hendrix of course did that, plus was a master at using feedback creatively. A buddy of mine has a Strat with a humbucker and that's better to my ears. But for playing country music, the single-coil twang is just fine.
One thing that's made the Strat popular is the contour body. It's more comfortabe to hold than a Tele. But the problem for me is that the volume knob closest to the strings gets in the way of my little finger when playing because of the way I hold my picking hand against the guitar. So for that reason alone, I can't use a Strat. The Tele doesn't have that problem.
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| CraigP |
A Stratocaster is a "physical" upsgrade to the the Tele.
It had more tonal options but, depending on a listener's taste, those lesser options of the Tele are more favorable and uniqique. |
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| Zambero |
Strats are OK -- for me they represent the "generic" electric guitar sound, with lots of bells and whistles included. I tend to prefer the Tele as having the best mix of simplicity, utility, and unique tonal characteristics -- there's everything you need and nothing you don't. Would also like to get a Gibson 335 one of these days. They have a nice blues vibe. |
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| Break The Spell |
My friend has a Strat, its good for what it is. Basic rock 'n roll sound, nothing more or less. Persoanlly I prefer BC Rich and Les Pauls. |
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| voodoopug |
quote:
Break The Spell wrote:
My friend has a Strat, its good for what it is. Basic rock 'n roll sound, nothing more or less. Persoanlly I prefer BC Rich and Les Pauls.
It really depends on what you are trying to play. The Strat gives you a much cleaner and crisp sound than a Gibson, Shecter, and many others. If you are trying to play a song by Clapton in his style, or many stones songs, particularly Ronnies parts (solo on Start Me Up, CYHMK, etc). If you are trying to play the riffs to Rambler, Monkey Man, SHelter, etc, it will more than likely sound awful.
The major problem I have with Fender guitars is that there are too many cheaply made guitars with the Fender name. If you play an American Strat or a '52 or '72 you will get a much better instrument, particularly with it holding tune and strong tone. The Mexican Strats and Squires have a very weak sound and do not hold tune well unless the hardware is modified.
Typically Gibson Guitars, a few Epiphones are an exception, are more expensive for their base models and are designed to reflect that.
It all boils down to what sound you are trying to attain. Better hardware, pickups, and neck construction are very important to a guitar that you want to use live. Cheaper guitars no matter who manufacturers it rarely work for anything more than learning guitar or if you find that one crappy guitar that gets that exact tone you are looking for. (take the guitar that Mick uses for Back of My Hand for example)
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| Maxlugar |
[quote]voodoopug wrote:
"....or if you find that one crappy guitar that gets that exact tone you are looking for. (take the guitar that Mick uses for Back of My Hand for example)"
True Pugsly. You ever see that Japanese piece of crap Hound Dog Taylor used? WTF? But damn is that one unique sound he's getting there. Amazing. |
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| JuanTCB |
I've had a Les Paul Standard for 20 years and, to me, that's the ultimate guitar in terms of tone, quality, versatility, looks . . . you name it.
I had a Mexican Tele for a few years (sold it to afford - you guess it - Stones tickets) and while the twang was nice, it was also impossible to get rid of. No matter what kind of amp/effect combo I tried, it always sounded like a Tele. That said, it was very comfortable to play and I loved the neck, but it was a bit limiting sound-wise.
Last year, I got a great deal on an American '57 reissue Strat - 2-tone sunburst, just like Buddy's and Ronnie's. It's taken a while to get used to, but it's a beautiful guitar in every way. The one thing you can't get is that serious crunch that you can with a Gibson (or, to a lesser extent, anything with humbuckers), but any other sound is really easy to access (and mine only has the 3-way pick-up selector). My favorite thing to do is recreate the sound Ronnie's been getting the last few years on the solos for Knockin' and Worried About You - with one flick of the switch, you can get make it sound like a TOTALLY different instrument.
Plus, at least on the '57, the neck is unbelieveable. It's the "soft V" shape - I've never played anything so comfortable in my life.
Of course, between the lack of an arch, the knobs, and the whammy bar, you've gotta be a lot more mindful of your strumming hand, but it's definitely an incredibly versatile axe. Comfortable, too, though it feels like a bit of a toy compared to the log that is the Les Paul.
Pug is right, though - a lot of heavier songs are gonna sound like complete crap if played on a Strat. |
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| Barney Fife |
quote:
voodoopug wrote:
The Mexican Strats and Squires have a very weak sound and do not hold tune well unless the hardware is modified.
I call bullshit on that. My Mexican Tele stays in tune extremely well and it has damn good tone too (probably because of the humbucker). Price = $369 in 1996. No modifications since purchased new.
PS - Clapton sounded so much better back in the '60s when he played SGs and 335s.
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I bet you non musicians really love these gear discussions!
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| Riffhard |
A Strat is a classic no matter what you may think. Shit Stevie Ray Vaughn got great tone from his,and made a carreer out of his sound because of that guitar.
A friend of mine has a 1961 Strat that is a fucking brilliant guitar. It looks like shit. It's been beat to hell and back,but gawtdamned does it sound good. He was offered ten grand for it and he told the guy to get lost. A classic Fender Strat is hard to come by and costs and arm and two legs. As does a classic Tele for that matter.
Riffy |
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| albert |
I'm very pleased with my Blade Delta.
One of the finest guitars I've ever played on.
Try once and you'll love it, I'm sure.
Albert
Holland |
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| StickyFishFingers |
Im not a big fan of the strats either. I think the telecasters are much better looking guitars & sound great too. Roy Buchanan springs to mind when i think of Tele's. I had an awesome Profile Tele copy when i was a teenager - had to sell it to buy a fridge when i moved out of home sadly.
Now I've got a Epiphone Les Paul Special - nice black body with the open coil humbuckers. It's a pretty basic model copy but it's good enough for my purposes.
Corgi what's your Epi. SG like weight wise? I've never picked one up - are they as light as the Gibsons? |
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| voodoopug |
quote:
Barney Fife wrote:
I call bullshit on that. My Mexican Tele stays in tune extremely well and it has damn good tone too (probably because of the humbucker). Price = $369 in 1996. No modifications since purchased new.
PS - Clapton sounded so much better back in the '60s when he played SGs and 335s.
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I bet you non musicians really love these gear discussions!
I have a Mexican Tele as well (the wife says I should start selling some of my gear as it is quickly filling the room!), and I agree with you. I was referring to the "squire series" and the Mexican Stratocaster. The pickups on the Mexican Strat dont sound as crips as the American strats and The hardware is not the best.
The Mexican Tele is one exeption to the rule. It is a fine made guitar, albiet I find I have to kick the tone knob down a little bit to get the proper grind out of it that I like out of my guitars with the humbucker pickups. Plugging this guy through a Ibanez Tube Screamer and into a Fender Deville Amp gives one sweet sound.
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| polksalad69 |
quote:
Barney Fife wrote:
I call bullshit on that. My Mexican Tele stays in tune extremely well and it has damn good tone too (probably because of the humbucker).
what's a humbucker doing on a tele? dat's just wrong. |
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| voodoopug |
quote:
polksalad69 wrote:
what's a humbucker doing on a tele? dat's just wrong.
see the '72 tele |
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| FPM C10 |
quote:
polksalad69 wrote:
what's a humbucker doing on a tele? dat's just wrong.
Tell it to Keef!
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| polksalad69 |
^^^I know man, but it just don't sit right with me. |
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| voodoopug |
quote:
polksalad69 wrote:
^^^I know man, but it just don't sit right with me.
you really gotta play one then, that guitar with that pickup sounds fantastic! There are no rules when it comes to guitars...just results...ie what kind of sound can you get! |
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| polksalad69 |
quote:
voodoopug wrote:
you really gotta play one then, that guitar with that pickup sounds fantastic! There are no rules when it comes to guitars...just results...ie what kind of sound can you get!
I've played Barney's Mexi-Tele. He's right, it's a throw down guitar, I would never get away with throwing down the Gibson. I guess I'm stuck on apperances. Always thought the black one Keef plays looked cool but got hung up on the pickup. Same thing w/the Thinlines. I know, pretty dumb... |
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| FPM C10 |
Not really...not at ALL, actually. I struggle with the same prejudice.
I really don't like seeing the Boys play anything but classic axes, either. The shame of the '89 tour (along with Mick's haircut) was all those damned Musicman guitars. I don't care how great they were. They looked like crap. Are they even in business anymore?
And what's the deal with ultra-expensive custom shops making copies of cheapo trash guitars? Whaddaya suppose Darryl's Kay copy cost? A Kay oughta go for, oh, around $35. He probably paid DOUBLE that!
That's PERVERSE. |
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| telecaster |
Fender actually made a Strat with a Humbucker
Looks terrible
Did you know the Strat is named after the B-52 Stratofortress bomber
Fact |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
Well, there is ONE major Stratocaster problem that has popped right into my head. Ronnie Wood can't even tune his! Every solo is a mess. It's probably down to the mans natural state, but let's hope its the Strat and he ditches it pronto!
Nope, I'm never going to be a fan of this guitar. Actually, I was kind of expecting some here to sway my opinion, but it seems many agree with me. Well, it seems that at least some ADMIT that it's not their favourite!
I'm with FPM on the boy’s choice of guitars from the Steel Wheels era. Man, they were ugly! Especially that white model that Keith seemed to play on the majority of numbers. Saying that though, he was bloody good then. Maybe hat's the secret. Crappy looking guitars = great playing!
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| telecaster |
quote:
Honky Tonk Man wrote:
Well, there is ONE major Stratocaster problem that has popped right into my head. Ronnie Wood can't even tune his! Every solo is a mess. It's probably down to the mans natural state, but let's hope its the Strat and he ditches it pronto!
Keith & Ron haven't tuned their guitars since the '75 tour
Guitar techs do
I assure you Fender sends them the best guitars off the line as does Gibson
Keith & Ron toured the Gibson factory in the 70's |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
quote:
telecaster wrote:
Keith & Ron haven't tuned their guitars since the '75 tour
Guitar techs do
Oh I know that!
I'm still searching for an explanation for the guy's abysmal playing! I guess the techs can't tune them either!
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| Maxlugar |
[quote]polksalad69 wrote:
I've played Barney's Mexi-Tele. He's right, it's a throw down guitar,
Well I took Barney's accoustic once and he bit me on the testicle.
I love you, you love me? Bullshit! That hurt!
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| Joey |
" Did you know the Strat is named after the B-52 Stratofortress bomber"
.JPG)
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| speedfreakjive |
Strats are OK, but I'm just not comfortable with the shape, it seems unatural.
I have a 72' Thinline Re-Issue, painted turquoise at the Cadillac factory. Its sweet, cos the F-Holes, and humbuckers give it extra sustain and balls, that you don't get with a standard tele. Therefore its quite versatile because with a maple fretboard, it has the clear tone. |
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| polksalad69 |
quote:
Maxlugar wrote:
quote:
polksalad69 wrote:
I've played Barney's Mexi-Tele. He's right, it's a throw down guitar,
Well I took Barney's accoustic once and he bit me on the testicle.
I love you, you love me? Bullshit! That hurt!
Damn dude, not dat Barney. |
