Tele, Strat or LP Sound - Does Only One Voice Appeal to You?
Discussion
Although all three types of axe are sonically distinctive - different tools for different jobs, over time have you found that you've moved from being an "All Three"" kinda guy to either a "Tele", "Strat" of "LP" player. I'm focussing on the sound here rather than playability.
It's intersting to see how well known artists such as EC have tended to have have phases where they've been into one or the other.
I suppose if you're after your own distinctive signature sound, rather than just being a copiest, your vision for that sound will sway you one way or the other.
I suppose to some LP players a Strat can sound thin & scratchy & a Tele whiney & twangy, while to some Strat & Tele players an LP can sound a bit soft & fat or if heavily distorted a bit like the white noise of a buzzsaw.
Just wondering how many people have moved from enjoying all three to settling in one particular camp?
It's intersting to see how well known artists such as EC have tended to have have phases where they've been into one or the other.
I suppose if you're after your own distinctive signature sound, rather than just being a copiest, your vision for that sound will sway you one way or the other.
I suppose to some LP players a Strat can sound thin & scratchy & a Tele whiney & twangy, while to some Strat & Tele players an LP can sound a bit soft & fat or if heavily distorted a bit like the white noise of a buzzsaw.
Just wondering how many people have moved from enjoying all three to settling in one particular camp?
I've always had a bit of a dilemma with this. I really love the quacking you can get from a strat and the nice fat (muddy, even?) sounds from an LP, or SG - but I've always hated Gibson necks... probably due to having small hands!
Then I discovered Lace Sensor pickups and put a mixed set (red, blue and silver - I think!) in my Strat and it's made it a lot more versatile with a thicker bridge sound whilst still retaining most of the traditional strat sounds.
Having said all of that, I am, in my view, not much more than a mediocre guitarist which is why I play bass these days...
Then I discovered Lace Sensor pickups and put a mixed set (red, blue and silver - I think!) in my Strat and it's made it a lot more versatile with a thicker bridge sound whilst still retaining most of the traditional strat sounds.
Having said all of that, I am, in my view, not much more than a mediocre guitarist which is why I play bass these days...
Not sure about being a Tele, Strat or LP player because I've only ever owned an LP of the three, but I'm definitely a humbucker person. That said, I do really love the thinner, twanging tone from a Tele (e.g. Black Crowes), and whilst it might be cheating slightly my wish list does include a Strat Plus Deluxe with a set of Lace Sensors a la Billy Corgan!
The Les Paul has never done anything for me. The cleans are deeply unsatisfying and it just gets worse as the gain is piled on, descending into a flabby tone which produces a 'wash' of sound with any sort of breakup. Absolutely hideous.
The Telecaster, I can take or leave. I quite like them in the 'country gunslinger' setting where they can sound really sharp and spanky, not that I listen to a great deal of country. Mike Stern always got quite a pleasant sound from his Telecasters, but it wasn't a traditional Tele sound, as most would see it.
The Stratocaster though, still speaks to me as a design classic. In terms of tone alone, it is a fantastic thing. Big, bright and glassy cleans with chiming, sparkling harmonic richness and a colourful, tight and dynamic lead voice. It's a relatively simple thing, but a good Strat can sound as fantastic as the best boutique guitars.
Which is to say nothing of how good the Strat looks or how well they play, which is where they really have the others licked!
The Telecaster, I can take or leave. I quite like them in the 'country gunslinger' setting where they can sound really sharp and spanky, not that I listen to a great deal of country. Mike Stern always got quite a pleasant sound from his Telecasters, but it wasn't a traditional Tele sound, as most would see it.
The Stratocaster though, still speaks to me as a design classic. In terms of tone alone, it is a fantastic thing. Big, bright and glassy cleans with chiming, sparkling harmonic richness and a colourful, tight and dynamic lead voice. It's a relatively simple thing, but a good Strat can sound as fantastic as the best boutique guitars.
Which is to say nothing of how good the Strat looks or how well they play, which is where they really have the others licked!
I'm not fussy when it comes to guitar type or shape. If I like it and it plays well then I'll have it. The difference in sound between models is not prominent for me, and i honestly think sone players convince themselves they sound different just to justify having them. 'My new £1800 LP sounds so dirty yet has infinite tone, much dirtier and tone crazy than anything else i have ever owned'. yeh right..... Nowadays the sound of a guitar can be modified in so many ways eg pups.
Baryonyx said:
The Les Paul has never done anything for me. The cleans are deeply unsatisfying and it just gets worse as the gain is piled on, descending into a flabby tone which produces a 'wash' of sound with any sort of breakup. Absolutely hideous.
I used to think like this, until I tried a few good LPs! The thing with this is, there is so much dross out there, you've got to wade through a lot of so-so ones to get to the gems, and price is not an indicator of quality. I'm glad I did, because I now 'get' LPs. I'm led to believe that vintage LPs didn't have that flabbiness either. That heavily compressed, bassy tone lacking in dynamic quality is very much a modern thing...I like all three and appreciate them for what they are and gain enjoyment out of playing them.
Tele - for that classic twang, a good tele stands out very well in a mix (esp the bridge pickup), love it for that.
Strat - For that quack in the inbetween positions (and also that squashy attack when the trem is floating).
LP - Independent vol/tone controls, short scale, classic shape, slight compression of the HBs. Rawk!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Ujm4HEXGc
^Don't detect any flabbiness here!
Les Pauls could have forty tone & volume controls per pickup & they'd still be awful on clean tones.
They are just not a versatile guitar. For once, Baronyx is right. They do one thing well. Luckily for them, that thing is popular but a strat is a far more useful guitar if your horizons extend beyond over drive & distortion.
They are just not a versatile guitar. For once, Baronyx is right. They do one thing well. Luckily for them, that thing is popular but a strat is a far more useful guitar if your horizons extend beyond over drive & distortion.
Justin Cyder said:
Les Pauls could have forty tone & volume controls per pickup & they'd still be awful on clean tones.
They are just not a versatile guitar. For once, Baronyx is right. They do one thing well. Luckily for them, that thing is popular but a strat is a far more useful guitar if your horizons extend beyond over drive & distortion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH8vjxFIUC4They are just not a versatile guitar. For once, Baronyx is right. They do one thing well. Luckily for them, that thing is popular but a strat is a far more useful guitar if your horizons extend beyond over drive & distortion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJWiEG6ae5c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzga5kA1wPY
This guy disagrees.
You are right though - it's easier to get a variety of tones out of a strat than it is with a LP. Go to watch a musical in a theatre, or something like that where a guitarist needs to be able to get access to a lot of different styles on one instrument, and they'll usually have a strat derivative slung around their neck.
The one guitar that I have never even thought of owning is the Les Paul. There's been time when I've fancied a 335, and even SGs have caught my eye occasionally, but LPs? never seen the point. Heavy, awkward, and not particularly pretty, the body is too small for the rest of the guitar. Not as badly proportioned as a violin bass, but tending in that direction.
Teles seem more consistent to me. I.E. you get fewer duff ones. I've always been a Strat player but I tend to actually use Telecasters to actually record stuff. in the studio I usually record in there is bog standard Mexican telecaster that sounds quite incredible. Standard pick-ups. There are boutique guitars in that place that cost ten times as much but it's always that Telecaster we use.
Anybody played a B-bender telecaster? Amazing once you get the hang of it.
Anybody played a B-bender telecaster? Amazing once you get the hang of it.
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