Old man guitars
Discussion
Went to my first gig for ages at the week-end. 12 hours, 10 bands and 10 pints. Bloody great. In case you are interested TV Priest were the best but PVA very interesting.
Anyway - I didnt see a single Stratocaster or Les Paul. Every band played Mustangs, Jaguars or Teles. My mate said it's because Strats are considered an old man's guitar.
To me it's a design classic and almost the definitive electric guitar whilst mustangs, jaguars and jazzmasters are mostly gopping. The youth not playing a Strat was something I had been aware of but it hadnt occurred to me that it was because they are considered uncool.
Anyway - I didnt see a single Stratocaster or Les Paul. Every band played Mustangs, Jaguars or Teles. My mate said it's because Strats are considered an old man's guitar.
To me it's a design classic and almost the definitive electric guitar whilst mustangs, jaguars and jazzmasters are mostly gopping. The youth not playing a Strat was something I had been aware of but it hadnt occurred to me that it was because they are considered uncool.
t about what anyone else thinks, if you love your Strat that's all that matters.My small village in Essex has produced a relatively young (I think they are 16\17 yr olds) band now getting some airplay on Radio1 etc. So decidedly ‘the youth’. I just did a quick Google image search to see what the guitarist plays: 3 tone sunburst Fender Strat…. So not just an old man guitar, an old man colour scheme too!!
I think the difference at the moment is that you can actually buy the full range of Fender models, and at reasonable price points. I’m sure when I was a teenager you could only get Jazzmasters and Jaguars if they were USA made and hence v. expensive. Not sure Mustangs were even in production…
Edit: Wiki tells me the Jaguar was out of production from ‘75 to ‘99, and the Jazzmaster, Duo-sonic and Mustang have all been out of production at times. So I think the novelty of availability definitely has an effect…
I think the difference at the moment is that you can actually buy the full range of Fender models, and at reasonable price points. I’m sure when I was a teenager you could only get Jazzmasters and Jaguars if they were USA made and hence v. expensive. Not sure Mustangs were even in production…
Edit: Wiki tells me the Jaguar was out of production from ‘75 to ‘99, and the Jazzmaster, Duo-sonic and Mustang have all been out of production at times. So I think the novelty of availability definitely has an effect…
Edited by johnpsanderson on Tuesday 9th November 20:01
"Old Man Guitar"?
I didn't know that was a "thing"
Surely, guitar choice is defined by sound / playability / is it suitable for a given genre? As an extreme example, I wouldn't expect a jazz player to choose a B.C. Rich guitar, but if they could extract the right tone from it using a certain amp and effects chain then why not?
I didn't know that was a "thing"
Surely, guitar choice is defined by sound / playability / is it suitable for a given genre? As an extreme example, I wouldn't expect a jazz player to choose a B.C. Rich guitar, but if they could extract the right tone from it using a certain amp and effects chain then why not?
cherryowen said:
"Old Man Guitar"?
I didn't know that was a "thing"
Surely, guitar choice is defined by sound / playability / is it suitable for a given genre? As an extreme example, I wouldn't expect a jazz player to choose a B.C. Rich guitar, but if they could extract the right tone from it using a certain amp and effects chain then why not?
Malcolm Young chose a Gretsch for hard rock, and he's done fairly well despite it being an odd choice. And of course Brian May built his own unique guitar.I didn't know that was a "thing"
Surely, guitar choice is defined by sound / playability / is it suitable for a given genre? As an extreme example, I wouldn't expect a jazz player to choose a B.C. Rich guitar, but if they could extract the right tone from it using a certain amp and effects chain then why not?
There's no one size fits all
NMNeil said:
cherryowen said:
"Old Man Guitar"?
I didn't know that was a "thing"
Surely, guitar choice is defined by sound / playability / is it suitable for a given genre? As an extreme example, I wouldn't expect a jazz player to choose a B.C. Rich guitar, but if they could extract the right tone from it using a certain amp and effects chain then why not?
Malcolm Young chose a Gretsch for hard rock, and he's done fairly well despite it being an odd choice. And of course Brian May built his own unique guitar.I didn't know that was a "thing"
Surely, guitar choice is defined by sound / playability / is it suitable for a given genre? As an extreme example, I wouldn't expect a jazz player to choose a B.C. Rich guitar, but if they could extract the right tone from it using a certain amp and effects chain then why not?
There's no one size fits all
Funny you mention Brian May, for many months now I have had a hankering for a Guild "reproduction" of his Red Special.
Pile of nonsense. NMNeil said:
Old men; you mean like SRV, Eric Clapton, Jimmi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, Richie Blackmore, Joe Bonamassa, Roy Cooder, Robert Cray, Rory Gallagher and David Gilmour, to name a few.
I wonder what they could have achieved with a 'young mans' guitar
The very essence of dad rock condensed into one easy listening list. To the kids of today the Arctic Monkeys are classic rock.I wonder what they could have achieved with a 'young mans' guitar
NMNeil said:
cherryowen said:
Funny you mention Brian May, for many months now I have had a hankering for a Guild "reproduction" of his Red Special.
Oh, and if I could play using old sixpence pieces instead of plectrums. Which I can't - double
My first guitar was a £50 Avon SG copy which was OK although it now seems expensive compared to what you can buy for the equivalent money today. It was followed by a £150 used USA Strat, 1972 I think. Our options were basically Strat, Tele, SG and Les Paul. A friend had a Guild and he was adamanat they would overtake Gibson! My point though is that our guitar universe was pretty small and even things like a Rickenbacker were pretty leftfield.
The youth have a much bigger guitar universe but they are visiting different planets to the ones we could reach. Not saying their guitars are better or worse (OK they look worse) but the associations of Strats and Les Pauls in particular do not seem to fit with current fashions.
I have a gorgeous Stratocaster FSR that I will shove up on the guitars thread sometime.
The youth have a much bigger guitar universe but they are visiting different planets to the ones we could reach. Not saying their guitars are better or worse (OK they look worse) but the associations of Strats and Les Pauls in particular do not seem to fit with current fashions.
I have a gorgeous Stratocaster FSR that I will shove up on the guitars thread sometime.
cherryowen said:
And could afford a few vintage Vox AC-30's for the correct sound
Oh, and if I could play using old sixpence pieces instead of plectrums. Which I can't - double
I started with classical, and just can't get the hang of a plectrum.Oh, and if I could play using old sixpence pieces instead of plectrums. Which I can't - double
It seemed to work for Mark Knopfler, Derek Trucks, Robbie Krieger, Lindsey Buckingham, Jeff Beck, Albert King, and the great Tommy Emmanuel.
Not an Artic Monkeys fan myself, but I have heard of them and mostly play a Strat. 
On the other hand I did spray and put together a CAR Jaguar this summer. I suppose the bands I'm likely to watch are 'old man' stuff anyway, so I wouldn't know, but can't blame the up and coming bands for wanting to do their own thing. If a Strat (and maybe a Les Paul I guess?) is considered old man style, then they wouldn't want to be seen with one. One of the former tutors I knew when I went to college 'rock school' is starting a tour soon and she plays a Jaguar with humbuckers and a bound neck...sort of 'grungy' style music, but she's young enough to be my daughter, so no wonder I'm not into that music.
On the other hand I did spray and put together a CAR Jaguar this summer. I suppose the bands I'm likely to watch are 'old man' stuff anyway, so I wouldn't know, but can't blame the up and coming bands for wanting to do their own thing. If a Strat (and maybe a Les Paul I guess?) is considered old man style, then they wouldn't want to be seen with one. One of the former tutors I knew when I went to college 'rock school' is starting a tour soon and she plays a Jaguar with humbuckers and a bound neck...sort of 'grungy' style music, but she's young enough to be my daughter, so no wonder I'm not into that music.
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