Gibson Les Paul Standard VS. Fender American Stratocaster Guitar
Which One of These Classic Guitars Will Come Out on Top?
The Gibson Les Paul Standard is one of the most used and praised guitars ever created. It has been played by greats such as Slash, Jimmy Page, and Ace Frehley. With a Carved AA maple top, trapezoid inlays, and coming in colors such as Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Light Burst, Desert Burst, Honey Burst, and eight others, this guitar is drop-dead gorgeous. It comes with Burstbucker pro pickups, rosewood fingerboard, tune-o-matic bridge, and gold top hat knobs. Along with these looks come powerful tones also. With the thick mahogany body, this thing can scream with ease. It has amazing sustain, along with one of the most playable necks ever. Almost anyone can pick up the guitar, and feel as if they had owned it their whole life. The two Burstbucker pros sound great, and you can switch between them easily with a three-way toggle switch. The guitar also has 2 volume knobs and 2 tone knobs. The Gibson Les Paul Standard starts at $2,299.99, which could be a little pricey for either a young guitarist or someone that has to support a family.
The Fender American Stratocaster has been called, "The American Guitar" for a while now. It has one of the most recognizable looks and tones out there. It has been made a classic by guitarists such as John Frusciante and of course, Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix completely changed the way the guitar was played, and he did just that with the Fender Strat. With colors such as Black, Olympic White, 3-color sunburst, and 4 others, this guitar is as much of a joy to look at as it is to play. Fender also gives you the choice of picking between a Rosewood and Maple Neck. Rosewood has been said to have a tad more sustain, while maple is said to be brighter. I, however, can barely tell the difference in sound, but the playability factor can be pretty big. The best thing you can do is go to a music store and try both necks, to see which one suits you and your style the best. The Strat comes with 3 Single coil pickups, 2 tone knobs, and 1 volume knob. The Fender American Stratocaster starts at $949.99.
While both of these guitars have their own unique factors and qualities, they are both extremely versatile. I don't believe that you will be able to find two guitars that can switch between jazz, classic rock, blues, and even metal and still sound amazing. People such as Eric Clapton and Joe Perry have played both of these guitars throughout their career, and for good reasons. They will both be able to handle being played live well, but the Gibson can put a serious strain on your back. The Fender is very easy to move around with, weighing much less then the Les Paul, but at times doesn't seem as sturdy.
After reviewing all of the pros and cons of both guitars, I have come to the conclusion that for the price, the Fender American Stratocaster is your best bet. I have purchased this guitar, and words can't describe how nice it sounds and plays. However, this does not mean that it will be the right guitar for you. This should not be a quick, simple decision for you to make. I highly recommend going to a shop and playing both of these, back to back if you can. Playing them from one to one I believe allows you to get a better feel for which one is best for you, and which one you're most comfortable with.
Published by Monkeyman
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47 Comments
Post a CommentOn Layla, Duane played a Les Paul and Eric played a Strat. Read a article by Duane years ago, and he stated that his Les Paul had a chain saw type sound and Erics Strat had a higher cleaner sound. They both could venture into the others territory, on the title track the last few notes had a hummingbird sound and I was surprised that it was Duane, who got his Les Paul to soar at the finish...
Gibson and Fender both make quality guitars that are amazing. I prefer the sound feel and design of the Fender Stratocaster.
the biggest difference is the shear power of the two instruments. if you have any aspirations of ever playing anything heavier than say john mayer i strongly suggest you get a les paul. and i am dead serious about. if you cant afford a les paul standard get the studio and if you cant afford the studio get a higher end epiphone.
viva strat
I have tried out the fender american stratocaster olympic white.. and the gibson standard les paul sunburst.. and both are amazingly great.. but i personally prfer the neck of the stratocaster.. and jsut the sound is alot lighter.. so i ended up buying the fender... an awesome guitar... and i still believe the gibson is a bit overpriced.. just get an epiphone... sounds the same as a les paul..
I think any strat can beat any Gibson any day but really it is youre personal pick. a Gibson can growl and squeal a little better than the Strat but the Strat is a legendary design and has a trem arm/whammy bar so it can do thrash and metal just as well as the Gibson. All in all i think the strat is a more famous more playable and a better guitar than Gibson Les Paul's and even SG's. Plus I went to the link on the bottom of this comment and used these super thin and strong inlay stickers to caver up the Stratocaster's boring dot inlay, I also re painted it light blue and added a cream pearloid pickgaurd instead of the standard plain white one.
If you can get both do it. If you only play metal and hate the static of single pickups, get the les paul. I personally like the fender hss or fat strat because I play more soft music and it's the best bang for you buck. I still love the sustain on the Gibson and how it sounds with effects pedals. They are even in my book, but the fender makes me sound better than I really am.
I own a 2004 Les Paul Standard Plus top, and have owned a Fender Standard fat Strat (with humbucker in the bridge) and I agree with some of the comments posted that it's really all about personal style. I personally prefer the thicker neck of a les paul and the darker tones it produces on the clean side as well as the overdriven (especially the overdriven...). Strat's are allot of fun to play but it's a brighter sound and as a guitarist that is used to fatter necks, strat necks can be pretty difficult to get used to. Honestly comparing the two is like comparing apples to oranges. Les Paul's can do just about any style of music: blues, jazz, Classic Rock, indie, punk, Hard Rock, Metal and everything in between. Personally I believe the Les Paul to have a very distinct neck pickup that other guitars just can't get (Listen to any of Slash's solo's and you'll hear it). Strats can do the same types of music but in a different flavor. My fat strat was a blast to play, even in the humbu
There's fans of each guitar, Fender has their following and gibson has theirs. My first guitar was a strat and I always seem to find myself coming back to that guitar.....black with maple neck. I learned guitar on that one, and it's pretty much my go-to guitar. However one day I plugged a gibson les paul custom into my marshall, and there was nothing else like it. Such a full sound. I played that for a while, but what can I say? I went back to the old trusty strat!!
Common guys don't tell me you needed two pages of text to end that poor story like this: Fender Stratocaster will be the best buy just because it's sold only a 1,000$ buck... and go to the store to try both back to back. Wow! This is the most useless review I ever read you're a time waster sir sorry having to tell you this. I personally own a Fender VG Stratocaster and did play several times on Gibson Les Paul. Constructions of these two guitars are totally different and also sound totally different. Many people and Gibson Co claims that Les Paul have the world best guitar neck I personally find Les Paul neck awful in comparaison of a Stratocaster neck Fender neck are narrow and very smooth Gibson are larger and not as smooth as Fender neck. Also no matter what Les Paul model you will chose they are not two neck exactly the same because there all handmade comparing to Fender which have different construction technique ensuring qualities product every time. Of course Les Paul will have