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A lot of my musical influences played Les Pauls (Duane Allman, Jimmy Page). And I’ve always thought they are one of the most beautiful guitars ever built, but the price kept me away. Eventually I found an LP Classic for a reasonable price. I never play it. It sits in its case under my bed. Sure it plays nice and it looks great, but I don’t use it. With Gibson’s skyrocketing prices, it’s probably a good investment. But when it’s time to play, I grab a Strat, or a Tele or a Ric or even another Gibby, but not the Paul.

So here are the reasons why I prefer Strats:

Reason 1 – A MIA Strat cost less than half what a LP Standard cost. I’m basing this on MF prices of $2,119.99 for a Gibson Les Paul Standard ’60s Neck (List Price: $3,178.00) and $949.98 for a MIA Strat (List Price: $1,356.99).

With a deluxe or a signature Strat you can get up to $1300-1400. With a Les Paul you can get up to…well what does a Jimmy Page sig. LP cost, $12,000? And worth every penny I’m sure.

So I could have one Les Paul or two Strats; or one Strat and one of something else; or one Strat and an extra grand in my pocket. I think even hardcore Les Paul players would have a hard time convincing people that a Les Paul is twice the guitar a Strat is.

Reason 2 – I’ve never heard of anyone breaking the neck on a Strat (excluding abuse). But a Paul with a snapped neck is very common. Which leads me to number 3.

Reason 3 – Bolt on necks. If you did happen to snap a neck, anybody with a screwdriver could replace it. Setting it up would be more difficult, but still nothing compared to removing the neck on, pretty much, any Gibson. Which leads into number 4.

Reason 4 – Interchangeability. Want to put this neck on that body? If it’s a Strat, no problem (or a Tele). If it’s a Les Paul, big problem. There are also plenty of aftermarket Fender products available (necks, bodies, etc.). So someone with intermediate skills can build anything they want (within reason). Apparently Leo had this in mind when he decided on the bolt-on neck for his Fenders. He wanted people to be able to swap out parts, or mix and match parts to get what they wanted.

Reason 5 – Wood. Les Pauls are built primarily of Mahogany. A beautiful and great sounding wood, which grows in the rainforests and could be clear-cut right out of existence. Strat necks are made of Maple. Strat bodies are made of Ash, Alder, Popular... All these woods grow in the U.S. and are renewable.

Reason 6 – Variety. You can buy Strats with three single coils or two singles and a double, or two doubles, or HSH… Strats come with 7.25” radii or 9.5” with V-neck, or C-neck profiles, maple or rosewood fingerboards, hardtail or softtail.
Not that you don’t have a choice with an LP. You can have a 50’s neck or a 60’s neck, your choice, although apparently not for the same price anymore.

O.K. LP fans, fire at will.

I hope you Strat Cats have my back.

Ok.

well argued, but it all comes down to horses for courses, mate ... s'why they make 31 flavors of ice cream

as for me, i still don't own a strat or a LP ... and i'd like one of each some day ...

t4d

Totally agree with everything you said.

When I started trying to play a few years ago, the first thing I did was go out and buy an LP style guitar because of Neil Young, Page, Allman Bros, Skynyrd, etc. Thought there was nothing cooler on the planet than an LP.

Funny things happen though, and after a few years of messing with different guitars I've come to the definitive conclusion that I'm a quot;Fenderquot; guy.

All of your points entered into my conclusion, along of course with intangibles that I can't even quantify. I guess the main thing, though, is just tone.
Pauls are great, but I find I cant play them as a steady diet. There just too in your face and massive sounding, but I could pick up a strat or my '51 and play it all day.

And I do like the fact that Fenders are priced in a much more quot;buyer friendlyquot; way!

I see your points, and they are all very valid. But, there is one unquantifiable piece your missing, and it has to do with preference. I like a good strat for many of the reasons you listed, but no matter how nice a guitar plays, I simply feel at home with my LP Studio (which is comparable in price to a signature MIA strat. With a standard LP, IMO, you are paying for cosmetic upgrades not available on a strat).

I#8217;m not going to bash either guitar. Both have their place on my wall.


Originally Posted by The Golden BoyOk.

^ what he said.

I like those points. I like both my strats and my LP, though the guitars I've built have all been 'strat-like'. My first guitar was a strat, and it was something that I was naturally comfortable.

At first, I hated LP's 'cause everybody around me had 'em, and they were the cool guitar to have. I stuck with my strat, modified it, beat it up (unintentionally, but nevertheless, it got beat up over the years) and still, when there's a tune I am trying to figure out, I more often than not pick up the strat first (or my wolfie).

The reason I play a Strat or a Tele most of the time and not a guitar with humbuckers is that a guitar with humbuckers sounds like mud (compared to single coils) most of the time when I play rythym at any kind of real volume. Lew

I see a guitar as a tool, (sometimes a very beautiful tool) and arguing Strat vs. LP is akin to arguing cresent wrench or hammer. They are both useful, look great and do what they do well. There's a reason why I own a Strat, Tele and LP (although the LP is an Epi, I'd like a Gibson some day).

Good point Mike on the Studio vs. Standard.

I like them both. My fav is a Brian Moore guitar. Strat scale length and neck joint setup. Les Paul in body material and string spacing. If a strat and a Les Paul had sex (the paul would be on top) you would get a Brian Moore. And the offspring is greater than its parents in my opinion.


Originally Posted by skh515

Reason 1 #8211; A MIA Strat cost less than half what a LP Standard cost. I#8217;m basing this on MF prices of $2,119.99 for a Gibson Les Paul Standard #8217;60s Neck (List Price: $3,178.00) and $949.98 for a MIA Strat (List Price: $1,356.99).

I'm a Gibson man but I can't argue the price issue -- would be a lot cooler if LP's cost the same as Strats, but there's just a lot more work in a set neck and a carved top.Originally Posted by skh515I think even hardcore Les Paul players would have a hard time convincing people that a Les Paul is twice the guitar a Strat is.

It's not a case of it being quot;twice the guitarquot; -- which is like saying, to use the old proverb, and orange is twice the fruit an apple is. As explained, set necks and carved tops are a lot more work.Originally Posted by skh515Reason 2 #8211; I#8217;ve never heard of anyone breaking the neck on a Strat (excluding abuse). But a Paul with a snapped neck is very common. Which leads me to number 3.

I've never heard of the NECK on a Les Paul breaking, only the headstock. The same happens with a Strat if you let it fall off a stand face down on a hard surface.Originally Posted by skh515Reason 3 #8211; Bolt on necks. If you did happen to snap a neck, anybody with a screwdriver could replace it. Setting it up would be more difficult, but still nothing compared to removing the neck on, pretty much, any Gibson. Which leads into number 4.

Reason 4 #8211; Interchangeability. Want to put this neck on that body? If it#8217;s a Strat, no problem (or a Tele). If it#8217;s a Les Paul, big problem. There are also plenty of aftermarket Fender products available (necks, bodies, etc.). So someone with intermediate skills can build anything they want (within reason). Apparently Leo had this in mind when he decided on the bolt-on neck for his Fenders. He wanted people to be able to swap out parts, or mix and match parts to get what they wanted.

The ability to replace a broken neck or just change one for giggles and experimentation is definitely an advantage.Originally Posted by skh515Reason 5 #8211; Wood. Les Pauls are built primarily of Mahogany. A beautiful and great sounding wood, which grows in the rainforests and could be clear-cut right out of existence. Strat necks are made of Maple. Strat bodies are made of Ash, Alder, Popular... All these woods grow in the U.S. and are renewable.

All woods are renewable because they come from trees that can be replanted. This one's a wash.Originally Posted by skh515Reason 6 #8211; Variety. You can buy Strats with three single coils or two singles and a double, or two doubles, or HSH#8230; Strats come with 7.25#8221; radii or 9.5#8221; with V-neck, or C-neck profiles, maple or rosewood fingerboards, hardtail or softtail.

Not that you don#8217;t have a choice with an LP. You can have a 50#8217;s neck or a 60#8217;s neck, your choice, although apparently not for the same price anymore.

You can also have an LP with P90 single coils -- or now that we have all kinds of humbucker sized P90's, you can put singles in any LP. There are also 3 pickup LP's that because of the humbucker-sized 90's can then be HSH SSH HSS SSS HHH or whatever you want. The 3 pickup models aren't as common, but then again 2-pickup Strats are relatively rare too.

I'm not sure what you mean by the 50's and 60's neck sizes being different prices. I've never seen that. But there are 3 basic neck sizes for LP's: the little 60's on Classics and 60's neck Standards, the 50's neck on the Standard (which is really the same old medium neck the pre-2002 Standards had) and the massive sewer pipe necks on the Historics.

One thing you can't get on a Strat (Fender anyway) is an ebony fingerboard, which I really like because it's so fast.

There are also direct replacement trems you can put on an LP, like the Stet bar, and even without that, many LP's (particularly Historics) come with the Bigsby trem.

I think a big part of it is the price situation. There are cheaper les paul copies, but they don't come close to a real les paul. There are the cheaper les paul copies that are great, but they are from japan. These ones are readily excessible easily. Most people don't have a chance to get them as easily as a strat, which is cheap and is in about every guitar store. I think of les pauls as a higher end type of guitar because of the price. I guess thats why more people go for the strat. Another thing is weight, people could be actually getting lazier with all the new technology coming out, so they want a guitar that is light in weight. The last thing is the presence of strats, when I see guitars anywhere it's usually a strat, not a les paul, so that kind of thing may burn images in your mind that strats are the best.


Originally Posted by LewguitarThe reason I play a Strat or a Tele most of the time and not a guitar with humbuckers is that a guitar with humbuckers sounds like mud (compared to single coils) most of the time when I play rythym at any kind of real volume. Lew

A lot of that is in what you're used to. When I've been playing the Strat for an hour or so and then pickup the LP or 355, it sounds muddy, but then I adjust my playing technique to bring out the treble and it's fine.

Same thing in reverse, when I've been playing the Gibsons a while and pick up the strat, it sounds like an anemic mosquito (although this is less so since I added some turns to the neck and bridge pus). But then I adjust my playing technique to add beef to the tone and all is well.

They still don't sound the same even with the playing technique adjustments but then again that's the last thing I want. I WANT those tone differences, but I just want those differences at their best.

MORAL OF THE STORY: You have to play the two guitars differently to get the best out of them.

By the way, I love the way a heavier, well balanced guitar feels, a light one feels cheap in comparison. (I'm not talking shoulder breaking-heavy, I mean solid. A medium Paul or heavy strat)


Originally Posted by LewguitarThe reason I play a Strat or a Tele most of the time and not a guitar with humbuckers is that a guitar with humbuckers sounds like mud (compared to single coils) most of the time when I play rythym at any kind of real volume. Lew

Lew, good point. But do you think a P90 guitar (typically a Gibson) would sound like mud? I'm thinking not, and that's why I love em...they are the best of both Gibson/bucker Fender/single worlds.

14 posts and no mention of the difference in tone?

Strat with an HB sounds like...a strat with an HB. LP with a single sounds like an LP with a single. Strats and LP's also feel different when you play them. Sound and feel are subjective, but I believe that's why the LP's cost what they do, because they can be built inexpensively with the advent of computer routing, as companies like Agile show.

I like strats and LP's, though I'm more partial to humbuckers and the Gibbo sound these days. And I do like the way a strat plays.


Originally Posted by chill14 posts and no mention of the difference in tone?

I think that's because it's assumed that folks in here who've been playing awhile already have a clear audio quot;picturequot; in their heads of the difference in the tone between the two.

the reason i like fenders better than les pauls is simply this: les pauls, along with most gibsons are total crap. thank you for your time.


Originally Posted by chill14 posts and no mention of the difference in tone? Originally Posted by jayK

I guess the main thing, though, is just tone.
Pauls are great, but I find I cant play them as a steady diet. There just too in your face and massive sounding, but I could pick up a strat or my '51 and play it all day.

and if thats not enough for you...

les pauls sound like poopie (for lack of a better term). and strats, well strats sound like if the angels recorded all of their voices and used the best takes for each note on a strat.


Originally Posted by jonnymangiaLew, good point. But do you think a P90 guitar (typically a Gibson) would sound like mud? I'm thinking not, and that's why I love em...they are the best of both Gibson/bucker Fender/single worlds.

Well, the quot;mudquot; thing is my own perception because I like alot of clarity from the neck pickup when I'm playing chords. I like almost an acoustic guitar type of tone from the neck pickup and with my Strats, Teles and Matchless Chieftan I can get that.

Never been a fan of P-90's. They're not as powerful and ballsy as a paf type HB and not as bright and lively and three dimensional as a Strat or Tele single coil.

This is all just personal preference of course! I love playing lead with a bridge humbucker on a Les Paul or any good guitar...but I can't get with the neck pickup rythym tone of anything other than a Strat or Tele single coil.