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Do you think its easier to get a good sound from an LP than a strat? I noticed the other day that, at most settings, my mate's LP sounded great on my Bel Air. Though I prefer the clarity and treble of my strat, there was a lot more tweaking involved. Thoughts?

Are we discussing the difference between single coils and humbuckers?
Or is it just a matter of taste?

I don't think it's quot;harderquot; to get a decent tone with either one in particular, but they DO respond differently and the settings that work well for a humbucking pickup don't necessarily work the same for a single coil. I do believe that Fender guitars are less forgiving on playing technique than a Gibson. You can dog a note on a Gibson through a screaming overdrive and you'll at least get SOMETHING. Do the same thing with a Fender and it will laugh at you.

unless we're talking about LP neck pickup through distortion

Yeah, it's a totally different gain structure you've got to set both at.
When you play a Paul, it hits the front end of an amp real hard, so you've got to dial in it's sweet spot, gainwise. Same with a strat, but you've got to pull back the treble, boost the bass, boost the mids, and knock the gain up to a point where it's right at the edge of distortion. At that point your picking attack becomes a part of the gain. When you dig in hard, it distorts, and when you back off on your touch and guitar volume, it cleans up. That's just the general guideline, since every style approaches it differently.

I find a Strat much quot;easierquot; to play...?????

Well, the strat offers more sound choices. Pickup combinations. You have to sort through the possibilities to find which one you like. if making that choice is hard.

But, I think the strat is easier to play. A strat just seems to sing more naturally than a Les Paul. I don't know why that is. Single coils?

I think it's easier to get a full warm tone from humbuckers and that's why beginners seem to prefer them.

As I matured as a player, I found that single coils left me more room for my own personality to come through and that I could play more expressively and shade the tone with my touch and phrasing better with single coils.

Lew


Originally Posted by HellionI do believe that Fender guitars are less forgiving on playing technique than a Gibson. You can dog a note on a Gibson through a screaming overdrive and you'll at least get SOMETHING. Do the same thing with a Fender and it will laugh at you.That might be true if you're only using the LP through screaming distortion . . . if you're playing clean, (or with a hint of overdrive) I don't believe that you'll sound good with crappy playing technique on a LP.


Originally Posted by LewguitarI think it's easier to get a full warm tone from humbuckers and that's why beginners seem to prefer them.

As I matured as a player, I found that single coils left me more room for my own personality to come through and that I could play more expressively and shade the tone with my touch and pharsing better with single coils.

LewI agree with Lew(Again) LOL...I have many guitars and I like using humbuckers and single coils...I prefer the single coil tone and a strat over everything else,simply because I Like the clear,articulate tone I get from single coils and the tonal versatility of the strat's pickup positions...Humbuckers do have their place in my music styles also...


Originally Posted by GuitarStvThat might be true if you're only using the LP through screaming distortion . . . if you're playing clean, (or with a hint of overdrive) I don't believe that you'll sound good with crappy playing technique on a LP.

I didn't say that you would sound good if you're a crappy player. I said that humbucking pickups are a bit more forgiving than single coils when it comes to botching notes. An individual that can't play just can't play and makes you want to grab the guitar out of their hands, doesn't it?


Originally Posted by HellionI said that humbucking pickups are a bit more forgiving than single coils when it comes to botching notes. An individual that can't play just can't play and makes you want to grab the guitar out of their hands, doesn't it?

Yeah, when people keep losing time it kills me . . . (but then I know that I'm guilty of it on occasion). But maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by being more forgiving . . . because I think that a mistake sounds like a mistake when it's made. I havn't been able to say 'Oh, I made a mistake, but it sounds fine because I have humbuckers' . . .