After doing alot of research I've bumped up my budget to 1k. I've narrowed it down to a Fender Stratocaster american deluxe hss lt or a Gibson SG standard or Les Paul. Which ones would you recommend for rock and why?
I wouldn't go with an SG. SG's are a little one-dimensional. As for the other two, it totally depends on what kind of rock you are talking about. If you want anything Aerosmith or heavier (Zeppelin, Van Halen, GNR, etc), go with the Les Paul. If you want a slightly more versatile guitar that isn't going to get as distorted or sound as beefy, go with the Strat.
Sorry guys, ok Fender Strat Deluxe or G&L ASAT Classic or Gibson SG Standard? I keep changing my mind, lol. All these guitars are around 1k-1.2k.
The Fender doesn't weigh as much and has a narrower neck. Both are sweet. You would be happy with either one. My dad has: - Gibson Acoustic (bought in 1965) - Fender Villager (12-string) - SRV Commemorative (This thing is too fine) - Gibson Les Paul Deluxe (25 years old, bought new) - Gibson SG (a 1965 that's beat to but sounds great) - Ovasion Acoustic Unfortunately, he doesn't play anymoe and you couldn't convine him to sell any of it. I guess he gives a slight edge to Gibson. I have an American made Strat and a Taylor 310 Acoustic.
I think strats are the most generic guitars - i would not go near one unless I was making fun of eric clapton, which is not out of the question. I say, the G&L's you an't go wrong with. I like SG's too, but Jeff is right - you either play all ACDC or you dont, your call. G&L ASATs are fresh too.
As always, Jeffs advice is solid. What it REALLY comes down to is humbuckers (in the Gibsons) v single coil pickups (in the Fenders). You will want to pick the guitar that is best suited for what you will be playing. Humbucker pickups are excelent for that crunchy chunk'a'chunk sound ala, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Social Distortion, Aerosmith, Bad Company, etal, Single coils (strats in particular) are better for a bluesy, spacey lead style of play ala, Hendrix, SRV, David Gilmour, Robin Trower, etc One other thing about the stratocaster is they have a good whammy bar (though this should only be used sparingly, if at all). Both make excellent guitars, but I have had a little better luck with intonation and good tuning up and down the neck with the Fenders. Oh yeah, the Fenders are lighter as well and the Les Paul can weigh a ****'n ton after the third set rolls around. To further muddy the waters you could get a strat or telle with humbuckers (either Fender or other various brands) which can give you the possibility of the best of both worlds. Likewise, many Gibsons come with the excellent single coil 'soapbar' pickups. These will give you a slighty trashy sound (yet can be mellow as well) ala the New York Dolls, The Clash, etc
One other thing, don't get hung up specificaly on US made top-of the-line Fenders or Gibsons I have gone thru a multitude of guitars duiring my time including a 1959 gold top Les Paul and my Dads 1949 Fender Broadcaster. Both of these guitars are 'Holy Grail', but neither were as good as a few less expensive guitars I have owned. The VERY best Gibson I ever owned was a non descript 1976 (bought new at Evans out of the box in the back) tobaco sunburst Les Paul Jr with soap bars. I'm certain it was that years least expensive Les Paul. I have also had a couple Ibanez lawsuit Les Pauls that were as good or better than the Gibsons. My favorite Fender has been a Japanese made model. Admittedly, much of the Mexico and Korean made Fenders are pretty lame, so be careful there. Finally, do not limit yourself to Gibson and Fender - there are a great many excellent guitars out there by other makers. I particularly like the new Eastwood guitars which provide replicas of some very cool guitars like Airline (Jack Whites prefered), Vox (teardrops and others) Dan Elelectro etc many of which are far superior to the originals as they were mostly for looking cool but not known for workmanship.
Since you've upped the price range to the 1000-1200 range, you should at least try out a few more guitars outside the most popular destinations. I agree w/ CBFC about the Strat (but not so vehemently)... everyone plays them... and everyone in Texas playing them seems to go for either the SRV sound or the Jimi sound... not that either sound is bad, but damn... it gets old). The G&Ls are pretty nice as a departure from the Strat, but I've only played the Tele-type versions w/ the P-90s... very nice. [entering to pimp the Rickenbacker as the coolest of all guitars] I'm not sure why you've narrowed it down to the guitars you've listed so far... if it has to do with what you've already played, or had recommended to you by other more experienced players, or the instruments that the musicians you listen to use. If you want something different... all-American-made, well-finished, aesthetically striking, versatile-sounding (yeah, I said it!), look into a Rickenbacker! I'd always heard about them being one-trick ponies-- great for that Beatles sound but not much else... but then I tried one. I have a 360 (pictured in my sig), and I can get so many different sounds out of it-- deep, warm jazz-sounds with the neck pickup, the classic treble-chime with the bridge pickup, and all kinds of blended sounds in between. There are three-pickup models available that have even more sounds than I can get out of mine. Mine has the cool Ric-O-Sound output jacks that can split the pickups or blend them into two separate amps... and I haven't even really explored that yet. People always think of The Beatles when you talk about Rickenbacker players, but the list of users is pretty diverse -- from the classics like Tom Petty, Peter Buck (REM), Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Carl Wilson (Beach Boys) to some arguably harder-rocking guys like Lemmy (Motorhead), Thom and Ed (Radiohead), Guy Picciotto (Fugazi), and on... You had mentioned being left-handed before. Rickenbacker does left-handed versions of all their guitars... Also, across their different models, and this is pretty common with other manufacturers too, the string-spacing is different... and this may make a difference to you also. For the 360, 370, and 381, the strings are closer together, while the 330, 340, 620, 660 have wider spacing. [/entering to pimp the Rickenbacker as the coolest of all guitars] Okay, Ricken-rant over... whatever you end up deciding on, make sure you've tried out as many different guitars as are in your price-range. And have fun!
Yeah, I remember I always thought Rickenbackers were only good for that jangly Byrds sound. Then I saw that the Edge uses one for Even Better Than The Real Thing and Mysterious Ways. There's someone else who gets a different sound out of them, but I can't recall right now. BTW, what kind of sound are Epiphone Casinos good for? I know that like Lennon and Noel from Oasis uses them.
I've never played a Rickenbaker or any hollow body electric but have heard there's a real problem with feedback. I almost never play electric anymore but still own an old Ibanez that's essentially an SG knockoff. Its not bad but needs some new parts. I don't know if you can buy that model anymore. If I ever end up buying another electric I would want to get a Paul Reed Smith.
Is Rockin Robin Guitars still around in Houston? I remember they made some pretty nice left-handed guitars.
Yes they are, but the place to go for lefty guitars is Southpaw Guitars, on Bellaire Blvd. near Renwick. Be careful though....the owner is an idiot who I once busted trying to sell gear that was stolen from my home.
Fender vs. Gibson, like Jeff said, it all depends on what kind of music you are going to play. Hard Rock/Metal...go with the Les Paul. Otherwise, go with the Strat. Meet my soon to be new beeyotch, as soon as my tax refund comes in..... Yup...a brand new Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe. Three P90s with the middle one reverse wired to eliminate all hum. Blonde with gold hardware. FAT bluesy tone. I played one for two hours at Fuller's a few weeks ago, and I was sold.
Other Rick (occasional, former, or most of the time) users: Eddie Vedder, Carrie (from Sleater-Kinney), Pete Townshend, Paul Weller (The Jam)... actually, I remember seeing a photo of a teenage SRV playing an old 59 or 60 model Rickenbacker Capri. Most of the Casino's I've heard have the 2 P-90s for pickups... they sound very close to a cross between an Gibson ES-330 and a Rickenbacker. I played a burgandy one from the 60s (I think it was at Fullers... but now maybe moved over to Rockin Robin), and the strings were really close together. It was going for about $2k though.
I've always heard people talk about feedback problems associated with hollow/semi-hollow guitars -- it's usually been a Gibson 335 that was the culprit, but I've never run into it. The only feedback I've ever gotten was when I actually went after it (turning very close to the speakers).
