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Tele vs. Strat. vs LP


JARG
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I was having a FB conversation today with Prime Mover & Shaker and I was telling him I'd like to have two more guitars: a Tele and a Les Paul (or an SG) to give me some more options for guitar tones. Here's a cool video highlighting the differences in their tones.

 

http://youtu.be/LrOk5DRlCOY

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Lots of people love having a Tele with a humbucker in the neck position, or a Strat with one in the bridge. Best of both worlds.
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Well the tone of this guy's particular guitars, especially in the opening, don't have a wide variety of tones because it's so processed. Even when he goes into cleaner tones there is still tons of reverb making the Strat and Tele too close to show off the subtle differences. Also a Tele middle position is more like a 2 & 4 position on a Strat because of 2 pickups being active vs. the middle pickup being active in the middle position of a Strat. The thing about the Tele middle position is the distance between the two pickups as well as being in or out of polarity/phase which is really where the cool stuff is. Same goes for the 2 & 4 positions on a Strat. That's really where you can hear the differences. Plus there is a wide tonal differences within Fender single coils. I have gone through several Strats at a time in stores that all sound very different from each other, even within the same line.

 

I rewired my Les Paul with coil taps and phase switches (push-pull pots) so that I can get Tele like tones out my Lester but it's still not quite the same as a Tele. I am contemplating getting a cheap Tele sometime soon myself which would give me one of each.

 

An SG can have Les Paul qualities but a Les Paul Standard is the way to go if the classic Les Paul sound is desired because of the maple top. Les Paul Customs do not have a maple top for the most part. Some do but they are the exception. The Studio Les Pauls are not exactly consistent and are closer to SGs than Les Pauls sonically. At least to my ear.

 

Mine is "weight releaved" which is different from the current chambered bodies. The weight relief come from shallow holes in the mahogany below the maple. The holes are not near the pickups but more so in the bottom between the strap button and the tail piece. The chambered bodies sound more like ES semi hollows to me because they are pretty close to just having a center block where the pickups are mounted. If I had a choice I would go for the recent "Traditional" models that are old school specs and completely solid.

Edited by CygnusX-1Bk2
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Lots of people love having a Tele with a humbucker in the neck position, or a Strat with one in the bridge. Best of both worlds.

 

My Carvin has a Gibson '57 reissue pickup in the bridge position, wired with a coil tap. That along with the stock single coils in the middle and neck positions gives the guitar a lot of tonal variety. That said, I'd sometime like to have a wider palette of tones to draw from. A tonally diverse Carvin is still going to sound like a Carvin at the end of the day.

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Lots of people love having a Tele with a humbucker in the neck position, or a Strat with one in the bridge. Best of both worlds.

 

My Carvin has a Gibson '57 reissue pickup in the bridge position, wired with a coil tap. That along with the stock single coils in the middle and neck positions gives the guitar a lot of tonal variety. That said, I'd sometime like to have a wider palette of tones to draw from. A tonally diverse Carvin is still going to sound like a Carvin at the end of the day.

 

The guitar player in the last band I was in has a Carvin. Best sounding guitar he has next to his 70's Les Paul Custom. It actually has more definition in tone.

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Lots of people love having a Tele with a humbucker in the neck position, or a Strat with one in the bridge. Best of both worlds.

 

My Carvin has a Gibson '57 reissue pickup in the bridge position, wired with a coil tap. That along with the stock single coils in the middle and neck positions gives the guitar a lot of tonal variety. That said, I'd sometime like to have a wider palette of tones to draw from. A tonally diverse Carvin is still going to sound like a Carvin at the end of the day.

 

And in your opinion, what does a Carvin sound like?

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Lots of people love having a Tele with a humbucker in the neck position, or a Strat with one in the bridge. Best of both worlds.

 

My Carvin has a Gibson '57 reissue pickup in the bridge position, wired with a coil tap. That along with the stock single coils in the middle and neck positions gives the guitar a lot of tonal variety. That said, I'd sometime like to have a wider palette of tones to draw from. A tonally diverse Carvin is still going to sound like a Carvin at the end of the day.

 

And in your opinion, what does a Carvin sound like?

 

As in what other guitar? It sounds closest to a Strat, I'd say, but with more bite.

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Cool video. Aside from the tone, you need to factor in the playability. I'm a big guy (6'4" and a lil husky) with long arms and never felt comfortable playing my Tele. Just never could get a comfortable position with it. Funny thing is, I don't have that problem with my Strat. Long arms, big hands...strat's still no problem. Go figure. I sold the Tele a few months after I bought it.

 

I know...probably should have been a bass player.

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Well a Tele is a plank but the Strat has body and arm contours. Teles and Les Pauls have hard body edges. Same goes for ES models. My Sheraton can be very uncomfortable on my right arm because of the edge.

 

Carvin tones, as with most guitars, are dependent upon the wood used. I really liked their Koa models because of the tonal qualities of that wood. Plus their pickups have double the pole pieces which kind of focuses the magnetic field around the strings. They tend to be brighter and have a little more bottom too. Probably why EM says they sound more defined.

 

I too have 57's in my Les Paul and like jarg said the variety of tone is there, but it's not quite the same as a Strat or Tele when in single coil mode. Classic guitar tones are what they are because of the construction of those instruments. Just about everything we use now are based on those designs. I also would like to get a Gretsch and a Rickenbacker 6 string in addition to a Tele.

 

Oh and a Brian May... :)

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You also have to consider that lots of people get guitars and change out the pickups, tuners, bridge..etc. Is that guitar then considered a true representative of that brand after modification?
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Well a Tele is a plank but the Strat has body and arm contours. Teles and Les Pauls have hard body edges. Same goes for ES models. My Sheraton can be very uncomfortable on my right arm because of the edge.

 

Carvin tones, as with most guitars, are dependent upon the wood used. I really liked their Koa models because of the tonal qualities of that wood. Plus their pickups have double the pole pieces which kind of focuses the magnetic field around the strings. They tend to be brighter and have a little more bottom too. Probably why EM says they sound more defined.

 

I too have 57's in my Les Paul and like jarg said the variety of tone is there, but it's not quite the same as a Strat or Tele when in single coil mode. Classic guitar tones are what they are because of the construction of those instruments. Just about everything we use now are based on those designs. I also would like to get a Gretsch and a Rickenbacker 6 string in addition to a Tele.

 

Oh and a Brian May... :)

After listening to the video again and reading your comments I think I hit on why I never warmed up to the Tele. Just not as comfortable as a strat, or a contoured body, and the tone wasn't that different than my strat to make a difference. As a player, I'm a part-time basement hacker, so someone more accomplished could probably make use of the more subtle differences.

 

I will call out the fact that the tele and strat have different fretboards (maple vs rosewood). It may not make a huge difference in tone, but if you're going to have a scientific comparison, you need to be consistent.

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Well a Tele is a plank but the Strat has body and arm contours. Teles and Les Pauls have hard body edges. Same goes for ES models. My Sheraton can be very uncomfortable on my right arm because of the edge.

 

Carvin tones, as with most guitars, are dependent upon the wood used. I really liked their Koa models because of the tonal qualities of that wood. Plus their pickups have double the pole pieces which kind of focuses the magnetic field around the strings. They tend to be brighter and have a little more bottom too. Probably why EM says they sound more defined.

 

I too have 57's in my Les Paul and like jarg said the variety of tone is there, but it's not quite the same as a Strat or Tele when in single coil mode. Classic guitar tones are what they are because of the construction of those instruments. Just about everything we use now are based on those designs. I also would like to get a Gretsch and a Rickenbacker 6 string in addition to a Tele.

 

Oh and a Brian May... :)

After listening to the video again and reading your comments I think I hit on why I never warmed up to the Tele. Just not as comfortable as a strat, or a contoured body, and the tone wasn't that different than my strat to make a difference. As a player, I'm a part-time basement hacker, so someone more accomplished could probably make use of the more subtle differences.

 

I will call out the fact that the tele and strat have different fretboards (maple vs rosewood). It may not make a huge difference in tone, but if you're going to have a scientific comparison, you need to be consistent.

I don't think he was trying to do a scientific comparison, just a demonstrative one.

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Both Strats and Teles come with either maple or rosewood fingerboards. This video is hardly scientific. Or demonstrative for that matter. It's more "hey listen to the differences between my guitars..." which happen to be a Strat, Tele and a Les Paul (ish). It's an example of why the internet is nebulous. :) Edited by CygnusX-1Bk2
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Both Strats and Teles come with either maple or rosewood fingerboards. This video is hardly scientific. Or demonstrative for that matter. It's more "hey listen to the differences between my guitars..." which happen to be a Strat, Tele and a Les Paul (ish). It's an example of why the internet is nebulous. :)

The Cloud is nebulous. Good one. :LOL:
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I have a humbucker in the bridge which I had my tech tap a I can go to a single coil with a small switch. It is the best of both worlds and David Allen makes the pickup I use, a p51. The guitar is a Swiss Army knife. I still love my Les Paul. Never had a Tele...someday.
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I love my LP (Special). Upgraded a while back from a middle of the road Ibanez, which was good for the Price (~$400 many years ago). I use this exclusively for all my electric needs. Plays like butter and sounds great any style I throw at it. UNLIKE many Fenders and some other brands/models whose choice in factory pickups hinders and pigeon-holes the guitar. Edited by stoopid
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I love my LP (Special). Upgraded a while back from a middle of the road Ibanez, which was good for the Price (~$400 many years ago). I use this exclusively for all my electric needs. Plays like butter and sounds great any style I throw at it. UNLIKE many Fenders and some other brands/models whose choice in factory pickups hinders and pigeon-holes the guitar.

 

I want some choices: a "jack of all trades but a master of none" guitar (which is my Carvin, and sounds like your LP) and some specialists.

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I love my LP (Special). Upgraded a while back from a middle of the road Ibanez, which was good for the Price (~$400 many years ago). I use this exclusively for all my electric needs. Plays like butter and sounds great any style I throw at it. UNLIKE many Fenders and some other brands/models whose choice in factory pickups hinders and pigeon-holes the guitar.

 

I want some choices: a "jack of all trades but a master of none" guitar (which is my Carvin, and sounds like your LP) and some specialists.

 

You also tend to push your guitars a little harder on the fret board than I. ;) I'm sure things you notice would fly right over my head.

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