Comparing two classics of electric guitar design, The Fender Stratocaster and The Gibson Les Paul. Next up? The case for the Fender Stratocaster.
Design and Ergonomics
The Fender Stratocaster has been described as ‘The Perfect Electric Guitar’, an exercise in form following function. Not a single element on the instrument is superfluous, everything has a purpose. The belly cutaway (for comfort), the 6-a-side tuners and straight string pull (to aid tuning), the location of the volume control (for volume swells) and double cutaways (for better upper fret access). The Fender Stratocaster is a tool, a machine, a sleek modern player’s guitar. Years ahead of its time, some say this futuristic design has never been bettered, even today, and that Leo Fender essentially ‘Got it right’.
By comparison, the Gibson Les Paul is an old-fashioned ornament, style over substance, an uncomfortable (and much heavier) brute. A log.
Clarity
A Strat cuts through a band mix like a knife through butter, simple as that, It just seems to be voiced in just the right frequency band. The analogy is the Les Paul is the tank, having to rely on volume and power to be heard. The Fender Stratocaster is more like a Ferrari. A precision-engineered tool that cuts through gracefully in style by applying just the right elements.
In addition to this, we now move onto the Gibson’s Achilles heel: The Clean Tone. As mention in part 1, the newer Gibson’s do have a few tricks up their sleeve with the coil-tap and phase switches, but you’ll never get a Fender clean on a Gibson, not even close. In addition to this, the signature out-of-phase positions 2 and 4 on a Fender Stratocaster are even further out of the Gibson Les Paul’s reach. Unfortunately for Gibson, these percussive, clucky, out-of-phase tones are some of the most loved (and recorded) in history. If you’re thinking about doing anything that relies on great clean tones (country, funk, soul, disco), then your only option is the Strat.
A great recent example of this out-out-phase sound is Nile Rodgers on ‘Get Lucky’ by Daft Punk.
Yngwie .J. Malmsteen – Cavallino Rampante
Playability
Yes, the Gibson has a flatter radius and looser string tension, which should technically mean it plays better than the Fender, right? Well, in practice, wrong!
The thing is, although the flatter radius allows for a lower action, our fretting fingers don’t lie flat over the frets, they’re curved. In other words, the 9.5″ radius fingerboard on the Strat actually falls under the fingers more naturally, than the flatter Gibson radius.
The result of this, in spite of the potentially slightly higher action and string tension, is that the Stratocaster is the more natural, faster, fluid player. You can zip over the fretboard with ease, Just look at the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen (and long before him. the one and only Jimi Hendrix no less), one of the many technique-orientated players that have turned to the Strat.
Durablilty and Tuning stability
By design, the Fender American Series Stratocaster is a much more solid and stable guitar than the Gibson Les Paul, and here’s why:
- Headstock. The Stratocater’s neck and headstock is hewn from a single piece of hard rock maple, with no angle at all on the headstock. Contrast this with the softer mahogany of a Les Paul with it’s 17 degree neck angle, a well known vulnerable point. How many tales of broken Stratocaster headstocks do you hear about? None.
- Tuning. In addition to the above, the straight string pull on the Stratocaster combined with staggered height tuners and roller string trees virtually eliminates string friction. Contrast this with the way the strings are splayed out over the Gibson’s headstock. Also the bolt-on neck has it’s advantages stability-wise, too.
- Simplicity. The Stratocaster’s one piece bridge, as opposed to bridge + tailpiece on a Gibson means effectively less to go wrong and less to break on the Stratocaster, from a stability and durability perspective.
In summary, the Fender Stratocaster is a famously stable and durable guitar, drop it by mistake. It won’t break. Now throw it on the floor, It still won’t break. Look at how Hendrix and Townsend abused their Fenders. Now try dropping a Gibson Les Paul on its headstock……. game over.
Versatility and adaptability
It’s true, you can’t make a Fender Stratocaster sound exactly like a Gibson Les Paul, they are just too different, but you CAN get part of the way there. That’s because the Fender Stratocaster, besides being the more comfortable guitar to play, it is, and always has been, the most versatile sounding. It’s a cover band guitarists dream, possessing a chameleon-like quality that can span a much wider range of styles than the Les Paul could ever hope to. Percussive funk? it’s there, clean, positions 2 and 4. If you want bite, the bridge pickup will cut through anything. But there are also a few humbucker-esque sounds in there too by backing off the tone of position 2 or 4 and adding gain. Clean, the Strat is unsurpassed.
In a gigging situation with a Strat, you have easy access to 3 pickups and 5 sounds as opposed to the 2 pickups and 3 sounds of the Gibson. The Strat’s layout is so intuitive too, with the single volume positioned right under your little finger, allowing for much easier volume swells and manipulation than a Les Paul. And of course, Let’s not forget that the Fender Stratocaster’s ace card, the patented ‘Synchronized Tremolo System’. If you have a Les Paul and the song dictates some tremolo arm technique you are bang out of luck. Fender has tweaked and honed the design of this tremolo system over the years and now it performs right up there with the best non-locking systems you can buy.
Price and resale value
The Fender American Series Stratocaster retails for around the £1000 mark, whereas the 2015 Gibson Les Paul Standard retails for just under double that.
What’s more, a current Fender American Series Stratocaster will hold onto its value, whereas the 2015 Gibson’s with their robot tuners, adjustable nuts and ‘holograms’ have already divided opinion and may not.
Looks and Desirability
To some, the Les Paul is the ugly duckling. old-fashioned, unwieldy piece of heavy furniture, in contrast to the nimble, iconic, futuristic 50’s Americana of the Strat. As mentioned before, the American Stratocaster is seen by some to be the definitive electric guitar, a product of the American dream, the blue-collar hero.
Players
Gilmour, Beck, Hendrix, Clapton, Knopfler, Malmsteen, Blackmore. All Fender Stratocaster Players playing a variety of genres. They can’t all be wrong, can they?
The Case for the Fender Stratocaster rests
The Fender Stratocaster is a better-designed guitar than the Gibson Les Paul Standard. It has superior ergonomics, is lighter, is more stable/durable and plays better. Sonically it’s more versatile with classic clean sounds but also the ability to cover a wider range of musical styles. It can mimic Les Paul whereas the Les Paul can’t mimic the Strat
The Stratocaster is played and endorsed by some of the greatest players of our time, some of which, (including Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton) who have moved over from Gibson. This has elevated the Strat to an iconic status.
Lastly, the Strat is half the price of the Gibson, whilst incorporating more features (e.g. the Tremolo).
The Final Verdict
First of all, it’s worth mentioning again that I have owned and loved both guitars for different reasons. I’ve also argued the case for the Gibson Les Paul in another of my blog posts Why the Gibson Les Paul Is Better Than the Fender Stratocaster. I’ve tried to put across a critical, rational argument for each contender based on my own experience more than what I’ve read, but unfortunately, there are still a number of contradictions that I will now clear up in this final verdict. I’m going to keep this very simple and break it down into what we all essentially care about as players……
Which Guitar plays the best? The Fender Stratocaster.
Which Guitar sounds the best (Clean)? The Fender Stratocaster.
Which Guitar sounds the best (Overdriven)? The Gibson Les Paul.
Which Guitar is the most versatile? The Fender Stratocaster.
Personally, I’ve constantly switched between Gibson and Fender, I once had a Gibson Les Paul that was not versatile enough and too muddy, so I switched to a Strat. Then I started gigging and the hum and thinness of the Strat bothered me, so I switched to a lighter Les Paul Studio for over 10 years. Durability and stability started to play a factor, so I experimented with various other makes/models before switching back to the Strat to try and make it work but hankered for the sustain of the Gibson again.
If you’re playing mostly clean to mildly overdriven, the Strat wins hands down, whereas if you play from mildly overdriven to heavier rock/metal, the Les Paul clearly wins. I play mostly in the middle ground, a little clean, mainly overdriven + a bit of sustaining lead and the Strat has always been too thin/weak sounding for me here, which is frustrating as the Strat is clearly the better designed, more versatile and easier to play an instrument with far superior cleans (and a tremolo). The overdriven Strat tones are clear and do cut, but, for me, they just don’t naturally ‘sing’ like a Les Paul. Maybe I just haven’t got the time or patience to make a Strat work for me, or maybe I just can’t. so…..
The Winner (for me) is…….
The Gibson Les Paul Standard
Buying a Fender Stratocaster?
You can support the blog by ordering through my Guitar Centre affiliate link here, or by clicking the image below.
Buying a Gibson Les Paul?
Same deal, click here or the Image below.
There’s a reason people who record with other guitars play a Les Paul live. It’s just better.
Truth be told, the best guitar is the one that sounds the way you want when you play it.
Also note that a very common band setup is two guitars. one person has the Strat, and the other person has the Les Paul.
But the real kicker is individual guitars can be different. Am example.
Billy Corgan (smashing pumpkins) is definitely a Strat person. But it’s one particular whammyless 58 strat that is completely magical for him. That model wasn’t even considered a good one by most people. No whammy bar at all? that’s not a real strat. Lace sensors? Seriously? But this specific strat became his “Gish guitar”. As soon as he strummed that guitar, it felt right to him, and sounded great in his hands. Note that he can and does play heavy fuzz. Really heavy fuzz. Yet he uses a Strat.
This guitar was stolen during a gig. No other guitar he ever got worked as well for him. After many years he got it back. He picked it up, and busted out with Siva from Gish. It felt just as right for him as it did back when he first got it. That strat, and ONLY that strat, sung for him the way Les Pauls tend to for you.
This is also why you should buy from a music store, and play the guitar before you buy it, once you actually graduate to musician. Especially with anything from Fender, Gibson, or even Squire or Epiphone. You can buy an Ibanez or something from another company online, and expect them to be reasonably consistent with each other.
I have a Gibson Les Paul Classic lite, and a vintage Fender Squire Strat. The Les Paul is easier to play, but is still heavier in weight compare to the squire. The strat is definitely brighter and twangy, but lacks the sustain the Les Paul gives.. You could for sure play gigs with the strat, and copy any Fender songs that have been recorded. It is great to have two different sounding guitars. And the different feels that each one has.
I have both. Not sure how I feel. Like them both. Hate to say it but right now I play my Gibson SG and my Fender Telecaster more than the Strat or Les Paul. Not saying they are better though.
as long the string is complete of any guitar will do just enjoy it
Thank you Gil for ‘Getting it’. Of course one is no better than the other. My opinion will always change. I’ve had many people disagree with both articles, not realising the point was to make a solid, biased case for each in turn, courtroom style, to perhaps inform a buying decision. I thought it would be helpful and fun.
The other obvious thing was, neither is better, buy both, but not everyone has that luxury. My wish for these articles was merely to pass down observations I had, having owned both to give some insight to someone that was struggling to choose.
These are fun and well written articles about a question that can never be definitively answered. I think the real answer is ‘It depends’.
Just to share my own story, my first real guitar was a Tele Custom with a neck humbucker. Unfortunately, at the time I had no idea what to do with it. I was enthralled by EC, but was obsessed with getting that full-on Pagey drone (i.e., ‘The Rover’). I traded in the Tele for a ’74 LP that I still own.
It was as someone says above ‘a beast’ in jams and cover bands. Like Nigel’s, it went to ’11’, so I could always pound thru the mix of dueling sounds. I vanquished many a Strat and quite happily.
Then something happened. I got older and into Fusion and fascinated by JB (still am). How could he produce those beautiful, burnished clean tones? It wasn’t with an LP and try as I might, I couldn’t get close.
Then I got an American Series Strat with which I fell in love. There were just so many types of sounds available from that 5-way selector and a little amp tweaking here or there. Also, this guitar excelled at rhythm where I think the Strat has an enduring advantage as the author notes. Plus, you could stand up a good portion of the night playing it without fatigue. Then I got a Tele. You can’t get that ‘twang’ from an LP.
I prefer SG over Les Paul much lighter, however I get more sustain from my PRS McCarty than my ‘61 reissue SG
Think out of the box! The article has pros and cons of equal value. We have got to agree each, Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul, have their own personalities and attributes which have made players like Clapton, Walsh, Hendrix, and Slash one with their guitars. For me it’s a mood thing. I’ve been playing close to 60 years and own/play (among others) these outstanding instruments. If I feel like doing a few Eagles songs it’s my 59 reissue Les Paul. If I want to mix it up with a few of Hedrix’s songs or Clapton’s lead riffs it’s my Stratocaster. I’m just surprised the Paul Reed Smith (PRS) was not in the running. Again it’s a mood thing, if my fancy is old school Santana it’s my PRS, for blues BB King style I have a an Epiphone 335 Pro. My suggestion is don’t get stuck with just one Axe as “The Best.” Be versatile and let your mood and sound be your guide.
Which one is “better”? Both of them, of course. And a Telecaster. Must have one of each, maybe two.
Great articles, both of them. I have what I call the ultimate guitar collector’s pack with a LP Custom, SG. Custom, American pro strat, American standard tele, and my PRS 2408 Custom. Each time I pick one up, I fall in love, no matter which one it is. For years before this I only really had my Cort z22, and I still love playing that as well. At this point in life I’ve become more of a collector than a player so not a great reference for critiquing either of them. However, I love to pick up a guitar, feel inspired, and begin to create for myself. This is the purest of love for music that I can imagine. My point is while your obviously experienced opinions on these two classics are informative, you probably could have mentioned that the best guitar is the one you’re holding so just play it from your heart. Cheesy I know but I’m like that. Thanks.
This was an ignorant comment even back in 2019 but wow, it has aged badly with the pandemic and everyone grabbing up and learning guitars.
I own the Gibson LP tribute, and a MiM strat SSS; both 2019. Sometimes I pick up one or the other and it moves me and the other one collects dust for a week. The Gibson is certainly an untamed beast. If I’m looking for that overdriven twin reverb lead; with some fuzz on my modeling amp; and I dial in the strat. Ok, that sounds fine, I guess. Now I plug the Gibson in, Whoa! I’m frantically turning everything back, However, once you dial the Les Paul in, it just sounds better, more sustain, high notes snap and ring out. On my strat they sometimes just die when I’m pulling off a pentatonic run. I have a cheap player strat; no question, but it’s not like my Les Paul is a custom shop, it is also cheap.
I think there are better guitars; if I tried them I would probably be a better player in the long run. But it’s like that guy with the classic car in his garage; dude, just get a Toyota Camry; it drives better; gets good gas mileage; has all the safety features; it’s just better to drive. You’ll be a better safer driver all around with a Toyota Camry.
The response is, yea but I love the car, I love the way it looks, I love the way I look in it, and the way I feel. That is pure mystique, maybe more myth than mystique; and yet because of the mythos that surrounds players like Page, Clapton, Hendrix; we buy fenders and gibsons; and spend a players lifetime in frustration trying to get this 70 year old tech to work right, when players like Eddie Van Halen completely ripped his guitar apart to suit his playing and style. And Eddie was reviled by many classic players in his heyday.
Then Slash comes along and swings it back hard the other way, then Kurt Cobain comes along and plays a piece of garbage and reaches millions of people; and punk is back in the ascendancy.
I think electric guitar; frankly; is played out. Masters like Mozart; Beethoven, Liszt, and Chopin (and more) took piano forte and stretched it to the limits of the imagination. Players are still using piano to write songs; but the instrument itself is played out. There is nowhere left to go except plodding down well trodden paths; and that is enough for most people I guess. I find it sad to be honest.
I really really liked this article. I’m a relatively new guitar player..I own a Mex Strat..that I love the neck on..I also own an Epi LP Standard..neck is nice..but a little thicker at higher frets..and I just got a 2017 Gibson Les Paul Tribute Plus..slim taper neck and weight relief..I think I will end more of a Fender guy..love the C profile necks and prices..and durability..
I want to play lead guitar in a cover band featuring blues rock like Hendrix and Zeppelin..
Do you have a rig set up recommendation for that?
Hi Rob. Thanks for reading and glad your enjoying the Blog. If money was no object? A Gibson Les Paul and Marshall stack !
Sounds like an HSS strat could be the way to go for you, even though some people think that is not a proper Strat.
So many choice….I’m a 335 man at the moment!