Author Topic: Fender... why do you like them? (Read 35634 times)

Bob Johnson · « **Reply #15 on:** January 30, 2007, 05:09:47 PM »

[/quote]Well, even Fender isn't infallible. They came to the brink of closing not-too-long-ago. They now seem to be doing just fine, though.[/quote]

Thanks for the comments T.O. and yes they are doing just fine now but if you saw some of the stuff that comes across my work bench you'd wonder why.

jimm · « **Reply #16 on:** January 30, 2007, 05:10:29 PM »

Recently, i have purchased 3 prs guitars: mccarty, custom22, and santana 3. They are as comfortable to play as fenders if not more so. I am not quite sure about the quality of their pickups so i have started replacing pickups starting with a set of mules with coil taps for the santana 3. I do not have it back yet but i am hoping for that proverbial strat/lespaul functionality in one guitar. we shall see. The custom 22 is already awesome with its dragon 2 pups but Tim thinks the VH2's would sound better in them. I dont know for sure what i will do with the mccarty(rosewood neck). I may switch out the mules and put them in the mccarty and get the abraxas for the santana 3.

Having said that, i think it is impossible to get the exact strat tone from anything other than a strat. I have an american strat with emg single coils and couldn't be happier.

jimm

Bob Johnson · « **Reply #17 on:** January 30, 2007, 05:32:38 PM »

Quote from: Muso

Oh yea and the best tone I ever heard was from a Strat Yngwie live with alcatrazz no one can touch his tone 8)

Oh! and by the way I have a Sunburst Strat here that's all Malmsteened up with HS3's and a YJM that's looking for a good home. :D

apmaman · « **Reply #18 on:** January 30, 2007, 05:33:09 PM »

Quote from: ToneMonkey

Quote from: apmaman
i like fender because of the Splatocaster.....I wanted one of them so badly..I still do but parents have decided that 3 guitars is enough.

That's a damn funky guitar. Have you seen the distortocaster though, I'd much preffer one of these beasties:

http://www.brianeastwoodguitars.co.uk/bent.html

Now thats one strange guitar.....

dave_mc · « **Reply #19 on:** January 30, 2007, 05:52:53 PM »

Quote from: Twinfan

I like Strats and Teles for their specific tones - you can't do SRV properly on anything else. Same goes for country licks and Teles.

+1, basically (not necessarily just fenders, though, clones do it too).

indysmith · « **Reply #20 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:19:23 PM »

fenders are light, tuff, classic, damn comfy, they have a very distinctive sound, and they got a whole lotta soul. You don't have to worry about polishing em etc. Just use em, abuse em, they'll gain character, whereas other guitars just look tatty (chipped and scratched PRS's for example look eurgh, whereas a strat looks rock'n'roll). Yu can bash about a strat and not worry about the neck cracking like yu would with a LP. You can play it sitting down for hours, in absolute comfort (my LP gives me bruises). If you want a strat or tele sound nothing else will do it other than the genuine article or a copy. You can also get a decent Fender for MUCH less than a decent gibson, as fender have far superior build quality nowadays (although they're still not that great on the MIMs or Highway 1s). Fenders are also customisable, and easily servicable. You can change anything on a fender very cheaply, until it is the exact guitar that you want.

lulusg · « **Reply #21 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:39:30 PM »

Pete Townsend with an SG P90s (in between single coils, and humbucker) and power chords is unique. It doesn't sounds the same with the strat.

38thBeatle · « **Reply #22 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:52:42 PM »

Blimey, this thread has gained a lot of responses and I can identify with a lot of what has been said. I think that the Strat has such sexy lines-a kind of classic Cadillac of guitars.They have that twin quality of utility and cool.They are comfortable, tough and capable of being modded more readily than many.Sure they have quality control issues on occasions but then so do Gibsons.The Tele is maybe not as sexy but has that tough no nonsense vibe. They can do more, I think, than a Gibson can-as has been said, if yo8u could only have one guitar and you played in a function band or a covers band, a Strat would be thefirst choice for most I would guess. I do like Gibsons and would love, one day, to own a Les Paul and/or a 335, I feel at home with a Strat and to a lesser extent, a Tele.

Elliot · « **Reply #23 on:** January 30, 2007, 07:02:23 PM »

I never understand the complaint about the build quality on modern MIM fenders - the ones I have tried or owned have all been pretty good for the price - alder body, nice neck, good finishing on frets, 8oz steel block trem (which rather does make a Calahan snake oil) - its only the pickups that are bit weak, but I change them to BKPs anyway.

To me the Fender aesthetic is damn sexy - I especially like the spaghetti logo, I also find it makes the guitar play better and faster too.

I think the benefit of Fenders is the thin sound - it allows (forces) you to work for the sound rather than stamping its personality on you - at the moment I am playing with my Squier JV series strat with Mother's Milks into a HBE Big D and a Blues Junior - I can get just about any sound that I want from that combination (fortunately I don't want more gain than Southern Rock :D )

I also like Fender amps, the look of lacquered tweed is just the best and Blackface screams style. Fenders wattage rating is a genuine wattage rating (i.e. 40 watts sounds loud, not practice amp level).

Also not being a high gainer I like have a clean base to work from.

Of course if you want to play Slash type stuff or Death metal a strat and a twin are not the best places to start.

indysmith · « **Reply #24 on:** January 30, 2007, 07:04:37 PM »

Quote from: 38thBeatle

if yo8u could only have one guitar and you played in a function band or a covers band, a Strat would be thefirst choice for most I would guess.

when you say a strat would be your number one for a covers band, i assume you mean a strat with a humbucker? I say this because i think more music from covers bands is humbucker style than single-coil. modern single coil players are quite rare aswell.
For a covers band i'd have my ibanez... does it all, and well too!

Dakine · « **Reply #25 on:** January 30, 2007, 07:10:30 PM »

Was a Gibbo man (well not really but own 2 :)).
But, Strat #1 copied guitar in the known world, maybe for a reason?
Very comfortable and as said before NOT nec. a piece of firewood if some eejit breaks the neck.

And lastly, they can make some darn weird but wonderful guitars.

AKA a Tele with single volume, two EMG's and a Harley Piston inlay!
I.E. my new #1 Flat Head :twisted:

38thBeatle · « **Reply #26 on:** January 30, 2007, 07:21:41 PM »

Yeah Indy I do, should have said although it is always going to be a compromise in some situations but you can cover a huge amount of ground.

Kilby · « **Reply #27 on:** January 30, 2007, 07:28:43 PM »

Something that hasn't been mentioned is the fact that fenders simply have a twang, hence Tokay using terms like Breezy & Springy. Thats something that is very attractive to people (especially in the 50 & 60s)

Fenders also seem to have been designed as tools rather than a piece of furniture that jazz players are 'supposed' to use.

Also the strat & tele although over 50 years in production don't look old, therefore both younger (aspiring) players and parents think they are what should be purchased.

Personally I beleive that the 'real' great gibson guitars have been ignored, the 335, firebird, all the Jr range and even the SG. Then again there where some great fenders that wher ignored

Rob...

Ermm also you can't really do much to update the shape of a LP, where as the Strat went through huge changes in image with the super strats but was still recogniseable.

Image helps :(

_tom_ · « **Reply #28 on:** January 30, 2007, 08:09:18 PM »

I like Strats/Superstrats just because they are really comfy, light and easy to play. Since getting a HSS Charvel I dont know if I'm gonna get another H/H guitar (at least in the foreseeable future), I love neck and middle singles now - I never used to like them because they always seemed thin/twangy to me. Still not sold on bridge singles in strats (though they look better) - I just think a bridge humbucker sounds 'right'.

Really liked the feel of a few Teles I played and I agree with 38th - they have that simple no nonsense look. They just dont seem as versatile or usable for the kinda music I play. *Waits for 38th to start on the advantages of a 4-way switch* :D

PhilKing · « **Reply #29 on:** January 30, 2007, 08:35:30 PM »

I used to only use Gibson's for many years, and then I picked up a cheap Aria strat for a band I was playing with to do Freebird. I used an SG junior at the time and the other guitarist had a Les Paul, so we needed something for the open rhythm sound. After that I got into the strat and wanted to get a nicer guitar, and I picked up a 1960 slab rosewood strat, and about 2 months later I was offered a 63 that was cut for HSS. Once I started to play the HSS I was hooked, though I did prefer the neck from the slab, so out the the screwdriver and a quick neck swap and I had it. I then picked up a 57 reissue so I had a maple neck guiitar too. At one point I was only using the Strats because the scale length and I sold off my junior (a decision I regret to this day).

I now have about 10 strats, 5 tele's and an electric XII, but I also have got into other guitars and have many Gibsons. I still think a strat with a bridge humbucker can do anything, but I also appreciate the sound of a Les Paul for some classic rock and blues tones.

For all of you who use both, are you like me, I find that it is much easier to switch from the Gibson to the Fender when you are playing, than it is to switch from a Fender to a Gibson (this is when playing a set, not from one day to the next)?