I like the fact that the neck on the Strat, or all other Fender/Squire solid bodies for that matter, can be replaced if needed with great ease. Not so for Gibsons.
Really great video Jules. Must've missed this one as just noticed it's a year old in April 23. Hope you're well. Fantastic channel, your content, presentation and editing are blinding mate. Namaste x
I think Billy Gibbons actually gave an excellent analysis between the differences between, a Duo Jet, a Jazzmaster, and his Pearly Gates Les Paul. He also used a lapsteel but we can stay away from that for now. The longer the scale length the brighter the guitar will sound even when you have Humbucker versus Single Coil. Bolt on versus Glued in necks.......no difference, that is an old trope of Musician BS from the past..makes no difference several people have created long tenon strats and compared them to bolt on strats, and for good measure they used Oscillators and recording software to chart the differences, what little difference there was could be made up for by gluing the bolt on neck down(even then you wouldn't feel or hear the difference as it was out of human hearing), the reason why is because the strings attach at 2 points not 1, the glued neck realistically only makes a difference in certain conditions, and with an Electric guitar those conditions don't exist, scale length and string gauge play more a part in the sustain as it affect the oscillation of the strings when plucked, while there is some acoustic qualities that affect the sound of a guitar mainly absorbing, refracting, reflection of sound waves and mechanical energy that manipulate the strings themselves. Tone woods - when you cover the wood with paint that is hardened you lose the properties of the wood and it makes no difference..woods are used for tradition and cost that is all, as long as they fit the need of hardness to support the hardware. What effects "Tone" more than anything is the electronics, thats right its not even in your hands although skill makes a huge difference we are talking about tone not the combination of them to produce fluid music, Unless its acoustic or has acoustic qualities woods don't mean shit, plywood versus hardwaood makes no differece as you are covering in a thick layer of paint its a bit different when you aren't changing the property of wood, but a fender Basswood versus a Fender Ash, or Fender Alder - same hardware, same everything else makes zero difference except in weight, the harder the wood is the more reverberation you will feel, don't confuse that with sustain, they are 2 seperate things you want the strings to have the energy not the body of the guitar.
True. The wood on a electric only meabs weight. But the pearly gates aint nothing. I had a tex special with them. And fender standard usa pickups are better. The gates are ok. But over rated.
@@tomterry2662 "Pearly Gates" is a guitar, specifically Gibbon's Guitar(ZZTop). True Seymore Duncan has PAFs that are called Pearly Gates. and they are OK.
@@nocturnal101ravenous6 i had them in my texas strat back in the day. I dont like them. Fender standard pickups are better and yes their was pearly gates pickups and on fender texas special i had one.
@@nocturnal101ravenous6 like 2003 abouts was the first mention of the pearly gates and they came in the fender stratocaster texas special. They was installed by fender USA... i bought one back then. Was long before their eas a pearly gate guitar. I been playing for 38 years so i seen a lot of gear and guitars come and go.
@@nocturnal101ravenous6 gibbons had pearly gates pickups long before his guitar model. Look up fender texas special like 2003 abouts they came eith them .american model
Great video! I have two LPs and Two Strats. I tend to play the Strats more, although right now I’m playing a PRS Custom almost exclusively. I find the weight of the LPs to be pretty heavy and the finish on the necks to feel pretty sticky which tends to impede my left hand movement up and down the neck. I have a lot of Telecasters as well as other guitars. I haven’t played my Telecasters much lately but I remember loving those a lot because of the ease of playing them. I think I’m going to pack up my PRS for a while and find something else to play. My hands might find a Telie a bit easier as I’m experiencing quite a bit of pain lately. (Age is catching up on me)
Thank you for this video I finally have clear understanding differences between the Strat and the Les Paul in a side by side comparison. I am thinking of starting to play guitar honestly I think Strat would suit me best especially due to physical issues I will play sitting down and the Strats comfort cuts would best suit my needs. BTW since you said you never use the wiggle stick on Strat have you ever considered getting a hardtail Strat to ease the tuning issues? Thank you again for a great side by side comparison video.
I know your comment is now 7 months old, and I do hope you picked up guitar. But for those who are in the same boat: I was in that boat almost 3 years ago. And I wasn't sure if I wanted Strat vs. Les Paul. I started with Strat. With the wisdom that I have now, and after playing both, I may have made the same choice. But with one caveat: I would get a fixed bridge. As Jules advised, you do need some upkeep on the trem system, and if you don't know what you're doing, it can cause problems for beginners. I got pretty good at maintaining it, so it wasn't an issue for me. But I now block my trem (I put a block of wood between the trem and body so it doesn't move at all). This is similar to Jules's comment about tightening his springs entirely, just a different preference. So I also do not use my trem. hard-tail starts are harder to find, but they exist, and I would highly recommend them. But if you don't like the look of the strat, maybe consider a Telecaster, but the modern styles with the belly carve in the back. That belly carve is really comfortable, and it makes a big difference for the feel of the Tele. But the Les Paul turned out to be my least favorite shape, which is a surprise even to myself. I think they are more beautiful, and much more versatile. But the shorter scale length, the painted neck, and the hunk of wood under your arm just makes for a less enjoyable experience. But again...this is all preference. Other people prefer the sound of the humbuckers, or the stop tail bridge, or they may like the carve on the front. Go with what you like most and what feels most comfortable. If it isn't an enjoyable experience, you won't play.
Great video. I love both. I’m surprised you can’t get more out of your Les Paul neck pickup. I have also added split coils to my Les Paul and it’s a lot more versatile.
Another key difference is that a Strat is a hallmark of industrial design. It was designed to be mass produced to exacting specs at a high rate. The Les Paul is still a very manual, artisan process. It's likely why they vary quite a deal even within model year. Also relative to cost, the process definitely is big part of that as you indicated.
@@omgiTzkitteh absolutely, but the production methodology of Fender yields repeatable performance while Gibson's hand-crafted solution leads to hit or miss.
Interesting video, and a good summary of some of the important differences. I have some thoughts on a few of your points, in the order they arose in the video. a.) Klusons vs Grovers: I have nothing against Klusons, but I have a set of Grovers with the plastic snot-coloured, tulip-shaped buttons. Just sayin'. b.) Strat 9.5" radius neck : if it's properly set up, my Strat doesn't choke out when I bend. If the neck has settled back or if the bridge has rocked back (I set mine up to float), it will choke. Setup is critical. c.) Upper neck access: agree completely. I wish Gibson would scallop the back of the neck / heel joint to improve access. No other changes, and not visible from the front. d.) Gibson bridge adjustment: the lack of individual height adjustment is an advantage. It means that if the 1st & 6th strings are correct, the other 4 will be at right height and they'll follow the radius of the board with no further adjustment. Easy as. e.) Controls: disagree completely. The controls on the Les Paul allow presets and an extra level of flexibility and freedom from the pedal board. I suspect it's a matter of preference and perhaps familiarity. I play both guitars (and like both), but I grew up on Les Pauls so I find that arrangement simple. f.) Sound of pickups: good generalisation, but I'd EQ the amp with far more high mid for the Les Paul. It adds clarity. It also helps any guitar (in my experience) if you EQ the amp for the neck pickup and use the guitar tone control to tame any nastiness from the bridge. This approach really opens up the neck and middle sounds on the Les Paul. Doesn't hurt the Strat either, and it's glorious with the neck pickup of a Telecaster or - best of all, a Les Paul with P-90s. ...and those two guitars of yours are nice toys. I've never owned a gold top, but I reckon they look really cool with black plastics too. ;)
both have been the main guitar when Rock, Jazz, Blues etc and in that time there were so many other guitar brands but the strat and Les survived all that and are still on top
I bet you could glue the neck onto the Fender and it wouldn’t change anything about how it sounds. The LP’s extra sustain is likely due to how you have your bridge setup on the Fender. If it’s floating it’s not going to hold notes quite as long. Tighten the spring claw down enough that the bridge stays in contact with the body and I’d bet that any difference in sustain would be imperceptible. The wood only makes a difference if you play them acoustically. How the guitar resonates in your hands and against your body has zero impact on how the pickups interact with the strings. Given sufficient rigidity plastic would be fine, but body manufacturers would have to invest in new manufacturing processes for virtually no benefit as I’d wager that an instrument grade block of poplar costs a good bit less than the equivalently sized and reinforced chunk of plastic.
I experimented by using a capo on the fret to make my own scale length and used standard tuning and it worked. I also bought the Squires Bullet HSS HT and I'm thinking about buying a coil splitting switch for 7 dollars with clipping instead of soldiering.
Learn to solder... It's easy and you'll get much better connections. You can get a basic soldering iron kit for less than $20, and you can find a video on youtube about how to do just about anything now days.
I play in a cover band and use a total of 4 axes on stage; a Fender strat for Trower, Hendrix, SRV, Deep purple and some country shit, a Gibson SG for the ACDC and Sabbath songs and a Charvel strat with a single DiMarzio Tone zone humbucker in the bridge with a Floyd rose for mainly Van Halen songs.... all the right tool for the job!
The one that I saw Jeff Beck playing Thunder head inverted headstock and the strings were straight. Each guitar has a different sound for different music I think free. I get hum from the single coils. The best night of any guitar ever is my area Pro 2 SL guitar from 1987 May did the Mets amuku Factory.. I'd like a Telecaster. I can't recall the Gibson that has a strat sound with a single-coil pickup and coil taps that would be the ultimate guitar for me.
Both sound really great. Bye I think the strat has a cleaner more open sound to it both clean and distorted. What are you running the strat through or doing differently to get that fat tone?
You don't need a string retainer with staggered tuners. 9.5 on a Les Paul is the same as 9s on a strat. A repaired headstock is STRONGER than before. It will neck break in the same place.
Because most of us are in the need for a more affordable guitar you can usually find a Mexican Strat a Epiphone Les Paul or a Korean SE PRS Strat style or SE Les Paul style guitar all in a similar price range 😉
Things that I would change about the Les Paul are to lessen the angle of the headstock and to add a volute ( my Gibson 'The Paul' has both of these plus the body is contoured ). Concerning the Strat I would have only one master volume control and one master tone control, with the volume control being positioned further away from the high E string to facilitate more comfortable strumming and finger-picking ( my Starfield guitar has this arrangement which suits me better than the usual Strat controls).
I dont know...depends on how they are configured: are they out of the box or reconfigured? What amp, pedals, compression you gonna use? I've heard both do both phenomenally. My preference is a Les Paul simply due to the warmer tones, but I am sure with the right setup, I can get pretty close with the Strat.
Uhgggg, the neck joint construction has absolutely nothing to do with sustain or tone. The longer scale length and harder maple produce that "snappiness." And sustain is nothing but the string being able to vibrate unencumbered, under ideal tension, a bolted or glued neck has zero effect on that.
For this old man one of the biggest differences is WEIGHT! Les Pauls weigh a ton. I use a 3-inch padded strap for my Les Paul when I want to play standing up.
Gibson's better for solos? That's why Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, and Yngwie Malmsteen used Les Pauls.....wait! They didn't. lol Les Pauls suck for upper fret access solos.
I love the LP sound thru a good tube amp... BUT... the Les Paul shorter string length, tuning issues and lousy high fret access are deal breakers for me. I got me a Fender DELUXE strat (MIM), 12" radius neck, improved neck/body joint, the longer string length works great with 9 gauge strings, and it has a Dimarzio HumBucker in the bridge. While not exactly a Les Paul sound with the HB, I can get close enough for my lead playing, plus I get all the cool Strat single coil sounds for rhythm. Best of both worlds. My Les Paul sits in the closet collecting dust.
Why do I buy wooden guitars? Uh, because that’s the most common material used in the industry? Also, everyone knows the tone is in the looks of the guitar.
a bridge humbucker on a les paul is my least prefered sound, the neck full throttle tone dialled back, Gary Moore still got the blues! the Peter Green out of phase tone! but a les paul with P90s that gets you both, on a strat yo dont get neck and bridge unless you do a mod! you want that tone get a tele ? never the block body, the shape the sound, hate it! comfort the strat wins, sound wise the les paul! i played 9's for years then 10's on a les paul, then 10's on any trem guitar 11's on a les paul!
Great video as always Jules. But maybe the question of the impact of tonewood is a little bit overrated... 😏 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n02tImce3AE.html
That STUPID volume knob placement on a Strat tho. WHY? What possessed Fender to put it there?! That was the whole deal breaker for me with a Strat. Makes it unplayable for me.
The main differance is gibson blows fender away.. i own both. Fender has better action and has a trem. But the construction and sound out weigh fender big time. I like the sg better than the paul. They sound the same but the sg looks better and is lighter . The sg kills the strat. This guy here says grover dont matter to him lolololol. Well it does matter grover will last your life time . Radius how ever is personnel preffernce. I like both, and they both have their place. But gibson rules.
Mostly a good comparison. But there is no good evidence that solid body wood affects the output of solid body electric guitars. Many other things explain their different sounds, as measurements of real guitars has shown. But if you put the same pickup in both, the differences shrink considerably. Re "These two guitars have very different resonance to them that carries through to the amplified sound" - that's a totally unsupported assertion. Resonance of what ? How do you know that explains the different amplified sounds ? Your other assertions of sonic differences between alder, ash, maple caps etc are just repeated pre-scientific urban myths. Made up by guitar manufacturers and regurgitated by guitar journalists; who confuse electric guitar physics with that of acoustic guitars. The measured physics of real electric and acoustic guitars are very different - body wood is very important sonically to the latter but not the former.
And Ive heard electric guitars made with composite materials that sound great. Maybe its just easier and more cost effective to use wood when manufacturing them on a commercial scale.
They're both iconic and indispensable. About as equal as possible in terms of overall quality, while about as unlike each other as possible in terms of character. Put a gun to my head and force me into a strict binary decision, I'd probably have to call myself a Les Paul man. But each are simply incredible! You know, the more time passes, though, the more "meet in the middle" options, such as an HSH Ibanez RG or S series guitars become attractive to me! I really feel that my RG is kind of a great "Baby Bear's Bed" between the "Papa Bear's Bed" of the Les, and the "Mama Bear's Bed" of the Strat, bringing - albeit imperfectly, more of the best of each than of the worst of either. Let me try putting it a different way: the RG is a much worse Les than the Les, but a way better Les than the Strat, while it is also a much worse Strat than the Strat, but a much better Strat than the Les. It doesn't do either thing quite as well as either of "the real things", but does both things better than either of them - and might possibly be the overall best of the three (though I'm absolutely not willing to commit to that whatsoever!) Either way, great video! I knew most (or all) of this already, but it was still presented very well and was a very enjoyable diversion! The only thing I wish you would've done differently was talk about the hierarchy of importance in the differences. For the sound, I'd say the two most important differences are the pickups, and the scale length. Neck joint design and other electronics would probably be the next tier, followed by the bridge design, tone woods, and shape / size / mass of the body. The headstock difference is the one that makes the least amount of difference to the tone - but certainly has its own considerations otherwise. Cheers!
I have both but I prefer the 12” radius over the 9.5” & I don’t care for the selector switch location or the volume on a Strat, which everyone seems to like. I’m always hitting it probably because of how I play I guess, but both are great guitars. Really enjoy your videos. Cheers
Nice candy apple strat……very 65 vibe….Gold top well..awesome..they both cost enough……very informative for the musicians who don’t know..Ihave a Gary Moore less Paul headstock repair picked it up way cheaper sounds great…even greeny Les Paul is a headstock repair.lol..
Great, balanced review. No Mac vs. PC religion here. I’ve owned my LP since 1979. Never bought a strat for myself (though I bought one for my daughter at one point.) Lately, I’ve been putting together a cover show that needs both Strat and LP sounds. I also need it to be small and light, since I also play keys, sing (and almost juggle chainsaws.) I ended up getting a Steinberger Spirit. Fender scale. Flat fretboard. HSH pickups that I’ve replaced with PAF Masters and a CS 69 single coil. Add Gig Performer and some VSTs and I’ve got a road axe that I could afford to replace if damaged or stolen. A weird middle ground in a small package! While the Steinberger is small and light, it has its own ergonomic challenges. The volume knob is in a bad spot and the HSH pickups leave little room for deep picking. But it better than lugging more guitars, and I don’t risk having an irreplaceable guitar stolen. 😎
I have a Spirit as well, and I love it. But my personal favorite is a "Frankenstein's Monster" guitar. In my opinion, the main difference between most guitars is body style preference. Because the sound is all about pickups, and any pickup can be installed in just about any guitar. When it comes to guitars, I've always been a "Dr. Frankenstein" type, and prefer to use Squier guitars as a base from which to build on. I use quality pickups, misc. parts and wiring, and you would be amazed with the end result. The guitar I play the most now days is a Squier Affinity Fat Strat I bought in 2002 for $200. I replaced the stock pickups, controls, etc., with gear from EMG and the difference is like night and day. Doing it that way you can put together a guitar that will sound and play just as good as any other, but will look like a cheap, off the rack guitar that thieves typically have no interest in. And you can do it for far less than a stock high end Strat, LP, or whatever else you might like. The cost of the guitar, EMG pickups, controls, etc. all came to less than $400.
@@66biker95 - Exactly my thoughts with the Steinberger. The LP Custom I bought new in 1979 is irreplaceable. Put the right pickups in an inexpensive guitar, and the results can be great - so long as it has a good neck and no fatal flaws. Years ago I saw The Victor Wooten Band, and his brother Regi (fantastic tap guitarist) was playing a Squier. I’d bet good money that it wasn’t stock. 😉
Two things I'd add - (1) the longer scale length on the strat means a longer stretch between frets, especially as you approach the nut, so shorter fingers beware. The good part of that is there's more room between frets as you move up the neck toward the bridge, relative to the Les Paul, for easier solos. (2) The Les Paul's not as good to play seated - the heavy weight is balanced to the rear, so it always feels like it's going to drop off your leg, so you don't let go of the neck, plus the guitar sits a bit lower on the lap due to the size, so the playing's not as easy as on the strat. A small cushion under the LP fixes that one, though. The strat's better balanced for seated playing.
I really appreciate your added observations. I checked the scale length on my Messenger and it is the same as the Strat. Although I have relatively short fingers (arms, toes, legs, etc.), I have strong hands, so bends up-high should be okay on the Strat. But, FYI, the Messenger has always been a bit awkward for me when standing, having short arms. The neck joins the body at the 21st fret. Playing the nut end is a reach. Thanks.
@@pancakeface5717 This is stuff I wish I'd learned before I'd accumulated (too many) guitars with different specs to learn what I liked, and didn't like. I'd forgotten to mention the difference in string bending, but it may have been covered in the video. I also forget whether the issue of alternate tunings was addressed. The longer Strat scale allows for tuning down without the strings getting as floppy as they do when you tune down the LP. Lots of choices!
But the fatter neck on the Les Paul, makes things worse. On the baseball bat neck there are certain chords, I can't play, that I can play on my Stratocaster and I have big hands. I sanded down one of my Les Paul's the 50s neck. It was too fat for certain chords.
My go to guitar has to be a Super-strat. 1. Strat style body. 2. locking nut 3. 24 jumbo frets 4. 2 humbucker pickups in the neck and bridge positions 5. floating tremlo bridge 6. volume knob with enough space from my strumming hand, because default strat puts the volume knob too close to the bridge.
these 2 guitars are not even in the same universe togetherso putting one again the other really is not a fair comparesion each have their purpose for sure, i have les pauls strats and teles and each one has specific purpose's , i have seen a few strats with busted headstocks not near as many as gibosns how ever that being said any guitar can get its neck snaped and any guitar with a 3+3 head stock can and will breat when droped how ever if your treat your gear right it wont ever happen my les paul oldest les paul is 4 years old it gets played alot and giged as well and never once a problem with the headstock..C shape necks will bend strings alot eaiser where is the D profile wont do bending as easy compound radias freat boards are another story as well not all gibsons get binding on them either so some of your points are a bit off .
No disrespect intended but there's quite a few points you made that I don't agree with but I am in the minority as most RU-vidrs almost seem to have a universal script on those same points. One is the ease of bending comparison. I've found it to be the opposite. In other words a set of 9s on a Les Paul is roughly equivalent to 10s on a strat. The explanation you gave doesn't follow actual physics. The other point is the difference in tone of different woods. I think it has not been yet proven. One RU-vidr actually did an extensive test from the guitar in tact to having no body at all to having no neck or body. The sound was very much the same in any variation. I think all components have some contributing factor to the tone but the pickups are probably 95%. One characteristic of woods which no one seems to ever mention is their tendency to expand and contract differently which effects tuning. I've noticed that mahogany guitars vary more than alder, ash and basswood causing them to go flat or sharp from temperature changes more drastically. The biggest characteristic concerning scale length is tone. It has a very noticeable effect on the tone. You could put pickups from a Les Paul in a PRS and it still will sound different than a Les Paul because of the scale length even though the woods are the same
I own both a Les Paul and a Strat. If I could only own one, I would pick the Les Paul. People say the Strat offers more tones. It depends on what music you play. I replaced the neck pick up in the Strat to a single coil sized humbucking. I play Jazz so I never use the Strat bridge pick up.
On modern Strats, it is normal for one tone control to be assigned to the bridge while the other is assigned to the neck and middle pickup. Older Strats from the 50s and 60s did not yet have this modification, nor did they have a 5-way selector as is common today.
great review, as usual. :) re: the position of the pickup selector switch; that's one of the reasons I prefer an SG to an LP; having that switch in the lower position seems more convenient/faster when you wanna switch it quickly.
This is by far one of THE best videos I have seen on RU-vid. I have a Squire Strat and an Epiphone Les Paul and while my Les Paul is also my favorite, I totally love both of my guitars and record with both. This video showed me things about my 2 guitars that I never really even think about and it has helped me appreciate both. Yes in a fire I would save my Paul, I love both my guitars. Thanks for this video. I had a blast watching it.
Im a Strat player 1st and Ive had my current Strat since 96. A 93 Deluxe Plus brought used. Maple neck and butt ugly yellow color ( vintage blonde). Got a L Paul also; ebony with gold trim ebony fretboard. In other words black on black. Kinda exact opposites not on purpose. Just happened that way. The Strat has 3 color L Sensors and the L Paul has 496/500 pups. Again basically opposites.
i have a $400.00 Squier Strat. i don't like the Squier Strat because both the high E and low E strings always slide off the fret board. so annoying. i don't know, maybe it's just me. then i bought a nice Gretsch 2657 and never touch the Squier Strat guitar again.
Stratocaster good for chords and Les Paul better for solos?? Is this serious??? Jimmy Hendrix, SRV and Randy Roads are pissing themselves laughing in their graves right now...hahaha
