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Or single coil versus humbucker? However, you want to position it? I think many, if not most, would agree that there are 2 very basic food groups of guitars. I mentioned that in my thread that so tangentially veered of topic! 😮 You rotten guys! Oh wait! That was my fault! And one other person! You know who you are, Chris! 😉
From there you have variations such as a 335. It is a hollow body version of a humbucker and has a distinct tone, so you have to have one. But it is still a HB. And you have hybrids, like an HSS Strat. Or you have hybrids coil tapping humbuckers.
And there are, without a doubt, innumerable websites, YouTube videos and magazine articles that attempt to describe the difference.
Josh Smith is a guitarist with indescribably great chops. After meeting him at one of the artist sessions on the Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Cruise we purchased his "Inception" CD. And had the instrumental, Penance, from it on just about non-stop repeat for the entire week we hung out in the Florida keys after the cruise.
He is also funny. On that cruise we had front row seats for one of his concerts. We were there early, to get those seats. We watched them set up and tune up and chatted with him a little. They were done and he said, "We will be back shortly." I sarcastically said "Well what are we supposed to do until then?!" He immediately snapped back, "Well you could talk with your wife!" 🤣
Anyway, long intro, sorry. This is Josh's explanation and demonstration of the difference between Stratocasters, or single coils, and Les Pauls, or humbuckers. I think for anyone here on MGA, in the future, that might be struggling with that question of which guitar do I need (or want), this is going to help. This is the best discussion of this I have seen. Part of the appeal of this video is it's brevity. He states first thing, "Let's talk about really what the difference is, practically, between single coil guitars and humbucker guitars". (bolding mine) And he then does exactly that. He describes single coils and then plugs in his Strat. He then describes humbuckers and plugs in his Les Paul. Same amp, same settings, same everything.
Interestingly, I really don't consider Josh a Strat or a Les Paul guy. He uses them, sure. And he discusses the need for them in situations on sessions. But I consider him a Tele guy. Ibanez just released his signature FlatVI guitar, a Tele type guitar.
Anyway, I hope anyone struggling with the difference between a Les Paul and a Strat finds this helpful:
Posted : May 11, 2021 13:03
Bluesiline and JestMe reacted
Only 6 minutes but so informative. Josh did a very good job. His short description helps a lot, especially for me as I’m struggling with the differences of a Les Paul and a Strat. The sound samples with the exact same settings are so impressive!
What I take from the video is that I would prefer the single coils because of the clearer and brighter sound. But Josh gets to the point : « use a certain guitar for a certain sound ».
And I learned a little bit about the relationship between the neck length and how the strings behave. So good!
By the way, the bridge pickup of my Dean Tonic S is a humbucker and my neck pickup is a single coil. And exactly because of the less of clarity of my humbucker I mostly use my single coil neck pickup. My scale length is the same as the Fender Strat : 25 ½ inches.
Looking into the future and looking out for future guitars, my next guitar will be a Strat.
Ron, thank you for sharing this video, I learned a lot 👍.
Birgit
Posted : May 12, 2021 07:08
Clayton reacted
Ron, thanks for sharing a straight up here’s the info video from a down to Earth guy and out of this world musician. I have one of Josh’s TrueFire courses which is taught so well, but Oooh boy, his skills are so far up there.
Of course, like most of us old dudes, I have a collection of guitars including a Strat, PRS humbucker models, and Teles. I definitely reach for each one depending on feel and tone I want to explore. And while I shun the binary view of “this or that” there is limit to playing one guitar at a time and I don’t have a tech to help me swap out guitars like they were cocktail party snacks, I have found the desert island guitar to be.......drumroll.......
The Telecaster. Yep, much to my surprise this seemingly simple guitar style lets me sling the most from the clarity of pickups including the bell tone neck pickup and the versatile sharp bite of the bridge pickup. And thanks to Jose Ramos and Esteban, I have a go to guitar in the Ramos Kevster modern Tele body with old school bridge pickup and P90 neck, known as “Bandido.” How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
The choice is as individual as the player and there’s no need to think of any as “Best” Each instrument interacts with the performer, fellow performers, and the art audience.
Posted : May 12, 2021 07:17
Bluesiline reacted