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What's with guitarists switching from Gibsons to Fenders later in their careers?

paulisme

By paulisme
in Electric Guitars

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metalheadUK Newbie

metalheadUK

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I think it's just 'coz a Strat is s generally lighter than a Les Paul.

I love LP's, but they do sometimes make ny back hurt, and this magnifies when you get old..trust me, as a 50 year old geezer, strapping on an LP for a long session can leave it's mark on your back the next day!

:thu:

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twotimingpete Newbie

twotimingpete

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from my teen years up until fairly recently I've been mainly a "les paul" type guy -- my preference was towards mahogany guitars, 24.75 scale, humbuckers.

 

now I've learned that I think I'm a fender guy. as I got a bit more seasoned I start to notice that I think the longer scale length is more musical, and it's just a subtlety I never picked up on for the longest time. It's not so much a matter of single coils vs. humbuckers for me, since I have a use for both of them. heck I've got a lil 59 in my telecaster right now and am set to put a duncan minihumbucker in its neck position today. :)

 

shorter scale lengths are a little easier to bend but really, there's a bite to the longer scale that more than makes up for it.

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C-4 Newbie

C-4

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I heard that the reason Clapton, Beck, and others changed over to strats was that they saw Buddy Guy, and Hendrix in London playing one, and realized that they wanted to get the tones those players were getting. Both Clapton and Beck went to a Buddy Guy concert together to see him play and were moved to change over to Strats the next day.
Beck said in an interview that after he saw Buddy Guy, he went out the next day and bought a Strat.
Beck was originally the first person offered by Fender to have an autograph model built for him, but he felt that he did not deserve it. This was before Fender approached Clapton.

I grew up playing Gibsons for many years and then, just out of the blue, switched over to Fenders and Fender-style guitars for many years. In 1994, I just decided the same way as before, to switch back to Gibsons. It was not until 2008 that I switched to carbon fiber long scale guitars.

Some people do evolve in their playing and thinking about different guitars if they play long enough. It can allow them to play differently and possibly capture more from changing over to a different guitar.

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yell03 Newbie

yell03

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I heard that the reason Clapton, Beck, and others changed over to strats was that they saw Buddy Guy, and Hendrix in London playing one, and realized that they wanted to get the tones those players were getting. Both Clapton and Beck went to a Buddy Guy concert together to see him play and were moved to change over to Strats the next day.

Beck said in an interview that after he saw Buddy Guy, he went out the next day and bought a Strat.

Beck was originally the first person offered by Fender to have an autograph model built for him, but he felt that he did not deserve it. This was before Fender approched Clapton.


I grew up playing Gibsons for many years and then, just out of the blue, switched over to Fenders and Fender-style guitars for many years. In 1994, I just decided the same way as before, to switch back to Gibsons. It was not until 2008 that I switched to carbon fiber long scale guitars.


Some people do evolve in their playing and thinking about different guitars if they play long enough. It can allow them to play differently and possibly capture more from changing over to a different guitar.

 

 

I am not a pro and never was a fan of Strat, but I ahve been playing over 30+ years and for the last few have only owned Gibsons, however, recently I have come to crave more versatility and I am starting to buy some Fenders.

 

I am sure all these artists still have and play both Gibsons and fenders.

 

Also, I wouldn't be very surprised as their money has dwindles over the years, if Fender has made them an offer to play exclusively Fenders in public.

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cbc83 Newbie

cbc83

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I remember a seasoned guitar tech at my favorite store commenting on my Parker Fly Deluxe - "Its a nice guitar, but you'll end up on a strat someday anyway" :D The Parker is still my only guitar, but I admit I'll be getting a tele or strat before I'll ever get a Les Paul.

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BG76 Newbie

BG76

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In Clapton's case it was Robbie Robertson.

Most of the guys you listed played (and probably still play) both.

If you think Clapton, Beck and Townsend don't have any Gibsons at home and only play Fender Strats you're being naieve.

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symphonictank Newbie

symphonictank

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from my teen years up until fairly recently I've been mainly a "les paul" type guy -- my preference was towards mahogany guitars, 24.75 scale, humbuckers.


now I've learned that I think I'm a fender guy. as I got a bit more seasoned I start to notice that I think the longer scale length is more musical, and it's just a subtlety I never picked up on for the longest time. It's not so much a matter of single coils vs. humbuckers for me, since I have a use for both of them. heck I've got a lil 59 in my telecaster right now and am set to put a duncan minihumbucker in its neck position today.
:)

shorter scale lengths are a little easier to bend but really, there's a bite to the longer scale that more than makes up for it.



+1

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