by Fish Paste

Created on: April 25, 2008

Wow, I have goose bumps. I am shivering, my muscles are tense and yet my shoulders are relaxed and I feel exceptionally warm inside. Am I having an orgasm? No! Gross! I am thinking about guitars.

I imagine standing in my favourite music shop, looking at all those finely crafted precision instruments, I can smell the newness, I can feel the smooth freshly painted neck, I can see myself admiring the finely carved inlays from every possible angle and asking the salesman, "Hey dude, what pickups are these?"

I digress...

Tough choice, Fender or Gibson? Both man, both. And why not?

It is tough for me, I know most players have set preferences in this debate, but in case you are just starting out and you are struggling to make up your mind, I will give you my reasons for loving both these brands and this will hopefully aid you in making up your mind.

The first thing man, is the sound. I think the main reason I love both is because of my wide range of musical taste.

A Fender will give a wide range of noise. From the funk sounds of Red Hot Chilli Peppers to the all out feedback driven musical assault of Jimi Hendrix, Fenders make it possible. The reason the Fender is able to give you this sound is the pickups. Single wound pickups give you that slappy funk feel. Like James Brown on acid if you crank the distortion. This is especially on the bridge (treble) pickup. Even if you replace all the single pickups on your Fender with humbuckers, it still won't sound like a Gibson. Why? The shape of the guitar and the density of the wood affects the resonance and tone greatly. I feel that the shape, wood and pickup combination of a Fender is perfect for this sound. I don't think anyone could do it better.

*Just a note: The paint also effects the tone and resonance. That is why vintage guitars sound better, they used a lead-based paint which moulded to the wood and improved resonance. Today they use plastic-based paints that sits on top of the wood, deafening the resonance. You can test this by rapping your knuckles on a guitar, softly now don't punch it, if it sounds like wood the paint is lead based, if it sounds like plastic, well then it is the other one...

Fender's range is enormous. Korean Strats, American Strats, Mexican Strats, Telecasters etc. They all have different qualities and just because the guitar comes form a third world country it does not mean that is inferior. Guitars are like people. One in a batch of 1000 is awesome, finding that 1 in a thousand is just the luck of the draw. I had a Korean Strat and when I sold it, I sold a piece of myself that I will never get back. NEVER SELL YOUR EQUIPMENT!

On the Gibson side, if you want a monster that screams like a banshee but behaves like a well trained sex slave under your fingers, then this one is for you. A Gibson can produce extremely heavy sounds but it can mellow out and sound like an electric piano. (If you don't believe me, you don't know Black Sabbath, and should be shot, your organs harvested and your body burnt.) Humbuckers man, I love those things. I can put my guitar right next to my amp, hold a few strings and bend them and just listen to the powerful feedback for hours. Seriously, I don't even need to touch a Gibson to enjoy it, I can just look at it. Most things you can do with an ESP Viper (played by Deftones, Soulfly and numerous other heavy bands) you can do on a SG.

However there are numerous other makes to consider. Ibanez, Jackson and Washburn just to name a few. Guitarist are spoilt for choice today, and I say, why choose? I want them all.

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