by Mark de Jong

Created on: February 10, 2007   Last Updated: February 11, 2007

When comparing guitars, it is important to remember there is no right answer. Everyone has their own concept of the ideal guitar, and that concept hinges around a few factors: the aesthetic appearence of the instrument, the style of music he or she plays, the timbre he or she wishes to get out of the instrument, and whom of his or her favorite shredders plays which guitar.

There is no electric guitar with as storied a past as the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul. The former was introduced in 1954 by Fender as a follow up to the Telecaster, the first solid-body electric guitar. Two years earlier, in 1952, Gibson introduced the Les Paul, named for the famous jazz guitarist. No guitar is as instantly recognizable (both aurally and visually), nor as widely used as the Les Paul or the Strat.
The Les Paul is based on a single cutaway dreadnaught body style, and is widely revered for its stop tailpiece bridge setup, as well as its legendary slim-taper neck shape. It is available in a large variety of models, but is most commonly recognized by a flamed-maplewood top, with some sort of sun-burst paint style, a mahogany neck and back, and a rosewood fretboard featuring pearl block inlays. Generally, Les Pauls have two humbucker pickups which work by reducing the hum sound that is produced by ordinary single-coil pickups at loud volumes. This allows for better sustain, and tonal clarity, especially when playing overdriven rock guitar riffs.
Famous players of the Les Paul include Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page (1959 Les Paul Standard named "Number One"), Saul "Slash" Hudson of Guns 'N Roses, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, as well as many other famous rock guitarists, both past and present.
The Fender Stratocaster is the commonly perceived stereotypical electic guitar body; it is the original. It comes in a huge selection of colors, and models, but is generally characterized by its three single-coil pickups, which produce a distinct tone, instantly recognizable to anyone with a good degree of familiarity with electric guitars. Unlike the stop tailpiece of the Gibson Les Paul, the Srat is strung through the body, which enables the design to accompany a tremolo (Wammy) bar which fixes to the bridge. This device is used to alter the pitch of the notes, by releasing, and then re-applying tension to the strings.
The Stratocaster was put on the map by greats such as Eric Clapton ("Blackie"), Jimi Hendrix (who was left handed, and therefore resorted to restringing his guitars backwords and playing them upside down), Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the more contemporary John Mayer, among countless others.
The Fender Strat tone has become synonymous with American electric blues, while the Gibson Les Paul is a formidable icon of classic rock shredding. The two guitars will continue to reign as inseparable kings of rock guitardom

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