Gibson or Fender?

I've been playing guitar for a little over 2 1/2 years.....I was wondering if any of you exprienced guitar players would mind giving me tips on where to go from...i have a squier electric & a fender acoustic....I have been looking at gibsons & fenders primarily but i'm open to new suggestions. I'm looking in the range of $300-$600
:confused:

Well...

It would be a good idea to go to a store and without price in mind,play every guitar that appeals to you...find one that you really like.One that looks good,plays good and just drives you crazy.Then look at the price...if its to much for you,THEN look into a lower priced model or another brands copy.

I've been wrong before, but I think with that price range you can get a nicer fender than a gibson.

Fender and Gibson guitars are very different. They play differently and make different noises.

Play 'em and see what suits you and your style. If the one that says "Im your man" is too expensive you can always save up. It will make that axe that much more special when you do finally get it !

Happy shopping !

Originally Posted by: hendrix006I've been playing guitar for a little over 2 1/2 years.....I was wondering if any of you exprienced guitar players would mind giving me tips on where to go from...i have a squier electric & a fender acoustic....I have been looking at gibsons & fenders primarily but i'm open to new suggestions. I'm looking in the range of $300-$600
:confused:

I've been looking for a new axe myself , and haven't found one yet . You really have to play some to know which one suits you best . Go visit shops , it may take some time , but it is well worth it ! You'll end up running into an axe where there's this immediate chemistry between the two of you , then you know :cool:

What kind of sound do you prefer ?

I agree -- go to a store, find smth that you like, BUT DO NOT LET SALESPEOPLE RUSH YOU INTO BUYING IT IMMEDIATELY.
Do your homework, find out how much you can pay for the same axe on the internet (outlets like musiciansfriend or wwbw offer free shipping on most items, you will avoid state taxes as well), then you can negotiate the price at the store. Just ask them if they would be willing to match musicians' friend price. Most of them do.
Another thought, there are US and Mexican Fenders, but there are US Gibsons and Korean and Japanese Epiphones.
Also, guitars can be customized -- you can put different strings, pick-ups on them.
Hope this all helps!

BUT DO NOT LET SALESPEOPLE RUSH YOU INTO BUYING IT IMMEDIATELY.


This is really excellent advice. Id go so far as to leave your money / credit cards at home the first couple of times you go out ! This will stop the flustering effect that makes us pay 3 times more for the wrong thing !!

Or is that just me ??

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonId go so far as to leave your money / credit cards at home the first couple of times you go out !

*Man outside the store saying* "brand new PRS 24 ten top only $100,thats right,my wife left me,took the kids and I need the money...but if someone dosn't buy it in 5 minutes i'm gonna pawn it at a undisclosed location!"....and you didn't bring your wallet...and you live more than 5 minutes away :eek:

Or even worse...he goes to the music store and meets the girl of his dreams.She asks if he can buy her a drink...he didn't bring any money so she thinks hes a bum and leaves! :eek:

Actually,the first scenario seems bad...I would vomit if I missed out like that.

If I was looking to spend in your price range, I'd go for one of the set neck Telecasters.

Personally, I find them to be a "best of both worlds" guitar and last time I saw one, it was right around $600.

But definately shop around, check out a lot of guitars (checked the "used" rack -- a lot of good deals can be found there) and remember that just because one guitar of a certain make and model plays and sounds one way that the rest of them will be identical.

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonBUT DO NOT LET SALESPEOPLE RUSH YOU INTO BUYING IT IMMEDIATELY.


This is really excellent advice. Id go so far as to leave your money / credit cards at home the first couple of times you go out ! This will stop the flustering effect that makes us pay 3 times more for the wrong thing !!

Or is that just me ??

NO, it's not just you. I went through five differant makes and models of guitars in six months, Buying it taking it home and then returning it a week or two later because i wasn't happy with it. The first actually lasted three months. I was
1: being cheap
2: letting the sales guy rush me
3: Buying without really investigating what I wanted
4: impatiant
When I finally found my strat I knew then and there that this was the axe for me. :D

Originally Posted by: chucklivesoninmyheart*Man outside the store saying* "brand new PRS 24 ten top only $100,thats right,my wife left me,took the kids and I need the money...but if someone dosn't buy it in 5 minutes i'm gonna pawn it at a undisclosed location!"....and you didn't bring your wallet...and you live more than 5 minutes away :eek:

Or even worse...he goes to the music store and meets the girl of his dreams.She asks if he can buy her a drink...he didn't bring any money so she thinks hes a bum and leaves! :eek:

Actually,the first scenario seems bad...I would vomit if I missed out like that.

Find an ATM asap ! but if its too good to be true, then its not true. . . something i always have to remember.

If you need help finding a guitar, first seek out on of the stores teachers. They will generally not try and talk you into anything in particular cuz like me I don't make commision off the thing so try that. And gibson or fender? Gibsons have great action out of the box but are heavy as hell. Fender, not very good action but once set-up you'll dig it a LOT more. Gibson, very not cheat! Fender, flexible, though LARGE difference between what you can do w/ a American and a Mexican (action wise).

[font=trebuchet ms]Gibson? Fender? $300 - $600? It doesn't add up.

Gibson doesn't make anything worth owning for less than $600. Unless you get a very lucky deal on a used axe. You can get a decent Fender for $600, but again I would go used for that kind of money.

Ignore that crap about American-made Strats being better. If a Stratocaster is really what you want, get a Jap-strat and replace the pickups. The body and neck are much better on the MIJ strats and Teles, and you'll save enough on the purchase price to cover the cost of the pickups.

I think used is still the best bang for the buck. And don't restrict yourself to just Fender or Gibson. You can't see the name on the headstock when you're playing, but you can always feel and hear whether you have a good 'un in your hands.

Remeber - Eyes shut - Ears and mind open.[/font]

I use my Gibson Les Paul to jam along to bands like ZZ top and Def leppard, it has a Seymour Duncan Bridge pick up and a Gibson Humbucker pick up - because both the Pick ups are double coil it has twice the output of a fender and produces more overdrive, however it is incredibly heavy to play standing up.
I also have a squier - I wouldn't be without either.

Originally Posted by: Lordathestrings[font=trebuchet ms]
Ignore that crap about American-made Strats being better. If a Stratocaster is really what you want, get a Jap-strat and replace the pickups. The body and neck are much better on the MIJ strats and Teles, and you'll save enough on the purchase price to cover the cost of the pickups.


Remeber - Eyes shut - Ears and mind open.[/font]

Yes, I am going to have to disagree w/ you on this on. But American stats have ash or alder bodies, which is a harder wood and will make a fatter, fuller sound. Though, yes you can buy the Mexican (don't make Japan strats anymore) and put pick-ups in that will half-a$$ way get you more of what an american will sound like. Next are the way the body is made. The Mexicans are made with pompler (? on spelling) wood and what it boils down to is ply-wood, no good. Two, the Mexicans are a 3 peice body and those peices have to be glued together, and that will kill the full sound that goes with an American. Now as for the necks, I hate rosewood anyway so I'm not going to argue w/ that, Rosewood is a good sounding wood to use on the fretboard but very soon you will have to have the frets dressed (that goes for ANY guitar) But the feel of an american neck is much sweeter than the Mex if anyone here has owned an american knows what the hell I'm talking about. And Last but not least set-up. One can set-up an American much finer than the Mex, Korean, whatever, this is one of the places your money is kicking in. A good Luthier will make sure that the insturment can be tuned to many differerent players prefferences and with a mass produced inturment such as the strat, it just has to be that way.
And yes from 96 to 98 the Mex and Jap strats where better cuz Fender was slacking on the job for awhile, if someone wants to know about that ask and I'll enlighten, just this is enough for one post. LOL

[font=trebuchet ms]It's too bad Jap-strats aren't being made anymore, they're wonderful instruments. I don't know what kind of wood the body of my 1986 MIJ '62 re-issue was made of - I just know that it was the best strat I've ever played. That's why I bought it. I had to sell it in '91 to pay my rent, but I still miss it. That seems to be a fairly common experience. Every strat player I've talked to who has owned one of those guitars either still owns it, or wishes they still had it. The only complaint I've ever heard is that the electronics are not as good as the Am-strats. Well [u]none[/u] of the major manufacturers use good controls, and after-market pickups are plentiful. None of the major companies do a proper job of sheilding the internals either, so they all need some work.

YMMV[/font]

One of the strats I have at the moment is a California Series Tex-Mex Machine (parts made in the USA and assembled in Mexico).

Whilst it is not a Heavy Metal machine it has the best tone I have heard from a strat. If doesn't play as well as my Mex or USA made I series (Jap) but sounds better than both of them on a clean channel!

For high gain my Mex and USA strats are both great with really tight crunchy bottom ends and really fast action. The I series has a cool Rail in as an after sale mod and whilst it doesn't have much personality at low gain really heats up on the dirty channel.

On the subject of used instruments...



This is my mutant Strat.

American body, Japanese neck (refretted with jumbo frets), Noisless Singlecoil pickups, five graphite saddles, one stock -- I can go on forever.

Great guitar, though, and I got it for $300 with a hardshell case.

So great deals are out there.

Originally Posted by: chucklivesoninmyheart*Man outside the store saying* "brand new PRS 24 ten top only $100,thats right,my wife left me,took the kids and I need the money...

I would like to discourage everyone from receiving stolen property, no mater how sweet the deal might sound. Even if the fellow looks like Santana, says his name is Carlos, still I'd rather check his id. :D

The Jap strats where good owned one myself for a few years but when I bought the Am that was it. Sorry for the snap earlier, (quitting smoking) yeah, but Dr. simon is 100% correct, those tex-mex sound very nice. :)