I own 2 strats and love them both. 1 has stock pickups and the other has 2 Suhr single coils and a Dimarzio fast track 2.

I also have an Epiphone Dot (ES 335 copy). I love it because, like the Les Paul, when you flip the switch to the rhythm position with the amp turned up, it gives the berries a good jiggle.

Personally I love them both. It all comes down to what kind of music you play and what style you play with. I think the strat with the humbucker is a more versital guitar but it really is not up to me.

 

ok guys thanks for ur help.i went to guitar center the other day and i liked the les paul.im looking at the les paul studio electric guitar.heres the link so tell me what u think

Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar and more Solid Body Electric Guitars at GuitarCenter.com.

 

sure can't go wrong! remember to post pics...

 

You can get a used LP Studio for between $600 and $800 and have enough money left over to buy a strat as well. I'm a tele player, mostly, but have a couple Les Pauls and a couple strats as well as about 4 teles (various setups, including one I built, and various strength pickups in the others).

They're all good, but you may not know which guitar really suits you until you've had some time playing one for a while. And then there are things like pickup swaps and stuff to change around the sound. Best bet is to find out the guitar layout and neck shape/size that suit you ergonomically and go from there.

You can make single coil pickups (like on a strat or a tele) sound like humbuckers (like on a Les Paul), but not vice versa. And then there are P-90's, another type of single coil that you *can* get on a Les Paul. The pickups on a standard LP Studio don't really suit my taste--the bridge pickup is a hot rawk flavor, not too articulate when played clean.

Another major advantage to buying used is that if you find that you do want to move to a different instrument, you can often sell for virtually the same price you paid for the used instrument in the first place....

George

 

thanks for the responses...is ebay a good place to look??

 

im a strat fan between those 2... personally i prefere my charvelle{made by jackson, looks just like my dads jackson except for the tuner part, mine goes up? and his goes down? or its the oppisite... i dont remember... havent picked either one of them up in a while}} the les pauls are just to over priced for me... each one of my dads electrics cost him about 150 dollars... a strat, ibeneze{spelled incorrectly LOL} and the jackson... but i do love his strat... {{hopefully his car, his guns and all of his guitar equipment becomes mine some day!!! LOL}}

 

Ebay is a great place to get either a fine deal, or to be ripped off bigtime. I personally do not like to buy guitars without first laying my hands on them, inspecting the straightness of the neck (Gibson's QC, despite their high prices, basically stinks, just as it did in the 1970's). I've been playing for 42 years now, so I can *feel* a good neck, see waves and imperfections in the fretwork, sense a dry or wet guitar, etc.

If you live in a metro area, go to music stores, play a bunch of guitars, see what feels good in your hands. Bring a strap and let the guitar hang off your shoulder.

Hey, I just went into a Guitar Center store (I'm in Detroit, where there are four GC's and a bunch of other music stores) and they had a Gibson LP Studio "B stock" guitar. The headstock had been busted off, probably in original transit, and glued back on by Gibson. It was $575, brand new. It was black, and needed the headstock area resprayed (car lacquer would work fine). I almost thought about buying it but I've already got 2 Les Pauls... As a player, it would sound just as good as any other LP Studio, leave you money for a Mexican strat AND an amp or two.

And although you ask about guitars, amps are far more important for your sound. I'd rather play a $300 Mexican tele through a good tube amp than a $3000 Custom Shop tele through some kind of solid state junker. (Although I have a few solid state amps that sound pretty good, I've also got nine old Fender tube amps--the newest being a 1971 amp....much better investment than any mutual fund, but I bought them when they used to be cheap.) And I'm in an outdoor jam band playing on hot summer nights. My setup for that is a $250 Mexican tele (with a pickup swap) and an old Yamaha G50 solid state amp (killer sounding for solid state) that I paid $120 for, so it's a totally giggable and dependable rig for $400, and perfect to sweat on, play in the rain, etc.

George

 

ya i plan on buying a tube...but thats later on, i live in ft wayne its a decent sized city about 3 hours south of u ive been to guitar center a few times the past month,but do u kno if u can negotiate with the employees or is it a set price???

 

Careful on buying on eBay. You don't know if you're buying a copy or the real thing.

Even on CL, if you don't now what to look for, you could be paying for an
authentic Les Paul or a Strat, and be getting a copy.

Ever think about a Rickenbacker or a Zachary guitar?

Just a thought.

 

I believe GC management has put out some "rules" about employees not negotiating, but I have generally been able to get good lowball prices out of the guys I deal with--but these guys are usually the store managers who know me. The new kid they hired from McDonalds last week won't have a clue....

George

 

The guy wants a strat or LP and you're recommending a Ric or some unknown thing like a Zachary?

Actually, there is nothing wrong with Epiphone LP's from Korea (or now China), especially if you do a pickup change. Likewise, Mexican strats and teles are excellent guitars; a pro could gig with one of these forever.

George

 

I know what he was asking for, but it's nice to remind him that
there are other options in guitars.

 

well the next real good advise given was to go to the store of your choice and play all of them.... meaning you like the lp's now play everyone they have including the epiphone versions(great guitars by the way, and always reviewed favorably by paid reviewers) the right guitar will reach out to you, it will feel right it will sound right, and believe it or not they are all different!!!! you could find one that is you, yet jimmy page or slash could play it and declare it unplayable. so play all of them and find the one that feels like it likes you! Ben does have a valid point there are tons of excellent guitars out there, jackson, esp, dean, prs, dont be scared to try them out, but i will bet you still end up with a LP. I have a gorgeous honeyburst standard, with stock pick ups that just snarls, and sustains forever, and then i have an epiphone black beauty, my 1st. It isnt as gritty sounding but it was my 1st. these 2 guitars dont change, i will trade others but these 2 are the best in the world to me. Man that Honeyburst is just gorgeous it has a beautiful quilted top, and just the right burst pattern, i can just stare at it for days. oops sorry i started to ramble. Dan oh and Ps you can deal somewhat at guitar center, i do but i followed my salesman from another store!

 

There are hundreds of other options, but for the most part, pop and rock music have been made on Gibsons (Les Pauls, 335's, SG's) and Fenders (strats and teles). Any one of these guitars will be versatile enough for almost any sound and any type of music. I've played each of these styles for years at a time, and they just flat work well. Gibsons are easier to break (the famous busted off headstock) and Les Pauls are often too heavy to play for hours at a time hanging off a strap.

Other types of guitars like Rics and Gretsches are more often "one trick ponies", and oddball lesser known brands may be good, but will be difficult to sell if someone makes a wrong choice. Plus guitars (like Ford Trucks) are often about image, almost as much as for their musicality. Like I said, WTF is a Zachary? Who plays them? What do they sound like? Chinese? Korean?

Teles are the simplest electrics, and after years of playing pretty much everything, I've played primarily teles for the last 15 years. They do everything from country, to early Led Zeppelin sounds (yes Jimmy Page toured with Les Pauls but recorded with a tele), to Keith Richards licks in open G, to jazz, to progressive stuff like Bill Frisell, etc.

But I've got a couple Les Pauls and a couple strat type guitars as well.

George

 

You want to know WTF is a Zachary?
Here's a few sites:

Zachary Guitars Z-2
Zachary Custom Electric Guitars Bass Guitar Gibson Fender PRS
Zachary Guitars Z-1: Harmony Central User Reviews

BTW, they're not made in China or Korea, but made in Canada.

Here's a youtube vid of one being played.

YouTube - bobby simcox (cryred) 3