Let's have out with it: the Stratocaster is seriously over-exposed

singemonkey · 2012-10-08T20:52:07+00:00

So I've been doing a bunch of gigs in the better part of the last 2 years. All have been in the Western Cape, so maybe things are different elsewhere. That incredibly well known guitar, the Les Paul, I've seen played by precisely four other gigging musicians besides me: Our Reinhard and Nick, the player in a band called Barre Code, and one time by a guy called John Paine (a nice old early '80s Standard with EMGs that he needs to change out ?). Telecasters... Kevin Floyd... not sure who else. I've seen pics of Manfred playing his wonderful home-made number in CT. Maybe one other person. Our EZ has started gigging so that's one more Les Paul and one more Tele. I've seen a handful of Ibanez. One 335. And everywhere, as ubiquitous as a bass drum or a microphone stand... the Fender Stratocaster. Every colour. Every pickup combination. Running through every kind of amp. Every kind of effects board. Played by kids and those who get pensioners rates at the movies. Band after band. Everywhere. Stratocasters. Stretching to infinity like they're trapped between mirrors. We talk about a lot of different guitars here. But statistically speaking, there is the Stratocaster... and a few outliers.

chris77

Well, if you can't find them and can't afford them if you do, you can't play them.
When I started playing, Gibson wasn't available in local stores. If you wanted a LP shaped guitar you had to either buy a copy or try and source an older Gibson, or even import one yourself. Buying an older Gibson or bringing one in yourself would have been possible and a lot of established and wisened players probably did just that, but for a noob only starting out that was just not an option. So we had copies in stores that kinda looked like The Legendary Les Pauls the stars were using, but... they weren't the real deal and while you might have bought one as a starter guitar you would not have considered it as a "Pro" instrument.
Fenders on the other hand was right there. You could go into a store and touch a Real Genuine US Strat, same as the ones played by Hendrix, Clapton, Knopfler and a whole kaboodle of other pros. Then right next to it there would be a MIM, with the SAME name on the headstock, and even a very budget friendly Squier that looks kinda just like the other lot and, according to the whispers of the sales guy in your ear, is the SAME guitar, made by the SAME company. Only in another country. And cheaper. And even comes with a free packet of strings.....
As a result lots and lots and lots more young players started out on strat shaped guitars and never really forgot the feeling they had when they strummed that US Strat in the store. Strat would have formed the basis of what they like about guitars - the tones, the feel, the neck, the pups, the look, you name it. So it seems logical that that would be what they would stick with when they start gigging.
Even now, with Gibson being back in the country for a while I have never personally seen, touched or played one. They certainly weren't in any of the music stores in Kimberley, Bloem, Klerksdorp, Potch, Welkom, Centurion and Mosselbay that I have been to in the past year (or even the ten before that mind you). And the LP copies there are, are mostly Cort and Tanglewood - hardly drool worthy options if you want to start gigging.

vic

ZarK wrote I reckon the comfy ergonomics of a Strat, lower relative price, proven versatility and better upper fret access alone make them more popular than Les Pauls... Personally I don't buy guitars with anyone else than myself in mind... I got a Strat because it just felt and sounded great. I play Ibanez because they do not limit you physically and some of them have an unsurpassed (imho) modern tone. I play Gibsons and PRS's when I'm after quality humbucking rock tones... None of these guitars can completely replace each other but some are certainly better value-for-money and more versatile than others...

+1 Good argument

IceCreamMan

I LOVE MY STRATS
Nothing more to add here

singemonkey

Yeah. Good one Chris77. You've got to wonder with the much higher price of Gibson's most desired model whether many of the sales don't wind up being played at home by non-gigging musicians.

And then there's also the role of Fender's strong endorsement approach - especially looking at Dan Patlansky and Albert Frost. They're two of the most recognisable electric guitar players in SA and Fender's given them a reason to seldom be seen with any other guitar. It helps to entrench the notion that this is the pro instrument when players of that calibre are doing their stuff with them.

Nitebob

IceCreamMan wrote I LOVE MY STRATS
Nothing more to add here

singemonkey

Well, I love democracy and chilli-beans. It doesn't really help us get to the heart of the matter, does it? ?

Sean

singemonkey wrote Well, I love democracy and chilli-beans. It doesn't really help us get to the heart of the matter, does it? ?

Well, if you have some time on your hands you could canvass all the larger music stores and ask them to supply sales numbers, how many LP's and Strats are sold annually 8) you know, in the name of science ?

Jokes aside, I really do think it would be interesting to have and examine the data, statistics nerd that I am :-[

Bob-Dubery

Keira WitherKay wrote absolutely agree with vic...... a guitar is a tool to make music on for all but the collector............so if you a les paul fan it's unlikely you will gig with a strat which is a totally different tone..... and leave your beloved tone machine under your bed......

Except that people change. Clapton played a Tele with the Yardbirds, then Gibsons (mostly Les Paul and SG but also a 335) with Cream. Then went back to the Tele with Blind Faith. THEN embraced the Strat.

Knopfler played the Strat almost exclusively on the early Dire Straits albums but on the Brothers In Arms album he started using Les Pauls.

Keef has been all over the place - Les Pauls, Dan Armstrongs, Teles.

Jimmy Page initially made his mark with the Telecaster but then got more into Gibsons (though he still used the Tele in the studio). Towards the end of Led Zeppelin he was seen with Danelectros and Strats on stage.

Neil Young and Stephen Stills both played Gretsch a lot early on before exploring other options (notably Neil's famous black Les Paul).

John Martyn first started with some kind of single-coil pup gaffer-taped onto his Martin, then got into SGs with P90s, then went through various phases including strats, Les Pauls with PAFs and Les Pauls with P90s.

Jeff Beck's map seems to go Tele -> Les Paul -> Strat.

Some plough a constant furrow (BB King being a notable example) but many don't.

And some guys (who can afford it) change guitar for every song in their live set and have half-a-dozen amps in the wings and a roady to operate pedals for them.

ezietsman

Interestingly, Looking at the shops in the Cape, the most guitars you see (in about equal numbers) are Strats and LPs. For these I'm not counting Superstrats (Ibanii and the like ) as either. Just looking at Fender/Squier strats and Gibson/Epiphone/Tanglewood/Tokai, it looks to me like Strats and LPs sell the most. Yet, Singemonkey's observation more or less holds, you see far more strats on stages than anything else. At the Bluestown sessions, for instance, only Kevin Floyd and the dude that used to be in Delta Blues, plays something else (A buckered Tele and a 335). At the Table mountain blues summit, strats and more strats (and a few pointy guitars wielded by the notes/second school). The last time I went, there was not a single Tele, not a single LP a singular 335 and a million strats on that stage. There may have been an SG too.

I guess it boils down to a few things:

1. People buy Strats and LPs in approximately equal numbers
2. There are more SRV, Hendrix, David Gilmour guitar nerds in Cape Town than there are Zakk Wylde, Slash, Gary Moore, Jimmy Page nerds
3. Most gigging guitarists have thin arms and a LP is too much guitar for them ?

vic

ez wrote Interestingly, Looking at the shops in the Cape, the most guitars you see (in about equal numbers) are Strats and LPs. For these I'm not counting Superstrats (Ibanii and the like ) as either. Just looking at Fender/Squier strats and Gibson/Epiphone/Tanglewood/Tokai, it looks to me like Strats and LPs sell the most. Yet, Singemonkey's observation more or less holds, you see far more strats on stages than anything else. At the Bluestown sessions, for instance, only Kevin Floyd and the dude that used to be in Delta Blues, plays something else (A buckered Tele and a 335). At the Table mountain blues summit, strats and more strats (and a few pointy guitars wielded by the notes/second school). The last time I went, there was not a single Tele, not a single LP a singular 335 and a million strats on that stage. There may have been an SG too.

I guess it boils down to a few things:

1. People buy Strats and LPs in approximately equal numbers
2. There are more SRV, Hendrix, David Gilmour guitar nerds in Cape Town than there are Zakk Wylde, Slash, Gary Moore, Jimmy Page nerds
3. Most gigging guitarists have thin arms and a LP is too much guitar for them ?

My TV packed up and now I'm forced to listen to the radio....good thing.....The other night they had an interview with Theo Erasmus, the Accordion virtuoso. (He is in his 70's now). Now an accordion is a lot more heavy than any Les Paul...this guy still excercises with 5 kg weights to keep his chest-,shoulder-and back muscles strong enough to handle this instrument.
So there...all you okes who complain about heavy guitars...and amps.....start gym'ing ! ?

ezietsman

Vic wrote So there...all you okes who complain about heavy guitars...and amps.....start gym'ing ! ?

or buy a Strat

Nitebob

Vic wrote
ez wrote Interestingly, Looking at the shops in the Cape, the most guitars you see (in about equal numbers) are Strats and LPs. For these I'm not counting Superstrats (Ibanii and the like ) as either. Just looking at Fender/Squier strats and Gibson/Epiphone/Tanglewood/Tokai, it looks to me like Strats and LPs sell the most. Yet, Singemonkey's observation more or less holds, you see far more strats on stages than anything else. At the Bluestown sessions, for instance, only Kevin Floyd and the dude that used to be in Delta Blues, plays something else (A buckered Tele and a 335). At the Table mountain blues summit, strats and more strats (and a few pointy guitars wielded by the notes/second school). The last time I went, there was not a single Tele, not a single LP a singular 335 and a million strats on that stage. There may have been an SG too.

I guess it boils down to a few things:

1. People buy Strats and LPs in approximately equal numbers
2. There are more SRV, Hendrix, David Gilmour guitar nerds in Cape Town than there are Zakk Wylde, Slash, Gary Moore, Jimmy Page nerds
3. Most gigging guitarists have thin arms and a LP is too much guitar for them ?
My TV packed up and now I'm forced to listen to the radio....good thing.....The other night they had an interview with Theo Erasmus, the Accordion virtuoso. (He is in his 70's now). Now an accordion is a lot more heavy than any Les Paul...this guy still excercises with 5 kg weights to keep his chest-,shoulder-and back muscles strong enough to handle this instrument.
So there...all you okes who complain about heavy guitars...and amps.....start gym'ing ! ?

What do you call perfect pitch?...when you chuck a banjo in a dustbin and hit an accordion...?

aja

Nitebob wrote What do you call perfect pitch?...when you chuck a banjo in a dustbin and hit an accordion...?

Okay smarty pants... Watch this and tell me it is not brilliant! ?

=

When you watch this one imagine a big church organ...

=

arjunmenon

ez wrote
Vic wrote So there...all you okes who complain about heavy guitars...and amps.....start gym'ing ! ?
or buy a Strat

+1 ?

Nitebob

aja wrote
Nitebob wrote What do you call perfect pitch?...when you chuck a banjo in a dustbin and hit an accordion...?
Okay smarty pants... Watch this and tell me it is not brilliant! ?

=

When you watch this one imagine a big church organ...

=

Okay...I'll give you that one (two?), but I'll still rather play guitar lke Darth Vader...

IceCreamMan

singemonkey wrote Well, I love democracy and chilli-beans. It doesn't really help us get to the heart of the matter, does it? ?

well i believe it does ,well as close as one can get i guess as neither side will ever really convince the other ..this is the nature of interent disagreements ......unless someone says "thats something Hitler would say" no one wins and we aint in fear of that just yet.

my point essentially is that i love playing the strats that i own , is it because of some marketing hype , possibly , is it cos of ergonomics , possibly, is it because of the mojo found in every strat , possibly , is it cos it just works so damn well , possibly ,,is it cos some of my hero's played strats , possibly is it cos etc etc etc ...no doubt its a number of factors that all interplay and ultimately create my perception of the intstrument ...this holds true for yours btw.

i care not to analyse or even look at pie charts (insert friday funny pie char here) to understand why i enjoy playing them and why i love the instruments themselves....but i know what i like and i play what i like....

no side will convince the other , number of instruments sold is no indication of "goodness" but it seems a lot of ppl gravitate towards the strat shape (irrepsective of manufacturer) and a lot of ppl are preapared to pay a lot of money to own one ........

ezietsman

IceCreamMan wrote
singemonkey wrote Well, I love democracy and chilli-beans. It doesn't really help us get to the heart of the matter, does it? ?
well i believe it does ,well as close as one can get i guess as neither side will ever really convince the other ..this is the nature of interent disagreements ......unless someone says "thats something Hitler would say" no one wins and we aint in fear of that just yet.

my point essentially is that i love playing the strats that i own , is it because of some marketing hype , possibly , is it cos of ergonomics , possibly, is it because of the mojo found in every strat , possibly , is it cos it just works so damn well , possibly ,,is it cos some of my hero's played strats , possibly is it cos etc etc etc ...no doubt its a number of factors that all interplay and ultimately create my perception of the intstrument ...this holds true for yours btw.

i care not to analyse or even look at pie charts (insert friday funny pie char here) to understand why i enjoy playing them and why i love the instruments themselves....but i know what i like and i play what i like....

no side will convince the other , number of instruments sold is no indication of "goodness" but it seems a lot of ppl gravitate towards the strat shape (irrepsective of manufacturer) and a lot of ppl are preapared to pay a lot of money to own one ........

We're not discussing why you like your strat and we're not discussing whether they are good or not.

Fact 1: People like the guitars they own (mostly)
Fact 2: There's loads of Strats and Les Pauls around the Cape Town area. Looking at the numbers of each on display in the shops is proof of this.
Fact 3: There's loads of bands playing

The question is: Why are there so many more strats on show on stages than other types of guitar.

One thing that nobody mentioned yet is the metal scene. There you will surely not see so many strats and les pauls and Teles (and other rounder guitars). Pointy and V shaped guitars rules there I would think. I almost never go to metal gigs so I wouldn't know what gets played there but I would imagine fewer strats there (mostly).

IceCreamMan

ez wrote
IceCreamMan wrote
singemonkey wrote Well, I love democracy and chilli-beans. It doesn't really help us get to the heart of the matter, does it? ?
well i believe it does ,well as close as one can get i guess as neither side will ever really convince the other ..this is the nature of interent disagreements ......unless someone says "thats something Hitler would say" no one wins and we aint in fear of that just yet.

my point essentially is that i love playing the strats that i own , is it because of some marketing hype , possibly , is it cos of ergonomics , possibly, is it because of the mojo found in every strat , possibly , is it cos it just works so damn well , possibly ,,is it cos some of my hero's played strats , possibly is it cos etc etc etc ...no doubt its a number of factors that all interplay and ultimately create my perception of the intstrument ...this holds true for yours btw.

i care not to analyse or even look at pie charts (insert friday funny pie char here) to understand why i enjoy playing them and why i love the instruments themselves....but i know what i like and i play what i like....

no side will convince the other , number of instruments sold is no indication of "goodness" but it seems a lot of ppl gravitate towards the strat shape (irrepsective of manufacturer) and a lot of ppl are preapared to pay a lot of money to own one ........

We're not discussing why you like your strat and we're not discussing whether they are good or not.

Fact 1: People like the guitars they own (mostly)
Fact 2: There's loads of Strats and Les Pauls around the Cape Town area. Looking at the numbers of each on display in the shops is proof of this.
Fact 3: There's loads of bands playing

The question is: Why are there so many more strats on show on stages than other types of guitar.

One thing that nobody mentioned yet is the metal scene. There you will surely not see so many strats and les pauls and Teles (and other rounder guitars). Pointy and V shaped guitars rules there I would think. I almost never go to metal gigs so I wouldn't know what gets played there but I would imagine fewer strats there (mostly).

i understand that, my reasoning could howver be used as reasoning by others too..

we all make purchasing decisions based on a number of factors , some which are completely separate for the actual playbility of the instrument btw.... the purchasing decision is a complex one .... but follows certain patterns in all ppl...

murray plays a strat , one of the few .... but it is not yr standard strat mind.... metal aint gonna happen with stats generally i guess. ....

ezietsman

IceCreamMan wrote we all make purchasing decisions based on a number of factors , some which are completely separate for the actual playbility of the instrument btw.... the purchasing decision is a complex one .... but follows certain patterns in all ppl...

Yeah that much is true but I think the point Singe is trying to make is that even though there must be more guitars out there than just strats (they make up at best 50% of the entire market, prob a bit less) you far more often see them played live than the others, where you would expect to see something the same ratio of guitars on stages as you see in shops, no?

DonovanB

ez wrote The question is: Why are there so many more strats on show on stages than other types of guitar.

Because strats make you play better, and tone isn't in your fingers... 8)

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