Stratocasters from Fender and non fender

[bluelime]

Hello everyone.
Recently there have been lots of topic about Gibson lespauls and lespaul shaped guitars from other brands.
And my conculsion is that nothing can be equvalent to Gibson guitars just close to them. (Please correct me if i'm very much wrong but this is my own opinion)

On the way home today i was thinking about how many people feel that Fenders have their own unique tone/voice. Comparing Stratocasters of other brands wanting to imitate Fender or compete with them.
For example Suhr , G&L, FGN and custom made stratocasters. Do you think that they have the unique bit of "Fender" in it?
Lets say comparing those in the similar price range.
Or does Fender guitars have that special vibe then none other can possess.

Have a Happy New Year everyone!
Cheers

 

[ashes307]

Hi there, i feel that you don't really understand the essence of a guitar. It doesn't really matter about the brand but how "good" you feel the guitar is asthectically and tonally. Gibsons, Fenders and any other big names have built their names from a long traditions. A cheap china made guitar can have more "soul" and feel to it than a Fender itself but dont' get me wrong, Fender does put alot of care in each guitar and it's up to you to feel that special vibe.

 

[faizal_rocks]

Its not a Fender but I love this custom made Strat to death...

 

[wck]

Its really all up to your preference really. Some people swear by fenders and claim that nothing else has that fender sound and others prefer Suhr, G&L, Tom Andersons etc. I believe some of those people are listening with their eyes cos in a blind test its hard to say what they'll choose.

The best strat I've played so far is some old beat up Greco strat followed by a Fujigen strat and I preferred them to an original 59 strat and a 70s strat.

 

[wck]

Its really all up to your preference really. Some people swear by fenders and claim that nothing else has that fender sound and others prefer Suhr, G&L, Tom Andersons etc. I believe some of those people who swear by fenders and dismiss other brands are listening with their eyes cos in a blind test its hard to say what they'll choose.

The best strat I've played so far is some old beat up Greco strat followed by a Fujigen strat and I preferred them to an original 59 strat and a 70s strat.

 

[lazy3yed]

Faizal Strat! Cool!

 

[bluelime]

ashes: what i meant was, not that cheap guitars or china made ones does not feel the same. But that are there brands which gives u the same feeling of a Fender.
Smt like does a random tele copy have the twang that normal fender teles have. Just an example.
Gonna try em out soon!
Faizal nice strat there how long did u take to diy it ? Headstock decal stick on ?

 

[wck]

Faizal: It would look even better with an aged white pickguard to match the pickup covers, trem bar, knobs and swtich.

Btw, G&L is a brand made by George Fullerton and Leo Fender after he sold fender so G&Ls are kinda like Leo's later works and improvements to his guitars. Some of the tone/ eq sections and pickups that the G&Ls have are pretty cool innovations.

 

[senn_liu]

leo fender designed strats and teles - you could say all fender guitars perhaps - to be easy to build and mod (most parts can be swapped out easily)...which means that it isn't very difficult to put together a fender-ish guitar.

as for whether there's anything unique about fender guitars, think about this: the materials, design details, workers, machinery that are used to make fenders today are not the same as the golden era of the 50s/60s.

the fender guitars of today are arguably no more "fender-ish" than, say, a well-made copy from any other company.

just to point out something funny...perhaps the true fender guitars of the modern era are from g&l.

just to offend more people now, i think the japanese les paul copies are way closer to the 50s lps than any of gibson's regular production models.

generally speaking, if you wanna get a top-notch, true-blue fender or gibson nowadays, you can get their custom shop offerings, or the cheaper but still close copies.

in terms of general quality, i think a warmoth build will beat most production fenders.

to sign off with a random opinion:
one thing that i find strange about fender...they make really mediocre pickups.

 

[faizal_rocks]

Well, I'd say a mth? Buying the parts and all n getting somebody to assemble it..the headstock decal was done by a good friend of mine

 

[faizal_rocks]

wck: It already looks best with the mint green pickguard IMO

 

[wck]

Ah well, everyone has different preferences but the important thing is that you like it cos its yours! haha.

 

[guitarsan]

A Les Paul will sound like a Les Paul, and a strat will sound a strat....regardless of brand. Over the last 50-60 years, there were so many variations of Les Pauls and strats from Gibson and Fender respectively, and each manufacturing period made changes to their specs and hence tonal qualities. So who is to govern what a Les Paul or strat should or must sound like? For instance, are you going to say a Tokai Love Rock LS120 is "less" of a Les Paul than a Gibson BFG because the former is not a Gibson?

There is no such thing as "only a Gibson will sound like a Les Paul". Same goes for Fender and strat. It's a very myopic way of thinking. And it's mostly perpetuated by gear snobs to justify their expensive investment in certain custom shop Gibsons or Fenders....so as to make themselves feel better about their purchase. You get lots of that in TGP forum!

IMO, brand fixation brings out the narrow mindedness in people.

 

[relinquish69]

to sign off with a random opinion:
one thing that i find strange about fender...they make really mediocre pickups.

which guitars did you try to come up with such a conclusion?

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

this thread is self pwned, in the context of limited exposure as general consensus!

 

[dezng]

If money is not a problem and you have tons of it, what will you choose?

For me, I'll first find myself a real 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, then a 1959 Custom Shop Murphy Aged + Real 50's PAF + Historic Makeover, a Pearly Gates, a Duane Allman, a Jimmy Page No.1, a Beano Burst. For Strats, I'll get a few pre-CBS vintage Strats of all my favourite years and colors, a Eric Clapton Blackie, a John Mayer Masterbuilt Black1 and maybe a couple of John Cruzs.

Tokai? Fujigen? Or any other knock-off? Not a chance. Regardless if they sound as good, as close to the original or it's more cost effective.

Money is always the issue. I'm just being real here. If I have the cash, I will not buy the rest.

 

[guitarsan]

If money is not a problem and you have tons of it, what will you choose?

For me, I'll first find myself a real 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, then a 1959 Custom Shop Murphy Aged + Real 50's PAF + Historic Makeover, a Pearly Gates, a Duane Allman, a Jimmy Page No.1, a Beano Burst. For Strats, I'll get a few pre-CBS vintage Strats of all my favourite years and colors, a Eric Clapton Blackie, a John Mayer Masterbuilt Black1 and maybe a couple of John Cruzs.

Tokai? Fujigen? Or any other knock-off? Not a chance. Regardless if they sound as good, as close to the original or it's more cost effective.

Money is always the issue. I'm just being real here. If I have the cash, I will not buy the rest.

With the money spent on the above, I would rather buy a nice house + a Fujigen + some spare picks.

 

[guitarsan]

I believe some of those people who swear by fenders and dismiss other brands are listening with their eyes cos in a blind test its hard to say what they'll choose.

Absolutely. Those who claim they can always tell the difference either have ears of a bat or lying through their teeth.

 

[dezng]

With the money spent on the above, I would rather buy a nice house + a Fujigen + some spare picks.

If one day you can afford those I mentioned... You probably already have a nice house, a nice car and everything you need and you will still buy a Fujigen?

Bro. Get real!

 

[technoguy]

If one day you can afford those I mentioned... You probably already have a nice house, a nice car and everything you need and you will still buy a Fujigen?

Bro. Get real!

Well said. I see sour grapes from that guy.