Always been a Humbucker les paul guy. I guess since I grew up loving Pete Townshend, Keith and Jeff Beck I just wanting that sound. Strats have a beautiful clean sound but mostly I love noise and crunch and for that I want my Les Paul

Not to be a d!@&, but townshend, beck, and richards have always known to use single-coil guitars as much or more than humbucker-equipped ones. I really have no preference myself; I no longer own a LP, but I do have a PRS Custom 24 and a great strat and tele....THe PRS for real rockin shit and the strat for the more melodic, bluesy stuff, and the tele as kind of a median b/t the two. It basically boils down to the particular pickups strengths and weaknesses. The humbucker (of course) handles distortion better, and tends to be a bit warmer, per se. Single coils tend to be more suited to good clean sounds, but I like my strat better for medium distortion tones through my cranked marshall.

Humbuckers rule!!!

Townhshend used a SG And Les Paul threwout the 70s, Jeff Beck used a Les Paul threwout the 70s, and Keith Used a Black Beauty threw out the 70s. Jeff Beck used a Jackson Humbucker, and the Beck STrat(humbucker) in the 80s and 90s. Keith went to straight Tele's but did use a 335 for the last tour. Pete is deaf now so that doesnt count........Anyway you might have a point. I was really just trying to get you guys chatting!

I love them both and bounce back and forth as far as my own gigs are concerned. I had my repair guy make me a strat style axe with 3 P-90's. Basically sounds like a Tele on steroids. By the way most of the 70's era Beck is either a strat or tele w/buckers even though he's pictured with that LP on the cover of Blow by Blow. Great LP tone...Dicky Betts - "Brothers and Sisters".

Both guitars are awesome. Both have established an amazing tradition. It comes down to personal preference. And just as long as this doesn't come down to a mock "Ford vs. Chevy" discussion, I enjoy strats and teles.

Les Paul? Strat?
I like them both and I have neither of them. I currently use a Carvin DC-400 Koa, Yamaha Pacifica 1421 (any information on this guitar would be appreciated. I believe Rick Emmet played one, but I'm not sure).
THE guitar that will be my main axe hasn't arrived; Melancon Vintage Artist (should arrive in a month or two). I'll keep you posted.

If you found a guitar you are happy with that's a major part of the personal battle.I've owned L.P.s and strats and really liked both.I only play strats and tele's now.It's really pretty simple,it's not what you play but how you play it.

Ditto O.T.

I have a V with buckers, two Ibanez' with buckers and my G&L Legacy with singles.I'm a bucker guy mainly but the singles have there place and sound very sweet.Although I know this is a Strat/Les Paul thing, the guitars I have are more a less the same and I seriously doubt I would be able to tell the sound between my V and a Paul and a Strat and my G&L if I was blindfolded.They both have there purpose and they both sound great.

I play a Tele and a Strat, and they give me everything I could possibly want from a guitar. Humbuckers come in two varieties: the crappy sounding Ibanez pickups that can only be used for distortion because they sound like Barbra Streisand dying when played clean, and nice sounding but kind of muddy and lost in the mix Les Paul humbuckers. I do like the sound of a Les Paul, actually, but Pauls don't stand out as much as a Strat or Tele--plus the Fenders feel much better to me (wide fretboard, thin neck). Oh yeah, and Les Pauls are WAY overpriced.

Gotta agree Les Pauls are WAY overpriced.Gotta agree with you about the pups in Ibanez and the Pauls, I changed mine as soon as I got my guitars.But I cant agree on the Strat or Tele being better, different yes but not better.

Buy a Heritage.... When gibson moved away from their factory in michigan, some of the veteran builders stayed behind and started their own line... they're nearly identical to Gibsons except the headstock is bigger, and the body is a little thinner on some models, but they're a whole hell of a lot cheaper.

Right On Skonk.I love my '86 "gold-top" Heritage.It's the best LP I've ever owned.

No matter what price these two types of guitars are. I feel they are both a necessity for great guitar tones!
I like the feel of the Strat, man -if only it could sound like a Gibby though!

blah blah blah who gives a %$&^&
As Zappa (the most overrated guitar player in history) would say just "SHUT UP AND PLAY YOUR GUITAR" damn it.

Well I've have a Les Paul Custom, bought it in 1982. I also HAD a Gold top Strat at one time in my live, sad to say I sold it though. The next guitar I get will be an Fender (USA built) Tele, for some country and mostly rock.

Hands down IMHO my son will get my Les Paul as he already saved and bought a Epi Les Paul.

C'ya,
Dads

right on brother, may your son find happiness and bring happiness to others through the beautiful music he will make with the worlds best guitar.

Funny, most CAPABLE,GIGGING,(key words here)players own, and have used, both. Anyone who wants to argue solely for either instrument is obviously limited as far as styles are concerned, and probably not any good at the styles they choose. If you haven't figured out that guitars and amps are TOOLS, then playing along with your CD player is where you belong. Try not to bother the rest of us by appearing in public.

If I had my way, I would play my Tele, with middle pickup and 5 way switch added, almost exclusively. Unfortunately for some reason, playing it makes my tendonitis act up (scale length and/or neck profile perhaps?). I can play my Les Paul Classic all day, everyday with no wrist problems. The LP sounds good too, but not like a Tele.

I like Fenders, Gibsons and a few other brands. They all have their place. If you search, you can get a good LP at a reasonable price. So I will continue to play my LP for 90% of the night and plug in the Tele, PRS or ES-135 when the song really calls for it and will be happy regardless of which guitar I am playing. Just as long as I am playing, I will be happy.

Since no one else has mentioned it, I felt that I might add that the strat simply LOOKS better than the LP. I know, I know, It's the sound that counts, but if I were to have the perfect guitar...It would have superior sound and the body of a strat.