Clean Tones: Les Paul vs Strat

jdgm

As I understand it, a humbucking pickup cancels out some of the harmonic content as a side effect of reducing hum, so single-coils usually sound more sparkly. Or something.

Anyway....P90s.

Forum members please correct me if I'm wrong.

terada

A good les Paul + a Princeton reverb = sublime tone

ICBM

jdgm said:

As I understand it, a humbucking pickup cancels out some of the harmonic content as a side effect of reducing hum, so single-coils usually sound more sparkly.

That’s true, since the pickup senses a longer part of the string so very high harmonics - shorter on the string than the width of the pickup - are partly cancelled out; and a typical series-wired humbucker has more inductance than a typical single coil as well, which also reduces top end.

zepp76

gringopig said:

As I was messing about with a new recording set up I took the opportunity to make such a comparison.

Both into the same amp, a 1979 Fender Twin Reverb. On Pre-amp 3 for Gibson and 5 for Fender. Recorded straight into a Presonus 68C with SM57 pointing off axis on right speaker. No effects other than the reverb on amp.
Recorded sequentially.

Les Paul: A 2017 1958 Custom Shop re-issue



Stratocaster: a 2014

@gringopig that Les Paul sounds so much more fuller and warmer than the Strat, just lovely. What pickups are in it please? The SM57 mic also done a good job, very interesting.

prlgmnr

For CLEAN clean I always prefer humbuckers, Strats/singles always keep a bit of something in the 'spanky' sort of range, which is great for all sorts of things, but for me stops the tone being truly 'clean'.

merciful-evans

jaymenon said:

Played through a clean Fender style amplifier I am always able to get nice clean sounds out of any Stratocaster type guitar (not necessarily an expensive one) - and that too, without having to tweak the controls very much.

Not so however, with a Les Paul. The clean sounds are rather uninspiring - though the instrument of course comes into its own when (even a mild degree of) overdrive is applied.

I remember an old Burny Fernandes Les Paul copy with a pair of 57 Classics sounding lovely even clean - but that might be a rather inaccurate memory...

I'd be most interested to hear about your own experiences...?

As a Les Paul user (and former Fender Strat user) I agree completely.

I have really missed those Fender clean tones.

Henrytwang

The Les Paul can produce a very good clean sound as can the Strat &Telecaster . The difference is that they all have different tones.

jaymenon

Here’s a little update:  I had sold the Burny on eBay 3 years ago -  but on a whim, I emailed the person who bought it and asked him if he would sell it back to me.  Surprisingly, he was happy to...

Now since selling the guitar I've moved house from South Wales to Norfolk.  I was stunned to find out this morning that this gentleman lives in Norwich...! Surreal...

A 10 minute drive later, ‘my old flame’ is back in my hands...

...and despite the dementia - my memory was accurate. She positively sings, even clean...

[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/GYuQjtG.jpg)

tone1

I’ve been without my Strat whilst it’s been away for a refinish, so I’ve been playing p90 Les Paul... Although the Les Paul sounds fantastic clean, it’s the Strat cleans that just do it for me..Maybe the natural Reverb I don’t know...

slacker

The differences between guitars are more pronounced clean. All my guitars sound very similar through my fuzz factory.

Humbuckers sound a bit blurry clean. P90s in the mid position sound gorgeous. The in between sounds on a start are great. 

It's why I have more than one guitar. Or at least an excuse for it. 

gringopig

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stickyfiddle

A Gibson into an almost-clean Fender is one of the all time great guitar sounds. 

gringopig

.

ICBM

I know a guy who used to play a Les Paul through a Marshall, and made it sound just like when he played a Tele through a Fender.

(Admittedly it was a JTM60 with a 15" speaker, but even so...)

Flattop

I find a good way if getting a clean sound out if a LP, is to wire pickups out of phase then use middle position, i.e. both pickups on, this cuts a lot of mid out and thins tone a lot.
But really a Strat is best guitar for glassy clean sounds

thegummy

I wonder if there are 2 specific types when it comes to guitar tones - those who want to sound as close to specific records as possible and those who just want it to sound good on its own.

noisepolluter

I was struggling a bit with cleans on my 335 (especially with the neck pickup) but then I spent some time adjusting the pickup and magnet heights. Made a noticeable difference in clarity. 
I also found putting a buffered tuner at the start of my pedalboard helped.
Currently planning to get treble bypass caps added to the guitar volume controls to avoid losing treble with the volume down.

stickyfiddle

thegummy said:

I wonder if there are 2 specific types when it comes to guitar tones - those who want to sound as close to specific records as possible and those who just want it to sound good on its own.

Im generally the latter, but I think there’s room for both. 

Not least because almost every combination you can think of *has* probably been recorded at some point. 

thegummy

I think it's very much in the zeitgeist that fenders are the de facto clean guitars and Gibsons are the de facto distorted ones.

I watch a lot of indie rock on YouTube and it's almost always clean fender guitars. Yesterday a band comes on with Gibsons for a change and they turn out to be distorted.

I think lack of brightness might be why some people dislike Gibson cleans but also why I like it as I don't like brightness in music.

ICBM

thegummy said:

I think it's very much in the zeitgeist that fenders are the de facto clean guitars and Gibsons are the de facto distorted ones.

I watch a lot of indie rock on YouTube and it's almost always clean fender guitars. Yesterday a band comes on with Gibsons for a change and they turn out to be distorted.

I think lack of brightness might be why some people dislike Gibson cleans but also why I like it as I don't like brightness in music.

I find PAFs plenty bright enough, although some more overwound humbuckers not so much. Strats can be very shrill and a bit thin if you're not careful.