Hey, I am looking to buy a new guitar. I either want a Fender American Deluxe Fat Strat or a Gibson Les Pual. Right now i have a Fender Toronado that i love and the pickup set up is 2 humbuckers. The Fat Strat has 1 humbucker and 2 single coils and the Gibson has 2 humbuckers. Ive played on them both and they both sound really nice. I am completlety cofused on what to get. Tell me what you think. I want a sound that blends the late 80's and early 90's. Thanx lot.

"That sound" is a pretty wide range of sounds.

If I were you, I'de go with whatever guitar you liked better. Play them both, decide which feels better, which sounds better and go from there.

You'll probably find that the Strat is a lot more versital, but the Les Paul has a fatter tone.

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Raskolnikov
Guitar Tricks Moderator
Careful what you wish for friend
I've been to Hell and now I'm back again
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actualy i myself have a mexican deluxe fat strat, which is in my opinion better than the american one and costs half of it. the mexican one is designed in a vinatge style, with large 70's headstock and other vinatge ****, but anyway i think fender overaly gives you better variety of sound, especialy the HSS models, which you can use to play any music in the world - mine is good for anything from jazz to death metal, and fender has a more comofrtable bridge, so in my opinion get the fender
but then again its only my opinion

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"They think im crazy..
but i know better.
It is not I who am crazy.
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ren hoek

Fender.....No contest. The Les Paul is too heavy and the neck is set at a weird angle the slants back toward your left arm, the tones you get with it are far too bassy, and the shape of it is rather akward. The Strat on the other hand, can simulate a range of sounds for any style of music for wish to play, has a kick-ass, totally-bitchin' design, is light weight, AND if you get the Floyd Rose System with it, you'll be able to do some really narly wammy-bar tricks that you wouldn't be able to with a Les Paul for the obvious reason that the Les Paul doesn't have a wammy-bar system. Those are just my opinions though.

I think what most people do is get what they like best first, then branch out to get other guitars later when they're more serious and have more money.

I'm a Strat sorta guy, but if you really like the Les Paul better, you should get that now. Or visa versa. People swear by both because they're both solid, time proven designs.

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Raskolnikov
Guitar Tricks Moderator
Careful what you wish for friend
I've been to Hell and now I'm back again
www.GuitarTricks.com - Home of Online Guitar Lessons

Here's one thing you might want to know!
No affence to you gibson lovers.
You can make a Fender sound like a Gibson,
but you can'nt make a Gibson sound like a Fender.

(Get what you like thier both ok)

Mark

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yours truly Mark Toman

I've got a Gibson Les Paul myself and I prefer it to a Strat, mainly because it's heavier and the humbuckers are DiMarzio Invaders (I changed them, there's nothing wrong with the humbuckers that come fitted, but I preferred the sound of the DiMarzios.
Saying that, I want to get a Strat because it's been a few years since I owned one. I want the tremelo arm and the single coils for Punk/Rock playing, the Gibson sound is too fat for some songs and the signal is often spliced by the distortion from my effects pedals.
Get what you want, and what feels right for you.