What is the greatest rock guitar ever?

In a binary world, one of them has to go first.

But one could have written each guitar out on a separate piece of paper, folded them and put them in a hat, and then blindly draw them out, and list them in that order. It's all good. Thanks for the poll -- it is a difficult choice between Strat and LP regardless.

 

I voted for the Strat because it was so versatile and so...rock n' roll. But my favorite sound is a Les Paul roaring through a Marshall stack.

 

It’s shaping up to be the Stratocaster vs. Les Paul battle I knew it would be. I am a little surprised the Telecaster is so far behind.

 

Anyone else care to vote before the poll closes?

 

KRAMER IS ALL THAT MATTERS !!!!!!

 

I voted for other.
Gibson Les Paul Junior - Wikipedia

 

Danelectro DC2

 

Same with The Edge and U2.

 

I know it's going to be either strat or les but hey, you can play all kind of music on those -- greatest "rock"guitar has to be THE V baby!

 

It's crazy, almost nobody uses the Jazzmaster to play Jazz, but it's become de rigueur for alternative rock and, especially, Shoegaze.

 

Strat...Rock? It's not possible.

 

I'll go with Johnny Thunders' ax of choice -- the Les Paul Jr. double cutaway -- as the ultimate, no frills rock'n'roll guitar.

 

Stratocaster.

What a beautiful, and ahead-of-its-time shape and design. I still remember the first time I saw one ... a b&w pic of Buddy Holly in the Spokane paper, maybe 1958 or so. I hadn't yet made the decision to play guitar*, but I thought that guitar -- a tobacco-'burst Strat, with maple fretboard -- was cooler than anything I'd ever seen.

You can get any conceivable pop music guitar sound with one: rawk, rockabilly, jazz, metal, punk, surf, funk, artsy -- the end is listless, truly.

Like it's sibling the Tele, being a Fender, it's endlessly customizable -- there's an entire universe of aftermarket parts, gadgets, refinements and style add-ons. Pickups is just one area where you can find that sound in your head. Plus, you can adjust the wobble arm (number of springs, spring tension, etc.) to suit your own playing technique. Bolt-on neck, easily removable scratch plate/wiring harness means you can quickly make changes that effectively alter the character of the guitar (different pickups, necks, wiring configs, what have you).

And then there's the most genius thing, in my view: the ergonomics of the guitar. The volume control located right by your pinkie if you're picking by the bridge which, in my case, means you can do volume swells and other dynamic stuff with resorting to a volume pedal. Having the tone controls close by allows other fun stuff (Jeff Beck can make his Strat cry like a jungle cat). And then there's the unique contouring done on the back of the guitar, which makes it the most comfortable guitar I've come across.

I won't bore you with a list of who's who played one ...



*That would come a couple of years later,, when I heard the Shadows; Hank Marvin, of course, playing a Strat.

 

I voted Strat.
You can make a Strat sound like anything else. Getting a Les Paul to sound like a Strat is not possible.

 

Fender Strat

 

Gibson Les Paul because.....Page, Perry, Allman

 

That's right.

The great thing about classic Fender low-output single coils ... they're by nature clean and (kind of) neutral. By adding gain, contouring the output with e.q. or whatever, you can get massive sustain and tone. (Ask Robin Trower.) Les Pauls (or other humbucker-equipped, heavy guitars) already have a big, round, phat sound, so you must perforce subtract to approach where a Fender starts (say, a twanging/jangling bright sound; not an easy task.) Now, there are some exceptions -- some humbucker-equipped SG's can be jangly, with that light body. But SG's are a very problematic design, in my view -- often with tuning issues, balance problems (too-light body, dragging the headstock down while playing, etc.)

 

I'll go with the Strat

 

I vote Coodercaster. Les Paul Jr. when Leslie West steps into one.

My most recent fav. is a Gordon Giltrap Elise Fret-King MK II which I like better then any of my 335s believe it or not.

 

Got to go with Rory & Jimi on this one. Stratocaster for the win.

 

As a Tele guy for many years I used to think that as well, until I decided to switch up my sound and swap my Telecaster for a Stratocaster. If they make electric guitars more versatile than a Strat I have yet to hear one. With my old Telecaster I loved the bridge pickup tone, I probably never moved the pickup selector switch unless it was by accident all the time I owned the thing. With my Strat it's the opposite, neck pickup for lead, pickup selector in the middle for rhythm.

 

A guitar is only as good as the music it makes: for my money (literally, as I have one...) the Rickenbacker, and the Telecaster seems to crop up when I investigate a sound I love.

 

59er Gibson Les Paul and Black Beauty Custom

 

I definitely hear you regarding the neck pickup for lead - my main problem with the Strat is that, when playing rhythm, I just can't get it to sound like it has any balls, for lack of a better term. The Tele has a certain "honk" for me, whereas the Strat just kind of... exists. I never spend much time on the middle pickup - I'll give that a whirl for a while.