Question: Do you play Fender-style guitars in a very different way from Gibson-style guitars?

Motorik

Motorik

Kick Henry Jackassowski
I was reading an interview with John Frusciante, traditionally most associated with Fenders, and how he's moved over to a Gibson-style guitar a Yamaha SG, He's found them so unlike the Fender that he thinks of them as being two separate kinds of musical instruments that just happened to be labelled 'electric guitars', but otherwise require two different playing style with different harmonic responses.

I know some of you play both types of guitars. Does your playing style change significantly if you were switching from a Les Paul to a standard Strat with the vintage trem?

I notice the way I play my b-bender tele is very different from how I play my Mockingbird. Almost a different style of playing and techniques used.
 
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Yes.

The biggest determination on how I attack or dig into the strings is the shape/surface of the bridge.. and how/where I can anchor the heel of my palm.
 
Feel certainly can change or inspire how you play, but it’s still the same instrument.

Frusciante is one of my favorite guitar players but as a decades-long fan I’ve come to realize that he’s a very vocal moron. Best to listen to his music and ignore the rest of him.
 
yes, mostly because of the difference in fret spacing and string tension and that the LP doesn't have a trem.
i don't necessarily play totally different licks, but the bending is definitely different.
 
I tend to play with a different tone when using the Mockingbird. More gain, and the guitar generally has a thicker timbre. It lends itself more to single note lines and riffs, and power chords. The difference in string tension leads me to big 'rock' bends.

When I play my Tele or a Strat I tend to play triads all over the neck rather than powerchords. I'll mix in open droning strings in lead lines, travis-pick chords instead of strumming, and use a lot of double-stops, sixths, things like that. Bends tend to be snappier and more mechanical, and often oblique.. I'll bend in a 'country' way rather than a 'blues' way. I'll also play choppier chords on the high strings.
 
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Yes, I should think so. To me they're like night and day; the LP plays like butter, has sustain for days, but less dynamic range for lack of better terms. The Strat on the other hand has the trem, a more transparent tone and puts up a good fight with its slightly higher action and longer scale length, and I think you can hear that effort in the playing. I tend to use the butt end of the pick with the Strat but not with the LP as you can't really hear that much of a difference anyway.

I don't think one guitar is better than the other, they're just different. That said, the LP is resting in its coffin most of the time these days, the Strat's single coils and trem being the main attractions. I guess the two guitars inspire me to play different things. I enjoy playing standards and stuff with open chords on the LP while the Strat invites to more 'Hendrix-y' stuff like "The Wild Ones" for example (a very nice warm-up exercise), or the surf/spy movie territory that I'm very much into.
 
Sometimes yes, and it seems to be a function of the scale length. I sometimes naturally find myself playing different patterns or approaching things somewhat differently, but not every time I switch back and forth.
 
I play each with the intent of sounding different. I can get some Les Paul sounds out of a Strat and tele but it’s difficult to go the other way. My fret hand is placed differently but my pick attacks Are the same for some depending on the pickupss out put.

They’re guitars whether it’s my 6, 8, or 12 string. If it’s electric I approach them the same and don’t over it think it and my drug use has been extremely mild compared to John. I can’t help but think that may have something to do with his perception.
 
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Completely different. I play Fender style guitars and can't play Gibson style guitars. Something about the neck angle on a Gibson style guitars wrecks my left wrist. I can play them ok sitting down, but when I strap one on and stand up, I'm done with them.
 
Guitar Heel said:
I play both equally poorly.
Click to expand...

Came here to say this.
Truth is I rarely have a chance to play electric these days. Mostly it's just a matter of stealing a few minutes here and there to play the acoustic. And playing an acoustic guitar is a lot different than an electric. It's like going from a Uhaul to a miata so of course you're gonna play/drive differently
 
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I used to, but it seems like I'm changing. I know I play bass very differently than guitar. I played classical guitar through college. My instructors were very strict about posture, fingering, scales, etc. So I approached guitar in general that way. I never took bass lessons, so I beat on them. I'm not kind to basses, so I get the kind of sounds I want out of them, and I hardly think when I'm playing. I just play the damn thing in time and with the right notes, phrasing, accents, etc. That's finally transfering over to guitar. I was less inhibited about playing Strats and Teles than I was about Les Pauls. I think I always thought of LP's as just plain beautiful, so I didn't want to hurt them. As I get older and play LP types more, I find that I'm starting to beat them up just like a Strat. It's kind of freeing.
 
I can never get a good sound out of a Gibson style solidify solid body, presumably because the interface is different. I have a Gibson-style arch top, and I definitely play that different from my Tele.
 
The first two guitars I ever owned were an Epi strat copy and an MIM strat. There was always something that bugged me about them but I didn’t know enough about guitars to just go to a store and try out different models until I found something better. It was almost 30 years before I bought my first Gibson and I just fell in love with that 24.75" scale. So yeah, there’s a big difference—I hate the 25.5" scale length and will never go back. My new Les Paul can sound like a Fender with a pull of the tone knob, so I don’t have a reason to go back.
 
There’s a couple things that I’ll approach a bit differently, but in general I jump between bass, acoustic, 12 string, and various electric 6 strings enough that there’s not too much that’s too different or too unworkable. Sometimes it’s just a posture and approach thing given how a certain guitar with a certain neck carve, scale length, bridge position feels that makes some stuff feel more right.

Usually when I’m choosing a guitar for a song or a project or whatnot, it’s really about the right vibe and sound as I’m farting around layering parts. But the thing I’m always gunning for in my head is sort of a marrying of acoustic attack meets airiness plus electric zing/fuzziness and thump.
 
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