When I was a kid there was a saying

[Steven]

You have to fight Fenders, where as Gibsons practically play themselves.

 

[Herbie74]

I heard that in regards with Telecasters

 

[mudface]

You haven’t played the right Fender.

To play a Gibson with any defined character.... you need to put in the work.... it truly pays off when you do. Never let it play itself.

 

[Juan Tumani]

You haven’t played the right Fender.

To play a Gibson with any defined character.... you need to put in the work.... it truly pays off when you do. Never let it play itself.

So what you're saying is that it's unlikely I'll play a Gibson with any defined character......I guess I'm ok with that. Lol.

 

[Juan Tumani]

I heard that in regards with Telecasters

You don't "Have to" fight with a Telecaster but you can if you want to.

Rich Robinson - Assault With A Deadly Telecaster

www.mylespaul.com

 

[LPaddicted]

 

[motowntom]

"Get off my lawn!!!"
Cheers

 

[Juan Tumani]

You have to fight Fenders, where as Gibsons practically play themselves.

IMO anyone who thinks they need to fight a guitar to get the best from it is someone who is just a sucker for punishment.

 

[Juan Tumani]

Lou Reed's Telecaster played itself for four Album sides once. I read somewhere (probably the Telecaster site) it was a Tele.

 

[edro]

All goes back to the sweet spot of a guitar as far as setup...

Fender scale ain't gonna play like a Gib scale. Just ain't. No better, no worse, but ain't the same...

A good guitar, when the set-up planets line up, is a true joy to play.....i.e. almost plays itself.... The same guitar with a dicked up action can be the most irritating guitar on the planet to try to play....

Some folks' physiology can lean them toward a specific guitar type. Same is true for bass... Sooo, someone might be comfortable 'physically' with a Tele platform vs, Skrat or Lester..... Juggle those around....

Soooooo many variables... Radius, scale length, frets, action, etc. etc. etc.....

My '83 Phil Kubicki Tele is one of the most comfortable guitars to play on the planet.... Sooo, one 'could' say Teles are the most comfortable.... BUT.... B U T.... Mine has a 15" radius ebony board.... That ain't Tele now is it...

I hated those early high dollar original Jackson RR butt ugly spike ass guitars (bandmate bought both black and white)..... but the Jackson necks on those played better than about any neck I'd played except some original Hamer and Moonstone......I think the RR 'Spikes' had 16" radius ebony.... Perfect guitars... Most Gib/Fender/etc played like fencepost in comparison...

 

[sonar1]

There’s work, and there’s play.
Fenders can have an intensity that can be harder to find on a Gibson.
Once I got hearing aids: there it was!

 

[mudface]

So what you're saying is that it's unlikely I'll play a Gibson with any defined character......I guess I'm ok with that. Lol.

Mediocrity is fine....lol

 

[Juan Tumani]

Mediocrity is fine....lol

Great. So now I have get up to mediocrity!?!?!

 

[Gtarzan81]

Lou Reed's Telecaster played itself for four Album sides once. I read somewhere (probably the Telecaster site) it was a Tele.

Probably because ole Lou was smacked out of his mind.

He's in my "famous for no damn reason" pile.

 

[Wes T]

The real value of a Fender is that they are so easy and fun to tear apart and put back together. Other than that, I own five Gibsons and no longer have a Fender in the house.

 

[Dilver]

It’s too easy to generalize. I tried to like Strats for 25 years and always retreated back to Les Pauls. Then I realized, I just hadn't found the right Strat. Finally found the right strat in an AVRI partscaster with a 7.25 radius board refretted with jumbo frets. Not at all what I would have expected to like. You just never know.

 

[Juan Tumani]

Probably because ole Lou was smacked out of his mind.

He's in my "famous for no damn reason" pile.

While he probably was "smacked out of his mind" legend has it he was also angry with his label and the album was a way to fulfill his contract while pissing them off/wasting their money, while killing the possiblity of him getting turned into a pop icon.

3 birds with one Stoner Rock Album.

Of course the more simple explanation for that album's existence is that Lou really liked Guitar Feedback and thought other people might want to hear a double album of it. That sounds pretty "smacked out" to me.

 

[James R]

I think you have to fight whatever you're not comfortable with.

I like telecasters, I'm very comfortable playing them and I don’t feel as though I have to fight it, or even think about it, just play it.
Put a strat in my hands though, and I'll be fighting that sumbitch the entire time, because I don't really like them and I'm not enjoying myself when playing it.

Same goes for a Les Paul, hand me one while I'm standing up and I'll be happy and comfortable while playing it, but hand me one while I'm sitting down and I'll have to fight it because I'm uncomfortable, don't know why, just is.

Hell, the only acoustic I have is a cheap piece of crap, it doesn't play well but I'm used to it.
So much so that when I play a nice acoustic, it feels weird and uncomfortable, which in turn makes me feel like I'm fighting it.

I don't know maybe I'm just weird, but that's my experiences anyways.

 

[sonar1]

Nuances are subtle, but they add up in sound and feel.

That said, some guitars that should check all my boxes have been sorta meh. Some fight is OK, if it inspires me to overcome.

My Browning Citori over/under shotgun is 1/2” too long in the pull, yet I’ve shot 25 straight with it: so it stays as-is.
It reminds me to pull it into my shoulder, which makes me concentrate on basic good form.

Fenders force me to think about the approach to every note. So I play with cleaner technique.
Gibsons I can just blaze away on, sloppily.
More impressive to some, but I hate hearing a lot of insincere notes.

 

[Juan Tumani]

I think you have to fight whatever you're not comfortable with.

I like telecasters, I'm very comfortable playing them and I don’t feel as though I have to fight it, or even think about it, just play it.
Put a strat in my hands though, and I'll be fighting that sumbitch the entire time, because I don't really like them and I'm not enjoying myself when playing it.

Same goes for a Les Paul, hand me one while I'm standing up and I'll be happy and comfortable while playing it, but hand me one while I'm sitting down and I'll have to fight it because I'm uncomfortable, don't know why, just is.

Hell, the only acoustic I have is a cheap piece of crap, it doesn't play well but I'm used to it.
So much so that when I play a nice acoustic, it feels weird and uncomfortable, which in turn makes me feel like I'm fighting it.

I don't know maybe I'm just weird, but that's my experiences anyways.

Personally I think this makes sense. I didn't own a Strat for a long time because they just didn't feel right standing up. I decided to get over it and currently own like 10 of them. Since I find significantly better than others.

I had a Kenny Wayne Shepherd Strat that I really liked sitting down but just couldn't deal with standing up. I guess it was the huge neck. Other Strats are now a non issue.

Telecasters and SGs feel great either way.