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  #1  
Old 09-13-2021, 03:49 AM
N4640W N4640W is offline
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Cool Gibson SG vs Fender Strat

All other things being proximate…… assuming both are american made:
What is your preference, Gibson SG or American Strat?
If you could only have one.
(Maybe this should be a poll format, I don’t know how to do that).
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Old 09-13-2021, 03:58 AM
pieterh pieterh is offline
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Horses for courses but for me it’s the Strat every time. The SG is a great guitar of course but I prefer the feel, scale length and flexibility of the Strat. Sound wise they are quite different too, the Strat’s single coils giving that twang as well as the classic in-between setting. Of course SGs can and do come with P90s (I guess getting close to the sound of Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 solo which was a re-amped Les Paul with P90s) giving a more single coil sound.

Why do you ask?
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Old 09-13-2021, 06:22 AM
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Well, my two electrics are a strat and an SG (w/P90s). I’m a strat guy through and through, and he only other sound I love and occasionally reach for is P90s in a Les Paul or SG. I’d say the strat gets about 90% of my electric playing time and the SG the other 10%. I love them both, but I if I was only gonna have one, the strat is an easy call for me. But this is obviously just my personal preference and may have zero to do with what you’d prefer. Out of curiosity, why are you limiting yourself to only these two choices? Teles, Les Pauls, semi-hollows are all worth considering too, if you don’t already have a good idea what you like and don’t like…

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Old 09-13-2021, 06:39 AM
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Bob Womack Bob Womack is offline
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Wow, that is tough. It is very much like the old Strat vs. Les Paul comparison. It is pretty much going to come down to your preference of long scale and brightness (Strat) vs. short scale and more bottom end girth (SG). Of course, feel will also play in heavily. This is an intensely personal choice so go get your hands on them and plug them up and use your ears and hands.

Bob
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Old 09-13-2021, 06:56 AM
pieterh pieterh is offline
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Default Gibson SG vs Fender Strat

And if is a question of deciding what your absolute preference is then, as Raysachs suggests, try a semi (335-style for preference) as well as Telecaster (some would say the original and best though IMO not quite as flexible as the Strat).

As Bob says, quite different feel to both guitars and as much about sound as physical appearance, style and playability.
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Old 09-13-2021, 08:30 AM
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I also have both an SG and a Strat (2 Strats actually), and the simple answer is Strat. Both great guitars, but for me the Fender neck is home. Pickups matter less to me - if they are good ones to begin with - than the overall feel of any guitar, and both Strats and Teles make me feel like I can play anything on them. Alas, that isn't true, but I can dream, can't I?
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Old 09-13-2021, 09:27 AM
GCWaters GCWaters is offline
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Both are great guitars, but I prefer the SG. While I have a Strat, my go-to electric right now is a double humbucker tele--I just prefer humbuckers to single coils....
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Old 09-13-2021, 09:31 AM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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I would depend on the day and my mood that day, which is why I have examples of both.

My first "serious" guitar was an SG which was an upgrade from a Kingston that I have heavily modified with a Gibson humbucker in the neck and a Tele single coil next to the bridge, which was a Leo Quann bridge/tailpiece. The SG had much better action and of course looked "professional" but I soon reverted back to the my home-modified guitar. In retrospect I think I missed the snap of the longer Fender scale and the bite of Fender pickups.
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Old 09-13-2021, 09:34 AM
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for me, it would be an SG.. especially if the strat is the standard 3SC pickup setup

I'm a 80% a humbucker guy. I do like fenders, have 3 of them, but I'm way more at home on a gibson, neck profile and pickup setup.
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Old 09-13-2021, 01:22 PM
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I have Fenders Strats and Gibson SGs. I always prefer the Gibsons (including the Les Paul) over the Fender. Part of it is the way it feels in my hands, so comfortable, which is probably related to a combination of the scale length and the fretboard radius. My ears also prefer the rock/hard rock/metal tone of the SG, although the neck pickup on a Strat is wonderful too.
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Old 09-13-2021, 02:55 PM
Tom60 Tom60 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dru Edwards View Post
although the neck pickup on a Strat is wonderful too.
That sound can never be duplicated for sure.. it is THE Strat sound to me,
not the quacking sounds of 2 and 4 pos, or the weak bridge pickup

But the best electric guitar sound I´ve ever heard is (to me) Clapton´s 1964 Fool SG with T-tops
/edit - Pat.No´ s /



That is the sound I thrive for.. nothing like that but I gotta have to get the JTM45/100 too

Last edited by Tom60; 09-14-2021 at 07:45 AM. Reason: mistake
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  #12  
Old 09-13-2021, 03:01 PM
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Stratocaster every day of the week. (MIM or USA made).

To each their own but there's no comparison for me.
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Old 09-13-2021, 03:28 PM
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If you play seated you want a Strat.
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Old 09-13-2021, 04:14 PM
letterk letterk is offline
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Can I vote neither? If you forced me to pick between the two, I guess I'd go with a Strat.
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  #15  
Old 09-13-2021, 11:16 PM
N4640W N4640W is offline
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Great responses but weighted significantly to the strat. Reason for asking is I’m 99% acoustic and have too many guitars as it is. Would like to limit myself to one electric. Always loved the growly lows of the SG but that strat neck and action is like butter. It was a very tough choice but I went strat.
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Collings cust 000 shrt Koa b/s Eu Spruce top
Santa Cruz cust OM shrt Maple b/s Germ Spruce top
Martin D-41 Dan Fogelberg Lmt edit
Rainsong 2001 ‘Hawaiian’ WD 1100 all CF
Milagro Rosewood b/s Euro Spruce top Classical
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