Tele, LP, Strat, 335 . . . Choose One

[slabboard]

You don't own anything . . . you're guitarless. Which one guitar do you choose as your preferred tool of tonal expression? You can give your reasons if you like, but just select one choice that represents your ideal guitar.

If you don't see your particular builder or model listed here, fear not . . . his/her works likely fit into one of these four classic designs -- just pick the closest match.

[enharmonic]

You're evil :p

With a tele and a 335, I'd fear no man...but since I can only choose one...I will choose 335. Hard to duck walk with a tele and look the part :)

[Ken I]

If I can only have one, then it is a Tele. it is what i started with and what i always come back to.

[hemlock]

Strat. There are some songs I just couldn't do without the trem.

[Mark C]

Strat - lots of tones in there.

[erksin]

Tele for me...

[big mike]

Prefer a PRS, but given your choices, there's really not much I can't accomplish with a nice tele.

[ToneKing]

Currently, I'm favoring a single pu esquire

[mattmccloskey]

always come back to the strat. tele is close behind. LP's and 335s are nice but are always a little heavy, clunky,and too pretty. A good strat is light, comfy, lots of sounds, like a lean and mean no frills guitar.

[bluesbreaker59]

If I could only have one it would be my Heritage 150CM, or a "Les Paul a-like" if you will.

[rbisherw]

GIBSON - Les Paul Standard.

It is the Standard. When you the find "the one" nothing else matters.

Honorable mention:
elec: Fender American Tele (ash)
acoustic: Martin D28

this is all you need.

[arriba]

Its hard to choose between my 1959 Gibson ES345 and my Lentz Telecaster. But if I would have to, I would pick the Tele.

[Eric Pykala]

Tough getting it down to one.
I play (physically) Les Pauls the best, and feel they make one of the best lead guitars in the world, but too much so. I need the versatility.
335s have The Tone I like the best, but get nudged in the versatility sweepstakes.
Teles are God's gift to us; a constant reminder less is more. Wish they had a little more.
Which brings us to the Strat. A Strat, particularily S-S-H, can cover anything from an Italian wedding to a metal gig, and wobble delightfully all the way. Physically hardest to play, but worth the work. With that new Wagner SR set I'm ordering tomorrow I'll be ready to conquer the world with my Silhouette Special.
Anyone have some killer chops for sale? -Eric

[Brad Scott]

Gotta' take the Strat . . . tough choice, but for me, a Strat just fits.

[Eric Pykala]

An afterthought: The four guitars mentioned are generally considered to be "standards". I propose we create a fifth category to include the first "modern classic" guitar, the PRS. Some designs work so well they become classics, and this is precisely what has happened with PRS. Although I voted for the Strat in this poll, if the fifth category had been there my vote would have gone that way too. If you can't cover it with a PRS, shut up and learn how to play. -Eric

[Pearly Gator]

You forgot to mention the SG! :D Okay, I have one of each on that list but I have to go with the Strat.

Gary

[lhallam]

This is crazy, this is like asking which one woman you want. hmmm... my wife doesn't like that answer. OK, then it's got to be a strat simply because it's so versatile.

[OldSchool]

Originally posted by slabboard
You don't own anything . . . you're guitarless. Which one guitar do you choose as your preferred tool of tonal expression? You can give your reasons if you like, but just select one choice that represents your ideal guitar.

If you don't see your particular builder or model listed here, fear not . . . his/her works likely fit into one of these four classic designs -- just pick the closest match.


Gotta go strat. I have 1 Tele, 1 LP, but I have 3 Strats.........that says it all.

Strats cover the most bases, you can customize them, they are built like tanks..............and sound amazing! No brainer.............Hard part is choosing a color!! :cool: :D

[mrfjones]

and old light weight tele for me, nothing else comes as close to tonal nirvana. though i am sure a close second would be a lp with p90's

[cswolfe]

Man. The only clear "no" for me (counter the trend) is the tele.

I can get LOTS of sounds out of my American Ash HSS strat with that "humbuckerish" switch.

And I've found that a *good* 335 can be amazingly flexible.

But I've gotta go with an LP, which must be pretty ridiculous for my choice since I currently own zero of them. :)

[BadJaxx]

all right...
looking at the poll results, i have a question....

who said the FMIC Employee Union could vote....:rolleyes:

[tonedrip]

Strat without a doubt.

Based on years of owning and playing everything, the Strat can cover all bases IMHO.

Tele is a real close second.

[Lucidology]

Tele for almost any style is just fine ...

[gkoelling]

Definitely a Tele. The problem would be deciding which one to keep.

[Tonefish]

If you can only have one then you've got to choose for versatility. For versatility, it's got to be a strat. And for me, none can beat that tone either.

[Pete Galati]

I'm currently playing a Les Paul variation, but if I didn't have any guitars, I'd probably choose a Tele if I could find a satisfactory one. A lot depends on what's available.

[Dave Orban]

Tele. Fer sure...!

[BigPapiFan]

From the available choices, I'd have to go with the 335. However. I believe that something like a Les Paul Special DC with P-90s would be a better single-choice-alternative.

[bluesjuke]

I could easily pick anyone of them but with a gun to my head I have to say the 335.

[JZG]

I'd have to go with a Tele. With a 4-way switch, you can just about cover the tones of those other guitars, plus a Tele cuts through the mix in a way other guitars can't.

[Sniper-V]

Hard to beat a good ol' Lester!

[digthosetubes]

Don't forget to ask this question about which ONE guitar you would want to El Gringo Loco.

[stratman89]

:nono:nono:nono You're a veery veery bad man for asking such a question!
I have a Tele, 2 LP's and 2 Strats but for the versality Strat w/HSS setup .

[MikeB_18]

A Les Paul, it's just the guitar for me. I love everything about it, the look, the feel, the sound, they all scream rock and roll. I just need more!

[Robert1950]

I posted a similar poll thread on the GuitarsCanada Forum. Only in addition, I included the GIBSON SG,... which would have been my choice. So I had to go for the ES335.

[Old Tele man]

OK, I choose one, now when does it arrive? (wink,wink)

[doctorx]

When in doubt, have one of each:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/o/doctorx/IMG_0426.jpg (http://bellsouthpwp.net/d/o/doctorx/IMG_0426.jpg)

[jpervin]

I've owned 3 Strats, but the Tele keeps calling me back.

Must be that bridge pickup. :drool

[jlummaa]

Strat, it would be the most versatile for me use. Secondly, that's the guitar i grew up playing with.

[paulg]

Actually, if I had just one guitar it would be a hardtail strat. Kind of lands right between a trem strat and a tele.

[chief ten beers]

Tele...with a strat a close second.those two guitars can cover a lot of tonal territory.i'd have to side with the tele though if "forced".:RoCkIn

[John Phillips]

You don't own anything . . . you're guitarless. Which one guitar do you choose as your preferred tool of tonal expression? You can give your reasons if you like, but just select one choice that represents your ideal guitar.

If you don't see your particular builder or model listed here, fear not . . . his/her works likely fit into one of these four classic designs -- just pick the closest match.There is no 'closest match'. None of them will cover what I want, which does not 'fit into one of these four classic designs'.

I really don't understand why people are so stuck in the 1950s. Not one of those designs is perfect. Each has some good features and some very major limitations. Why not just combine the good bits of each in a more useful way?

My ideal guitar is a 22-fret PRS with a trem, humbuckers and coil splitting. Thankfully we're not stuck in the 1950s.


FWIW, if I had to pick one vintage guitar and wasn't allowed to alter it I'd have a Rickenbacker. They're actually at least as versatile as those four, and better-sounding, to me.

[Kelsey]

I used to prefer Teles, and I would always want at least one, as well as one LP and a semi-hollow of some sort. Nonetheless, although it took me a long time to find a Strat I could bond with, I finally did and that opened the flood gates. So, Strat for me.

[cbpickin]

When I started playing electric, I used a strat and it's still my favorite. I do have a 335 and a '68 tele, but I've got 5 strats, and that's about all I gig. So, I guess if I could only have one guitar, it would have to be a strat.

[The Last Rebel]

Well, I'd choose the guitar I have now. A PRS Standard 24.

[NatDeroxL7]

I choose the LP based largely upon looks..I can't imagine not having something with a flame top or the LP shape, preferably both

[hangten]

played mainly a strat for the last 20 somethin' years, but now bouncing back and forth between a 62 RI tele with harmonic design V+ pickups and Callaham bridge and 2 335-style guitars - ibanez and heritage.
if I had to pick today I'd say tele, but Wayne Krantz's total badassery has got me thinking about my strats again....he is smokin'!

(not that I'm claimin' to play like that...)

[wader]

should be an SG on that list!

I picked LP as that is my latest love.....

that being said a good tele will be my next purchase.....

8^)

[gtrs]

Wow, that was painful. I started on a LP standard, but have fallen in love with strats. Now I find I play my strat 99% of the time. Just so versatile and pure sounding.

[Ohzoso]

Although they are all great models the Les Paul still inspires me most.