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

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

 

[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.

 

[Jollyb]

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!!

 

[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....