Crank It Up To Eleven! 02.10.09: Axegrinding: Part I
Posted by Sandeep Murali on 02.10.2009
The Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul. Two names that are instantly recognzable to the average rock fan. We examine them each and see what makes them special.
Hello and welcome back, folks. I'm back with your 15 minute relief from Tuesday blues. This week, we're taking a break from discussing musicians and are gonna explore the world of the tools that make this magic possible. This two-part column is about the two most famous guitars in the realm of Rock 'n Roll. The Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul.
Talk dirty to me:
Michael L has some detailed feedback on last week's column: "A couple of unrelated comments:
While I agree that Metallica should not have been inducted before Rush, Kiss, Genesis or Yes, there is one reason that I'm glad they're being inducted this year: The ceremony is open to the public for the first time, and it's being held in Cleveland, which is only 1/2 hour from where I live, so I'm going to catch it. Selfish reasons? Of course, but I should enjoy the show, and with any luck, Metallica might also do a full live show in Cleveland the night before or after (as they missed Cleveland on their Death Magnetic tour stop, and they've got about a month before they go back to Europe).
I also want to give a mention to two other replacements that did not work out financially, although musically, it lead to perhaps their strongest albums.
Iron Maiden: Blaze Baley. When I first heard IM was going on without Bruce, I was wondering how they were possibly going to replace the almighty Bruce Dickinson. The answer was: pretty well at the outset. Unlike Priest, they did not come up with a Bruce clone, but rather someone with his own singing style, and one that managed to carve out his own niche--and actually worked very well with the very dark X Factor album. Where Blaze fell short was live with the older material. And Virtual XI was simply a bad album, which may have been part of the reason why they got back with Bruce not long after. However, the Blaze era was a solid one for the band, and managed to fill in the time without Bruce quite nicely.
And then there is Richie Kotzen, who was the replacement guitarist for CC DeVille in Poison. When CC left, I was glad, as I considered him to be quite incompetent, especially since he was usually drunk off his ass. The album Native Tongue with Kotzen as a replacement turned out to be a solid, more serious work than their previous efforts, and was more drenched in blues than before. Live, Richie was also pretty solid with both the new and old stuff. Unfortunately, glam metal was off the mainstream radar, and the album tanked financially. Eventually, tensions within the band led to Richie's departure after one tour, and his replacement (Blues Sacramano) didn't even make it to a tour, before CC"s return in the late 90's. Since then, I have appreciated CC even more, as he simply fits with the band and their image far better than his replacements. "
Well, first up, thank you for the detailed comment, Michael. Appreciate the effort.
I agree with all your sentiments in there. Technically, Baley and Kotzen were excellent musicians. It just so happened that Dickinson and DeVille were just plainly, better fits for the respective bands, That's the thing about replacements. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The sad part is that when it doesn't, most of the time, it has nothing to do with talent itself.
Stratusfaction:
No sir, sadly, this has nothing to do with one Ms. Trish Stratus. This is about Leo Fender's greatest invention ever. It is arguably the most famous and most widely copied guitar design ever. It is an icon of rock and roll with a tone that is instantly recognized. Over the years, many a great musician has created everlasting melodies using it. This column is about the Fender Stratocaster.
Leo Fender was a visionary when it comes to guitar design. Having created one of the very first models of electric guitar available publicly (The Fender Esquire), Fender is one of the first names that comes to one's mind when one thinks about this musical instrument. A year into the production of the Esquire, Leo came up with an updated design that featured innovations such as multiple pick ups. This new model was called the Broadcaster, a name that was later withdrawn because of trademark issues. It later became famous the world over under the name, "Telecaster". After some initial hiccups, the "Tele", as it is affectionately called by the fans, steadily became a success for the company. Leo, who was constantly looking to improve upon his inventions, sought regular feedback from his customers and took these into consideration as he designed his next guitar. In 1954, the new guitar was unveiled and with that, the face of Rock 'n Roll was changed forever.
Called the "Stratocaster" (Strat, for short), this design featured all the features that the customers liked in the Tele and some new innovations that were never seen before in the industry. It featured the same bolt-on neck from the Tele that was well liked because of the ease of maintenance. The body however, was much more rounded and had a cutaway in the back to better suit the player's body contour. More importantly, the Strat featured two cutaways where the neck met the body, thereby improving upper fret access. There was also a pick guard that protected the body from damage that came with aggressive playing. All this made the Strat much more ergonomic and easier to play than its predecessor.
However, the changes in the woodwork were only minor when compared to the rest. Customers were having intonation problems with the Tele as the fixed bridge restricted fine tuning when they used thicker or thinner strings than standard. Fender responded to this with solution that was more than they could possibly ask for. For one, the Strat Bridge featured six individual saddles that could be moved forward or backward to set intonation. Also, it was not "Fixed" as in the tele, but "Floating" with the aid of a hinge and springs. With the attached (And incorrectly called) Tremolo bar, the player could now rock the bridge back and forth, induce a Vibrato and thereby, change the pitch of the note. This allowed one to add a whole lot of expression to their playing and make the guitar come alive, as displayed by the likes of one Jeff Beck.
When it came to the electronics, the Strat had even more surprises in store. The Tele taught the customers that the sound of the guitar changes depending on the pickup one used. The front pickup, also called the neck pickup, gave a soft, muted tone, while the rear one, also called the bridge pickup was bright and delivered a twangy tone. In fact, the "Twang" is one of the most recognizable characteristics of the Tele. The Strat took this idea further and added another pick up in the middle, which was called, well.. the middle pickup. Fender originally offered a three way selector for the pickups. However, players soon realized that placing the switch in between the positions allowed them to use two pickups in combination (Neck and mid, or bridge and mid) and get a whole new range of tones out of the Strat. Fender soon started to offer 5 way switches as standard equipment and this "In between" tones became the most identifiable aspect of the Strat soon after. One didn't have to look at the player to recognize what guitar they were playing. The Tele twanged (and hence, became immensely polular in Electric Country music), the Strat Quacked and the Gibson Les Paul (which we will come to later on) growled. And the quack went on to become the most popular of them all.
Over the years, the Fender company has changed hands a few times and this brought in some welcome (Rosewood fretboards, a humbucker option for the bridge pickups) and some unwelcome( the infamous three bolt neck that was criticized far and wide) changes. But even through these changes and custom modifications, the basic design that Leo Fender penned in 1954 still remains instantly recognizable and from the looks of it, is not disappearing from the face of the earth anytime soon.
The artists
Since the introduction of the Strat, several big names have used it to play instantly recognizable riffs throughout the years. One of the earliest adopters was Buddy Holly, who played almost all his hits on the Strat. Surf Rockers such as The Beach Boys painted their strats in unique shades and made it a pop culture phenomenon. Hank Marvin made the Strat tone so recognizable that bands such as The Beatles initially refused to use it for their recordings so as to maintain their identity.
Eric Clapton, who was originally a Gibson player during his tenure with Cream picked up a black and white Strat and became arguably the best spokesperson for the brand. Of course, Jimi Hendrix, who took full advantage of the Strat's electronics and David Gilmour could stake claim to that post. Blues players such as SRV and Buddy Holly demonstrated that the Strat was not a one trick pony and could transcend to more genres than rock 'n roll.
As versatile as the Strat was, it was struggling to keep up with the heavier, more aggressive sound that was emerging at the end of the 70's. The single coil pickups had a characteristic hum that was amplified as one turned up the gain. Also, details such as the pickguard prevented the players to be overtly aggressive. Sure, there was Iron Maiden and (later) Yngwie Malmsteen who couldn't give two hoots about such trivial matters, but the majority of the players were looking for something better. One guitarist in particular, decided to take things into his own hands. He took his ol' Strat, hacked bits off here 'n there, ditched the pick guard, added a humbucker in the bridge, replaced the standard, tame bridge with a (Then new and novel) Floyd Rose bridge that allowed one to bend notes down AND and also execute things such as dive bombs (and still stay in tune). The guitarist was Eddie Van Halen and he called his creation (quite appropriately) the Frankenstein. The aftermath of his experiment is best demonstrated through his claim to fame, "Eruption" which literally took lead guitar playing to a whole new level (Although, the first recording of eruption was done on a standard Strat). Eddie's design became immensely popular and became the face of 80's rock and metal. The era of the superstrat (not the official name, of course) had begun. Every manufacturer just HAD to have one of them in their lineup. Eddie himself signed deals with various manufacturers over the years (such as Kramer and most recently, back with Fender) for creating his signature model.
What Eddie started, others took to the next level. Manufacturers such as Ibanez, in association with master shredders such as Steve Vai and Joe Satriani Created amazing superstrats that defined the sound of the era. Fender themselves created superstrats like the "Showmaster", which was used by artists like Mark Knopfler. Every shredding band out there used a superstrat some time or the other. Since the basic design was just begging to be customized, everyone ended with something unique to themselves. Even in the year 2009, several artists use and endorse what is basically, a 50 year old design. And that speaks volumes about Leo Fender's vision.
Never say goodbye:
If you have never played an electric guitar before and are planning to start sometime, I'd recommend that you start with a Strat (or a replica). It is by far, the easiest guitar to play and is very forgiving towards beginners. Add to that the pickup/ tone combinations and you will spend a lot of time getting new sounds out of it. Go ahead, experience the Strat charm first hand. Take my word, you'll never go wrong with a Strat.
Rock on and see y'all next Tuesday, when we will examine the Gibson Les Paul.
