"only guitarist" guitars

[TwofacePimp]

I was thinking about this today, and I need some opinions on this...

Are there certain types of guitars that facilitate the "one-guitarist" role in a band (i.e. a band that has one guitar, bass, drums and vocals only) better? I usually end up doing this, and I've consistently gravitated towards humbucker-equipped, mainly mahogany, set-neck guitars (read: Gibson SG's and LP's). Whenever I take my beloved tele out, I get more compliments on the tone, and the single coils sound great for cleans, but the sound doesn't "feel" full enough for me (especially for high gain sounds). It's almost like my Gibson's fill more space, and I like the extra cushioning in the sound. Granted, I don't have much experience using humbucker-equipped fender types, so I can't compare it to that.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? Or am I thinking too much about this? I'm really wondering if I want to make my next guitar a hot rodded tele with a bucker in the bridge, but I'm not sure if I would like it better than my current gibbys.

[bryvincent]

maybe because the tele cuts better on the mix than the gibsons.

[Butch Snyder]

Most every band I have played in, I have been the only guitarist; save for the occasional vocalist who plays acoustic rhythm. I have had the most success with my hot rodded Teles.

[tone4days]

i really think it can be done either way .. it will depend somewhat on what type of music ... but if you think about it, there have been guys in "one guitar' bands playing all sorts of guitars over all sorts of music ... SRV, Jimi, EC and EJ all make / made a traditional strat work for their thing ... roy b and danny G made the tele work for sure ... if you dig your tele, i'd recommend that you check out a duncan pickup booster, sfx-01 ... see if you can use the little switch to fatten up the tone a bit when you need it ... just a thought

cheers
t4d

[Rich_S]

If you can, find the Sonny Landreth article from Guitar Player several months ago. He had some interesting stuff to say about getting a good tone, how single coils (Strats, in his case) give that clarity and sparkle, but it's hard to fatten them up. His solution is some level boost, and multiple amps.

Bottom line, he seemed to think that is still easier to fatten a single-coil than it is to get a HB to cut through.

[MikeRocker]

I was thinking about this today, and I need some opinions on this...

Are there certain types of guitars that facilitate the "one-guitarist" role in a band (i.e. a band that has one guitar, bass, drums and vocals only) better? I usually end up doing this, and I've consistently gravitated towards humbucker-equipped, mainly mahogany, set-neck guitars (read: Gibson SG's and LP's). Whenever I take my beloved tele out, I get more compliments on the tone, and the single coils sound great for cleans, but the sound doesn't "feel" full enough for me (especially for high gain sounds). It's almost like my Gibson's fill more space, and I like the extra cushioning in the sound. Granted, I don't have much experience using humbucker-equipped fender types, so I can't compare it to that.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? Or am I thinking too much about this? I'm really wondering if I want to make my next guitar a hot rodded tele with a bucker in the bridge, but I'm not sure if I would like it better than my current gibbys.

I tend to agree. It seems like humbucker equipped guitars, usually Gibson style, through Marshall type amps tend to take up more "sonic space" than Fender style guitars through Fender style amps. There are other things that come into play - number of amps used, effects. Chorus and delay can make a guitar sound a lot fatter. The type of overdrive or distortion you use can make a huge difference too. Obviously, if you are playing with a good size band with two or more guitars, and maybe keyboards, you don't want to have a huge fat tone. The Keith Richards sound probably wouldn't cut it in Van Halen, and vice versa. It's an epiphany when a guitarist realizes that often a tone that sounds great alone at home will sound muddy and bad with a band, while a tone that sounds thin and weak alone can be perfect. I like playing with more than one guitarist, keys too, so I go for a less fat tone.

[Gamera]

For me an HSS Strat covers all my bases.

I understand what you're saying about the humbuckers feeling fuller and more responsive. But in my experience most Gibson-type guitars ('buckers, set neck, mahogany) share too much of the tonal space that the bass occupies. So if I really want to stand out and cut through the mix I turn on the neck single coil and don't look back. Single coils can be more of a challenge to wrestle sounds from but when you do I think it's more rewarding. And I always have the humbucker there just in case.

Having said that, my Dean V is two 'buckers, set neck, mahogany, and it does a great job cutting through for specific tasks. It provides a nice, thick, middy crunch that the HSS Strat can't quite match. And for songs that require a crunchy rhythm it's unbeatable. Solos on the V are another story though.

[dani]

Bottom line, he seemed to think that is still easier to fatten a single-coil than it is to get a HB to cut through.

+1!

[dani]

as gamera stated. h/s/s guitars are real versatile. either that or p90 equipped guitars. fatter than a single coil and cuts better than a humbucker.

[Mincer]

i honestly think it has more to do with creatively playing with a unique tone rather than the guitar. You can find great examples of any type of guitar as the only guitarist in the band.

[Benjy_26]

It depends. At one time I was the only guitarist in a band with a keyboard player and horns. At that point, nothing was better than my Tele with a JD bridge and a SM-1 in the neck through my BF Bassman.

Now, I play with anothe guitarist (Strats into a Musicman) and I run a stereo rig and end up playing mostly my Thinline Tele (STL-2 Hot/Pearly Gates neck), my Hamer (C5/APH), and Lester (Pearly Gates +/ Pearly Gates).

I don't know if my tastes have gravitated towards fatter sounds, but that's what I liked then and this is what I like now.

[Zhangliqun]

Jimmy Page made the LP work kinda okay in a 1-gtr band. What was the name of that band? Lead Pipe? Somethin...

[B2D]

When i was in "one-guitar" bands I'd usually go for a tone that was thick and powerful but agressive at the same time, so it'd fill out the sound.

Now I'm ina band and the rhythm guy plays a Strat with a real gritty tone so I can use a smoother tone to balance it out. The resulting mix sounds pretty nice!

[fusion101]

I use my carvin CT6(prs type) into a keeley ds-1 into a super reverb. Its perfect whenever i am the loner guitarist in a band.

[Zhangliqun]

If you can, find the Sonny Landreth article from Guitar Player several months ago. He had some interesting stuff to say about getting a good tone, how single coils (Strats, in his case) give that clarity and sparkle, but it's hard to fatten them up. His solution is some level boost, and multiple amps.

Bottom line, he seemed to think that is still easier to fatten a single-coil than it is to get a HB to cut through.

In that article, Landreth says he uses the Demeter Midboost/Fat Control. Haven't tried one but am interested. He also uses .012 strings.

Anyway, I've always found the opposite to be true -- harder to beef up a single coil than to give a bucker more bite.

[idsnowdog]

I think that single coils require a busier style of playing to fill the mix since you don't have the fat sound or sustain of a humbucker. You need really good chops or a really good rhythm section. The initial attack of a single coil is more powerfull than a humbucker but it doesn't have the sustain. The Boss Turbo Overdrive works really well at fattening single coils. Also a compressor/limiter helps. Use a little limiting to take the clank out of the single coils at high gain and then a little compression to give more sustain.

Snowdog

[The Golden Boy]

I've seen all kinds of guitarists playing all types of guitars in all sorts of bands. Some were better than others, some had better tone than others, but most often it wasn't about what type of guitar the guitarist was playing.

For a long time, one of the best local bands featured a chick with a Silvertone/Harmony Rocket thru a little Ampeg combo- it sounded perfect for the band.

[Lewguitar]

I think it's hardest to pull off with a Tele...easier with a Strat because a Strat has more tones than a Tele. I'm the only guitarist with our band: guitar, bass, drums and lead vocalist. I've been rehearsing with just the Tele, but I'm starting to feel like it's a little brittle and steely sounding in this situation. I was planning on using my Strat with the new Duncan Stack Plus pickups anyway...think I'll take that to wednesday's rehearsal. Lew

[V-Spot]

It may be fairly easy to pull of with a Tele, if it's a Deluxe

All jokes aside, most successful single-axe bands (Clutch as a prime example) are usually powered by an HH guitar, such as a Gibson. Although, the band that I'm currently in (just one guitar, bass, and vocals), the guitairst uses an SSS Strat, and a P-90 equipped LP, and I must say, it sounds pretty damn good, with just the right amount of juiciness.

[Imp]

try using more than one amp.. it's all been done - different EQ settings, gain levels, reverb on one, etc..

just the thickness of more than one voice might help?

tom