A Guide to Buying an Electric Guitar

Les Paul

The two main legendary pioneers in electric guitar history are Leo Fender and Les Paul. They invented what we know as the modern electric guitar and since then, (50+ years ago) nothing has really changed. In fact, modern players pay huge dollars for early (vintage 1950's/1960's) models and companies like Fender and Gibson constantly reissues their older model trying to capture that magical tone of the old guitars. My main guitar is a reissue of a 1962 Fender Stratocaster and I have found in the guitar world that technology has had a hard time improving on that old recipe that never fails to deliver great tone and character in almost every musical context I would use it in. Your choice will be indirectly influenced by a history we sometimes take for granted and a age old design that has seemed to reach it pinnacle of design.


I wanted something very dense, something that would sustain long and more pieces of wood that would be soft, sweet, for more of a mellow sound. Quote - Les Paul

Leo Fender

When shopping for an electric guitar you will basically be choosing between a Fender Stratocaster or a Gibson Les Paul style guitar. There are other variations but virtually 90% of all guitars will fit loosely into these two categories. Fender style guitars generally have a thinner, open and cutting tone that is perfectly represented in players like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix, Jeff Beck, John Mayer and Mark Knopfler. Gibson style guitars have a thicker, darker and muscular tone and are championed by players like Jimmy Page, Peter Frmpton, Slash, Angus Young and Joe Bonamassa. My starting point for choosing an electric guitar has always been to follow in the footsteps of my favourite players.

The design of each element should be thought out in order to be easy to make and easy to repair. Quote - Leo Fender

When making your choice, choose a guitar that goes with your style preference and the type of tone you might need to play that style. Most country players use strats or telecasters for a thinner, twangy tone that cuts through the mix. Metal players go more for Les Paul style guitars with big, bold and crunchy tone. Blues player have generally chosen Strats over Les Pauls and Rock and Pop players make sure they have a mix of guitars for different musical whims and situations. To confuse the process, there are fatter sounding strats style guitars and thinner sounding Les Paul style guitars that  add complexity to your choice but can ultimately help you find that perfect mix of sound and feel. For example, my Fender Hotrod '62 is called by some, the Les Paul of Stratocasters. It has a vintage Strat sound with some added fatness of a Les Paul style guitar. I have always loved the sound of a Strat but the style I play needs a fatter tone so I have found a good mix in this guitar.

Practical Choices:

For your first guitar, I would suggest the conservative approach of buying a well-known established brand and a fairly basic 'tried and true' body style. Most of the legendary guitar Icons of our day play very basic styles of guitars and have learned that most of the magical tone comes from their highly trained and experienced fingers.