Do you really need a Strat to play some Hendrix...?

LPManic

....or a Les Paul to play some Led Zep?

I'm asking this as I am going through a MASSIVE Hendrix phase right now. And naturally I am playing through my favourite songs and riffs and videos on YouTube etc. 

And I am playing it all on my no.1 guitar: a LP.

And so, naturally, I am GASing for a CS Strat. And I've seen one I really really want.

But am I just deceiving myself? Does anyone really need the same type of guitar to really get that something more out of playing certain songs by certain guitarists? Is it all just chasing that kind of experience that doesn't really exist? Or if you are buying a nice guitar that will hold its value does it really matter?

I'm not even talking about sounds or sounding like the artist because that's ridiculous - I'm talking more about the feel and experience of playing in a more abstract way.

ICBM

soma1975

Quick answer, yes. 

A strat type is just so much closer in the way it sounds and feels for that type of playing. Doesn't have to be anything pricey. A decent Squier will be great.

guitars4you

Do you need a Red Special to play Queen ? - I'd say no  - In my opinion the first point to conquer when playing the songs, or style, of an other artists is to be able to play the appropriate licks, tune and phrasing - The closer you can get to this then the more the audience, or indeed yourself, will feel confident about your achievement 

You may well be trying to play a cover version in a totally different way, ie as per Jimi did with All along the watch tower - In which case then does it matter what guitar you are playing

But if you are trying to be as close as possible to the original song, tune ,artist, my view is to first conquer the actually notes, licks, phrasing - Then if you are close with the tonal character of the guitar, ie cleanish for say Little Wing and more gain for say Purple Haze, then in my opinion the guitar itself is not as important - In that you can play many Hendrix songs and licks on a 335 if required

Get the notes wrong and everyone will pass judgement - Get the tone slightly different, then who cares 

Elvis and Frank don't need to sound the same the same to sing My Way

lovestrat74

A Tele with twisted tele pup in the neck for your hendrix stuff and flick to the bridge for Led Zep 

octatonic

No.

tone1

I found the Les Paul took longer to set alight...but once it got going the fire lasted longer due to the increased mass and the long tenon 

soma1975

You people...


I bet you'd play Smells Like Teen Spirit on a Suhr too.

rze99

Yep

jonnyburgo

Single coil neck pickup is pretty essential imho

Dominic

There's a good video on YT of a German guy who plays a big ol' Gretsch and is a Rockabilly/Slapback player through a Vintage Fender amp
.......he does a great 'billy tune with great tone and slapback delay etc and when the camera pans across as he finishes you can see he has been playing a very pointy BC Rich Metal thing through a Metal amp with the volume low and a delay pedal .
 Sounds just like a 50s recording !
He says "you don't need the Gretsch etc to do this and did you have any idea until the camera panned out " 
 Any combustible guitar will do Hendrix

Crazyblue1779

I took a notion for a strat recently(after primarily playing humbuckered single cuts for the last few years) and bought a really nice CV one. 

But after the initial ’new guitar’ honeymoon period, I realised I just couldn’t gel with it and ended up trading it for a Les Paul. 

I don’t know if it was the single coils, scale length or what, but it just wasn’t for me! 

Bigsby

Frankly, getting a Strat is a small part of it: Playing it upside down, left-handed and with telegraph poles for fingers is what matters most.

merlin

A Les Paul to play Led Zeppelin?

Here's Jimbob Page playing something that looks remarkably like a Funder Tellingcaster. 

Kittyfrisk

".or a Les Paul to play some Led Zep?"
Led Zeppelin 1 was done on a telecaster as was the Stairway to Heaven solo.
Tone comes from the player not the gear, although apparently it can help a bit 
But I hear what you say about the 'feel'.

crunchman

LPManic

This is getting a bit off track. I was wondering about do you need a guitar of a certain make to have a more authentic experience of playing certain songs of certain artists. I understand that Jimmy Paddy Page played the fiddle as well as a LP and that any song can be played on any guitar.

I’m trying to work out if I really need a Strat to get deeper into my Hendrix (and Rory Gallagher) obsessions, or is it the GAS talking?

Basically will the right guitar help me connect to something that I can’t connect to without it? And how to I explain this to the wife?

yorkio

Dominic said:

There's a good video on YT of a German guy who plays a big ol' Gretsch and is a Rockabilly/Slapback player through a Vintage Fender amp
.......he does a great 'billy tune with great tone and slapback delay etc and when the camera pans across as he finishes you can see he has been playing a very pointy BC Rich Metal thing through a Metal amp with the volume low and a delay pedal .
 Sounds just like a 50s recording !
He says "you don't need the Gretsch etc to do this and did you have any idea until the camera panned out " 
 Any combustible guitar will do Hendrix

Randy Richter. I think of that video every time this question comes up.

soma1975

LPManic said:

This is getting a bit off track. I was wondering about do you need a guitar of a certain make to have a more authentic experience of playing certain songs of certain artists. I understand that Jimmy Paddy Page played the fiddle as well as a LP and that any song can be played on any guitar.

I’m trying to work out if I really need a Strat to get deeper into my Hendrix (and Rory Gallagher) obsessions, or is it the GAS talking?

Basically will the right guitar help me connect to something that I can’t connect to without it? And how to I explain this to the wife?

And again, yes it will. 

It never occurs to me to play Jimi when pick up my SG. It never occurs to me to play Cream tunes when I pick up my Strat.

Tone may be in the fingers, but only once they are playing the right guitar. 

Kittyfrisk

LPManic said:

This is getting a bit off track. I was wondering about do you need a guitar of a certain make to have a more authentic experience of playing certain songs of certain artists. I understand that Jimmy Paddy Page played the fiddle as well as a LP and that any song can be played on any guitar.

I’m trying to work out if I really need a Strat to get deeper into my Hendrix (and Rory Gallagher) obsessions, or is it the GAS talking?

Basically will the right guitar help me connect to something that I can’t connect to without it? And how to I explain this to the wife?

LPManic said:

This is getting a bit off track. I was wondering about do you need a guitar of a certain make to have a more authentic experience of playing certain songs of certain artists. I understand that Jimmy Paddy Page played the fiddle as well as a LP and that any song can be played on any guitar.

I’m trying to work out if I really need a Strat to get deeper into my Hendrix (and Rory Gallagher) obsessions, or is it the GAS talking?

Basically will the right guitar help me connect to something that I can’t connect to without it? And how to I explain this to the wife?

As I said " I hear what you say about the 'feel "
Only you can answer your question, good luck in your search  

stratman3142

There's the wonderful Frank Marino who plays an SG