Togashi, you're nuts! The Fender Stratocaster, first of all, generally uses single-coil pickups for a twangy, bright sound. The Gibson Les Paul uses humbucking pickups, for a meatier tone and a lower signal-to-noise ratio. Then there's the fact that LPs are traditionally hard-tail, whereas Strats feature a tremolo bar (makes tuning a bitch). The Fender Stratocaster was the first solid-body guitar to include a dual-cutaway design, responding to the desires of jazz and blues players to reach the upper frets of the fifth and sixth strings with their thumb (a la Eric Clapton). The Les Paul opts for the tried-and-true single cutaway design, catering more to the rock medium.




Sorry if I sound kinda obsessed here, but I own both of these guitars, and I love them both for their individual merits and...okay, sounding more obsessed...mission abort...Lesbians! Monkeys! SOY!