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Stone Gossard's switch from Les Pauls to Strats

StuffnJunkStuffnJunk Posts: 896
edited October 2009 in Musicians and Gearheads
in the early years stone's axe of choice was no doubt an LP....every since about 2003 its been a strat...for some reason it still seems weird to me to see a strat in his hands - and its been 6 years!!! i noticed in a video from this tour he even plays it on even flow!!

i know he still plays LPs and teles here and there (and a rickenbacker for breakerfall), but the Strat is the main one no doubt....and i've never seen him play an SG.....ed and mike have played all the above, and more

any thoughts on this switch, the reasons for it, or the effect on Pearl Jam's sound?
"I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
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Comments

  • NotMozartNotMozart Posts: 9
    I noticed this too, with both Stone and Pete Townshend as well. Being a professional guitarist myself, I have found Les Pauls (while still stellar, awesome guitars) are much less sonically versatile than a Strat. I have a couple Strats, a Tele, a 70's SG, and a Rickenbacker and when it comes to a live show, I usually take a Strat or the Tele just because they are easier to deal with in a live setting where you have to create different sounds. The Les Paul is great at what it does, but it really only does the "Les Paul Sound". I'd bet money Stone still records with them, but chooses to take the Strat out for the tours because he doesn't have to switch guitars between every song. I read somewhere that that is why Clapton switched from SGs to Strats after Cream broke up. I'm not positive that this is Stone's feeling, but it is what I've experienced. I've liked the guitar tones I've heard lately (especially on the eponymous "Pearl Jam" record of a couple years ago) so the sonic element to the band sound has not bothered me at all. Like I said, the Strat may be a live convenience and he may still use the LPs to record. There's my two cents, hope it at least gives you another guitarist's perspective if not an answer.
  • StuffnJunkStuffnJunk Posts: 896
    funny you mention Pete Townshend cuz i was gonna mention him as another example of a LP to Strat convert

    maybe also cuz strats are more "subtle", people tend to go for that as they get older - less distortion, etc
    "I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
  • NotMozartNotMozart Posts: 9
    Yeah, The Who are my favorite band of all-time, which is what drew me to Pearl Jam when "Ten" came out, they had that Who/Neil Young guitar-rock thing that was literate like Pete Townshend and balls-to-the-wall like Crazy Horse and completely original at the same time. I really don't care what kind of guitar anyone plays as long as it serves the song. I hope the new album is as good as the last!
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,170
    i guess people's tastes change. personally, when i think of stone, even 30 years from now i am going to picture him with a les paul in front of a wall of marshall stacks like in the early 90s. stone is the reason i have so many les pauls and vintage marshalls. i guess he came along at a time in my life when i was looking for something and this band changed my life in a major way.

    i think when he was using marshalls more he wanted the les paul to give him that extra punch. now that he is using boutique stuff maybe he feels he does not need the "oomph" of the les paul in favor of the cleaner sounding strats....just my guess....
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • NotMozartNotMozart Posts: 9
    People's tastes do change and that is ok as long as the music doesn't suffer and it has never suffered for the Who, Neil, The Beatles, Pearl Jam, or the Stones. I'm listening to Backspacer on vinyl right now and there hasn't been a bad song yet, keep it up boys.
  • stratmadstratmad Posts: 208
    I am also one old timer who's used to seeing Stoney play a LP more than a Strat. These guys can do what they please obviously, but I've always liked the LP for rhythm and Strat / Tele for lead guitar combo sound. Seeing Stone is usually more into playing grooves and Mike is more of a traditional lead player, I think is sounds better when they play those respective instruments when they take on those roles.

    Either way, so long this band is playing music, all is right with the world. ;)
  • davidosdavidos Posts: 481
    IMO A Les Paul is better for making a lot of noise and that suited PJ in the beginning... As they got older their playing got more refined and the wall of distortion got less and less... A Les Paul fills up a lot of space in a band and Stone and the band have evolved into letting each other fill spaces in the song... It seems like Stone gets more joy out of a subtle lick or riff than bashing an A chord...

    Strats are perfect for filling out a group sound instead of overpowering it... You can dirty them up with a pedal but they sound amazing clean...The band sounds great now in that you can hear each member contributing clearly instead of a wall of noise...

    Plus Strats are about 2 pounds lighter that Les Pauls... and we are all getting older :mrgreen:
  • StuffnJunkStuffnJunk Posts: 896
    ironically, i just watched videos from the Seattle show the other night, and for the 3 new songs i saw - Unthought Known, Johnny Guitar, and Amongst the Waves - Stone was playing a Les Paul!
    "I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
  • TriumphantAngelTriumphantAngel Posts: 1,760
    StuffnJunk wrote:
    ironically, i just watched videos from the Seattle show the other night, and for the 3 new songs i saw - Unthought Known, Johnny Guitar, and Amongst the Waves - Stone was playing a Les Paul!
    check out the 'no way' vid too. he was using a les paul there too!
  • StuffnJunkStuffnJunk Posts: 896
    every video i see on youtube from the last few shows, stone is playing his Les Paul...i'm convinced he read my little thread here and thought "hmmm, maybe i have been neglecting my LP..."
    "I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
  • SomethingCreativeSomethingCreative Posts: 3,371
    TriumphantAngel wrote:
    StuffnJunk wrote:
    ironically, i just watched videos from the Seattle show the other night, and for the 3 new songs i saw - Unthought Known, Johnny Guitar, and Amongst the Waves - Stone was playing a Les Paul!
    check out the 'no way' vid too. he was using a les paul there too!


    word. I love your location/avatar btw
    "Well, I think this band is incapable of sucking."
    -my dad after hearing Not for You for the first time on SNL .
  • cannotstaylongcannotstaylong Posts: 668
    I've noticed this a bit, but it really doesn't bother me. It probably is a combination of convenience/versatility and the change in his amp rig. Going with custom/boutique amps has really allowed him (and the band for that matter) to shape the sound/tone more. He may have found that the strats work better on certain songs where the LPs used to.

    Mike has also changed his guitars up, although he's always been more prone to do this than Stone was. I remember I noticed when Mike started using the LP more on Alive as opposed to the Strat. But anyway, I have noticed this with Stone, but as long as it still sounds good I'm cool with it.
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  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,170
    i have noticed that stone has simplified his rig some. he is using a vox and an old jcm 800 from what i can tell. jeff is using what looks like a marshall lemmy head. i think the switch back to marshalls has done wonders for their tone. just my opinion, as i am a vintage marshall and les paul kinda guy....
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
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