Difference Between Gibson and Fender

Gibson vs Fender

There has been a never ending battle of getting the ultimate title of the best guitar in the world. Is it the Fender guitar or the Gibson guitar? What guitar sounds better? Actually, these are not the only guitar companies present today. There are bunches more of noteworthy manufacturers like ESP, Gretsch and Ibanez among others. But it is rather obvious that both Gibson and Fender are the top two authorities in guitar making. No wonder, there has been a long unresolved debate as to which is really the best.

Fender guitars have the treble-y bell tone, which is evident in the Stratocaster (one of the two most popular guitars nowadays). The guitar is also characterized with single coil pick-ups that make possible their ever popular ‘Fender tone.’ This also comes with the 60-cycle hum. Generally, Fender’s tone is medium bright to bright.

This tone quality is perhaps brought about by Fender’s wooden body. These guitars make use of either the ash or the alder tree wood. The material is responsible for generating the said brighter tone. Moreover, these two wood types are usually light, not to mention inexpensive, even more that the wood can be harvested from American soil. Hence, it is a common characteristic of Fender guitars to be light bodied ‘“somewhere between 4 to 5 pounds in weight.

On the contrary, Gibson makes use of mahogany. This wooden material is what gives Gibson its dark and warm tone because of the dense wood quality of the tree. It is also a bit mellower, crunchier and somewhat warmer. These tonal characteristics are perhaps best heard from the Les Paul, one of Gibson’s most promising guitars.

In terms of history, Gibson has undoubtedly the longer historical root as its year of founding can be traced as early as 1902. With Fender guitars, it was only until 1946 that the company founded itself as one of the names to look out for in the guitar industry. Even if it’s a newer company as compared to the rest and even if it is not the first to produce an electric guitar, there’s no doubt about it that Fender is the name that launched the most commercially successful electric guitar to date ‘“ the Telecaster.

1. Fender makes use of ash and alder tress while Gibson makes use of mahogany.

2. Fender is a newer brand of guitar as opposed to the older Gibson guitar company.

3. Fender is characterized with bell tones that are bright whereas Gibson is proud of their thick, rock, or dark and also mellow tonal qualities.

4. Fender is a lighter weighted guitar compared to the heavier Gibson guitars.

5. Fender are usually less expensive than Gibson guitars

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