Show Full Spec Comparison
| Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH | Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Fender | Gibson |
| Year: | 2021 | 2020 |
| Configuration: | HH | HH |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | United States | United States |
| Series: | American Ultra | Gibson Murphy Lab Collection |
| Colors: | Black | Black |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | Semi-Hollow |
| Body Material: | Alder | 3-Ply Maple/Poplar/Maple |
| Bridge: | Floyd Rose Original Double-Locking 2-Point Tremolo | ABR-1 |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | Set |
| Tuners: | Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking | Kluson Single Line Strip with Metal Buttons |
| Fretboard: | Maple | Indian Rosewood, Hide Glue Fit |
| Neck Material: | Maple | Solid Mahogany |
| Decoration: | Black Pearloid Dots | Split Diamond Cellulose Nitrate |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 24.75" |
| Shape: | Augmented “D” | Authentic 64 Medium C-Shape |
| Thickness: | 1st Fret: 0.84'' (21.3mm) - 12th Fret: 0.89'' (22.6mm) | 1st Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) - 12th Fret: 0.98'' (24.9mm) |
| Frets: | 22 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel | 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 10" to 14" | 12" |
| Nut: | Locking | Nylon |
| Nut Width: | 42.8mm (1.685'') | 43mm (1.693'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Fender Custom Double Tap Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive) | Gibson Custombucker Alnico 3 (Unpotted) (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | ||
| Neck Pickup: | Fender Custom Double Tap Humbucking (Humbucker / Passive) | Gibson Custombucker Alnico 3 (Unpotted) (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Switch: | 3 Way | 3 Way |
| Knobs: | Dome | Bell |
| Pickup Mods: | S-1 Switch | None |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | 2 |
| Tone Controls: | 1 | 2 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Nickel |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH over Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged
Reasons to Get
Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged over Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH
Other Key Differences
Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH vs Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged
Shared Features
Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH vs Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Top Pickup Brand
Common Weaknesses
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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Hand Size Comfortability
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged favors large hands more than the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH.
Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH:
Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged:
Beginner Friendliness
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH- Comfortable shape
- Locking tuners
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Easy-to-use bridge
New Player Friendliness
Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Woods Used in the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Woods Used in the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Winner: Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged.
Pickup Configuration
Both pickup configurations are HH. Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
Pickups Quality
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Tie.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.
Only the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH comes with some kind of pickup modification: S-1 Switch.
An S-1 switch can do a lot of different pickup combinations. It can split them, connect them in series, parallel, add more pickups to each position, and more. Check out the diagram to know how it affects this model.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH compares to the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in United States.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
Winner: Tie
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH has a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.
On the other hand, the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged comes with a Nylon nut. It used to be one of the highest quality materials for nuts (and still is), but it's rare to find nowadays because it's hard to work with. It's a very resistant material with very low friction, so it will keep the guitar in tune and will last for a long time
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
In this comparison, the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH's brige is a Floyd Rose. This is a double-locking bridge system that allows you to perform techniques like dive bombs and pinch harmonics. The locking nut allows your guitar to stay in tune even after the most intense tremolo usage. The disadvantage is that it takes more work to change the strings and set up everything correctly.
On the other hand, the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged's is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH.
Tuners
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH has the best tuners of the two because they are locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.
Nevertheless, the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH has a locking nut, so it should have even better tune stability and doesn't need locking tuners.
Winner: Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH has a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
On the other hand, the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged comes with Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
Winner: Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Made in United States
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- S-1 Switch Pickups
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Retainer Bar
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Nylon Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42.8mm (1.685''). This is a 0.2mm (0.008'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH has the longest scale: 25.5". The Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.75'' (19.1mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH has a D type of neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.
The Gibson 1964 Trini Lopez Standard Ebony Ultra Light Aged, on the other hand, has a C neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster Floyd Rose HH is the only one with a compound radius. This is a huge win because it will give you the best of both worlds: a more curved radius in the first few frets for chords, and flatter as you come closer to the body for soloing.
Fret Size
Both have a Medium Jumbo fret size. These are slightly shorter than full Jumbo frets, so you'll still feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. However, they interfere less with your fretting hand than medium-size frets. This is a good size if you like easy-to-press frets, but would still like to feel a bit of the fretboard when playing.
