Show Full Spec Comparison
| Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster | Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Fender | Gibson Custom |
| Year: | 2025 | 2024 |
| Configuration: | SSS | HH |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | United States | United States |
| Series: | American Ultra Luxe Vintage | Modern |
| Colors: | White, Red | Orange |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | No |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | Solid Body |
| Body Material: | Alder | 1-Piece Mahogany |
| Bridge: | 2-Point Deluxe Synchronized Tremolo with Pop-In Arm | Stop Bar |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Bolt-On | Set |
| Tuners: | Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking | Grover with Kidney Button |
| Fretboard: | Maple | Dark Ebony |
| Neck Material: | Maple | Mahogany |
| Decoration: | Black Dot | Mother of Pearl Block |
| Scale Size: | 25.5" | 24.75" |
| Shape: | Modern "D" | 50s Rounded Medium C |
| Frets: | 22 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel | 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 10" to 14" | 12" |
| Nut: | Ivory Tusq | Corian |
| Nut Width: | 42.8mm (1.685'') | 42.9mm (1.688'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Pure Vintage 57 Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil / Passive) | 498T Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | Pure Vintage 57 Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Pure Vintage 57 Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil / Passive) | 490R Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Switch: | 5 Way | 3 Way |
| Knobs: | Bell | Speed |
| Pickup Mods: | S-1 Switch | None |
| Volume Controls: | 1 | 2 |
| Tone Controls: | 2 | 2 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | Yes | No |
| Hardware Color: | Nickel | Gold |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster over Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top
Reasons to Get
Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top over Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster
Other Key Differences
Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster vs Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top
Shared Features
Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster vs Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top
Common Strengths
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Top Pickup Brand
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top Prices
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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 Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top favors large hands more than the Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster:
Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top:
Beginner Friendliness
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster meets 100 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top meets only 75. 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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
New Player Friendliness
Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top- 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 the Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster
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.
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 Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top
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.
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Winner: Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top.
Pickup Configuration
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster has an SSS configuration while the Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top has HH pickups.
SSS is perfect for players who like to play clean. The definition you get between notes and the crispiness is unmatched by most other configurations. You can still use it for distortion, but you won't get the same kind of output and power compared to a humbucker, and the hum they produce also makes them less adequate for high gain.
On the other hand, 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.
However, the Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
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: Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster.
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
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster gives you 5 switch options while the Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top gives you 3. This means that the Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Only the Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster 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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster.
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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster compares to the Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top.
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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster has a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
On the other hand, the Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top comes with a Corian nut. It used to be the go-to nut for Gibson, but it's slowly being replaced by Graph Tech (Tusq). It's a synthetic material made to be similar to Bone, but it doesn't have the same self-lubricating properties, and it's less resistant.
Winner: Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster.
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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster 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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster.
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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster's brige is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
On the other hand, the Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top'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: Tie.
Tuners
The Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster 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.
Winner: Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster.
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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster 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 Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top 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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage '50s Stratocaster
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Made in United States
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- S-1 Switch Pickups
- Luminescent Inlay
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Strap Lock
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Top Brand Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- 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 Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42.8mm (1.685''). This is a 0.1mm (0.0029999999999999'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top, 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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster has the longest scale: 25.5". The Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top 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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster 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 Custom Les Paul Custom 1-Piece 5A Quilt Maple Top, 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 Vintage '50s Stratocaster 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.
