Single coil with the tone down to about 4 or 5 and some over drive you get great lead tones.

Single coil guitars aren't strictly for rhythm and are more than adequate for lead as demonstrated by Jimi Hendrix,Robin Trower,Rory Gallagher and Yngwie Malmsteen among countless others.I used a Strat almost exclusively for lead for over 40 years gigging. The Strat isn't a one trick pony and can be used for everything from metal to jazz.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Folks need perspective. I got my first Strat 41 years ago. The reason Hendrix or whoever used a particular guitar for 'whatever' was that is what they were raised on. Stats became 'the' guitar of rock because they were versatile.

'Stars' were once regular guys who got in second hand as a kid or it was the only 'electric' available in a music store.

Leo Fender was a smart guy. A Strat has three pickups. You had to play rhythm or lead with whatever guitar you had had available. Nobody I ever knew could had a second electric guitar sitting in the closet..

2.7 million guitarists would disagree with your statement...and they would all be correct.

If you "have to" have humbuckers to play lead, you need to work on your fretting hand technique and/or get a better pedal/amp combination.

I have a guitar with humbuckers and a couple with single coils. I don't differentiate them as "rhythm" or "lead" guitars...I differentiate them by the sound/tone they produce, the mood I'm in or which one fits the particular gig the best.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I concour, I would say that I personally feel that HBs are more limited and really not for me. I own a Les Paul and it sits in the case. I owned a ES335 and I sold it because it just never got played.

Now I do have an Andy Summers inspired Tele that has a Jazz style SD HB in the neck and a single coil Tele PUP in the Bridge. I can get some really sweet tones by mixing these PUPs together. The HB isn't as dark as the regular HB.

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1975 Sunburst Stratocaster rosewood finger board
1979 Stratocaster with roseowood finder board
2001 Candy Green Clapton Stratocaster
2007 Andy Summers Inspired Telecaster
2007 '51 P-Bass
2012 Taylor 110
2015 Mystic Ice Blue Deluxe Stratocaster Plus

+1

I haven't taken a Les Paul to a gig or even had one out of its case in over two and a half years.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

A strat does it all, my friend. I play a lot of both lead and rhythm. Nothing beats a strat's versatility. In fact, for a rhythm instrument I would pick a strat over anything else.

I grew up playing the same way for many,many years from the late '60s till the kids got raised....I usually only had one guitar and amp,and at times a small practice amp for home...but whenever I wanted something new I had to arrange a sale and get the money for the new gear,even if it meant being without something for a few days.
I guess that's one reason why it's so nice now to be able to buy what I want,even if it's not a "needed item".

Strats are great for rhythm playing! All those great Chic disco songs were done on strats as far a I know. Strats are great for everything. Strats do everything great!