Gibson v.s Fender

Gibson and Fender, two legendary brands in the musical world, and both without doubt bring something huge to the table. Which one is better? Any musician you talk to will probably have different reasoning to whom in their opinion is best. I myself have played guitar for ten years and own a Fender Stratocaster. I've never had enough mullah to afford a Gibson so that in a sense could make me slightly biased, but I have had the opportunity to play one from time to time and have done my research on just what makes a Gibson a Gibson, and what makes certain players prefer them over brands such as Fender. A lot of people like to say that it depends on what kind of a player you are, your style of playing, the kind of music you enjoy, ect. The reason this is bought up has to do with the pickups on the guitar. Traditionally Fenders come with single coil pickups, this gives them a trebly, bright tone. Gibsons typically come with humbucking pickups, these pickups result in a more mellow tone. So people who preferred bright tones in there music would choose Fender and people who preferred mellow tones would choose Gibson. Now a days this doesn't matter as much and the reason for that is that many Fenders are made with humbuckers now. I like the mellow tone so I bought a Fender with humbuckers and didn't have to break the bank to get a Gibson. This is why I think Fender is better than Gibson there are more options. There are more options for the common man, the middle class citizen who doesn't have a grand or two to drop on a Gibson. There are many affordable options through Fender, such as the Squire and Squire Bullets, that come in different styles and different pickup options. On certain Fenders there may be two single coil pickups and a humbucker in which you can switch in between them. Wow, aren't options wonderful? Yes they are. Another thing to ponder when debating Fender or Gibson is the type of wood used for the body of the guitar. Gibsons traditionally are made with mahogany or maple while Fender's most popular choice is ash or alder. Mahogany results in a more smooth open sound while maple will be more crisp and precise. Ash tends to be more twangy and bright sounding. This is something to consider but shouldn't be the largest deciding factor because while these are the most popular woods chosen by brand they are not the only woods ever used.

Sources:
ultimate-guitar.com/Gibson-vs-Fender
gear-vault.com/Gibson-vs-Fender

Response to "A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not likely." Article

In the lengthy Article, "A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not likely." Robin Wilson provides numerous examples of how this idea of student debt is not as bad as we think it is. For the first half of the article I couldn't concentrate because I was thinking about how Robin Wilson's name reminded me of Robin Williams.  Then I was thinking about Aladin and how great he was as a genie, then I thought of all the things I would do if I had a genie, like pay for my college tuition,  and then finally I was thinking about student debt. This article was refreshing because I to, like Mr. Wilson, believe the world has instilled this large fear in students that if they go to get the education they want, they will be paying for it the rest of their life. While this may be so and a student may be paying month after month for many years it doesn't change the fact that going to college is a great investment. You buy a house and pay monthly and that likewise is a great investment. As with anything there will always be the good stories and the bad. Often we hear a bad story about how someone had massive student debt and it will distract us from the good stories of how a student was able to get the education they desired and have manageable payments. A quote that had me quietly applause in my head was said by Patrick M. Callan and he said, "The only thing worse than borrowing, is not borrowing and not going to college at all."  Well spoken Mr. Callan I couldn't agree more. That would be equivalent to saying, "Oh I'm going to live in this box because to get a house I would have to borrow and then I could be in debt." A box is no investment to a better life, a house is. No college equals no investment to a better life, it's an investment in a less than bright future because you were afraid of possible debt. We shouldn't live in this fear because another great point that Wilson brings up is that many of the student loans have very low interest rates. In that case it's borrowing at a low cost and investing in a better future for yourself.