attached is an interview with bill lawrence with a part that touches on the nature of the strat/les paul debate. Taken from Here. I don't know if i agree that there will eventually all guitars will have one scale length, wood type, and shape... i see strats and lp's as two different instruments with two very different voices but it is interesting to look at the matter from a historical perspective.
-Vadim
And what is the reaction of the musicians, and the entire music market, to innovations?
To give an example, we once placed instruments in dealer showcases that were very different from the usual Gibson flair - in the electronics and in the shape.
The reaction was just what I expected: People still preferred our standard instruments. And for good reason, since they combine good fit with the body, balance, and the best possible electronic equipment. In my opinion, guitars today are at the same stage that violins were between the 15th and 16th centuries. At that time, the violin, just like the guitar today, did not have a final form. At some point, a form will crystallize, and specifically, that will be a mixture of the forms of the two original guitar makers.
Fender and Gibson?
Yes, just like with the Amati and Stradivari of their time. Amati was building violins that had very low sidewalls with a large body arch. Stradivaris have higher sidewalls and a lower arch, while the center of the violins have the same height.
Gibson is now offering several models that are patterned after Fender or are formulated a little differently, are they intended to satisfy musicians who basically like Fender?
I know what you're getting at. We are now manufacturing under license for Wayne Charvel, and they do go under the Gibson label, but are basically not a part of the Gibson mainstream product lines. We're also making the US1 and the US2, which are in principle designed completely differently than Fender guitars, however. They play like a Gibson, they feel like a Gibson, but the body is slightly adapted to the Fender body shape. And sooner or later, all guitars will look like that.