In a recent GAS attack I noticed that there is a lack of Strats in my household. So to put things right I must buy one and decide between one of these:
- Squier Classic Vibe:
Here in Germany they are € 300. They are very decent looking , seem to be well made and obviously they sound fairly good.
- SX Strat:
They are € 115 incl. shipping here in Europe. Other than the ones Rondo sells they have a headstock that is pretty close to the Fender ones. I would mod this Strat heavily: New tuners, pickups, electronics, nut, and so on. Recently I made all these mods to my SX Tele (Kluson tuner, Fender CS Nocasters, bone nut, Alpha pots, Mallory caps) and the Tele turned to be a really great guitar - not only for the money.
With all these mods the SX will be € 250 - not a big difference to the Squier. The question is: Can a SX be modded in that way that it sounds as good or even better than a CV?
Here are the pros and cons of each instrument (from my point of view):
Squier (unmodded):
- Good guitar [+]
- A little pricier than SX [-]
- Ugly pickguard on the 60's [-]
SX (modded):
- Nice neck shape (baseball) [+]
- Having much fun modding the guitar [+]
- Kind of custom made [+]
- Sound [?-]
So what shall I do?
Roland