Stratocasters--I have seen the light...

[Colo Springs E]

....I have been an avowed Strat-hater for most of my guitar-playing life. I don't know why; they just didn't do it for me. I respected the Strat, and it's rightful place in a Blues and Rock history (and I suppose to some degree, even C&W?).

Of course, all sorts of "guitar gods" played them; why didn't I dig them?

Dunno; just didn't connect.

I had the good fortune to pick up a sort of "guitar of my dreams" a few weeks ago, a real live Gibson Les Paul (ok, it's a Classic, but it's a real LP). I am totally in love with that LP, it is the best rock 'n roll axe imagineable (to me). Crunch? Distorted riffs? Nothing comes close.

But then the other guitarist in our band, Kevin, opened me up to the wonderful world of Strats.

As great a R'nR axe as the LP is, it does not come CLOSE to approaching the beautiful bell-like glassy tone of my brand new American Strat (NOS, in the shop for about 2 years--I got it for like $10 over cost!).

This guitar is the bomb. Between this LP and this Strat, I officially have the bases covered:



Will I get another Tele in the stable at some point? Yup, but for now, this is my tone arsenal.

I can't WAIT for our next gig!! :)

-Eric

[photoweborama]

Cool. Great combo. But you do need a Tele also!

I love my Strats, but my Tele has the most radical Blues tone when I run it through a Tubescreamer. I tried to get the same tone out of my Strats, but they just can't there from here...

[Colo Springs E]

...you make a good point--and trust me, at some point I'll have a Tele again!--but for the band I'm in (a cover band that does 80s/90s/00s dance rock such as "The Clash," "The Cure," "The Ramones," "The Police," "Social D," and similar) a good crunch guitar is the ticket for probably 75+% of what we do. For the other quarter of songs, it's good to have the "in-between" Strat songs, and that beautiful glassy tone; a Tele would be a "nice-to-have," but honestly, not really a necessity.

Because of all the stuff I take to gigs, I like to take only 2 axes. The LP will be there, ain't no debatin' that! So the "choice" would be between this Strat and a Tele. The Strat is just more versatile, to me there's really no arguing that point.

Take care,
-Eric

[raisindot]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

I had the good fortune to pick up a sort of "guitar of my dreams" a few weeks ago, a real live Gibson Les Paul (ok, it's a Classic, but it's a real LP).
-Eric

Hey, hey, hey--what's with all this Classic-bashing? Just because it isn't a "Standard" or a "Custom" doesn't mean it's any less of a 'real' LP. Now, if you had an Epi LP your doubts would be justified...

Jeff in Boston

[timgreene]

You did'nt get rid of that mim white/soniclue tele? :D

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by timgreene

You did'nt get rid of that mim white/soniclue tele? :D

....and made it past the new year's date as I promised! LOL

take care, -Eric

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by raisindot

Hey, hey, hey--what's with all this Classic-bashing? Just because it isn't a "Standard" or a "Custom" doesn't mean it's any less of a 'real' LP. Now, if you had an Epi LP your doubts would be justified...

Jeff in Boston

......I guess it's just because I can't actually say, "I have a Les Paul Standard." Does it bug me? Naw, I love my Classic! Man does it rock well. It actually makes me sound like I know how to play guitar (sometimes). LOL

[Kevin]

I've always said that the thing about Strats is that there are just sooo many "average" ones out there, but very few good ones. When you find that magical one, though....

I've been through about five strats in the last year. I keep one. Although the others were very nice guitars -- and the people who have them now love them -- they just didn't do it for me. My old greenie, though, will stay with me forever; it just has the magic. It's the only guitar on which I've ever had a neck refretted....

And a Classic is a "real" Les Paul!

[hippietim]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I've always said that the thing about Strats is that there are just sooo many "average" ones out there, but very few good ones. When you find that magical one, though....

Here's my version of that:

I've always said that the thing about guitars is that there are just sooo many "average" ones out there, but very few good ones. When you find that magical one, though....

The sheer number of mediocre guitars available today is staggering. Just walk into any Guitar Center, Sam Ash, or your favorite mom and pop store. I'd estimate that 95% of their inventory is mediocre (yes, I'm including the Teles - sorry folks but that's how I feel).

[hippietim]

Anyone want to start a pool on when Eric switches his fancy again?

I'm picking April 24th.

[genelovesjez]

...what amps are you using with those guitars?

[Colo Springs E]

....these guits will be with me forever, just like all the others I've owned! LOL Seriously, now that I'm gigging and it's important for me to kinda dial things in and leave it, I really think I'll probably hold onto both of these guitars for some time.

But you never know!

Gene: if your question was for me, I have a Peavey XL Supreme (solid state) 120w head running into a Marshall JCM900 Lead 1960 cab. I use a Vox ToneLab SE modeller for various amp tones and effects. I'm very pleased with my rig.

One day I'll likely upgrade to a Marshall tube head, but I need to make more gig money before that'll happen, probably sometime later in the year. With as many effects as we use, I'm not sure the Marshall would actually sound significantly better, since the Vox is actually supplying the amplifier tones.

But that Marshall head would look really cool on top of that Marshall cab!

-Eric

[Scotland]

I've been a Strat lover all my life and I think this has been well documented here so it's good to see you have been converted. A Strat is just that...a Strat, it's not a Les Paul, it's not a Tele..it's a Stratocaster and does what no other guitar does..it sounds like a Stratocaster !
Enjoy it my friend. Oh, and Kevin can make you a beautiful Mary Kaye one if you talk to him nicely.

[holndav]

I thought we asked you to go last time you dissed us Tele lovers with your all your "uber-guitar psycho-babble".

Jeez! Les Paul's, Strats, what next Eric? An Electric Banjo? Your new name here "Bela-E"

I thought you liked Teles...

[Mik]

Is this an "April Fools Day Thread" Eric?


Happy AFD,
Mik

[Hey Joe]

I have to say youve got good taste.

[photoweborama]

I have a love like relationship with my Strats. I always like them, but at times I love them.

I'm in love mode right now. For some reason the neck middle position on my stock AmSer Strat sounds so good to me now. I've never been a fan of in-between positions, but right now, that's all I play..

Weird.

Strats are great.. To know them is to love them...

[lenny]

Originally Posted by hippietim

Anyone want to start a pool on when Eric switches his fancy again?

I'm picking April 24th.

reading this was deja vu, i was thinking "wait a second what about the les paul that he devoted his eternal love to last month "
i had to check the date..
april 1 eh? QUIT LYING!

[GopherTele]

Eric is trying to get to 2000 posts, 6 of which are actually about teles and not solid state amps or playing Duran Duran covers.

[shakedancer]

I'll say tommorrow!!! 8)

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by GopherTele

Eric is trying to get to 2000 posts, 6 of which are actually about teles and not solid state amps or playing Duran Duran covers.

...on second thought, it doesn't really deserve a response.

[Colo Springs E]

edited out...

-Eric

[e-merlin]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

....
One day I'll likely upgrade to a Marshall tube head, but I need to make more gig money before that'll happen, probably sometime later in the year.
-Eric

Hit the local pawn shops with $150 or so and look for a Peavey VTM 60, VTM 120, or Butcher. You might not need that Marshall head unless you are set on getting a head that cosmetically matches your cab.

Hey, I agree with Kevin and Tim. When you find a great one hold on to it. I have one great Tele and one great Strat. The rest of my guitars are average and I could part with them without much fuss.

[holndav]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

Some of you guys take this whole Tele thing a little seriously. Maybe you and GopherIdiot can form a support group?

-Eric

Hey, no worries. Place wouldn't be the same. Please note "sarcasm" in my previous post in this thread.

I thought both of our posts were funny...and there are currently, two esquires, one strat, one martin, and a f-style mandolin hanging in my room. I just think the strat makes good wall decoration...been thinking of setting it up for slide. I would own a les paul in a second but I can't afford the one I want...

What's wrong with support groups?

[kp8]

e,

didn't you have a blck tele deluxe? did you unload that too?

just curious

-kp

[genelovesjez]

Originally Posted by kp8

e,

didn't you have a blck tele deluxe? did you unload that too?

Yeah, what happened to these?

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

I'd be really interested in a comparison between the Telecaster Deluxe and the Les Paul, particularly in terms of sound.

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

Gene: if your question was for me, I have a Peavey XL Supreme (solid state) 120w head running into a Marshall JCM900 Lead 1960 cab. I use a Vox ToneLab SE modeller for various amp tones and effects. I'm very pleased with my rig.

One day I'll likely upgrade to a Marshall tube head, but I need to make more gig money before that'll happen, probably sometime later in the year. With as many effects as we use, I'm not sure the Marshall would actually sound significantly better, since the Vox is actually supplying the amplifier tones.

But that Marshall head would look really cool on top of that Marshall cab!

It would also sound really cool!

The reason I asked about amps is that I really love my Strat through my Marshall JCM 800. On the other hand, I'm not so wild about my Strat through Fender amps (which is probably just as heretical around here as you not having any teles ).

I would definitely recommend checking out the sound of a Marshall head. I have a pretty fully loaded pedal board, but when I use the JCM 800, I hardly ever use pedals because it just sounds so good on its own. I get pretty much all the sounds I want just selecting different pickups and adjusting the pre-amp level on the Marshall, and with the master volume, it's a surprisingly flexible amp.

Not to mention the facts that old used JCM 800s still seem to be reasonably affordable.

[Colo Springs E]

.....actually, pretty different. The LP definitely has a fatter, fuller tone. With overdrive, it's to die for. The Tele Dlx sounded really good, but it was definitely different from the LP's tone.

The Tele Dlx did "clean up" nicely, probably a little nicer sounding clean than the LP. It seemed to have some degree of twang to it to; maybe it was just "in my head," since it's a Tele. I'd have to say the Tele Dlx had a raunchier sound, and I don't mean that in a bad way. It was more raw sounding than the LP; for some applications, that's a really cool thing (did Stones type mild overdrive really well).

I will keep the JCM 800 in mind; probably by end of the Summer or Fall, I might be in a position to buy a nicer head by then.

take care, -Eric

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by kp8

e,

didn't you have a blck tele deluxe? did you unload that too?

just curious

-kp

....yes, had to offload stuff to make way for the LP. The Tele Deluxe was definitely a cool axe though.

[DADGAD]

Pardon me, is this the entrance to the Strat-Paul owners club?

[TG]

I love the sound of a good strat but I've never been able to find one I've connected to. The same with Les Pauls.
But a few days back I was watching an SRV dvd and I was thinking what a great sound/tone he had and how I wished I could sound like that. But then I realised that I've had enough experience (must be over a thousand gigs by now) to be able to imagine that guitar with that tone in my hands onstage with my band and how it would sound with my playing style.
It wouldn't be good.
Not 'bad'....just not good.
So as much as I can appreciate the sound of a strat or LP in the hands of a player who suits it, I'll stick with my teles.

But contrats for finding a guitar you connect with.

[petebradt]

Originally Posted by GopherTele

Eric is trying to get to 2000 posts, 6 of which are actually about teles and not solid state amps or playing Duran Duran covers.

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by TG

I love the sound of a good strat but I've never been able to find one I've connected to. The same with Les Pauls.
But a few days back I was watching an SRV dvd and I was thinking what a great sound/tone he had and how I wished I could sound like that. But then I realised that I've had enough experience (must be over a thousand gigs by now) to be able to imagine that guitar with that tone in my hands onstage with my band and how it would sound with my playing style.
It wouldn't be good.
Not 'bad'....just not good.
So as much as I can appreciate the sound of a strat or LP in the hands of a player who suits it, I'll stick with my teles.

But contrats for finding a guitar you connect with.

.....is far away the #1; it's the one that'll get the most use when gigging (probably 3/4 of the night). But the Strat does some things the Paul just can't, and the clean tone is sweet.

take care, -Eric

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by DADGAD

Pardon me, is this the entrance to the Strat-Paul owners club?

.....is that a MIM Blue Agave? If so, I dig that color, especially w/a maple board. Nice!

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by Hey Joe

I have to say youve got good taste.

Cool! Is that a Classic also? How bout the Strat, is that a Deluxe Power Strat?

Very nice!

[halouis]

Originally Posted by Mik

Is this an "April Fools Day Thread" Eric?


Happy AFD,
Mik

LOL this is exactly what i was thinking when i saw the thread. surprised it was not.

anyhow Eric, enjoy the Strat. but While i do believe you'll keep the LP (as you should) I know the Strat will be short lived. Some of my heros played strats, btu in reality theire "versatility" of many tones pales in comparisson to the flat out balls of a real Tele simple setup.

STrats are just too polite sounding. I'd much rather have a Gretsch.

And yeah save up for a good Marshall tube head. JMHO of course.

[Sarge]

I'm on the opposite end, I've always been a strat and LP lover. I never owned nor cared to own a tele untill I joined this forum about a year ago. Since then I've traded 2 of my strats for 2 teles which I love dearly. One is a 1998 Fender Collectors Edition Tele and the other is a 1999 Levinson Blade Delta Thinline Tele with a HB at the neck and a coil tap. I did own a 2000 Fender 52 re-issue for a brief period of time but it was a disapointment so I traded it for a Peavey EVH archtop. Currently I'm very content with the 2 teles I have but another is always possible!

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by halouis

While i do believe you'll keep the LP (as you should) I know the Strat will be short lived.

And yeah save up for a good Marshall tube head. JMHO of course.

....Of course you could be right, but I really doubt I'll let the Strat go anytime soon. My Tele's on eBay right now, but the current high bidder has emailed me that he'd prefer not to buy it (long story) so if he winds up the high bidder, I'll just keep it for awhile. Even if I get rid of that one, I'm sure I'll have another someday soon.

The Strat though, man... it does the "polite" thing very nicely! :) It is funny to me though how I've just never connected with one. But this one is really nice, the playability is about the best of any guitar I've ever owned. It's one of those guitars where the tension feels nice and light, the action's low with minimal buzz, and the neck is smoooooooth! Some things that I've struggled to play on other guitars, I can play much better on this Strat.

Of course, nothing plays (or sounds) better than the LP though.

And yes, a Marshall head is definitely in my future, it'll probably be later in the year though.

-Eric

[Hey Joe]

The LP is a standard I like the looks and price for that matter of the classic better but I was just in one of those moods when I played it and I had to have it. The strat is just a MIM.

[Oster]

I went through a period awhile back of thinning the herd where I took stock of everything and decided upon what was necessary and irreplaceable and what was just 'there'. I divided evrything by basic species: hollowbody, bass, steel, flat-top, etc with the aim of keeping only one of each.

When I got to 'solidbody electric' , I looked at my Strat and my Tele and decided...naw...Both of these are fully justified: I need both of them. While both have that bright Fender sound, perfect for recording...doing what Fenders have always been renowned for: the secret (or not so secret) weapon in so many hit/classic songs - They are so different from each other.

My #1 Strat in question has always been my '87 'Silver Series' Squier. Black w/ rosewood board and refitted w/ an Amern Standard bridge (a Floyd Rose-type was stock on this model). I've called this guitar 'Lucky' since I've always trucked it out to do things my Tele or others can't do and it always gets the job done. It's been an 'engineer favorite', so to speak.

I always like to see Strats get respect. The '80s kinda wrecked things for them from overuse but all should be forgiven by now!

[halouis]

i've played a couple nice strats for sure. Kevin built a nice one he let me play once. Lance has a nice one too. THey just aren;t comfortable to me. Kinda slippery. But you know, If you dig it, thats all that matters. keep rockin'

hal