Strats, why?

[scooteraz]

So, K.E.B, we dusted this gem off from two years ago. We didn't think the simple answer to the OP question "because some people like them, even if you don't" was enough?

Cool

Guess nothing says love like overkill

[Stuco]

This is the thread that just wont go away! I find it hilarious personally.

[toejam]

This one pretty much sums it up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5MVKMl9kHw

And also, there's this dude called Jeff Beck

[Thekillertree]

Meh, i think i have actually come to the sad realization that i just dont like strats either. They look so nice, yet im trying to sell my 62 avri :( Time for something else.

[qblue]

After reading this entire thread, I have to give my two cents' worth of wisdom.

I hated my Strats for two years, after buying a Baja Tele, in 2007. Recently I began picking up the Strat again, and here is what I heard. The Strat is more refined, and great for smooth jazz or Gospel. I really like the position of the volume control for swells. The 2-point tremelo is perfect. My Strat Ultra has Lace sensors, which have blue (neck), gold (middle), and red dually in the bridge. The Red and blue pups are of a higher resistance, and generally have a darker sound. But I have found that I almost get a Tele sound with a single Red (bottom pup, using a cutoff switch for the adjacent red pup) bridge, with lots of twang. But I love the neck pup because it is so jazzy. I still get the Quack in the 2 & 4 positions (thank God).

But on the other hand, the Tele is elemental in sound, more primal than the Strat. I like the twisted tele neck pup sound, which mimics an old Jazzbox P90 thing. I love to play blues and R&B with this guitar, using the Broadcaster bridge pup. What is weird is it has a Strat sound in the second position (pickups in parallel, S1 switch off or on). It also has a humbucker lite sound in Series (position 4, S1 off), which leaves my Gibson in the case.

So to me it may be the type of music you play that gives you a reason to change guitars. Both guitars are versatile. I saw on this website that Reelin' in the Years by Steely Dan was done with Teles. I am glad I didn't sell my Strats. I also have a 1971 Strat whose weaker output pickups don't impress me, and needs a lot of pedals to improve its sound. It's the reason I bought a Strat Ultra in the HSS arrangement, because I always hated the bridge pickup on the 1971 Strat.

Sorry to keep this thread going. I've fallen in and out of love with all my guitars at sometime, so the best bet is not to sell them. Hell, I'm on a Stratocaster thread, so I know I've had a change of heart. Wait patiently and they will all sound better.

[romo]

Originally Posted by Montana_Dawg

Gilmour- Another Brick in the Wall, pt.2

I realize this post was made 4 years ago, but after catching up on the rest of this thread I don't think it was ever corrected. Gilmour recorded this song using a Les Paul gold top with p90's, not a strat.

Of course, Gilmour is pretty much my favorite guitar player and definitely my favorite strat player, but that song is not an example of his strat tone.

[strat a various]

Johnny, your one of the handful of thoughtful, sincere, and fairly knowledgeable posters here. This zombie thread deserves a final answer.
Look at YouTube clips of Hendrix playing Strats, Flying V, SG, Les Paul. I saw him play those guitars back in the day. I hope they're on YouTube. You'll see that he sounds about the same on all those different guitars. It's really not the guitar, it's the player.
If a Strat doesn't feel comfortable to you, or you struggle with the pickups, controls, tremolo ... it won't work for you. If you dig the feel and fall into the tone naturally, you'll find your sound.

[aidB]

I can't believe some of you peeps didn't realise this thread is a wind up.

[Feargal]

Buddy Holly.

As an aside, how is Claptons's tone here?

[frogger]

Agree Strats take alot of tinkering but once the are set up they can be magic to the right player. You can't hide behind a Strat or Tele, it will expose your playing skills either in a very good or very bad way. If NASA launched an electric guitar to the stars for other beings to see it would probably be a...Hello Kitty Strat. :)

[Rob DiStefano]

disregarding the trem, strats are like most any other guitar to setup. passive trems require reasonably careful setup, and even then some of these dumb mechanical things just won't ever work reasonably well.

[brentmasonfan]

I used to like humbuckers much more than single coils. I still own many humbucker equipped guitars but for the past several years Strats and Teles are my favorite. I love the Glassy sound of the neck pickup of the Strat and the 2 and 4 positions. There was a time that I hated the 2 and 4 position tones. Also love chicken pickin' a Tele bridge pickup and the neck bridge tones too.

I've learned that a fat sound ain't everything. Besides you can plug a Strat or Tele into an EQ and tailor a Tele or Strat to sound fat and full while retaining its pure clean tone.

I now own bunches of Strats and Teles and couldn't be happier.

If you decide on buying a Strat the current American Standards are really great guitars. If you want to spend a little less a Made in Mexico Classic 50's Strat has lots of vintage vibe. A Deluxe Player's Strat is also a great buy. They have Vintage Noiseless pickups which tame the noise. If you can find a used Powerhouse Strat they are great guitars too. Great tones and a boost control repalcing one of its tone controls for extra punch. They have been discontinued for about a year now.

[jmaul]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

WHAT MODEL STRAT WOULD YOU GUYS SUGGEST? The pickup selection stock from Fender is if-y and the quality is confusing (American have better fretwork etc).

what is the budget?

Anyway, I'll speak for myself.

My #1 is a strat. I love love love my strat and would not sell it at ten times what I paid for it, which still was not cheap. It's a early 90's fender MIJ shop order. There are probably less than 100 in the world, less than 10 in the usa. I've played many many starts that do not get me going the way it does. here is the formula:

-'62 reissue contours.
-maple/rosewood neck 7.4 radius, medium+ thickness C contour
-3piece hard ash body, SSS / 6 screw classic trem routed
-pickups are alnico staggered GRECO EXCELL grey bobbin, circa 1979. middle pickup IS NOT RWRP.
-finish over body and neck is a matte trans burgundy poly, billed as "thinner than nitro" - it does not have fullerplast (I know this from dings exposing bare wood, and yes, its THIN).
-6 screw classic trem with pot metal block. Thinking about upgrade to ss but dont really want to change anything in the formula
-low action, 9's, kluson tuners

Now, my advice to you:

Get a 62 RI Fender mij from the 80's or early 90's WITHOUT a basswood body and with the kluson style tuners.
I'd go for Serials in this order: A,C,E,N
Immediately swap the pups for Fralin REAL 54's with a non rwrp middle and quality electronics.

Determine if you want a callaham block or not.

Since this is a studio guitar, you will probably want the Suhr hum cancelling backplate. A straty strat needs to be SSS/ non rwrp, but this is inherently noisy. It's the price of the good strat tone, and it typically shows on recordings.

Lastly, have a serious guitar tech set up the intonation and have them set the bridge as floating 1/16" to 1/8".

Pickup height and bridge setup are huge parts of the strats sound and playability so do not skimp on getting those right.

All in, you should be under a grand. I can't imagine you not liking the tone, but then I hate vintage 30's and you do not. My strat pairs especially well with the brown deluxe, DRII, and 18watt tmb.

[chezdeluxe]

If the sound of Hank Marvin of the Shadows (Strat through Vox) in the early 60s with unsupassed use of the tremolo arm doesn't get you then I cant explain.