Sometimes only my strat will do

[tjalla]

As much as I love my telecasters, this partscaster just makes me play a certain way, and feels perfect in hand. As soon as I pieced it together I knew what it meant when folks say they found an extension of themselves, and I had found that guitar. Truly a sum-greater-than-parts experience.

'86 MIJ 62RI neck
Fender 50s Road Worn (3lb 8oz)
Fred Stuart pickups
Eric Johnson bridge assembly

Played through my Tone King Comet 40B turned up loud, but the guitar volume backed down to 3-4.

Slow blues at midnight... with thanks to Ronnie Earl and T-Bone Walker.

[Thighbanez]

Right there with ya man!
When I feel like letting out some soul...I grab my strat. I've never played a guitar that sounds, feels and sings like it.

EVER!

Not my acoustic, not that Les Paul I had, not the yamaha pacifica I had, certainly not that first act thing I had as my first electric, and not even the '51 does what the strat does. Something about that 3-single-coil sound....whoo-weee!

When I wanna rock and thrash I grab the '51.
You'd think the opposite since the '51 has the Charlie Christian pickup....but that cc pickup and the bridge JB are hot hot hot and overdrive on their own so well for rock.

[redstringuitar]

Smoke dem blues!

You're off to a flying start at the business end with that neck anyway... I knew within a minute of picking up my MIJ '62 in the shop that it was coming home with me.

I played the '62 and the Baja for several hours last night... you could hardly find more disparate necks but I love 'em both... the Strat is softer/more scooped, but you can still coax plenty enough power out of it, while the harder mid-range tone and fat neck of the Tele is always a pleasant contrast... both guitars are very inspiring and I'd find it hard to grab one over the other in the event of fire etc.

[tjalla]

Interesting there redstringuitar - the Baja is my favourite neck in a tele too, I buy em when they come up used on ebay and currently have three on various guitars, including my best partscaster tele (MJT pine body and mare PUs).

In a way the Tele gets the gig more often because it does most things better than the MIJ/Road Worn Strat - BUT what the Strat does is unique. My '66 ES-330 is the only other guitar I have with the same 'mojo'.

[Stratburst]

I'm finding only my Strat will do in most musical situations I've been encountering these days, whether it's my R&B band, my own stuff or jamming with friends. It's that combination of brawn, jangle and slinkiness that works for me.

I'm actually going to try and start using my Hamer Studio or my Tele but it may feel like I'm shoehorning that guitar into the situation rather than using the tone that sounds right to my ears. I'll see how it goes.

Here's my #1.

[wallis222]

I too have a special place in my heart for my Stratocaster.

Love the jazz influence in those lines you are playing.

[Jericho75]

Strats definitely have some serious soul! Whenever I record tracks, whether it's sparkly cleans or down and dirty drop d metal, I always end up recording with my bone stock SSS USA standard. There is just something magical about that guitar :)

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by wallis222

Love the jazz influence in those lines you are playing.

Can't play jazz to save my life. I just add extra notes to fill out the pentatonic, and segue between the minor and major sounds depending on the moment.

[kinkstah]

Nice sound, nice playing!

[E5RSY]

Muy, muy bueno, amigo! I have to agree. As you can see in my avatar, my '57 AVRI is pretty much all I need, were I forced to choose one.

For some bizarre reason, I am a Stratocaster player with a Telecaster mind.

[tlimbert65]

I'm becoming a recent Strat convert, I'm afraid. I love my Tele, but a well-setup Strat is a thing of beauty. Still haven't developed an affection for the whammy bar, but I love the feel and the in-between sounds.