A long delayed NGD post… that I never thought I’d write.
It’s a long post, so… sorry in advance!
I’ve played a Les Paul for a long time, then a couple of years ago I fell in love with the Telecaster and I’ve been preferring it ever since. I have 2 now.
I had a Stratocaster (Squier CV 70) for a while, but I never bonded with it. Partly for the sound I got, partly for the gloss poly finish on the body and the neck (that was a little sticky), partly for the middle pickup that was always in the way of my picking… I thought it depended on the design of the guitar itself, and I put the idea of having a Strat on the shelf.
Last year I noticed that I’d been listening to, and enjoying, many songs played with a Stratocaster, and wanting that sound. My Jason Isbell Telecaster has a “Stratty” neck pickup, but… it’s not exactly the same. I love it, but it’s a thing of its own. So last September the idea of a proper Strat popped up again in my head.
In time, I’ve understood a couple of things about what I prefer in a guitar. Nitro finish is one (I’m no Nitro snob, it’s simply because of the feeling I get touching it, that plays a big part for me), uncoated maple/rosewood-like fingerboard, small radius, vintage tall frets, satin/uncoated neck, pickups that are not too hot… My Jason Isbell Telecaster is a good fit, ticking all the boxes. And also, my Road Worn 50s Tele (apart for the frets).
My Road Worn 50s Tele is the FSR in purple, with custom shop/Twisted Tele pickups made for Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange 2 or 3 years ago. I remembered, then, that the special run included also some 60s Stratocasters. I went through the specs and they ticked all the boxes as well.
I happened to be in London last November, for a Jason Isbell concert. The day after, before going to Heathrow and get back to Italy, I went to Guilford to visit Andertons. They were so kind to let me try the Stratocaster I wanted for an hour or so. It was the Road Worn 60 FSR in Faded Candy Apple Red, that is one of my favorite colors. You can find it also in Daphne Blue and in Vintage White (Malmsteen like…), and I cannot understand why these 2 colors are always sold out, while the CAR (that I like most) is always in stock… BTW, in a Denmark Street shop in London, the day before, I could see an original 1965 Strat in Candy Apple Red, but… £24K was a little above my budget! See picture below here.
Anyway… I played it, I kinda liked it, but I was not 100% sold. I continued to think about it, though. So given the Black Friday price (£999) I pulled the trigger. “If I don’t like it, I can always sell it” I thought.
When I pulled it out of its box, I played it for about 20 minutes unplugged (as I often do), and I could feel I was comfortable with it. I then plugged it to my Pro Junior and after I started playing it, I was… shocked. I could really “feel it”. Apart from the fact that it was almost in tune and perfectly setup in terms of action, everything I tried to play seemed so easy. The guitar makes it easier to play. It’s a very peculiar feeling. I don’t know if it’s “the one”, but it really makes me feel at home. And the feeling is different from the same model I tried at the store. Or any other guitar I’ve played so far. And last, strange thing... on this one the middle pickup doesn't get in the way of my playing. And that's very strange because... the place is always the same!
Specs-wise, it’s a MIM Limited edition Road Worn 60s Stratocaster in Faded Candy Apple Red, with American Vintage 59 Pickups.
Radius is 7.25” and it’s how I like it, with vintage tall frets it plays extremely well. The action is obviously not super low, but it’s comfortable (lower than the Jason Isbell Tele) and the bridge is set-up floating. I didn’t touch anything on the setup as I’m fine with it. I’ve kept the sticker on the tremolo arm hole… I will put on the bar once I transfer it to an hardshell case.
The Fretboard/Neck is where (in my opinion) the magic happens. It’s a Mid ‘60s “C” Shape neck, it’s not as chunky as the Tele 50s “U”, but it feels consistent, it’s not thin at all and, though it reads the same, it feels a little larger and a little wider than the Jason Isbell’s. Maybe it’s just a feeling, but I say it’s wider because it feels like there’s more… “real estate” on the fretboard.
About the fretboard, it’s Pau-Ferro. Let me tell you: it feels ok. It’s lighter than rosewood in color, but I cannot complain about it. Maybe it will get darker in time. The only thing about the fretboard: I think (I’m almost sure) it’s a little dirty, there’s a little coat of something (dust?) over it. My Jason Isbell’s tele (that has Rosewood) was the same: during the first strings swap I cleaned the fretboard and oiled it a little and it was like night and day. I’m going to do the same on the Strat and we will see then what Pau-Ferro is really like.
Pickups are great. I’m not a Strat expert, but they sound just like I wanted them to sound. Positions 2 and 4 are instant classic and they have a little drop in volume vs. pos 5 (Neck) that sounds great as well, very full. I think even position 1 sounds good, it’s thin, but consistent. I can say Vintage 59 pickups are a fantastic set.
Last note on the paint. I know Road Worn / Relic is not everyone’s cup of tea. I personally like it a lot (come to think of it, all my Fenders are Road Worn…), the relic-ing is not overdone and though based on a template, it looks good. The faded CAR is gorgeous, the lights influence a lot what you see, it can look sparkly and it can look flat. I love it. And (as always with Road Worn) you can see some cracking on the Nitro finish.
The only think I was not 100% satisfied out of the box were the frets. The fret ends are ok, but they needed some crowning and polishing. They’re not high, they’re perfect in height. They were just a little rough. By playing on it some hours the problem almost fixed itself, but it was there.
In the end, I’m extremely satisfied with this guitar, and against all my expectations it looks like a Strat “could be” my guitar. Let’s see what happens in the next months!
And now some pictures:
With light on a side...
with light in front....
Nitro cracking
It’s a long post, so… sorry in advance!
I’ve played a Les Paul for a long time, then a couple of years ago I fell in love with the Telecaster and I’ve been preferring it ever since. I have 2 now.
I had a Stratocaster (Squier CV 70) for a while, but I never bonded with it. Partly for the sound I got, partly for the gloss poly finish on the body and the neck (that was a little sticky), partly for the middle pickup that was always in the way of my picking… I thought it depended on the design of the guitar itself, and I put the idea of having a Strat on the shelf.
Last year I noticed that I’d been listening to, and enjoying, many songs played with a Stratocaster, and wanting that sound. My Jason Isbell Telecaster has a “Stratty” neck pickup, but… it’s not exactly the same. I love it, but it’s a thing of its own. So last September the idea of a proper Strat popped up again in my head.
In time, I’ve understood a couple of things about what I prefer in a guitar. Nitro finish is one (I’m no Nitro snob, it’s simply because of the feeling I get touching it, that plays a big part for me), uncoated maple/rosewood-like fingerboard, small radius, vintage tall frets, satin/uncoated neck, pickups that are not too hot… My Jason Isbell Telecaster is a good fit, ticking all the boxes. And also, my Road Worn 50s Tele (apart for the frets).
My Road Worn 50s Tele is the FSR in purple, with custom shop/Twisted Tele pickups made for Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange 2 or 3 years ago. I remembered, then, that the special run included also some 60s Stratocasters. I went through the specs and they ticked all the boxes as well.
I happened to be in London last November, for a Jason Isbell concert. The day after, before going to Heathrow and get back to Italy, I went to Guilford to visit Andertons. They were so kind to let me try the Stratocaster I wanted for an hour or so. It was the Road Worn 60 FSR in Faded Candy Apple Red, that is one of my favorite colors. You can find it also in Daphne Blue and in Vintage White (Malmsteen like…), and I cannot understand why these 2 colors are always sold out, while the CAR (that I like most) is always in stock… BTW, in a Denmark Street shop in London, the day before, I could see an original 1965 Strat in Candy Apple Red, but… £24K was a little above my budget! See picture below here.
Anyway… I played it, I kinda liked it, but I was not 100% sold. I continued to think about it, though. So given the Black Friday price (£999) I pulled the trigger. “If I don’t like it, I can always sell it” I thought.
When I pulled it out of its box, I played it for about 20 minutes unplugged (as I often do), and I could feel I was comfortable with it. I then plugged it to my Pro Junior and after I started playing it, I was… shocked. I could really “feel it”. Apart from the fact that it was almost in tune and perfectly setup in terms of action, everything I tried to play seemed so easy. The guitar makes it easier to play. It’s a very peculiar feeling. I don’t know if it’s “the one”, but it really makes me feel at home. And the feeling is different from the same model I tried at the store. Or any other guitar I’ve played so far. And last, strange thing... on this one the middle pickup doesn't get in the way of my playing. And that's very strange because... the place is always the same!
Specs-wise, it’s a MIM Limited edition Road Worn 60s Stratocaster in Faded Candy Apple Red, with American Vintage 59 Pickups.
Radius is 7.25” and it’s how I like it, with vintage tall frets it plays extremely well. The action is obviously not super low, but it’s comfortable (lower than the Jason Isbell Tele) and the bridge is set-up floating. I didn’t touch anything on the setup as I’m fine with it. I’ve kept the sticker on the tremolo arm hole… I will put on the bar once I transfer it to an hardshell case.
The Fretboard/Neck is where (in my opinion) the magic happens. It’s a Mid ‘60s “C” Shape neck, it’s not as chunky as the Tele 50s “U”, but it feels consistent, it’s not thin at all and, though it reads the same, it feels a little larger and a little wider than the Jason Isbell’s. Maybe it’s just a feeling, but I say it’s wider because it feels like there’s more… “real estate” on the fretboard.
About the fretboard, it’s Pau-Ferro. Let me tell you: it feels ok. It’s lighter than rosewood in color, but I cannot complain about it. Maybe it will get darker in time. The only thing about the fretboard: I think (I’m almost sure) it’s a little dirty, there’s a little coat of something (dust?) over it. My Jason Isbell’s tele (that has Rosewood) was the same: during the first strings swap I cleaned the fretboard and oiled it a little and it was like night and day. I’m going to do the same on the Strat and we will see then what Pau-Ferro is really like.
Pickups are great. I’m not a Strat expert, but they sound just like I wanted them to sound. Positions 2 and 4 are instant classic and they have a little drop in volume vs. pos 5 (Neck) that sounds great as well, very full. I think even position 1 sounds good, it’s thin, but consistent. I can say Vintage 59 pickups are a fantastic set.
Last note on the paint. I know Road Worn / Relic is not everyone’s cup of tea. I personally like it a lot (come to think of it, all my Fenders are Road Worn…), the relic-ing is not overdone and though based on a template, it looks good. The faded CAR is gorgeous, the lights influence a lot what you see, it can look sparkly and it can look flat. I love it. And (as always with Road Worn) you can see some cracking on the Nitro finish.
The only think I was not 100% satisfied out of the box were the frets. The fret ends are ok, but they needed some crowning and polishing. They’re not high, they’re perfect in height. They were just a little rough. By playing on it some hours the problem almost fixed itself, but it was there.
In the end, I’m extremely satisfied with this guitar, and against all my expectations it looks like a Strat “could be” my guitar. Let’s see what happens in the next months!
And now some pictures:
With light on a side...
with light in front....
Nitro cracking
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