Why Do You Like Your Strat?

[Doomguy]

I'm primarily a death/doom metal guy looking for a guitar that I can play decidedly not death/doom metal things with. I've always loved how Strats look and like some famous Strat players (Robin Trower and Billy Corgan in particular), so the Strat instantly came to mind when I began thinking about what type of guitar to add to my stable. I want to keep things pretty simple, keep the guitar in E standard for some shoegaze/alternative and bluesy stoner rock stuff, a lot of fuzz. Price range is $300-$500ish so I'm probably looking at a Squier or something used. Since all of my guitars have humbuckers I'm probably going to look for an SSS guitar just to switch things up a little bit.

So all of you Strat players out there, I'm asking to know just why you like your Strats. Should this caveman death metal guy join the Stratocaster cult?

 

[24 track]

strats are a simple design open to a lot of creative definitions, easy to work on and the set up can be effortless, unless the unit is completely pooched, plus there are a ton of them available and if you turn over the right rock they are really in expensive relatively.

my only snivel is I dislike stock strat pickups and the wiring, but that's just me I own 2 a78' and a 96' I built 4 pick guards for them and if I ever want a new guitar I can change out the guards and viola a new strat.

just a sugestion keep the original guard because if you fall down the upgrade rabbit hole you will never get back what you paid for it, so if that happens and you wish to part with it just slap the original pick guard back on it ,and see it as you got it

 

[takauya]

It's just another tonal pallet for me. The Strat sounds so different from the Tele, which I enjoy sometimes, and of course the whammy bar. I wired mine with the Blender control so that it can do neck/bridge mix, which sounds pretty useful.

You might want to make sure if you like vintage voiced Strat pups or more modern overwound bridge set. Those budget Strats are often equipped with vintage voiced pups, which makes the bridge position way too thin and harsh. OTOH, the neck position sounds good on any Strats I've ever played.

 

[DugT]

I like that they are comfortable and I like to use a middle pickup for acoustic-like tones. My strat HSH has taps to get just the single coils for the H's so it is quite versatile.

 

[Twang-ineer]

It is the most comfortable of all guitar (body) designs in my opinion. Also, where you are coming from style and gear wise.... you now get to explore the low gain side of things. This means a whole new approach to just about everything. Take some time and focus on the sounds you can get plugging directly into the clean channel. Start listening to players who do clean well, and dig into the dynamic range that you don't have with a ton of gain. Also, consider a used MIM strat, even with some miles and dings on it, just knowing that you have a "standard" instrument makes it easier to stay focused on the playing rather than wondering if you bought the right thing. I have quite a few guitars, some pretty high end.... but my main instrument is a run of the mill MIM strat, the only thing that has been changed is the nut. Any time I can't get what I want out of a guitar, I look to that one to see if the sound is "in there", it usually is.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

Because they can make these tones, and are exceptionally smooth-playing once you get used to the volume knob being too close to the bridge pickup.

Check out the outro here, starting at 5:20:


The glassy, sproingy, lacy bell tones unique to a Strat are gorgeous. Sure, it can do blues, etc. But, to me, this is its real beauty. Neck pickup, or neck + middle, are its real spirit. Get its trem working right to add serious goose-bump quotients.

And when you combine those sweet tones with some nasty bite,


and tasteful trem, oh yeah!

 

[Skyhook]

I'm primarily a death/doom metal guy looking for a guitar that I can play decidedly not death/doom metal things with. I've always loved how Strats look and like some famous Strat players (Robin Trower and Billy Corgan in particular), so the Strat instantly came to mind when I began thinking about what type of guitar to add to my stable. I want to keep things pretty simple, keep the guitar in E standard for some shoegaze/alternative and bluesy stoner rock stuff, a lot of fuzz. Price range is $300-$500ish so I'm probably looking at a Squier or something used. Since all of my guitars have humbuckers I'm probably going to look for an SSS guitar just to switch things up a little bit.

So all of you Strat players out there, I'm asking to know just why you like your Strats. Should this caveman death metal guy join the Stratocaster cult?

Most here have said it already, but I'll do my version(which will contain a fair amount of onomatopoeia).
Strats have a couple of unique sounds: The fabled quack and chime. Most prominent in selector positions 2 & 4 respectively.
Strats are also quite proficient at producing skrang and twang although they don't quite reach Telecaster levels.
Nothing skrangs and twangs like a Tele, but Strats do come close. These two are best achieved using positions 1 & 3.
Then... for some Insta-Hendrix™, get some heavy and hairy over drive(not quite dist though) going and use position 5 for
some pentatonic leads. Yeah... that's the stuff! Also, Strats are really comfy and look iconic.
Your price range will probably net you a decent enough Strat. I'd look for a Squier CV if I were you.
Although if you have the patience for turning stones and sniffing for deals, you might get lucky and get a
MIM Fender for about $500. YRMV.

EDIT: Oh... and since I don't use it much I completely forgot about the classic wang-bar for some nice and spacey surf chords.

 

[hemingway]

I don't like mine much. It's fun for noodling but when it comes down to business there's almost always another guitar that will do the job better.

Comfy and good looking, though

 

[Grandy]

To me a strat with low output pickups is the most dynamic and expressive electric guitar ever. There are so many variations on the theme though so be aware of that when choosing the right one for yout.

 

[Skydog1010]

Just because I do.

 

[Guitarteach]

I find it a rather specialist guitar. I use my US Standard far more for recording than live. Great to have one if you do a variety of stuff though. Esp. covers or disco/funk. Also very nice with slow blues and rootsy fingerstyle stuff. Nice sweet attack.

I find it a bit thin and lacking enough grunt for big lead breaks live despite upgrading the bridge SC pickup.

A HSS might be a better compromise if buying again. I can also upgrade mine for that as it is routed for it.

Somewhat a bad design IMO.. easy to knock the volume and pickup selector switch live. Trapped by its history.

But when you want funky tones the strat completely nails it and the bluesy neck pickup through a cranked amp is really something special.

 

[dreamingtele]

A lot has been said already with how a Strat feels, plays and sounds.

I never really “got” it until I found the right one. Enough to convert me to a strat guy or at least prefer it over a tele in most situations.

I play better on a tele
But I sound my best on a strat.

 

[jvin248]

.

Different tones; but gotta be classic SSS.

I mix it up with rewiring with the Armstrong Blender mod (second tone pot blends between SSS and HSH).

Get a Joyo American Sound pedal for all the Fender Amps and tones.

.

 

[ahiddentableau]

The neck pickup on a strat is the king of clean electric guitar tones. For me, it's the mountaintop for that. Kind of how I feel about the tele for clean bridge tones.

Then if you put in a bridge humbucker or a tele style bridge pickup you get tremendous versatility. And for whatever reason I find it works better to change the bridge pickup on a strat than the neck pickup on a tele if you're going that way. I don't know why, but that's how it's always worked out for me.

Plus you get those in-between pos. 2 and 4 tones. They're a bit gimmicky but they sound so so good in some contexts.

 

[Red Ryder]

Because

 

[Festofish]

Get a used CV and try it out. If you don’t like it…sell it on CL. The best part is you can throw a pair of buckers in their later should you decide to do that. They are comfort contoured.

 

[AAT65]

I don't like mine much. It's fun for noodling but when it comes down to business there's almost always another guitar that will do the job better.

Comfy and good looking, though

I think that’s about it. Very comfortable body (although I find the Jazzmaster at least as good, although it’s heavier), some good tones, some uninteresting tones, some poor ergonomics. I probably won’t buy another one and if I did it would need the volume knob moved and wiring changed at a minimum.

 

[Call Me Al]

Get a used CV and try it out. If you don’t like it…sell it on CL. The best part is you can throw a pair of buckers in their later should you decide to do that. They are comfort contoured.

Yeah whenever I’m at a crossroads like this I usually just get “it” and find out for myself.

 

[1stpitch]

At the top end of your price range you should be able to find a lightly-used MIM Standard or Player. Great guitars, IMO.

 

[fleezinator]

Recovering caveman metal guy here. Absolutely yes, you should add a SSS strat to your lineup for tonal versatility. I will say that one of the first things for me to unlearn coming from HH guitars was adjusting my picking hand to not continually strike the middle pickup. Years of palm muting kept my right hand boxed in to hover over the bridge which in turn puts my pick in middle pup striking distance. On that note, I learned that lowering the pickups, not raising them as high gain requires, does wonderful things for the toanz.

The other hurdle? The volume knob is ridiculously too close to the bridge. And this coming from a volume swelling player. I much prefer the placement on my PRS (perfect) or reverse plated tele.

Ergonomically it's a toss up between strat & jazzmaster for me. Both are quite comfy and inviting to play for hours on end. Most strats are also versatile with HSH routing allowing for most any combo you like. I've got an HSS loaded pickguard from an American Performer Strat. The Double Tap humbucker is nicely volume matched, tapped or not, with the Yosemite singles. Default wiring tho is missing the neck/bridge combo like a tele, but hey, we gain some funked out quack with positions 2 & 4 that are unmatched & uniquely Strat.

I'd look into at least a Squier Classic Vibe or if you're mod-friendly, a used Squier SE. Good luck! Let us know how you get on.