Why Do You Like Your Strat?

[Uncle Daddy]

Because faded Sonic Blue-

 

[thunderbyrd]

cause it's my raggedy baby doll.

 

[JeffBlue]

I like my strats because I build them the way I like them.

 

[Fiesta Red]

Why do I like my Strat?

Just see how cool I look with it!

(Ok, maybe I don’t look very cool there…)

 

[Refugee]

I have found that a lot of players sort of skip over just using the middle pup. It sounds great and doesn't always need to be coupled with neck or bridge. If you get low output noiseless, stacked humbuckers you can use tons of gain with no noise.You can swap whatever you want, as there are more aftermarket parts than you can shake a soldering iron at.

Mine has the classic Blackie look. That's how it came, and I dug it. This may get a little long winded, so if you find it getting boring skip to about 6:50 to hear how well it handles a fair amount of gain. These are the hated DiMarzio HS-3's with a 2 in the middle. Yeah, older Yngwie pups, and they do cleans very well too.

 

[Greenmachine]

I owned a strat for years. I liked the single coil bridge and neck pickups on their own. But my tastes have changed. My favorite sound now comes from a neck humbucker played clean most of the time. I'm a rhythm guitar player mostly. SD Seth Lover in a homemade telecaster Micawber clone.

 

[Refugee]

I have an American Standard with custom shop fat 50s pups.

I bought this after playing a buddies' because I found the range of tones from the different pup settings really broad and pleasing to my ear.

I play a lot of Grateful Dead through Fender reverb series amps. So also having crystal clear chimey tones is important to me. Adding pedals can allow me to get as dirty as I'd like if I'm playing a hendrix tune.

And I agree with other posters that the strat is the most comfortable body shape around.

You're issue is that there are so many pup and neck variations that finding the strat with the combination that speaks to your ear can be a challenge.

Good luck.

LL

Yeah, a strat through an old Twin Reverb through a JBL E120can really bring that sound. Granted, this is a Bruce Cockburn song, but we play Jerry Garcia Band style. I am not using the speaker loaded in the Twin, just the JBL.

 

[CV Jee Beez]

Because Hank Marvin
Because Jeff Beck

Full disclosure, don't have one at the moment but have had plenty and I see a fender CS Strat in my near future.

 

[Masmus]

One of my favorites to play is my Rory Gallagher strat. It in reality is a CS copy of a 61 strat that was well loved and prefered by its owner for many years. Btw I don't like unfinished necks but this one is really good.

 

[oatsoda]

No you should not get a strat caveman, it can only lead to enlightenment. Ignorance is bliss, close your eyes and stay in the cave.

 

[Tone Quest]

I like my Strat because: It's relatively light weight, the neck is super easy to play, it 'fits' me, and the sounds I get from the Lace Sensor pickups and the SD L'ill 59 are killer. IMHO of course.

 

[Vibroluxer]

Because it's not my Tele. Sometimes I just want to 0lay something different and my Strat, A 50s Ventura Modified, is what I reach for.

 

[Blues Twanger]

They are comfy and versatile so end up getting pulled off the rack a lot.

 

[UserNotAvailable]

Guitars Phishhhh~

 

[justusberlin]

interesting, a lot of folks post pics (oh vanity) - all about the looks then?
I like the glassy, chime of single coils!

 

[TheCheapGuitarist]

I love the sound of the Stratocaster bridge pickup with a lot of overdrive. I hate the sound of it clean. Also hate the other four switch positions....

 

[misterdontmove]

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.

I toyed around with replacing the 50s wound (about 5.9) pickups in my strat. NOPE! I got other guitars to get those sounds.

 

[TheCheapGuitarist]

I like the ergonomics, sound, look, I could go on and on. The only thing I don't like is the tapping noise that it makes when I pick on the middle pickup. And you could probably find a used Made In Mexico Fender Strat for around that.

I just got a used strat yesterday, after 2+ years of playing H-H semi-hollow guitars, and I keep hitting that freakin' middle pickup.... I had strats before and this was never a problem. I guess I need to re-train myself.

 

[G Stone496]

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?

Because of the ergonomic shape of the body, pickup positions 2 & 4 and the sproingy sound of the trem springs mixed in with the sound of the guitar.

 

[monkeybanana]

Because they quack! And they wiggle. And they're comfy after I gained pandemic sourdough weight.