Author Topic: 70s strat (Read 2377 times)

big steve · « **on:** November 11, 2006, 09:30:21 PM »

well, i made the mistake of walking into the belfast guitar emporium today, looking at the nice vintage strats behind the counter and asking, "could i actually afford any of those?"

2 minutes later, me plugged into an engl screamer (which is much nicer for clean and crunch than i had guessed) putting a nice 70s strat through its paces. just a few chords, hammer ons, bluesy and cleany stuff to put all the different switch positions on clean and crunch.

very nice stufff....

now, should i take the plunge, put a deposit then save my part time job wages for the next 12 months? i had a couple of concerns.

1) 3 bolt neck. i asked the guy if this was a problem and he shook his head, and having played it i think the sustain is more than adequate...
2) guitar is in pretty good condition given its age. a few scratches, sure, but nothing of the battering my strat copy has received. granted, i would treat this one with a little more respect, but i still want to have it as a guitar to PLAY and not worry about belt rash, pick scratches, fret wear, etc you know? any thoughts

really impressed by the stock pu's, seemed really responsive. so, should i take the plunge? mine for about 1,200 i think...

go!

EDIT: MIJ les paul is for sale to fund this (great guitar, i just can't get on with LPs...) *plug* *plug* *plug*

Ratrod · « **Reply #1 on:** November 11, 2006, 09:42:29 PM »

How bad do you want it?

Is it keeping you up at night?

When you played it, did you think OMFG this is it?

The good part is that such a guitar keeps it's value.

I've just spent a huge amount of money on a new Gretsch. I've been wanting one for 10 years or so. Now I've got it and I'm happy and have no regrets.

dave_mc · « **Reply #2 on:** November 11, 2006, 09:59:11 PM »

it's up to you really. the other thing to remember is that £1200 will buy you a brand new custom guitar, exactly to your specs, from a luthier.

Basically, as ratrod said, if once you played it you were like "this is the one!", you're gonna have to go for it- since it's second hand, once it's gone it's kind of gone...

What other strats have you tried from a similar era/price?

big steve · « **Reply #3 on:** November 11, 2006, 10:04:10 PM »

i see your point dave, but the thing is, i don't know what "my custom specs" are... and also, if i buy a guitar from a luthier, put a bit of rash and a few welts into it and decide it's not for me, then i'm down a serious few hundred quid. that's why used guitars appeal to me, the "more guitar for your money" aspect of it.

dave_mc · « **Reply #4 on:** November 11, 2006, 10:15:06 PM »

^ sure. I'm in the enviable (or should that be unenviable? :lol: ) of knowing virtually exactly what I want in a guitar, and none of the ones on the wall ever seem to exactly match exactly what I want.

My second question still stands, then, steve: how many other vintage strats have you tried (I'm not trying to be high and mighty, I know precisely nothing about vintage strats- I just know that trying as many as is physically possible is normally a good idea!)?

:drink:

38thBeatle · « **Reply #5 on:** November 11, 2006, 10:21:23 PM »

I would say to try a few but I do have a 1970's Strat and the neck joint is absolutely fine. The pups are not bad though mine were swapped out years ago for EMG's( mistake) and then for Apaches( no mistake!) and the guitar is my favourite-yes I kept the original pups too.

big steve · « **Reply #6 on:** November 11, 2006, 10:32:16 PM »

the problem with trying the other vintage strats is that i'm in no better a situation when i realise i really like the 15 grand's worth of '62 strat...

dave_mc · « **Reply #7 on:** November 11, 2006, 11:57:25 PM »

^ yeah, i meant ones of similar price. I know what you mean though. Unless you're in a really big shop, they'll maybe only have one in your price range at any given time...