Strats - anyone else not like them?

[Philly Q]

I can see why that's your thing Phil - suits you, sir  ;)

I'd be severely GASing for that if I wasn't already putting together my Fender/Warmoth project which will actually look pretty similar (but with a natural finish and no relicing).

[HTH AMPS]

Or these slightly older models with different pickups:

http://www.peachideas.com/acatalog/copy_of_Fender_Custom_Shop_1960_Heavy_Relic_Vintage_white.html

Oh blimey, that'd do nicely!  :o

Thats what my old Strat looked like at first - off white with the tortoiseshell scratchplate, a classic look.  Unfortunately, Strats look wierd on me and I can't get the tones I want out of them when gigging.  If I had a bit more disposable income then I'd defo have one, but as it stands they're just not 'must have' guitars for me.  Gimme a Tele any day.

[Buddha]

Some of those custom shop strats were very nice indeed -
I never thought myself of a strat guy, but now i love them,
the reason? My japanese fender re - issue, an amazing guitar
for the money, and now awaiting apaches (hopefully here in a week or so  :D)

[Crazy_Joe]

What's the best strat i can buy for a price of up to £500?

I have looked around and seen the Highway One strat for £499, also some secondhand US strats at £499.
I also like the look of the Lite Ash strat, though i hear the quality control is a bit so-so on those models?

Looking for a thin style neck, don't get on well with fat necks nowadays.

I'm mainly wanting it for some Pink Floyd stuff (we are playing the entire Dark Side of the Moon album for our final college gig!), though i also enjoy a bit of Jimi, Red Hot Chilis, Eric Johnson etc.

[Twinfan]

Depends what spec you're after, but a Japanese reissue woudl get my money.

If I liked Strats  ;)

[Crazy_Joe]

Well that's the thing, i don't really know much about strats at all so i'm asking for your help. I don't know what specs are good or not, i'll probably go down to Coda sometime and try some out. All i know is i want a thin, all maple neck. I don't know much about strat pickups and what achieves what sounds. Enlighten me!

[Philly Q]

If you're just looking at the Fender range, then in a nutshell:

Vintage reissues, including American Vintage, most MIJ Strats and the MIM Classic series, have skinny vintage frets and a 7.25" fretboard radius.  Neck shapes vary depending on the period (V for '50s, C for '60s, etc).

Almost every other Strat in the current range, including American Standards, Mexican Standards, Highway Ones, MIK Lite Ash etc will have a fairly thin "Modern C" shaped neck with a 9.5" radius and medium/jumbo frets.

(There are exceptions to both those statements, but they're pretty much true)


After that, take your pick of hardware, pickups, colours etc.  I don't think there's anything with a really thin neck (Ibanez Wizard style), but you should be OK with the modern C shape.

[Stevepage]

Japan Re-issue Strat for sure. Some of them are better than the American models.

Mexican reissues are also really nice guitars, especially the 60's reissue. I was quite surprised by them as compared to the mexican standards, they're miles ahead in quality.

[gwEm]

I don't know much about strat pickups and what achieves what sounds. Enlighten me!

the strat sound isn't the easiest to get in to if you've always played dual-humbucker gibson style guitars.

played clean in any position, the fender advantages are clear... and when dirty, most people like the neck. i've always found the other positions need more tweaking to get a satisfying dirty sound, and are more of an aquired taste. the strat bridge can be very weedy, if you aren't careful - but theres things you can do about that. its usually possible to get flowing single note leads from strat. meaty rhythm tones are harder... clearly when we listen to blackmore, they are possible - and tim can help with overwound/baseplated bridges. you can sometimes fit a tele bridge pickup, and i personally like that idea.

i like the look of a blond/maple SSS highway 1 myself - though this is more about the look. i'm sure the other types are worth investigating.

fender single coils and necks have really affected my playing in a positive way, even coming back to gibson style. or it might also be the effect of the fender playing guitarists i've been listening to lately.

[38thBeatle]

Joe, I would suggest trying out a Classic Player 1960's strat-they are actually very nice to play and are within budget and if you want to upgrade the electrics, you might have some cash out of £500.00 to do so. I have tried a couple and was impressed-the ones I tried were very well put together and played well. Check out Far East guitars too but the disadvantage is that you can't try them(unless you go visit-he is in Essex).
The thing is with a Strat is that there is nowhere to hide inasmuch as it helps if you know how to get the tone out of them. It is fair to say that they can sound a bit thin but once you get it how you like it, they are great.

[Philly Q]

Joe, I would suggest trying out a Classic Player 1960's strat-they are actually very nice to play and are within budget and if you want to upgrade the electrics, you might have some cash out of £500.00 to do so. 

They're very good if you decide you don't mind a rosewood board.  If you're set on an all-maple neck try the '50s Classic Player too - although it has a V-shaped neck which may feel odd at first. 

I owned a 1950s Classic Player - very briefly - and must admit I didn't get on with it, but it's a well-designed guitar which has a few updated features but keeps the vintage look.

[38thBeatle]

Good point Philly. I have only played a couple of 1960's versions.

[Crazy_Joe]

Cheers for the advice, though i might sound a bit noobish here, whats the different between V and C shaped necks?

[FernandoDuarte]

C shape:


V shape (the blue line):

[Crazy_Joe]

Looks like i want a C shape, V looks weird, i'll try one out though when i go to try some strats out.