Strats

[dave_mc]

But on the woods, alder is a bit warmer and has a softer sort of quacky attack, ash has a chimier tone and is generally brighter and tighter.

Remember at all times however that the neck is the biggest part of the sound. Especially with lazy bolt ons and trems.

+1, pretty much.

I like strats. I like teles too. I wouldn't use either of them for everything, but when you want/need that specific strat or tele tone...

[PhilKing]

I'm a big Strat fan plus I like the Fender scale length too, so I have some other guitars with a 25.5" scale.  I love the strat shape and think they are one of the most versitile guitars around.

[Dr. Vic]

Each time I had the chance to compare an ash strat to an alder one I found the alder more rounder for an overall warmer tone, whereas the ash was more percussive, cutting and maybe more middier.

[Jonny]

Each time I had the chance to compare an ash strat to an alder one I found the alder more rounder for an overall warmer tone, whereas the ash was more percussive, cutting and maybe more middier.

Me thinks you've just described the wood tonal qualities.

[Bob Johnson]

I was gonna go on a Strat slagging spree but then thought better of it; I've had Strats and always enjoyed playing them and it's true that the Strat is really the basic DNA for the modern electric guitar but, there's always a but, you can talk about bridges, necks, fingerboards, bodies, pot values and everything else but I've never encountered a guitar, and I see more of them in a year than most of you will see in a lifetime, that is so variable. I have a late '60's totally original Strat in the workshop right now; alder body, rosewood fingerboard and it is incredibly bright, almost thin sounding. The owner has just paid a fortune for it and wants to know why it sounds like that. There's no such thing as a "Definitive Strat"

[Bradock PI]

Maybe their variability is part of their appeal go into a shop with a decent wall of strats try enough and there will be one you like? Not only do they make dozens of variations but there is a lot of variation within them it seems.

[Bob Johnson]

Maybe their variability is part of their appeal go into a shop with a decent wall of strats try enough and there will be one you like? Not only do they make dozens of variations but there is a lot of variation within them it seems.

You could be right; who knows, it's possible.

[viking]

I'm a Strat-guy,no doubt.. :) I've had quite a few..I still own my first one (a '69 or '70 with a rosewood board),got it for 275 euros,at the time  8) ;it was kind-of-white (creamy) and it probably was an alder body.Unfortunately,somebody stole the body (my luthier!) as it was a very rare colour;so,the shop replaced it and i ended up with an Ash body (natural).Since everything else remained the same,i should hear the exact difference between Ash and Alder...but i couldn't  :?.Maybe,if i used the same amp..Anyways,every one of my Strats sounds different,even if they all sound very "stratty" :) (one is Ash,one Alder and one Basswood,i think..very light!)..Now,i would like a Tele to play some chicken picking... :lol:

[FELINEGUITARS]

I was gonna go on a Strat slagging spree but then thought better of it; I've had Strats and always enjoyed playing them and it's true that the Strat is really the basic DNA for the modern electric guitar but, there's always a but, you can talk about bridges, necks, fingerboards, bodies, pot values and everything else but I've never encountered a guitar, and I see more of them in a year than most of you will see in a lifetime, that is so variable. I have a late '60's totally original Strat in the workshop right now; alder body, rosewood fingerboard and it is incredibly bright, almost thin sounding. The owner has just paid a fortune for it and wants to know why it sounds like that. There's no such thing as a "Definitive Strat"

+1 on that
My occaisional gripe is ones whose pickup polepieces induce string buzz when set anywhere close to the strings
Not wild about body end truss rod adjusters from a tech's viewpoint

Best strat I ever played was an '84 Squier JV series made in Japan - was pure magic!

[PhilKing]

I am lucky enough to have a few original strats and teles and the Ash/Maple combination sounds great with light (swamp) ash, but I find it brittle with hard ash.  My favourite overall is the slab rosewood board, but that could be because my 61 sounds great.  Another thing though that affects the sounds are the pickups.  Years ago I was lucky enough to have 3 full sets of early 60's pickups and I spent quite a bit of time changing them around.  My 63 has the best of them on it (it is a rosewood veneer board), and is pretty much all original other than not having exactly the pickups that it came with.  I always listen to a guitar acoustically before I plug it in as if it is dead then I won't like it.  I can always change the pickups and most of my guitars have BK's so I am not worried about the amplified sound.   I used to manage a music store and we were Fender dealers, so I have played a lot of strats and they do vary more than other guitars.  However a good setup (including checking the neck screws), helps most of them, though some will always be better than others. 

[MDV]

I was gonna go on a Strat slagging spree but then thought better of it; I've had Strats and always enjoyed playing them and it's true that the Strat is really the basic DNA for the modern electric guitar but, there's always a but, you can talk about bridges, necks, fingerboards, bodies, pot values and everything else but I've never encountered a guitar, and I see more of them in a year than most of you will see in a lifetime, that is so variable. I have a late '60's totally original Strat in the workshop right now; alder body, rosewood fingerboard and it is incredibly bright, almost thin sounding. The owner has just paid a fortune for it and wants to know why it sounds like that. There's no such thing as a "Definitive Strat"

+1 on that
My occaisional gripe is ones whose pickup polepieces induce string buzz when set anywhere close to the strings
Not wild about body end truss rod adjusters from a tech's viewpoint

Best strat I ever played was an '84 Squier JV series made in Japan - was pure magic!

Big +1 on body end truss rods. Soooooo annoying.

Best strat I've enountered was a '64 MIJ. Lovely guitar.

I prefer them because they're more flexible (in application out of the box, and modabiity) than teles, more comfortable and look WAY better. I'm a superstrat guy predominantly, so the strat lies at the heart of my guitar tastes.

They have a littany of flaws, but the general form of the instrument, the basic bones of its design are pretty much my favourite.

[jpfamps]

I was gonna go on a Strat slagging spree but then thought better of it; I've had Strats and always enjoyed playing them and it's true that the Strat is really the basic DNA for the modern electric guitar but, there's always a but, you can talk about bridges, necks, fingerboards, bodies, pot values and everything else but I've never encountered a guitar, and I see more of them in a year than most of you will see in a lifetime, that is so variable. I have a late '60's totally original Strat in the workshop right now; alder body, rosewood fingerboard and it is incredibly bright, almost thin sounding. The owner has just paid a fortune for it and wants to know why it sounds like that. There's no such thing as a "Definitive Strat"

As a life-long Strat player I would agree with the above, and I too get to play a lot of Strats.

I would say as a general rule the 50s-style Strats give a more authentic vintage tone and are more consistent than the 60s-style Strats; that is is of course not saying that 60s reissue Strats can't be great guitars.

Really don't know why this is. Quality of the rosewood? The way the rosewood is glued to the neck?

I also find that I prefer the sound of Strats with vintatge-style bridges. Again whether this is due to having 6 screws rather than 2 I don't know. Regardless, could this be another area from inconsistentcy?

[CaptainDesslock]

I have a late '60's totally original Strat in the workshop right now; alder body, rosewood fingerboard and it is incredibly bright, almost thin sounding. The owner has just paid a fortune for it and wants to know why it sounds like that. There's no such thing as a "Definitive Strat"

Don't tell me he's the type of guy who bought into the hype that a strat's tone and playability simply become "more magical" with age?

[Copperhead]

I did not like strats until.... I bought one for my daughters, from a picture on a chat forum like this. What a an incredible guitar! It's a MIM Players Deluxe Special Edition. Ash/maple, old style bridge, 12", MEDIUM JUMBO FRETS!!(6100) Just a coupla things I don't like, gold hardware, 21 fret neck.... and the location of the vol pot.

[Prawnik]

I have a late '60's totally original Strat in the workshop right now; alder body, rosewood fingerboard and it is incredibly bright, almost thin sounding. The owner has just paid a fortune for it and wants to know why it sounds like that. There's no such thing as a "Definitive Strat"

Don't tell me he's the type of guy who bought into the hype that a strat's tone and playability simply become "more magical" with age?

My guess is that homie bought it as an "investment". Although those guitars rarely go to a workshop, so I may be full of it.

If you have a vintage-style trussrod, you can adjust the neck without taking it off. The problem is that I am aware of only one or two sources for a true vintage-style rod, and Fender is not one of them.