Guys help me, to find/create the perfect Stratoccaster..!

[Philly Q]

If you decide to buy it I'm pretty sure you can't find it cheaper than MANSONS of all places

I thought you'd be all in favour of Mansons, seeing as they build guitars for your mate Mr Bellamy.  :P

Even if Adi did find the same model cheaper somewhere else, there's no guarantee it would have the mojo of the particular one he liked....

[CaptainDesslock]

If you decide to buy it I'm pretty sure you can't find it cheaper than MANSONS of all places

I thought you'd be all in favour of Mansons, seeing as they build guitars for your mate Mr Bellamy.  :P

Even if Adi did find the same model cheaper somewhere else, there's no guarantee it would have the mojo of the particular one he liked....

oh dear....it is quite humorous that the board knows which band to knock me on  :P

Speaking of Mojo..............well the whole inherent qualities thing I guess is a whole different discussion right? How far can the mojo differ between two of the same custom shop instruments I wonder?

[Twinfan]

Speaking of Mojo..............well the whole inherent qualities thing I guess is a whole different discussion right? How far can the mojo differ between two of the same custom shop instruments I wonder?

A bit.  I played two identical model Teles to mine before I bought it, and preferred mine by quite a way.  Most of the instruments from the CS are very good, but that one seemed a bit dull.  I think that's rare though.

[Afghan Dave]

oh dear....it is quite humorous that the board knows which band to knock me on  :P

Good lord man... you couldn't be a bigger fanboy!  :P :lol: :lol:

Your guitar designs hide your influences so well....  :? :lol: :lol:

[CaptainDesslock]

oh dear....it is quite humorous that the board knows which band to knock me on  :P

Good lord man... you couldn't be a bigger fanboy!  :P :lol: :lol:

Your guitar designs hide your influences so well....  :? :lol: :lol:

just because my first visit to the UK will be next year cause I bought tickets to see them at Lancashire cricket grounds and wembley stadium does not mean I'm a fanboy, thats like saying cause Afghan Dave likes underage girls he's a pervert, oh wait............ :lol:

[Afghan Dave]

Oh, did I touch a nerve...

Maybe you should wash your mouth out with this totally unique cleaning aid..  :lol: :lol:

[CaptainDesslock]

 this is too funny, alright alright fine
 i'm a fanboy you win dave  :P

here is your prize-

[Afghan Dave]

 PDT_003 PDT_002

Back on topic...

I say if you can afford it get the Custom Shop Strat - If it was right for you, then it might be something you chase for years but never find again...

You pay a premium for living in the moment and without regrets.

[CaptainDesslock]

is it one of the ones listed here?

http://mansons.co.uk/shopping/categories/fender-custom-shop-electric-guitars/

[Andrew W]

I have a really great Highway 1 Strat. A lucky find, and the best of three I've owned. 14 ounces lighter than the last mex Strat I owned, zingy and resonant, yet with good sustain even with the trem floating.

A top end set of pickups (not BKP in this case  :oops:) and some expert fret work, and it owes me just over £700. I'll get a hard case eventually, so it'll be £800 ish.

That's one way.

This was my route too, although my Highway One has a set of Apaches in it which I've found ideal.  The thing I found key was to try as many of the same model of guitar as possible.  There was a huge difference in guitars which were supposed to be identical and I kept trying Highway Ones until I found the one that spoke to me, and that's the one I bought. 

I've played excellent CS Strats and a few that I thought were very uninspiring - all were similarly expensive.  I think the bottom line is to find the guitar that speaks to you and buy that, if you can afford it.  If not, keep looking.  It is out there, you just need to track it down.

[gordiji]

The only thing you 'should' be able to fault on a 2K guitar is the price.Like an earlier post said 1K should buy a top notch guitar.Expensive woods change the tone but not always improve it. I'd never spend money on say a birdseye maple neck because it's an aesthetic thing.Nor would i spend on 'relicing' or old fashioned machine heads when grovers or suchlike are available.I remember albert lee saying that he thought the lighter tele's(cheaper wood) often sounded better.
2nd hand strat plus guitars where very well made (90's) . It's easy to buy  one ,have it refretted and set up, and install new boutique pups of your choice all for less than a grand. I think soundwise you'd have something pretty much as good as it gets. For 2K you could do it twice!
Whatever you do ,after a few thousand hours of playing it the price isn't much.... a few pence per hr

[MisterMuncher]

There's the other end of this, too: What is the perfect Stratocaster? Probably moreso than any other model, the Strat has existed in a multitude of guises down the years, and all of them equally considered Strats. It's not like a Les Paul, an SG or (arguably) a Tele which have an accepted "best" or "standard" build.

I think one needs to work out which combination of the dials on the fruit machine of Strat constructions and components works best to the hands and ears before attempting to find the definitive example of that.

[Prawnik]

There's the other end of this, too: What is the perfect Stratocaster? Probably moreso than any other model, the Strat has existed in a multitude of guises down the years, and all of them equally considered Strats. It's not like a Les Paul, an SG or (arguably) a Tele which have an accepted "best" or "standard" build.

I think one needs to work out which combination of the dials on the fruit machine of Strat constructions and components works best to the hands and ears before attempting to find the definitive example of that.

I agree. Further, for what my experience is worth, every guitar I have built has required some experimenting to find its optimum tones, and every guitar I have built has ended up surprising me in some way, giving me sounds I didn't quite expect to hear.

Sometimes this surprises come about as a result of my experiments, sometimes not.

[WezV]

i must admit to doing complete neck reworks and set-ups on relatively cheap strats that have ended up sounding pretty awesome... a pickup change and electronics change would make them king... a trem change would make them perfect


the fact is that you can get a well made maple strat necked strat for very little money and as long as its chosen well set-up is more important, and it can be made to play well.   

[gwEm]

i must admit to doing complete neck reworks and set-ups on relatively cheap strats that have ended up sounding pretty awesome... a pickup change and electronics change would make them king... a trem change would make them perfect

i have a wezv reworked relatively cheap strat neck, and played with trem pimping and fully agree with this post

you can get a fully steel trem (ok, maybe not fancy cold rolled steel) by just changing the saddles and block on most trems and its quite easy and not that expensive - just some research to make sure everything fits