need a strat. educate me!

[surfpup]

Strats are great. One of my favorite guitar types for sure. Just got back from a guitar show with a bazillion 70s Strats. I love the natural finished (clear or lightly tinted)ones particularly.

 

That said, since you are pretty handy, I'd consider assembling one. Some of my favorite Strats have been these. In fact my most favorite current Strat is a Musikraft neck and body with Callaham hardware (which is WAY better than stock Fender stuff). This way you can custom choose your electronics as well.

 

As for the "American" only crew... my least favorite Strat ever is my American Standard... skinny neck, terrible pickups that had to be replaced, average hardware, bathtub rout. Nothing special for sure.

 

I'm sure there are good ones out there though... Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Drog]

Yes, the Strat. Everyone needs one in their collection...

 

The poly finish used on most Strats (few have lacquer) will not age at all. So, if you like the aged look you can get a Fender MIM Roadworn Strat or a Custom Shop Relic. The Roadworn guitars are very nice with a nice worn in neck feel and at a price that is budget friendly.

 

The USA Strats will give you the best resale value, should you ever decide it's not for you.

 

The USA Standard Strats have Fat 50's pickups, a little more mid-range in sound and low output. The deluxes/ Elites have the noiseless pickups, but not quite the Strat sound. There are always replacement pups you can easily swap, that's the beauty of the Strat design.

 

Also think about wood choice. Most common being Alder or Ash. Ash being lighter and a bit brighter. There are also some exotic woods on limited runs (I have a Pine body).

 

Necks/fretboards... Maple/maple, Maple/rosewood, Rosewood/Rosewood, Mahogany/Rosewood. The last two limited runs. Maple fretboard a little brighter sound.

[StRanger7032]

Having owned two newer American Strats in the last two years, I would highly recommend having the neck checked by a pro before you buy if possible. Both of mine had fretboard problems. The Luthier who worked on the second one said Fenders are notorious for the higher frets sloping slightly upward where the neck meets the body. If you like low action, it requires a full fret job to correct the problem. Three of the four Fenders I've owned have had this issue.

 

Second, I would avoid models like the Deluxe with modern gadgetry like S1 switching. They make lots of tones except the Strat tones you actually want, and they don't hold their value as well as Standards. I know this all too well after recently losing my shirt selling an American Deluxe.

[cjsinla]

You can't go wrong with the American Vintage series, nitro finish, period correct hardware and electronics. I just picked up a 58 RI Tele that is great and I bet the Strats are just as good.

[saturn]

 

Also think about wood choice. Most common being Alder or Ash. Ash being lighter and a bit brighter. There are also some exotic woods on limited runs (I have a Pine body).

 

 

I'm not trying to contradict you. Perhaps most Ash is lighter that Alder? But my friend has an Ash Strat (made about 1981 or 1982) which is about as heavy as my Les Pauls. I had an Alder Strat for years that was way lighter.

[kelly campbell]

Nice looking guitar

[surfpup]

I'm not trying to contradict you. Perhaps most Ash is lighter that Alder? But my friend has an Ash Strat (made about 1981 or 1982) which is about as heavy as my Les Pauls. I had an Alder Strat for years that was way lighter.

 

Yeah, in my experience most alder bodies are lighter than most ash bodies. Some of the swamp ash bodies are super dense and heavy. Not necessarily good or bad either way. Doesn't seem to matter tone wise (blasphemy I know).

[fromnabulax]

When about "tremolo" - vibrato is the correct term -, it's mainly about leaving it alone in most cases. Only Floyd Rose systems are useful, and they only make very few MIM models

 

Nonsense.

[capmaster]

If you do decide to go down the '76 route (as opposed to Route 66) bear in mind the Strat will have a three-bolt neck.

 

In principle not a bad idea but not great in practice because in many cases IMX the neck could shift laterally; usually because of a wild playing technique allied to a poorly cut neck pocket. I had a few early '70s Strats and they all had this issue. They (i.e. I) were OK 99% of the time as I have a fairly restrained playing style but if it moves then the whole guitar goes WAY out of tune in an instant and by a BIG degree!

...

Pip.

Meets exactly what happened to a bandmate during the 1980's.

 

 

When about "tremolo" - vibrato is the correct term -, it's mainly about leaving it alone in most cases. Only Floyd Rose systems are useful, and they only make very few MIM models with them.

...

Nonsense.

Unfortunately everything I wrote is fact.

[J.4knee]

Been a stat guy for over 30 years. Both MIM and MIA are good guitars. My favorite of all my guitar s is my 2013 AM STD FSR. Fat fifties, compound rafious soft V neck. I am not a big fan of the Vintage Noiselees PUPS they realy have a thin sound to my ears. I have them on my MIM DPS strat and am looking to swap them for Lace hot gold sensors.

 

Just try as many as you can. Find one you like and go for it. I would not recomend buying online.

[rocketman]

As you can see there are way too many choices. I couldn't decide myself. At first I bought a MIM strat, and it's ok. I agree about the pickups, and it never stays in tune even though I put locking tuners on it.

 

Your best bet is probably do what I do. Play as many as you can. I settled in an American Deluxe Ash with the S1 switch, and it suites me great. I think a strat is the best-bang-for-your-buck guitar in the world, and it's something that everyone should have.

[Drog]

I'm not trying to contradict you. Perhaps most Ash is lighter that Alder? But my friend has an Ash Strat (made about 1981 or 1982) which is about as heavy as my Les Pauls. I had an Alder Strat for years that was way lighter.

It was my bad, I reversed them. I meant to say Ash is heavier. Lol

[capmaster]

As you can see there are way too many choices. I couldn't decide myself. At first I bought a MIM strat, and it's ok. I agree about the pickups, and it never stays in tune even though I put locking tuners on it.

...

Did you lock the tailpiece down to the top using more and/or stronger springs? All of my pals block the tailpiece this way.

 

 

...

Your best bet is probably do what I do. Play as many as you can. I settled in an American Deluxe Ash with the S1 switch, and it suites me great. I think a strat is the best-bang-for-your-buck guitar in the world, and it's something that everyone should have.

Yep. Strats deliver tones unobtainable with other guitars. Just think of the classic SSS configuration and positions 2 and 4. Leo Fender never liked them, but these sounds are what everybody associates with Strats first. The middle pickup in single use is pure rock'n'roll to my taste.

[ksdaddy]

I have no idea how many Strats I've owned. It would probably make me physically ill. I currently own an early 1983 "Smith" Strat hardtail. Probably within a month or so of this one getting completed they went to that 2 knob version that is not very popular. The '83 will break glass and the glass will say 'thank you'. I'm not all that crazy about the neck though. Not much meat there and feels delicate. Frets are quite low too. The other Strat in the photo is a severely early Corona production example from February of 1987 in Torino Red. It has a 1983 serial number, gloss finish on the neck, and the tremolo's two pivot points screw directly into the wood. Kinda odd. The neck on the '87 is more substantial.

 

Sorry, I get excited about these two.

 

I've had them as old as a '64 I restored, some from the 70s, 80s, 90s, blah blah blah...pre CBS, CBS, and post CBS. If you handed me your plastic and said "find me a good Strat under $1000 I think I would lean towards the stuff from '89 to '93. That does NOT mean there weren't dogs, but I didn't own any. They were as close to flawless as one would hope to find on a budget. I'm speaking either an American Standard or a Strat Plus. I was never a huge fan of the Strat Plus; I never got swept up in that whole Lace Sensor fad, and I'm not a fan of those ugly-*** roller nuts. However, they aren't in style this week but also aren't retro yet, so they can be bought cheap.

 

Plus they had some awesome colors in that era.

 

And I don't mean to generalize about the years, but when I think "safe bet", those years pop up.

 

Here are my current two:

 

[capmaster]

... Most common being Alder or Ash. Ash being lighter and a bit brighter.

...

Necks/fretboards... Maple/maple, Maple/rosewood, Rosewood/Rosewood, Mahogany/Rosewood. The last two limited runs. Maple fretboard a little brighter sound.

I'm not trying to contradict you. Perhaps most Ash is lighter that Alder? But my friend has an Ash Strat (made about 1981 or 1982) which is about as heavy as my Les Pauls. I had an Alder Strat for years that was way lighter.

Yeah, in my experience most alder bodies are lighter than most ash bodies. Some of the swamp ash bodies are super dense and heavy. Not necessarily good or bad either way. Doesn't seem to matter tone wise (blasphemy I know).

My experiences say that both alder and ash may vary significantly in density. However, ash seems to cover a wider range herein. Concerning these two body timbers, the lightest and heaviest Strats I ever held in my hands either had an ash body.

 

To my impressions ash feels more vibrant than alder. Ash Strats with maple necks can be very bright compared to alder Strats with rosewood boards. Comparing ash Strats with rosewood board to alder Strats with maple neck can be a challenge. The boundaries are blurred sometimes. It will also depend on strings and pickups, of course.

 

Tone wise I can confirm from here that one-piece maple necks provide a remarkably even frequency response. Rosewood boards on maple seem to attenuate presence and deliver more highs - typical for most neck/fretboard combinations.

 

It can be seen as blasphemy, but my experiences confirm that the differences between bodies of strongly varying weights are not bigger than between different ones of similar weights. In most cases one may select for comfort, balance, or looks, without sacrificing sonic performance.

 

So many choices, so much to discover. It is best if you are in no hurry. Take your time and have some fun, Farns!

[capmaster]

Farns, if you want maximum classic Strat quack, the recipe is low output pups, equal wind and strength, NOT "reverse wound" in the middle. Taking it a bit further, for classic Strat sound, ceramic disk cap of 1 volt (as opposed to .5 volt), CTS pots are brighter in the very top.

...

While I confirm with the low output, I don't think that a reverse wound middle pickup is a shortcoming, just the opposite. The neck/middle and middle/bridge combos are humbucking this way. No drawback there IMHO.

 

What exactly do you mean about the cap? They all have fairly high voltage ratings - I guess it is something on capacitance.

 

Anyway, no-load tone pots are nice. I wouldn't want to do without mine, stock and retrofitted as well.

 

Just my two cents.

[Pin]

My one and only Strat is a MIM (rosewood board) but is a little specialised in that it is a Roland ready Strat with the internal GK hex pickup fitted.

 

The standard single coils I swapped out for Kinman noiseless "Woodstock" not so much because of hum problems but because I think the Woodstock's are first rate.

 

The one thing I will say about this guitar (and in reference to the "wood thread" in the Les Paul section) is that the unplugged "resonance" of the guitar is truly outstanding. I have no idea why but that is how it is.

[Guest Farnsbarns]

I might build a parts caster with a body and neck from Crimson guitars in the UK. Then I have absolute freedom on specs and I can do some tweaking until I'm happy.

[kidblast]

Well that just might be the best way for you to see how you like the "other side" Farns.

 

just do keep in mind the 50s necks will have the vintage style (small frets).. these IMO aren't for everyone. (I don't like them)

 

hardware and electronics, the world is your oyster, changing out pickups is as easy as pie, the only problem can be the cost if you can't settle on one set.

 

If you decide you'd like to do go w/"Fender" US pups, I'd say the Fat 50s are something to check out. But if you're going for something with more punch, look at Texas Specials

 

There's simply too many after market choices for me, makes my head hurt.

[merciful-evans]

I might build a parts caster with a body and neck from Crimson guitars in the UK. Then I have absolute freedom on specs and I can do some tweaking until I'm happy.

 

I just had a look and could find no Strat bodies/necks. Seems odd.

[ksdaddy]

I do have one other Strat, supposed to be hot sh**. I can't seem to GIVE it away so I think I will part it out. Sometimes they're worth more dead than alive.

 

 

 

[stein]

While I confirm with the low output, I don't think that a reverse wound middle pickup is a shortcoming, just the opposite. The neck/middle and middle/bridge combos are humbucking this way. No drawback there IMHO.

 

What exactly do you mean about the cap? They all have fairly high voltage ratings - I guess it is something on capacitance.

 

Anyway, no-load tone pots are nice. I wouldn't want to do without mine, stock and retrofitted as well.

 

Just my two cents.

Lots like the "humbucking" mode of the reverse wind middle pup...including me. However, for that "quack" you can get from a Strat, it's a disadvantage. To be more specific, you can still get some quack from a reverse wind middle pup, but the MOST quack you can get is to have equally matched pups, same wind (not reversed), in lower output.

 

As for the cap, I'm a little embarrassed to say I don't remember exactly what I am talking about. 1/2 watt, 1/2 volt, or is it 50 volt vs 100 volt? I don't mean .022 vs .047. Rather, in the ceramic disk ones, the "big" one that's about the size of the back of the pot. I should look it up so as to explain better what I'm talking about, and better explain the sound differences.

[stein]

My experiences say that both alder and ash may vary significantly in density. However, ash seems to cover a wider range herein. Concerning these two body timbers, the lightest and heaviest Strats I ever held in my hands either had an ash body.

 

To my impressions ash feels more vibrant than alder. Ash Strats with maple necks can be very bright compared to alder Strats with rosewood boards. Comparing ash Strats with rosewood board to alder Strats with maple neck can be a challenge. The boundaries are blurred sometimes. It will also depend on strings and pickups, of course.

 

Tone wise I can confirm from here that one-piece maple necks provide a remarkably even frequency response. Rosewood boards on maple seem to attenuate presence and deliver more highs - typical for most neck/fretboard combinations.

 

It can be seen as blasphemy, but my experiences confirm that the differences between bodies of strongly varying weights are not bigger than between different ones of similar weights. In most cases one may select for comfort, balance, or looks, without sacrificing sonic performance.

 

So many choices, so much to discover. It is best if you are in no hurry. Take your time and have some fun, Farns!

There is lots of truth here...I think I can elaborate on this.

 

The early Fenders that used ash were VERY light, and typically, the lightest ones were ash. That's where the reputation of ash being lightweight came from. The later ones, particularly 70's and 80's, used a different ash, and those were bricks. VERY heavy stuff. So there can be a lot of confusion over which is the lighter wood when referring to Fenders.

 

I think you are spot on about the sounds of the necks. I think your description about the one-piece maple necks having an even frequency response is a better way of putting it than I have been able to describe. MOST describe the one-piece maple necks as being brighter than the rosewood board necks, and I don't think it's wrong. However, my experience is that where the rosewood board necks do attenuate some of the brighter frequencies, when plugged into an amp, they sound BRIGHTER than the maple necks. I think a lot of that is due to what typical Fender amps are voiced at, and where the tone control settings are depending on what guitar one is using.

[rct]

Minutiae kills.

 

1. Figure out how much you are willing to spend. May not be how much you have now, but it is how much you are willing.

b. Go play a bunch in that range.

2. Some will shine in that bunch, others will not.

3. The more you are willing to spend the larger the pool of shiny will be when compared to how many overall you looked at.

c. Buy the one you love.

IV. All the rest is crap, there is no explaining your strat and why or my strat and why.

 

Good luck Farns. Strats and I have had a very long love/hate for my whole life since 1971. I can't imagine life without one for very long and luckily I found the one I was looking for last year. It can take a while!

 

rct

[JayinLA]

Minutiae kills.

 

1. Figure out how much you are willing to spend. May not be how much you have now, but it is how much you are willing.

b. Go play a bunch in that range.

2. Some will shine in that bunch, others will not.

3. The more you are willing to spend the larger the pool of shiny will be when compared to how many overall you looked at.

c. Buy the one you love.

IV. All the rest is crap, there is no explaining your strat and why or my strat and why.

 

Good luck Farns. Strats and I have had a very long love/hate for my whole life since 1971. I can't imagine life without one for very long and luckily I found the one I was looking for last year. It can take a while!

 

rct

 

 

+1 on that post.

 

However, its the B.S. Bantering about the alder strat that we remember as too heavy back when we were exploring the guitar world that keeps me addicted to the forums. But Nonetheless....WHAT HE SAID!!