duane v Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 The last time I owned a fffffffFender was in 1983 when something possessed me to buy a 1979 Anniversary Strat at Guitar Center, then immediately sold it two weeks after buying it.... lousy sticky maple fretboard and the sound of swarming bees when I plugged it into my SMF Tour Head.... Just AWFUL. Anywhoo I came across this heavy cream color 2003 Fender USA Strat with a rosewood fretboard and an unusually large headstock. I also just learned the fifth hole on the neck plate for some neck tilt adjustment deal.... I'll make sure I won’t mess with that. I should be receiving it at some point next week, but this was purely out of necessity because of a new band I just joined with friends and the obnoxious drummer hinting “I might consider acquiring a strat.”🖕..... I should had dropped a hint to him to maybe consider electronic drums due to the lack of only being able to play at fff...... I'll wait until I get more comfortable. Pics to come 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 You must be careful here... Fender leads to hate, hate leads to anger, anger leads you to PRS 😮 You dont wanna end up like this guy did in the 80s 😄 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Maybe you'll like this one better. I try but the necks on them just feel totally foreign to me so back on the wall they go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 6 hours ago, Rabs said: You must be careful here... Fender leads to hate, hate leads to anger, anger leads you to PRS 😮 You dont wanna end up like this guy did in the 80s 😄 He did all right with a Tele! Fender, like Gibson, makes some really great Guitars.. I love my 40th Anniv. Strat, 69 RI Thinline Tele, AV65 Jazzmaster & AV65 Jaguar... All are completely different than my Gibsons.. Together I have an almost never ending palette of Sounds & Tones.. As well as some beautiful Works of Art.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Good luck with that strat Duane. If that was said to me, I would have been surprised and bemused. Credit for taking him at his word. That'll surprise him. I hope it works out positively all around. I used a Jackson Soloist for Soul and Ska for 16 years. Nobody ever made any comment about that within or outside the band. Nor have I ever played a song 'like the record' nor copied a guitar solo. I hope the band becomes a real fun project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Fender makes some great guitars. Hope you like your new Strat. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky Forrest Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I hope you like this Strat a lot more than your last one. I think you will. Looking forward to the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 14 hours ago, Rabs said: You must be careful here... Fender leads to hate, hate leads to anger, anger leads you to PRS 😮 You dont wanna end up like this guy did in the 80s 😄 Jimmy looks like the doesn't know weather to take a s-hit or go sailing. Have fun with your Strat-o-aster with a whammy bar. I have never had to use the 5th hole to adjust neck angle, but it makes it easy if you have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Nothing wrong with having a few Fenders around. I have 2 strats and a tele, I enjoy playing them.. They ARE different, but I think you'll like it Duane, Strats/Teles just take you to different places than Gibsons / humbuckers Aesthetically speaking, I like the smaller heads stocks for Strats.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 18 minutes ago, kidblast said: Nothing wrong with having a few Fenders around. I have 2 strats and a tele, I enjoy playing them.. They ARE different, but I think you'll like it Duane, Strats/Teles just take you to different places than Gibsons / humbuckers Aesthetically speaking, I like the smaller heads stocks for Strats.. The bigger headstock does look a little out of place, but the neck tilt feature does have me a bit intrigued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 18 minutes ago, duane v said: The bigger headstock does look a little out of place, but the neck tilt feature does have me a bit intrigued. I've never had to touch that tilt screw, personally.. Maybe I'm just ignorant to what it will change with the neck rake? My strats play great so I don't fix what aint broke. my older one (a modified 96 strat plus) has probably the best neck of any fender I've ever owned. It's on the "don't be an idiot and sell this" list. I have a 2014 USA Standard that is a fine player, and I like the pickups (Stock Fat 50s) Then there's Telecasters, and that's a whole fresh can of beans to open... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I don't think there's even a set up spec for the Tilt-O-Whirly set screw, because there isn't a set up spec for neck angle, nor a tool/measurement method. I've never touched that on any Fender since it was put on them. I don't know anyone that has. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 2 hours ago, rct said: I don't know anyone that has. rct OTOH, I know people who have and said "Dam.. It aint been right since"... So I learned rather vicariously thru them.. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I had a strat once, years ago.. It was a mexi deluxe and I really wanted to like it but never did really.. As mentioned before on this thread.. Its the necks, I just dont get on with them.. This was it. I had it about a year before I decided to sell it on so its not like I didnt give it a chance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I have an 80s MIJ Strat with the neck-tilt. It's a great feature IMHO and I've used it to set the neck back very slightly, probably less then half a degree. Contemporary Series, System III trem which looks exciting but doesn't work. It has a near-perfect-for-me wide flattish fingerboard which is why I keep it. Custom-made nut - I also have a Tele and a Squier Jazz bass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 5 hours ago, jdgm said: It's a great feature IMHO and I've used it to set the neck back very slightly, probably less then half a degree... Why did you do that? Why did you have to do that? Nice Strat! rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 I’ve seen quite a few videos about the neck tilt function, but I would only use it if I absolutely had to. My 2 Fenders have the tilt function where it is doing nothing - bolt is just snugged not applying any tilt. But some guitars have neck angles where the saddles can’t be lowered any more to get the string action low enough, so the tilt will fix this like a neck shim would of course. Another thing is the saddle height screws sometimes pop out where if you palm mute they can catch your hand. So again tilting the neck in this case would make the saddles need to be raised to get the screws out of the way. Another thing it does is to allow global string height adjustment to a guitar that is already set up for the fretboard radius. So the first 2 reasons I suggested I would use it, maybe not so much the third. Anyhow I believe that you only use this if you have to. Otherwise just back it off all the way and snug up the bolt so it doesn’t get loose and rattle around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 12 minutes ago, NighthawkChris said: Another thing is the saddle height screws sometimes pop out where if you palm mute they can catch your hand... There's no crying in guitar playing. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 33 minutes ago, rct said: There's no crying in guitar playing. rct I'm emo... I'm always depressed. lol 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 it'll be a different beast. I hope you enjoy it. I love my 87 black with a maple neck. Jeff Beck describing a Strat: It’s a tool of great inspiration and torture at the same time because it’s forever sitting there challenging you to find something else in it, but it is there if you really search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 (edited) 18 hours ago, rct said: Why did you do that? Why did you have to do that? Nice Strat! rct The bridge/trem assembly on these sits a bit higher than a standard Fender Strat trem bridge. In fact the whole thing is a complete PITA but....I thought it looked fantastic in 1983! These days as you can imagine spares are impossible to find. One other feature I still really like is that rotating the trem arm (to where it is in the pic above) engages a cam which locks the bridge into a fixed position. And it is a nice Strat IMO although it wouldn't win any comparison competitions. I've done so much on it - gigs, teaching, recording - that I won't get rid of it now. Edited March 6, 2021 by jdgm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 8, 2021 Author Share Posted March 8, 2021 On 3/5/2021 at 7:04 PM, NighthawkChris said: Another thing is the saddle height screws sometimes pop out where if you palm mute they can catch your hand. Ugh.... My hands have had enough problems with all hand sanitizer I've been using over the last 14 months. I'll see if I can find some shorter saddle adjustmunt screws..... I'm sure there has to be an aftermarket solution for this somewhere on the interwebs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 50 minutes ago, duane v said: Ugh.... My hands have had enough problems with all hand sanitizer I've been using over the last 14 months. I'll see if I can find some shorter saddle adjustmunt screws..... I'm sure there has to be an aftermarket solution for this somewhere on the interwebs Well hopefully you don't need to worry about neck angles, screws coming up too far out of the saddles, etc. My American Fenders are pretty top notch if I don't say so myself. I am more of a Gibson guy, but Fenders are awesome guitars - being that I like Strats and Teles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Once you get your hands on it, it will take about a week for you to know for sure if it's for you. As long as the neck isn't fit with "vintage" style frets, you should probably be ok. A plus that is going to work for you is the rosewood fret board. take the ride, see where it brings you,, that Jeff Beck quote in Tmans reply is pretty much spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I always thought about getting a Strat someday? I do have a Squire Jaguar. Does that count as a Fender? Otherwise, I only had one fender acoustic way back. A Ovation Celebrity with a Koa top replaced it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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