bonzoboy Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Some people still mistakenly still equate guitar collectors with non-playing hoarders and speculators who buy up vintage instruments and lock them in hermatically sealed vaults and keep them silent and unplayed until they can find another non-playing buyer to unload it on to make a tidy profit. People of this ilk should be marched off the side of a cliff as far as I'm concerned.I make no apologies about collecting vintage instruments.I buy them to play them and to appreciate the intricate work the luthier put into crafting the guitar.Serious collectors have an unwritten code of ethics and that isto maintain each instrument in the condition itwas when they bought it or even better condition if they can. I have saved beautiful guitars from fates that would have been very detrimental to them,such as the '65 Mustang I bought years ago that had been "refinished" by an inept idiot who had stripped it down and slathered on varnish with a brush.To add insult to injury there was a guy about my age in the store while I was there talking about whipping the pups out of it and slapping in a couple of Dimarzio Fat Strat pups.I couldn't see a lovely guitar like that suffer that fate so I bought it and lovingly restored it to like new condition.This is just one instance but I have done things similar to that over the years as any serious collector and guitar lover would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Beautiful colour! Thanks Steve. Clapton Candy Green Strat. That particular color is discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I find it a bit disheartening that the most popular threads actually dealing with guitars in the Gibson lounge tend to be about Fenders. That being said, strats are one of my least favorite Fender models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 It's all about dat Telecaster. I think Strats have a pretty boring, generic vibe most of the time. Sometimes they're really cool though, and I'm not sure why. It's like you can have 20 Strats with the same pickups and everything and one will just appeal to me for some reason.. Soo I guess I'm pretty indifferent to them except for the occasional one that's awesome. CB's and L5's Strats strike me as awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 IMO one of the main reasons Strats evoke such emotion is the great players that have used them... From Buddy Holly through Hank Marvin, Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Peter Green, Eric Clapton, SRV, Rory Gallagher et al IMX they are lightweight, comfortable, easy cool necked, low action, bright toned tools Along with the Tele, have probably made more music than any other guitars in history.... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 IMX they are lightweight, comfortable, easy cool necked, low action, bright toned tools V ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69tele Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 nothing wrong with a good strat although I must confess I prefer teles, here's my 50th anni dlx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Nice 50th Anniversary, 69tele! It's interesting to see how some folks have polarised views on Fenders. My preference is 95% Strat to 5% Tele and I can see how others will have exactly the opposite view. Interesting! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Thought I might as well add a pic of my MIM strat. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Thought I might as well add a pic of my MIM strat. :) Oooooh nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Oooooh nice. Many thank you's Sir! Only had her a week, but it's my only Strat, and it plays beautifully. Just might change the pups though for something a bit beefier, not sure what to put in though as I've never really bothered changed pups before, as I like the ones in my Sg's, and my 2 Tele's, so I'm a bit stuck as what to buy. I play some blues, but mainly classic rock material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampash Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 This is my personal opinion on Strats (i have to be careful as I'm very aware of being on the Gibson Forum :)). I feel that I'm able to make an educated guess because I have owned many Strats, many Teles, a few Les Pauls and even a Gibson ES-335. I think that the Stratocaster is the best Guitar ever produced. In terms of design as well as versatility, it's a true masterpiece. Somebody on this thread mentioned that there is a Strat for everyone and I firmly believe this. Fender offer so many different choices. They cater for those who love the sound of the single coil and the Humbucker (HSS models and the Blacktop series) as well as other variations. The single coil models and the HSS models nearly sound like completely different Guitars. That's the beauty of the alder body, it allows for such a tonal difference that different pickup configurations make. I've played Les Pauls with P90s and Les Pauls with Humbuckers and the dense body never allows for much of a difference in tone, that's what i hear myself. Strats are truly the Guitar for all occasions from glassy cleans to overdriven tones with a little fettling from your amp. It's the only Guitar you will ever need for a gig. They offer a clarity and sparkle that you simply cannot get with a Les Paul. The Les Paul is very good at what it does but isn't as versatile. I've never been a fan of the Les Paul sound and I believe that the ES-335 is vastly superior in every way. It's my birthday next Wednesday and my wife is getting me a brand new Gibson ES-335 1959 re-issue fat neck in Cherry. I cannot wait! I've currently got what I think is the perfect Strat for me. It's a 2005 Jeff Beck signature model. It has a fatter neck (i have big hands and love a nice fat neck, this is why I've gone with the 59 neck on the ES-335 and the necks on both of the Les Pauls I've owned in the past were 59 necks). It has the dual coil hot noiseless pickups which are just the best I've heard on a Strat and the perfect vibrato system incorporating the LSR roller nut, 2 point trem, no string trees and locking tuners that make sure that the Guitar never goes out of tune no matter how much you hammer that whammy bar. I no longer own any Les Pauls and it's unlikely I will again in the future but I am a firm fan of ES-335s and may even get an ES-175 sometime in the future as well. I'm not a fan of Guitars that I consider to be a one trick pony and the Strat certainly isn't. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Great sounds, but my fingers just cant get used to the finger-board, my picking style dont jive with the middle pup location, and the awful pup buzz just dont work well with my rigs, which is why I have never owned one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buliwyf Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I've only owned 2 strats in about 40 years one was a special edition and it was pink.I bought it because it was different (I loved the color) and sounded pretty good but i got tired of it's single coil thinner sound after about a month and traded it for an Epi Sheraton and some cash (loved the Sheraton) The other one was an Iron Maiden Strat and had real fat sounding pickups as they were stacked humbuckers and a floyd rose.I got offered a good chunk of change for it and as good as it sounded I was so sick of changing the strings on the Floyd I could have screamed.I wish I would have keept the Maiden seems they are kind of rare and hardly any info on them around at all.I always thought strats were easy to play but the pickups to thin for me.Give me a hot ceramic humbucker PU and I'm a happy rockin,blues playin guy. I miss this one bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 That set-up just looks SO RIGHT ! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 This is my personal opinion on Strats... I'd love to have the chance to debate several aspects of your Strat/Les Paul experiences over a Guinness or three, swampash... :) P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euchre Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 What's not to like about a strat? (Rhetorical question, don't answer) IMO, there's no cooler looking, sexier guitar than a strat. There's billions of em out there (a lot of them just so-so, but fixable), in every color and permutation imaginable. Find a light one, with a neck your comfortable with and a good setup and you're golden. Wouldn't want one as my only guitar, but it's certainly versatile. Give me a tele and an LP or 335ish first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampash Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I'd love to have the chance to debate several aspects of your Strat/Les Paul experiences over a Guinness or three, swampash... :) P. Anytime! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bone Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Having just read these 4 pages of this thread, I feel the need to add to it :lol: . A Strat isn't for everyone. I remember the first one i played, and how foreign it felt. This was circa 1975, and it was a 1972 hard tail in white. Friend left it at my house for a few months, offered to sell it to me for $225, I almost bit (wish I had!). They don't feel right for everyone. But if they do (or if you adjust to them), they are IMO one of if not the finest guitar model ever produced. I've owned a total of 8 over the years, in the 1990's I had two different American Standards (mediocre guitars at the time, the recent model of this is FAR superior IMO). Also had an American '57 reissue (fine piece of work, that) and one of the earliest SRV Signature Series Strats (while it felt good, I never really warmed to the sound of the Texas Specials that much). That was probably mostly because around the time I got that one, I also bought a genuine 100% original 1962 Stratocaster in Sunburst finish. That was my favorite guitar for as long as I had it, and I was sick when I went broke and was forced to sell it along with the others... (and some prized vintage Gibsons too). Fast forward to 2009, I decided to take up guitar again, and bought an American '62 reissue. Next was an American Standard, followed by a Clapton Signature Series. Then a slew of Les Pauls (see my signature). Pic below is of my current three Strats (all American), which I think is about to be added to. Been gassing lately (oddly) for a Classic 60's Player Series Strat. Yep, MIM. The Sonic Blue finish just kills me (though I do wish they did them in Nitro, gladly pay more for that). But the looks, price and all the great reviews about the sound and playability have got my attention. (Plus I always wanted a "beater", that I wouldn't be that worried about). Did I mention the price? With an MF discount, under $700 delivered. Think I'll be picking up one in a month or two, time will tell. But for now, I am happy to switch off between my current Les Pauls and the Strats I own. Each of these three Strats is quite different in feel and sound, different neck profiles and electronics make that happen. The MIM will be just as different. BTW, the finest Strat I ever felt in my hands goes to two different examples I played in a vintage Dealer's in the 90's. And both were from 1960. Like butter. Couldn't afford them, though a couple years later I did manage the '62, it didn't beat these two from 1960 in feel. And one of the most popular years for the vintage guys is the 1959 model (SRV's #1 for example). So that was perhaps the finest hour for this venerable and historic axe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FenderGuy1 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 I have 3 strats and the SX Strat sounds killer + it has a fat neck which I really like, but my squier is my main guitar, I only use the SX for you guessed it, SRV! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 My most recent Strat purchase was a Jimmie Vaughn,I had allowed myself a budget of $2,500 and was willing to go to $3,000 if something really "spoke" to me.I tried 8 or 9 different Strats but the one I chose was the J.V. because it just felt and sounded like it was made to my specs.This was the cheapest Strat I tried out but the cost had absolutely nothing to do with it,it was the guitar itself.I had tried them all through a Blues Jr. and it was the first one I played through,I was so impressed with the sounds I could get from it that I bought that too.I ended up with a guitar and amp that cost far less than I was prepared to pay for just a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I own an American Stratocaster with single coils and like it a lot, but I would not own two. I find it to be a very unique guitar, it is different for me and that is what I like about it. A Stratocaster will keep you honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Love mine and play it every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I think that a Strat is the best-for-bang buck guitar built. I wanted that over-the-top "pop" sound so I got an American Deluxe Ash. The S1 switch gives it a wide variety of tones too. Also, about the YYZ discussion. Lifeson recorded it on a Strat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.