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View Full Version : Are Any Of You Bored With Stratocasters?



DrumBob
April 27th, 2010, 08:27 PM
Let me preface this thread: No offense intended to Stratocaster lovers. This is just my opinion.

For years, I played Strats, owned a couple pre-CBS ones too. At one point, I owned five Strats, and finally looked at them and said, "This is ridiculous." Now, I own one, a '94 MIJ 60's reissue in Candy Apple Red that is my 5-string open G tuned guitar a la Keith Richards. It's now relic'd and beat up. Plays great. I still think the Strat is a beautiful looking guitar.

But I'm sick of them.

I reached a point where I was just fed up with Stratocasters. I got tired of the thin sounds they made, and mostly, I got sick of walking into any club or open mic, and seeing almost everybody playing Strats. They were everywhere, ubiquitous, a dime a dozen. The wave of SRV imitators also turned me off. I was reviewing a lot of blues discs at that point, and every week, my mailbox was inhabited with new CDs by SRV wannabes in gaucho hats, all sporting-you guessed it-Stratocasters. I also realized that I was better served playing Gibson and Gretsch guitars for the most part, because they gave me the fuller sound and full-bore crunch I wanted. Lately, I've also been playing both a Telecaster and a Jazzmaster, and find them much more to my liking.

So, have any of you become bored or disenchanted with Strats?

Robert
April 27th, 2010, 09:00 PM
No!

I love my Suhr Classic more for every day that goes by... :)

But there are times when I go for my Hagstrom Swede instead. Especially when playing with piano or keyboard players. The LP style guitars seem to blend better with keys than a strat can do.

I'm a Strat Man to the bone though...

Spudman
April 27th, 2010, 09:05 PM
:what Never! After playing and owning Strats since 1975 I can say without a doubt I am still in love with that model. However, like any man I may stray occasionally but I always come back to my first and favorite mistress. She's sexy, versatile and can make so many different noises that she never bores me. Subtle and seductive or screaming and wild - she does it all for me.

markb
April 27th, 2010, 09:28 PM
Been there, done that, come out the other side :)

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=9150

FWIW it's still not my favourite guitar. It may just be the most useful though.

deeaa
April 27th, 2010, 10:14 PM
Well, I don't see why one would have to stick with the same model all one's life.

I like strats, despite the couple of design flaws IMO, but it's the most comfortable guitar to play and probably the most versatile.

But I always thought it looks kinda boring and dull, preferred Gibsons by far in that respect, and, well, to me Gibsons' sounds and feel also commanded more, well, respect. But today I have two strat-ish guitars and one Flying-V.

Still, if I now had to buy a factory-made guitar as my only instrument, I'd most likely get a strat. And yet, you could say I'm bored of them.

I like my Davette the best; it's got the best qualities of a strat but also all the best qualities of Gibsons, combined with the best qualities of superstrats...but those are not available in stores, sadly.

Zip
April 27th, 2010, 10:26 PM
I think there's a reason some of the best (famous) guitarists, who can afford just about anything, play Strats. I like my humbuckers, and there's a place for my 335, but the Strat is very versatile. I can get about any sound out of it. And it's comfortable on stage.

Read the first half or so of this interview for some great insight: http://fender.com/news/index.php?display_article=499

Jimi75
April 28th, 2010, 03:23 AM
I am not bored at all with my Strats. I still love Strats, but since owning my Gibson Les Paul I have found out that most of the common and well known testimonies regarding the Strat being so much more versatile than the Les Paul are simply not true. To come back to topic, I prefer owning a Strat and a Les Paul, so it never gets boring at all.

oldguy
April 28th, 2010, 04:00 AM
I love me a good Strat, but with any job you have to choose the tool that fits the application.
Don't send a Paul to do a Strat's job.

hubberjub
April 28th, 2010, 06:43 AM
I think the Strat is an amazingly versatile instrument. I tend to grab one of those before I go after one of my LP style guitars. However, my Telecaster is currently my most played electric.

sunvalleylaw
April 28th, 2010, 07:13 AM
No, not overall. My strat (in my avatar this week) is my number one. But I will admit there are times I want a different sound, so I guess on those days you could say I am "tired" of my strat sound for the day. Then I go for my Hagstrom Viking. So like Jimi says, I have a fatter bucker sound for those days I want it, and i never tire of my strat overall.

I guess the next set of sounds I want to add is somewhere in the solid body humbucker line, either a LP (maybe with a P90 in the neck) or a tele with a bucker in the neck. Thinking mostly vintage/indie/punkie rock sounds here mostly. I know LPs can get nice cleans and jazz sounds, and of course teles can too, but I get those from the Vik, and I am looking more for Joe Strummer, Tom Wisniewski (from MxPx) Rivers Cuomo here. Ok, this paragraph is really for another thread. I will start one. But bottom line, not tired of my strat at all. (EDIT: new thread started).

mainestratman
April 28th, 2010, 07:32 AM
I'm with DB on this one.

I have always owned Strats.. MIA, MIJ and MIM. I liked my Deluxe with the lace sensor pickups.. kept the Strat sound but wasn't thin like the single coils and could pretty much keep up with LP, tone-wise.

Since I got my LP, my Strat sat in its case and never came out. I've found the 59's to be incredibly versatile and can easily cover any electric tone I want from clean to ball-grabbing gain. I also like the shorter scale on my LP.

I might own another Strat some day, but not today. And I like being the only blues guy in the state not playing one. :-)

Katastrophe
April 28th, 2010, 08:06 AM
My first guitar was a white SSS Strat copy, bought from Sears. It didn't take long to realize that the single in the bridge just didn't fit with my style of playing (hard rock and metal).

I went to "superstrat" style guitars, although they all play and sound completely different from the real deal. My wife gave me a MIM Fat Strat in 2006.

It's incredibly versatile. With the bridge 'bucker, I get the thicker tones needed for hard rock. Flipping the pickup switch, the 'bucker splits, and I can get those cool Strat "quack" tones. Clean tones sound fantastic on the neck and neck/middle postitions. I think a pup swap would make it sound even better.

Bored? Hardly. Indeed, this MIM Strat opened up a whole world of subtelty to my playing. I no longer want to do just hypergain chuggachugga.

But, now I want to explore the world further. A set neck or neck through guitar will be my next purchase, with double 'buckers, preferrably with a 24.75" scale.

You're right about one thing, though... Strats are used too often in blues music these days. It's impossible to deny the SRV influence. Play a V, or a Tele, or a Paul (like Joe B.), don't automatically go for the Strat!

Tone2TheBone
April 28th, 2010, 08:20 AM
This is why they made '56 Goldtops with P-90s. ;) Just kidding. I could not imagine NOT having at least 2 Strats. There's no way....I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Jimi would roll over in his grave if we all gave up on them!

marnold
April 28th, 2010, 08:24 AM
I've never owned a true Strat, I'm more of a Superstrat guy (see the Dinky in my avatar). I tend to prefer humbuckers over single coils and double-locking trems to the Strat type. Flat fretboards are a must too. Actually, the only similarities between a Strat and my Dinky are the very general body shape and the 25.5" scale.

My big beef with Fender is that they have 1000 different models of the same doggone thing. Ooh, this one has a V shaped neck profile instead of a C shape. Totally different! Bah. IMO, the big boys haven't done much innovation since Gibson introduced the Flying V.

Commodore 64
April 28th, 2010, 08:25 AM
When I started playing 7 months ago. I was dead set on not being a Fender guy. Everybody has Fender Guitars and Fender Amps. Anyone who follows my posts here knows that I've been through an assload of gear in the past 7 months.

What's in my room now:

1. 2002 Fender MiM Strat
2. 1994 Fender MiM Tele
3. Squier CV 50s Tele
4. 1969 Fender Am. Tele (not mine, on loan from friend)
5. '68 Fender Champ
6. Fender Stage 1000 amp

So, despite my best intentions, I became a Fender guy. WTF.

I will add though, that yesterday I traded my Turser Tele to a kid for a Epi Special II, which is like a solid body, bolt on neck dual HB guitar. Last night, I could NOT put it down. I have a brand new CV50s tele and a VIntage 1969 Tele in my house and I could not put down a $150 low-end Epi. One thing about the Epi though, the tuners are FREAKING HORRIBLE. Never seen tuners this bad. They grind and slip, but the guitar does stay in tune pretty well so I guess I shouldn't complain.

ZMAN
April 28th, 2010, 09:23 AM
Let me preface this thread: No offense intended to Stratocaster lovers. This is just my opinion.

For years, I played Strats, owned a couple pre-CBS ones too. At one point, I owned five Strats, and finally looked at them and said, "This is ridiculous." Now, I own one, a '94 MIJ 60's reissue in Candy Apple Red that is my 5-string open A tuned guitar a la Keith Richards. It's now relic'd and beat up. Plays great. I still think the Strat is a beautiful looking guitar.

But I'm sick of them.

I reached a point where I was just fed up with Stratocasters. I got tired of the thin sounds they made, and mostly, I got sick of walking into any club or open mic, and seeing almost everybody playing Strats. They were everywhere, ubiquitous, a dime a dozen. The wave of SRV imitators also turned me off. I was reviewing a lot of blues discs at that point, and every week, my mailbox was inhabited with new CDs by SRV wannabes in gaucho hats, all sporting-you guessed it-Stratocasters. I also realized that I was better served playing Gibson and Gretsch guitars for the most part, because they gave me the fuller sound and full-bore crunch I wanted. Lately, I've also been playing both a Telecaster and a Jazzmaster, and find them much more to my liking.

So, have any of you become bored or disenchanted with Strats?

After accumulating 9 Strats and I am now down to 8 I can say YES I agree 100%. I go into a store now and I don't even look at them. I hardly play any of them now and I don't even have them out of their cases. I play only my Gibson HB guitars.
I thought it was a phase I was going through. It has happened in the past.
After the Crossroads DVDs hit, I was back into Strats. Those DVDs are a definite love fest for Strats.
It is funny because even one of the biggest proponents of the Strat. (Eric Clapton) uses the mid boost circuit to make it sound more like an HB. IMHO of course.
I agree with you on the thin sound as well. I like the much fuller HB sound.
We shall see how long this lasts.

guitardan777
April 28th, 2010, 09:48 AM
I'm quite the opposite as I just got my first Fender Strat.
I love the versatility and that un mistakeable Strat sound....

I also have a Carvin Bolt, which is a fine insrument too, but its set up w/ 3 HB's so it's a different animal....

I can see if you have played Strats all you life, you'd get to a point where you'd get bored, or want to be different like you say..

But, that's why there are millions of choices out there for other types...

If you wanna be different without breaking the bank, take a serious look at Carvin, and have one custom built to your specs.....

sunvalleylaw
April 28th, 2010, 09:57 AM
After accumulating 9 Strats and I am now down to 8 I can say YES I agree 100%. I go into a store now and I don't even look at them. I hardly play any of them now and I don't even have them out of their cases. I play only my Gibson HB guitars.
I thought it was a phase I was going through. It has happened in the past.
After the Crossroads DVDs hit, I was back into Strats. Those DVDs are a definite love fest for Strats.
It is funny because even one of the biggest proponents of the Strat. (Eric Clapton) uses the mid boost circuit to make it sound more like an HB. IMHO of course.
I agree with you on the thin sound as well. I like the much fuller HB sound.
We shall see how long this lasts.

You know, that is interesting about Clapton. I think of the strat players I like, and Clapton's strat tone is not my favorite at all. Sometimes it is better, but mostly, his tone is kinda "meh" to me. I prefer Mayer's strat tone, and when Bonamassa played strats, I loved that tone as well, and of course SRV, Knoppfler, the list goes on. Even Rivers Cuomo of Weezer plays a warmoth strat, though I think he uses one with humbuckers at least part of the time.

I do think we can go in waves. When I got my Hagstrom Viking, I went on a big wave of playing that mostly for a while. Now I go back and forth, but I still call my strat my home base or true north on the sonic compass rose.

Tig
April 28th, 2010, 09:58 AM
I'll always love Strat's. While I can't see owning more than 2 or 3 Strat's (seriously, what's the point of being so redundant, regardless of body wood or pickups?), I can see owning an additional Strat-like SSS guitar, like a G&L, Suhr, or especially the new PRS 305.

I'll never get the narrow-minded mentality of Fender or Gibson only players out there. I doubt there are many of them left these days. How can someone not embrace the huge palette of tone and feel that so many different styles of guitars have? If anything, we are fortunate to have too many choices.

When in doubt, be a guitar slut and have one of each! :happy

mainestratman
April 28th, 2010, 10:10 AM
When in doubt, be a guitar slut and have one of each! :happy

:beer:

Eric
April 28th, 2010, 10:15 AM
I don't know why -- possibly just due to how common they are -- but I have never been such a huge fan of strats. It's weird. Maybe someday I'll learn.

MAXIFUNK
April 28th, 2010, 12:25 PM
I can come at this from three different angles.

1. As a Bass player in my Band (from high school to mid 20's) we had one guy who played Strats and one who played LP's. Both got accepted to Berklee College of Music awesome players. Anyway I always loved how both of those Guitars sounded together it was magic. But because of Jimi's influence and its cheaper price most players in the inner city started with a Strat or Strat copy. Plus most if not all the 70's R&B/funk Players played one so most the kids followed suite. Ala Ernie Isely & Michael Hampton.

Most of the old school music I have posted here has been Brothers playing Strats just the way it was back then.

2. As a music fanatic I love the sounds of all guitars from Jimi to Robin Trower to SRV (Strat players) to Jimmy Page to Peter Frampton to Gary Moore (LP players) to Al Di Meola to Blackbird to Robbie McIntosh to Steve Vai ( Various Axes) if it sounds good to me I could care less what your playing all that matters is DO YOU HAVE THE CHOPS!

3. As a Guitar player of 1 1/2 years I own 3 Strats each one sounds like a Strat but completely different in its own right. Right now I seem to be playing the HSS the most the tonal capabilities abound via that axe. Do I want sounds other than my Strats from time to time. Hell yeah I do certain songs/riffs etc etc just sound better on my LP or Tele HH. I honestly try to play a single coil axe & then a HH axe on longer wood shedding sessions.

Although the Strat body shape is so comfortable that I have been looking at the new Charvel's HH sound with the Strat Body a match made in heaven IMO. I just happen not to be a fan of the flatter necks so I'll will have to give that 12 to 16 compound neck a good once over before I buy it.

Even with that I will never give up my LP that sweet sounding axe is to die for. So, I guess I am in the camp of I want them both one of each A single coil axe and HH axe.

markb
April 28th, 2010, 02:14 PM
I'll always love Strat's. While I can't see owning more than 2 or 3 Strat's (seriously, what's the point of being so redundant, regardless of body wood or pickups?), ...

So how are you going get your strat to match your shirt? Tell me that! :)

The only guitar I've ever had three of at once was a few years ago I had three teles. All two single coils and post-67 wiring. They all had quite distinct voices but ultimately could all do the same thing if pushed. (Oh, they were all blonde but three different blondes!)

duhvoodooman
April 28th, 2010, 02:39 PM
If I was ever forced to pare it down to two guitars, it would be a Strat (SSS) and a Les Paul (dual HB). To me, those two guitars between them are the quintessential voices of classic rock & blues. And they are s-o-o-o-o different.

Now, if I had to go down to just ONE guitar....wow, that would be a tough, tough choice!

Tig
April 28th, 2010, 03:28 PM
If I was ever forced to pare it down to two guitars, it would be a Strat (SSS) and a Les Paul (dual HB). To me, those two guitars between them are the quintessential voices of classic rock & blues. And they are s-o-o-o-o different.

Now, if I had to go down to just ONE guitar....wow, that would be a tough, tough choice!

Trust me on this... You are in no danger of paring down to 2, or God forbid, 1 guitar, DVM! :nope
That road leads to madness! :crazyguy

oldguy
April 28th, 2010, 06:31 PM
A strat doesn't have a thin sound. (Well, not in Sonny Landreth's hands.):happy

birv2
April 28th, 2010, 06:57 PM
I was a complete Strat guy till about 3 months ago when I got my first telecaster, an Affinity BSB. Since then, I have barely touched my strats.

Not saying I'll never go back, but for now, that pure telecaster tone has completely captivated me. No picks, no pedals, just pure fingers on guitar into amp.

YMMV.

otaypanky
April 28th, 2010, 10:43 PM
Who called me a slut?

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w49/otaypanky/IMG_0589.jpg

deeaa
April 28th, 2010, 10:51 PM
Gotta say, that left sofa section does look infinitely better than the right side...real nice solidbody gibbys there, those three on the sofa and 2 in front...in comparison the right side just pales in looks IMO...

otaypanky
April 28th, 2010, 10:58 PM
Gotta say, that left sofa section does look infinitely better than the right side...real nice solidbody gibbys there, those three on the sofa and 2 in front...in comparison the right side just pales in looks IMO...

I tend to stay on that side ~ The yellow LP Special is a Bombshell, not a Gibson.
Here's a cool video from Tomo, a real fine player. The page is in Japanese but if you look to the right you'll see 3 light blue ovals, the top one is the video. This stuff is made for a Strat

http://www.rittor-music.co.jp/tomofujita/seminar/exercise14.html

DrumBob
April 29th, 2010, 12:27 AM
A strat doesn't have a thin sound. (Well, not in Sonny Landreth's hands.):happy


Sorry to disagree, but compared to any Les Paul, yes it does have a thin sound.

Go listen to Eric Clapton's pitifully poor tone on his first solo album, and pay attention to the end solo on "Let It Rain." That is the epitome of puny, squeaky, awful Stratocaster tone. And to think, he went from a '59 Les Paul, a '61 SG Les Paul, and an ES-335 through Marshall amps to that?

otaypanky
April 29th, 2010, 12:40 AM
I could be way wrong on this, but I think one reason so many Starts sound so thin is that most everyone I see play keeps their tone controls on 10. In fact, many guys I see keep the volume pots on 10 as well and get a boost for a solo from a pedal. There are lots of nice sounds on most any guitar at the in between places on the pots, especially with good pots, caps, and a good cable

deeaa
April 29th, 2010, 01:50 AM
I could be way wrong on this, but I think one reason so many Starts sound so thin is that most everyone I see play keeps their tone controls on 10. In fact, many guys I see keep the volume pots on 10 as well and get a boost for a solo from a pedal. There are lots of nice sounds on most any guitar at the in between places on the pots, especially with good pots, caps, and a good cable

I for one never thought strats sound thin...quite contrary, single coils give a much fuller and 'scooped' sound with more low end...sure, buckers are punchier but that's because they have much less frequency range and the punch is in low mids. But therein lies also the problem...if you have two strat players in a band, they tend to overwhelm everything because the sounds are so 'big'. Buckers/gibsons leave much more territory for bass and cymbals and cut thru much better. That's why I think many lead or wannabe lead guitarists use strats, they have such a sweeping big sound. And conversely, I think many engineers are forced to reduce that to stop it masking other instruments and end up with a feeble tone. But it's definitely NOT the fault of the strat! Using a gibby you need much more effects and volume to achieve a similarly full, big sound for leads, it's more biting and midrangey.

But about the tone controls...I never use the tone, I don't like to cut the guitar's tone at all, except at the amp or a pedal. If I cut the guitar tone, I feel it loses something more than just high-end, there is no more 'gliss' on mids either etc...much better doing the EQ'ing somewhere else, not the guitar. I don't know why I still bother putting tone knobs on my guitars actually...I should really start putting an extra volume or coil switch or something there instead!

markb
April 29th, 2010, 01:50 AM
I could be way wrong on this, but I think one reason so many Starts sound so thin is that most everyone I see play keeps their tone controls on 10. In fact, many guys I see keep the volume pots on 10 as well and get a boost for a solo from a pedal. There are lots of nice sounds on most any guitar at the in between places on the pots, especially with good pots, caps, and a good cable

+1

Is that a Les Paul Signature hiding behind that tele in your picture? Now there's something I haven't seen in years.

oldguy
April 29th, 2010, 04:00 AM
lS7ctT7XWLQ

Here's a nice Strat sound I really like.
This is what I was talking 'bout.
Not a thin sound in Sonny's hands.:AOK

birv2
April 29th, 2010, 05:11 AM
Sorry to disagree, but compared to any Les Paul, yes it does have a thin sound.

Go listen to Eric Clapton's pitifully poor tone on his first solo album, and pay attention to the end solo on "Let It Rain." That is the epitome of puny, squeaky, awful Stratocaster tone. And to think, he went from a '59 Les Paul, a '61 SG Les Paul, and an ES-335 through Marshall amps to that?

Funny you should mention that solo, since that is one of the main recordings that made me want a strat. I love that glassy tone.

However, I'm also a big fan of Clapton's Cream era tone. But it does seem that strats need some pedal help to get that big sound that lots of players love.

Retro Hound
April 29th, 2010, 07:43 AM
Well, I've been playing less than a year, but I always play either the acoustic or the Epi LP Ultra. I only play the Strat if I'm trying to reproduce a paticular sound. I just prefer the sound of the LP. Of course I'm still new and "I don't get no screaming solos" no matter what I do.

wingsdad
April 29th, 2010, 07:48 AM
... if I had to go down to just ONE guitar....

... it would be my '81 The STRAT.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/STRAT/IMG_0309c.jpg

First-ever Fender Fullerton factory 'hot-rodded' model, with a massive brass bridged trem system, a juiced-up bridge pup branded the 'X-1' and a wiring/switching scheme that goes with just a master tone pot to use the bottom one as a mode switch and provide a total of 9 pup positions, adding series combos to the standard parallels, including all 3 firing at once. Prior to this, the only 'deviant' model was a mid-70's hardtail; after this, came the onslaught of the various strat alternative models we take for granted today. And the closing of Fender Fullerton to go MIJ for a while.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/STRAT/IMG_0320c.jpg

And I did. When I retired from gigging 25 years ago, I sold my lst remaining LP Custom & Tele to leave me with the overall most versatile go-to 6-string.

PS: I also hung onto my Rick 12 and 1 acoustic, my ancient Guild D40...but I think we're narrowly talking about 6-string electrics in this topic...?

Sure, I've added a bunch back to the hardcore over the last 14-15 years, but if it ever came down to it again, this one stays.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/STRAT/IMG_0306c.jpg

Tig
April 29th, 2010, 08:27 AM
Who called me a slut?


I did! "I'm Spartacus!" :tongue:
Truth be told, I have Guitar Slut Envy. Only a qualified guitar-playing doctor can accurately diagnose the condition. Many people have been mis-diagnosed golf playing doctors.

The two guitars that intrigue me the most in the photo are the double cut semi-hollow Gibson on the far left, and the Bombshell. The LP's on the left are also magnetizing.

mainestratman
April 29th, 2010, 08:36 AM
Who called me a slut?

What? No SGs?

What's wrong with people these days?

:poke

red
April 29th, 2010, 10:40 AM
My first "proper" electric guitar was a sunburst American Series (or was it American Standard? can't remember) Fender Stratocaster. Before that I've been using a beat up Washburn Asian-made electric guitar for years.

I blame SRV and Jimi Hendrix for the purchase (and it was pretty expensive too, at least for my financial resources at the time), but the guy most responsible for my purchase is Mike McCready from Pearl Jam who played one in "Live at the Garden". Well, almost - he had a gazillion dollars one from 1959. But hey - they were both sunburst.

I then proceeded to force myself to love it in spite of the fact that I felt it sounded like 90% of whatever music was playing on the radio at the time, and (more importantly) I felt that it just wasn't the best fit for me tonally. I had no problem with the shape of the guitar, or it's neck or the tone, it just wasn't what I heard in my head - and the fact that everyone and his brother was using one everywhere I turned to look didn't help matters much either, but I concede that's not a proper reason.

I've tried solid-state amps, and tube amps, and tube screamers and delays and all the gadgets I could both think of and afford.

Then I bought a second-hand Fender Telecaster, made my peace with the Stratocaster and sold it to a nice fellow who's been very happy with it to this very day. I still see the guitar every day on TV - he's playing in a band for a live TV show. Can't say I miss it much though.

I don't think the problem is in the instrument itself, surely there are more imaginative uses for a Stratocaster other than trying to be Hendrix or SRV. I really like Ron Wood's work with a Stratocaster. Bob Dylan sounds nice with one too. I'm still wondering if a vintage one or a vintage reissue would have been a better fit, but I doubt it and I can't afford to shell out that kind of coin to find out.

As for going away from Stratocasters to Les Pauls: I don't see how running from the Hendrix crowd into the arms of the Slash/Page crowd makes things any better :D.

But I do like Gibsons. But the ones that sound closer to Fenders. Like Melody Makers and Les Paul Jrs/Specials with P90s. My best friend now is the Telecaster.

Plank_Spanker
April 29th, 2010, 04:22 PM
My Strats are just other colors on the pallette - there when I need them. To paraphrase a well known guitar maker, sometimes, only a Strat is good enough.

Algonquin
April 29th, 2010, 09:53 PM
A Strat is a classic that has stood the test of time... I don't think I could ever become bored with a guitar style. The Strat continues to be one of the most versatile guitars ever manufactured. Sure I like humbuckers, but they can't come close to that crystal clear tone of a single coil.
If only we spent more time playing than drooling over what guitar to buy next... just saying.

Tig
April 29th, 2010, 10:21 PM
... it would be my '81 The STRAT.

First-ever Fender Fullerton factory 'hot-rodded' model, with a massive brass bridged trem system, a juiced-up bridge pup branded the 'X-1' and a wiring/switching scheme that goes with just a master tone pot to use the bottom one as a mode switch and provide a total of 9 pup positions, adding series combos to the standard parallels, including all 3 firing at once.


Now this is what every Strat should be. :applause
I wish Fender would make these again.

sunvalleylaw
April 29th, 2010, 10:26 PM
Now this is what every Strat should be. :applause
I wish Fender would make these again.

That one looks really cool, and is from my high school graduating year. I have always liked seeing pics of that one. :AOK

markb
April 30th, 2010, 12:49 AM
Now this is what every Strat should be. :applause
I wish Fender would make these again.

The way they're going, they probably will. :cool:

red
April 30th, 2010, 01:38 AM
Sure I like humbuckers, but they can't come close to that crystal clear tone of a single coil.
If only we spent more time playing than drooling over what guitar to buy next... just saying.
Indeed, I much prefer single coils to humbuckers myself, to the point where the only humbucker-style pickup I have in a guitar now is a Firebird pickup that sounds more like a good Stratocaster neck pickup than a regular humbucker. But I think the comparison here was Stratocasters vs. other guitar styles, not necessarily humbuckers vs. single coils. Fender also makes lots Stratocaster with humbuckers.

And of course you are absolutely right that playing counts for much more than changing gear around, but, (I might be wrong) what most of the nice folks in this thread seem to me to be saying is, to paraphrase Frank Zappa, that when they don't really like the sound that comes out of their amps, they tend not to wiggle their fingers. And that translates into less playing time, so there's somewhat of a vicious circle.

oldguy
April 30th, 2010, 04:15 AM
Don't ever quit! Dial in some new tones or add some pedals, but play!
(I like my roadhouse strats. )

jGMELA64ouA

Eric
April 30th, 2010, 06:13 AM
when they don't really like the sound that comes out of their amps, they tend not to wiggle their fingers. And that translates into less playing time, so there's somewhat of a vicious circle.
Hmm. That's a really good point.

wingsdad
April 30th, 2010, 09:34 AM
That one looks really cool, and is from my high school graduating year. I have always liked seeing pics of that one.:AOK
Now this is what every Strat should be. :applause
I wish Fender would make these again.

The way they're going, they probably will. :cool:

If they ever do, this is what they'd have to recreate:

With stock 250K audio taper vol & tone pots and .05MFD cap on the master tone pot, these are the 4 additional pickup combos the STRAT produces in the alternate mode (the bridge only pup is available in both modes) that made (make) it so incredibly versatile, ones that never existed before in a strat and generally, until they came up with the S1 system, to this day require aftermarket rewiring and modding to get:

neck and middle pickups in series - humbucking
middle and bridge pickups in series - humbucking
neck and bridge pickups in parallel (that 'jangly' sound of a Tele's middle position)
neck and bridge pickups in parellel, with the middle pickup in series (essentially/effectively acts to combine those first 2 and give you a 2-humbucker guitar)

The STRAT was only made from '80-'83. I bought mine in Sept. of '81. The only 'mod' I ever made to it was immediately installing Schaller Straplocks. (I did get the frets dressed 15 years ago -- not replaced, just leveled & recrowned to get the ruts out.) The oddball mix of the gold-plated bridge/knobs with chrome (Schaller for Fender) tuners, etc. is stock as that's how the earliest STRATS were produced in only 2 color options: Lake Placid Blue, and the Candy Apple Red (over gold) like mine.

These earlybirds like mine are a heavy alder body....mine weighs a hair under 11 lbs... this boat anchor makes an LP a relative lightweight, but definitely a factor in putting some meat on the 'classic' thinnish single coil Strat sound that apparently bores some folks to hating it, while others love it.

Look at mine carefully and you'll notice the middle pup is set lower than the bridge pup; this is a setup trick I learned when I bought it. Fiddling with the height of the middle pup varies the 'degree of quack' of the #2 pup position. Want more quack? Lower it. Too quacky? Raise it. I have the neck pup at about the same height as the middle pup because for me, as my forever-#1 axe, this makes those 1st and last 'humbucking' positions about as 'true' as a real 'bucker.

A bit later they added Arctic White and finally got the gold-plated (but same) tuners, pup selector switch cap, pg screws, string trees and strap buttons. The gold plating and expensive (for that time, labor intensive) custom wiring) made the STRAT a limited production model. They added an all-Walnut model and other custom finish options, so it was a major money-loser (as in not profitable) for Fender and they finally killed it.

And while I hope you're right, mark, in today's Fender guitar-making world of 'artist signature' models, distressed reissues that fake being 50 years old or worn out like it belonged to Andy Summers, EC or SRV, a model for every taste, that's probably why Fender won't make it again...it's too versatile.

helliott
April 30th, 2010, 10:37 AM
I played Strats for three decades before I branched out into bucker guitars -- not because I was bored but because I could finally afford to have more than a couple of guitars.
Loved my pawnshop special 70s LP (got stolen). Still really like my PRS guitars. But when it came time to decide on guitars that would be most practical and versatile for the current band (blues rock, from taj mahal, los lobos, Allmans, EC, Walter Trout, Santana, Fab Tbirds, Colin James, King Biscuit Boy), I turned back to the #1 Strat, bucker in the bridge, S1 switching. I don't find it thin at all, not with a well-set up amp and something like a TS9 for add a little girth where needed. And when you want a lead solo to scream, you can't beat a Strat, in my view.
But I never did think I'd be partial to Teles, too, and yet that's the other guitar I use onstage, very nice for older blues, funk and cleaner stuff.

msteeln
April 30th, 2010, 01:17 PM
A good Strat is like your favorite burger joint, you always go back no matter what else you might try.

red
April 30th, 2010, 01:51 PM
Hmm. That's a really good point.
Thank you, Eric.

Tig
April 30th, 2010, 01:52 PM
... it would be my '81 The STRAT.


Scorpions guitarist Matthias Jabsmight want to add it to his candy apple red Strat collection, so keep it hidden!

_jbX5QRwBsY

red
April 30th, 2010, 02:02 PM
And when you want a lead solo to scream, you can't beat a Strat, in my view.

Amen to that! Starting at about 4:40:

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tremoloman
May 11th, 2010, 11:20 PM
Whenever I go to the music store I always flirt with different brands and models. Some may have a little easier action for me to play or have a finish I dig, but no matter what I always find myself going back to Fenders and Strats. :)

They're just in my blood and they NEVER get old to me.

gregsguitars
May 19th, 2010, 01:04 PM
I would not say "bored with strats" but it has taken me several years to bond with one, I presently own a 1987 Strat plus, lace sensor pickups and a wilkerson roller nut, I absolutely dig the guitar. I think the nut adds sustain and of course it did not hurt that mine was mad by John Page right before he wen to the custom shop, 2 piece alder body, plain rock hard maple neck. great guitar.

birv2
May 19th, 2010, 01:35 PM
Took my Jimmie Vaughan strat to practice last night. After 3 months of just playing the Tele, I thought the Jimmie might be feeling neglected.

No pedals, no picks -- sounded great, and I really enjoyed ALL the pickup positions. Sometimes it's good to take a break and come back fresh.

Mystrom
May 25th, 2010, 01:22 PM
Once I had my Hag Viking deluxe for a while. I sold my strat and Les Paul. I loved them both for a while. I also became sick of the palithrera of Strats and LP's out there. They have their place. Just not in my place. I found my sound in The Hag. And that is what it's all about. The guitar is just a means to an end. So love what you play and play what you love.

Heywood Jablomie
May 25th, 2010, 01:51 PM
I had never really played any Strats, but I did love the sound I heard on records, etc., and when I spotted a used Squier Affinity last week at a great price, I grabbed it - my very first Fender-type guitar. The pots and switch were FUBAR, so I bought new stuff and rewired it yesterday. Haven't played it much yet (I still need to do a full setup), but I must say that I'm beginning to understand why so many players love them. I'm looking forward to getting more familiar with it in the days to come.

Philtration
August 30th, 2011, 08:13 PM
No.. I doubt that I will ever get bored with my Strat.
I used to own a Les Paul that I sold when I wanted to buy a Jazz Bass and I loved that guitar too.
I ended up selling the bass and bought a SG a few months ago because I still wanted a humbucker to go with my single coils and I am more than happy with my new choice.
It all depends on what I feel like playing at the moment.
Some days I want that Strat sound and feel while other times the SG is just what I need and it does not mean that I am bored or sick of either one.

I am just waiting for a nice full or semi-hollow body and I will be content.
I can't see myself owning several of the same kind guitar while you can mix it up and have the best of all worlds.

deeaa
August 31st, 2011, 02:13 AM
I don't think I would be content with a standard anything, except maybe an SG and maybe a Hell Bender by the looks of it.

Just today I was thinking maybe I should sell my strats and buy me a nice Gibson SG just for the hell of it, despite I loathe the idea of a brand guitar being any better...today I just feel like I'd like to have a gibby sg.

Then again, I'm also thinking of selling my entire rig, the Ceria and the cab, and get me a JVM combo instead. Just for convenience's sake and because suddenly I have this feeling again I have to switch things around. I just hits me sometimes, no matter how happy I would be with my gear. I just switch to something, even inferior stuff, just because I have this urge to stir things up again, no matter the cost or sensibility. It's like I build best possible rigs I can think of, and then sell them and start anew a little differently.

It's a disease called 'gear wanking' here. I have a friend who is a self-proclaimed gearwanker...only one day he visited this other fella who is a REAL gear swapper - he's got like 20 guitars and over a dozen amps at any given time and constantly half a dozen buy/sell ads in the local graigslist.

Seeing all that gear my buddy commented 'I now realize I ain't no gear wanker for real...I'm just a wanker!'

Well anyway.

Yeah I can see getting bored with much any guitar. That's why they make 'em different too :-)

Eric
August 31st, 2011, 02:42 AM
Then again, I'm also thinking of selling my entire rig, the Ceria and the cab, and get me a JVM combo instead.
How much are used JVMs over there? Here on craigslist, they're going for very cheap, like $1200-1400 for the 410H. Considering they're like $2200 or something new, that seems really cheap to me.


I just hits me sometimes, no matter how happy I would be with my gear. I just switch to something, even inferior stuff, just because I have this urge to stir things up again, no matter the cost or sensibility. It's like I build best possible rigs I can think of, and then sell them and start anew a little differently.
I can understand that. I was just commenting to someone recently that oftentimes I get really interested in resurrecting some old computer game for nostalgic reasons, which involves finding it, installing it, getting it to run in winxp or linux, etc. And when I finally start playing it, I often end up bored with it. It's like the chase to get it working and defeat that challenge is more fun than the game itself sometimes. It's weird, and I feel kind of helpless when it comes over me. Like I'm doing this inefficient thing that doesn't make sense, but I can't help it anyway.

I think guitars and music gear in general have the industry set up to play to this reflex that many of us have and exploit it as much as possible.

deeaa
August 31st, 2011, 02:52 AM
Combos are costlier, around $1400 for used ones in great condition, heads usually $1200-1300 like over there.
A new combo is almost exactly 2k, head is just 1700;- new.

Good analogy to computers (been there done that :-) and yeah, I do think this is a big factor for manufacturers for making profits...although, I always buy used (the last time I bought something new was just some studio gear).

Commodore 64
August 31st, 2011, 11:57 AM
Currently my Tele is my most played instrument. I don't care for the in-between positions on a Strat. Everytime I pick-up my strat, I play it for a while, then switch back to my Tele. The Strat offers me nothing that my Tele won't give me (at my current skill level/musical interest). And, at least the Tele is not so ubiquitous as the Strat. Strats are beginning to seem mundane to me, if only because they are everywhere.

At this very moment, I'm waiting to hear back from someone on CL about trading my '94 MiM Squier Series Strat for an LTD Viper.

mapka
August 31st, 2011, 01:46 PM
Currently my Tele is my most played instrument. I don't care for the in-between positions on a Strat. Every time I pick-up my strat, I play it for a while, then switch back to my Tele. The Strat offers me nothing that my Tele won't give me (at my current skill level/musical interest).

+1

guitartango
August 31st, 2011, 02:22 PM
Who called me a slut?

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w49/otaypanky/IMG_0589.jpg

Nice carpet (lol)

guitartango
September 1st, 2011, 06:18 AM
Listen to one of the all time classic songs, now replace the guitar with another type of guitar. Would the song sound the same ?

Sultans of Swing..... on a Gibson ?
Day Tripper..... on a Strat ?
Whole lot of Love..... On a Strat
Smoke on the water ..... Rickenbacker

Did the player choose the type of guitar for the sound or i just prefer the guitar?

The strat will always be my first choice of guitar,

duhvoodooman
October 3rd, 2011, 08:32 AM
No. But I sure wish I could make it sound like this:

y_n_P40sEaM

Eric
October 3rd, 2011, 01:51 PM
No. But I sure wish I could make it sound like this:
Maybe some of those big fake teeth inserts would help give you some grip on the strings.

cebreez
October 3rd, 2011, 03:30 PM
I long for a strat because I really like the way they feel but I am and always be a peavey man!

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z326/Cebreez/Instruments%20and%20Gear/Amps%20and%20Effects/0914111342a-1.jpg

markb
October 3rd, 2011, 03:38 PM
While I may become bored of Stratocasters, I'm never bored when I'm with one :cool:

cebreez
October 3rd, 2011, 06:32 PM
Well said!

Katastrophe
October 3rd, 2011, 06:37 PM
Gee, since my last post in this thread in April, 2010, I'm glad to say that my opinion on my Strat hasn't changed.

I love mine, and still marvel at its versatility, after almost 5 years of Strat ownership.

My GAS has changed, and does quite often for different instruments. An SSS Strat or a Tele would be most fun to add to the arsenal.

Spudman
October 3rd, 2011, 07:25 PM
Ya, over a year later since my last post too. I've been playing a lot of humbucking single cut guitars lately and really enjoying the sound and feel of them...but I'm not in the lest bit bored with my Strats. Every time I pick one up it's like coming home baby.

cebreez
October 3rd, 2011, 10:55 PM
With me its all about the neck. I love the thin slick neck of my Peavey T-60. The rest is all about the build. I can get any sound from a Strat to a Tele to a Gibson LP from my PV with the flick of a switch or the turn of a knob and never touch a pedal or my amp. Of course I swapped the original PV humbuckers for more vintage humbuckers that weren't as harsh. The result was a very rich and even tone that translates well from the lows to the highs. Gets me from country to blues to jazz to rock without having to switch guitars.

cebreez
October 3rd, 2011, 11:14 PM
Sorry... A little refrain. Im not downing Strats in the least nor am I regaling my PV as the end all be all. Just saying its my "home" and that is the only reason I don't have a Strat. I do have other guitars I pick up "mostly PV's" because I like experimenting with different styles and tones. The one thing that my T-60 won't do is the sound of a good semi-hollow. For that I have a Peavey JF-1. Definitely a purist guitar because it hates pedals but loves the tubes.

ZMAN
October 4th, 2011, 04:24 AM
Man time flies, it has been a year and I still feel the same. I rarely play my Strats, or even my new Teles. I have gone more to my SGs and Lps. It is amazing how many Strats I have. I must have been in love with them at one time. I will keep several of them because they are pretty guitars.

R_of_G
October 4th, 2011, 08:14 AM
I wouldn't say I'm so much bored with my strat as much as I wish I had another solid body electric. The Gibson is still my primary electric but there are plenty of times I use the strat that I wish it was a Tele. I really only like the humbucker sound. The middle settings I rarely if ever use and the neck pickup really just reminds me that I wish it was a Tele.

Spudman
October 4th, 2011, 01:16 PM
I really only like the humbucker sound. The middle settings I rarely if ever use and the neck pickup really just reminds me that I wish it was a Tele.

This was my solution to that problem.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w149/srspud/Guitars/CheryleBdaycaveand4thofJuly003.jpg

R_of_G
October 4th, 2011, 02:33 PM
Sweet. :)

Spudman
October 4th, 2011, 03:34 PM
Sweet. :)

They're cheap. :poke:D

Robert
October 4th, 2011, 03:45 PM
Bored with Stratocasters? That's impossible.

My answer:

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h81/Garthor/ApplejackNope.jpg

cebreez
October 4th, 2011, 03:47 PM
So was this when I first got it. Shaped like a tele but the closest thing I have left to a strat.

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z326/Cebreez/Instruments%20and%20Gear/Electric%20and%20Acoustic%20Guitars/IMG_1425-1.jpg

$129 Brand new at the local music store. Now it seems to be at $200 and higher. Truth is I've picked these up several times in the music stores just to strum around on and none of them have ever felt like this. It was set up perfectly at the store.

Eric
October 4th, 2011, 04:00 PM
This was my solution to that problem.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w149/srspud/Guitars/CheryleBdaycaveand4thofJuly003.jpg
What guitar is that, Spud? It sure is pretty. What's the body made out of (i.e. what kind of wood)?

Spudman
October 4th, 2011, 05:54 PM
Eric - That is a now discontinued Squier Telecaster Special and the body is Agathis.

cebreez - I have one of those in sunburst. Great guitar.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w149/srspud/Guitars/Generation3single.jpg

cebreez
October 4th, 2011, 06:12 PM
Nice burst Spudman! Yeah I like it alot. Its my backup guitar and sometimes my travel guitar. Been thinking hard about a pup change though. Throw some texas heat into it. But I would need a long day to do it cause I have a strange feeling I would swap them back by the end of the day.

R_of_G
October 5th, 2011, 06:34 AM
They're cheap. :poke:D

Duly noted on my holiday wish list. :)