The Stratocaster is the best guitar ever made

[Robert]

Okay, I'm opening a can of something here... but honestly, I find the Stratocaster design to be the best of all guitars or guitar designs ever made. It has versatility, tone, looks, feel and mojo that simply no other guitar models can touch, in my humble opinion. :beer:

We have Gibsons of course, but I just can never warm up to them. The short scale is non-appealing to me - the Stratocaster gives me both twang and balls. I probably will never be a humbucker man either. Single coils floats my boat. It would be fun to have a Les Paul but I am afraid I would get bored of it. They don't have a lot of different tones in them. The ones they have kick booty to some extent though, I would have to agree on that.

What about the Telecaster? Well it's great too, but I'd still pick the Strat ahead of it. The sound and feel is slightly more appealing to me . The tremolo bridge is another reason I put it ahead of the Tele. The Tele has its own sound and mojo and it's very close, but for me, the Strat is THE guitar out of all of them.

Other designs? Well, dunno - I can't think of any others that have the appeal of the ones above, or have stood the test of time as these have. PRS, Danelectro, etc - oh no, don't get me started... :pancake:

[Ch0jin]

M'mmmm Worms :)

I respectfully disagree.

I crave neither twang nor versatility although I do appreciate a volume and tone control per pickup.
A tremolo system adds unneeded complication as well as reliability and tuning issues.
I need two PU positions only and neither position should amplify background noise.
Looks are subjective, but I've never seen a Fender guitar that came close to the finishes you commonly see on Gibson's, which then pale in comparison to say PRS etc

Guess I'm just the anti-Robert :)

I'm with you on the scale though. All three of my guitars have 25.5" necks.

[markb]

More like a huge barrel o' snakes, I'd say. This needs further thought ;)

[Spudman]

The Strat design works for me. I just get tired of all the weedeley, weedeley, twaaaang, grrrrrrimpph, scree scree, wah sounds that come out of it.

[Jimi75]

The STRAT is a musical weapon. When you play a good Strat you feel the tones vibrating through the wood and in my opinion no other guitar transports the tone vibration as much as a Strat. The handling and feel is unbeatable, it is the most practical concept im my eyes (please make no efforts to post pics of Parker guitars and other Star Trek Guitars that some mad professor invented....I don't care! :) ). *lol*

Its strength is its simplicity. To me good sounds starts with basic features that offer me the opportunity to shape the sound. Single coils do this more to me than humbuckers could ever do - this is also valid for single-channelled amps ;).

I love the woody sound you get when you play with the neck pick up. No other guitar can mimic/do that. Regarding the design aspect it is perfect. The shaping is beautiful. I wonder why so many people say you can not use the bridge PU it sounds to bright in a Strat. Use the tone knob to adjust brightness, and then go for great creamy distorted sounds or 50's Rockabilly stuff, the Strat has it all!

All this I say with great respect to gibsonstyle guitars and Teles that I also like, but honestly spoken, there's nothing like a Strat to me.
I have equipped my Jimmie Vaughan with Texas Special PUs from the beginning on and never looked back since then.

[duhvoodooman]

This is such an INCREDIBLY SUBJECTIVE declaration that I'm kind of surprised that you'd open up said can of annelids on your own forum, RR! (now if Strummy had started this thread--that I could believe! ;) :D )

To use a line I heard once, "I feel strongly both ways". To me, there will always be two classic rock machines--the Strat and the Les Paul. They each have their own unique and indispensable characteristics and I really don't have a preference between them. Arguing that one is better than the other seems pointless to me. They're so totally different that comparison is an exercise in futility. AFAIC, any serious rock guitarist (listening there, R-man? :poke: :D ) needs to have at least one of each--either the genuine article or a more inexpensive clone that captures the essential qualities. Rock on, Fretters! :rockon: :dude: :DR

[bigoldron]

The Strat design works for me. I just get tired of all the weedeley, weedeley, twaaaang, grrrrrrimpph, scree scree, wah sounds that come out of it.

Is that the Strat or your playing? :poke:

Seriously, I don't disagree with Robert as I've gone over to the Strat style camp. My main guitar is a Washburn WI64 Idol with 2 GFS humbuckers in it and I do love its sound. It's a heavier sound that really plays well with Southern and Classic Rock and Contemporary Christian as well. I like it and I'm not going to "dis" that tone.

But, since I've started playing a Strat style Yamaha and especially now that I've got my Squier Strat, I've discovered a whole new range of tones that is not, as Robert said, available in the "humbucker/LP world".

If I had to declare a winner, I guess I would have to go with the Strat as it does offer a wider range of sounds (LOVE that quack) than a Paul, but when the song calls for it, there's nothing like that humbucker based guitar.

That's why I have at least one of each - more options! Two of my guitars are Fat Strat style guitars (HSS), so I guess that's a good compromise between the two. If they had better pickups, then I guess you really could declare the Strat the winner.

I do love the look, finish and feel of PRS's, but they're WAY out of my price range, so I don't see me owning one, unless the lottery comes through or I win one somehow. Anyway, that's enough of me rambling.

[oldguy]

Nothing wrong with having an opinion, Robert.............

I have more Strats/Strat style guitars than anything, but I absolutely love my Agile LP copy as well. It will do stuff the Strats don't, and do it well.
I also dig my Tele, but again, it has it's own personality.
Is the Strat the best guitar ever made? I dunno............. depends on the flavor you crave at the time............ Is a cheesburger w/ sharp cheddar the best sammich ever made, or do you prefer ham on rye w/ swiss now and then?

That's kinda how I look at it. :D

[Blaze]

I think that Fender Strat & Gibson LP are the best in there respective world ..

Remember Jeff Beck classic Blow by Blow album played with Lp and then he went to Strat for some awesome albums..

Same thing with Bonammassa but the other way, went from Strat to mostly LP now.

The main thing is that these guys are the one that create the licks , the tone ,this sound .

I m a believer that no matter the guitar model,the guitarist is the one that make it sing.


I personally think the LP is more versatile while the Start has its own identity.


Blazes

[Robert]

:D Well, I guess a Les Paul would look good hanging on a wall around here, might even bring one to a gig if I knew the crowd was small :) ... but not yet. I'm not ready for a Les Paul yet.

Feel free to have your opinion guys - I think most of us are either a single coil guy or a humbucker guy. Y'all know what I am.

The point of this thread is just to stir up some thoughts about the Stratocaster!

I also need to add this is about solid body electrics only. Acoustics or hollow body guitars are not included in this discussion, as I see them as different instruments.

[wingsdad]

...
Other designs? Well, dunno - I can't think of any others that have the appeal of the ones above, or have stood the test of time as these have. ...

One might add the Gibson 335, introduced in 1958 as a 2-humbucker semi-hollow double-cutaway (with Bigsby or Gibson Maestro Vibrato) as a 4th 'Classic' Design. [Gibson, of course, had a slew of other hollow body models, mostly single-cutaway with P90's, before the 335.]

I use the term 'Classic Design' as in: ceaselessly imitated, copied and finally, attempted to be improved upon with a myriad of modifications to the original designs.

In that sense, I'd venture that no other design has been as 'Classic', as imitated, as 'knocked off', as modded, as the original 1954 Fender Stratocaster. The Strat was originally designed and introduced with only 3 pickup selector positions, each pickup individually, and the 2 controls were for the middle and neck; the bridge pup, like that on the Tele before it, were just 'straight', intended to be bright and loud, to emulate a lap or pedal steel guitar's sound, to cut thru the rest of the band. The '2' and '4' selector positions that render the paralel combinations with 'the quack' were almost accidentally discovered (invented?) by early Strat players, and were kind of a grass-roots thing, spread among players . Eventually, in the mid-late-60's, the 5-way switch made them official.

Then again, when speaking of Les Pauls, is it The Chicken or The Egg Design?

If one is 'single-coil' kinda player, then let's not overlook that the original '52 Les Paul model (Goldtop) was a 2-P90 guitar; humbuckers didn't even come along on it until mid-57 when Seth Lover had developed the PAF, and in '58, the LP Standard finally 'oficially' was the 2-humbucker model. Shoot...Les Paul brought Gibson his 'Log' 5 years before they finally put the Les Paul on the market, and purists that they were, poo-pooed the solid body concept...until influenced to embrace it because Leo Fender had this cheap $130 slab of ash, maple-necked Telecaster feedback-busting thing going on.

The Telecaster? IMHO, this is the design that's 'stood the test of time' more so than any other. Because, after all, without it, the Stratocaster wouldn't have been designed by Leo Fender (with George Fullerton and others) to improve upon its limitations. And Gibson wouldn't have gone back to Les Paul's 'Log' and reconsidered.

Is the Tele the Chicken, or is it the Egg?

Gibson even discontinued the LP as we know it today when they replaced it with the SG as the 'Les Paul' in the early 60's and threw Firebirds and Thunderbirds and other 'sexy space age' body shapes out there, all of which, one could argue, of course, attempts to grab some of the thunderous appeal of the Stratocaster's original sexy shape and 'space age' name. It was only reintroduced at the end of the 60's because the 58 Standard was so sought-after, it having 'stood the test of time'.

[sumitomo]

I like 'em all but Im always drawn to the strat,quess why that's why I have three.I like what Jimi said,"Its a musical weapon"and it is.Sumi:D

[wingsdad]

...
I also need to add this is about solid body electrics only.

I was writing my above post before you made this stipulation. :o I should have realized when you left the 335 out of your opening post that this was your position.
Acoustics or hollow body guitars are not included in this discussion, as I see them as different instruments.

Acoustics, sure, not electric guitars unless equipped and originally designed to be, like an Ovation Custom Balladeer. But to exclude hollow body (or semi-hollow?) electrics, when they preceded solid-body electrics, as a 'different' instrument?

But...do they get played differently? Maybe I need to play another 47 years to get the picture right...:whatever:

Others obviously got your point as I didn't, since I was the first to bring up the 'different instrument'.Seriously, I mean no disrespect here and don't intend to be 'arguing with an administrator' (I certainly don't want to be banned for breaking one of the Forum Rules) :master:

[sunvalleylaw]

I was going to weigh in as I own a semi hollow electric (the Viking), and my strat. Robert, you are excluding hollow bodies, but the Vik is semi hollow with a center block of wood, has humbuckers, and for me covers the humbucker territory I want at this point. It for me covered humbucker territory instead of a LP, because I just didn't find the right LP that I really wanted. I love both my electric guitars. The do different things for me. But as I stated in my deserted Island thread, I would pick my strat if I could keep only one. As I said, I never have warmed up to a LP or LP copy that told me I needed to buy it. I might get one someday, but will most likely get a tele first. I'll have to decide if I want a humbucker in the neck of my tele, or a middle pickup strat style. I doubt either a tele or a LP would ever replace my strat. They (strats) just feel so good, and to me are so versatile.

[marnold]

<SNL>Robert, you ignorant slut.</SNL>

Sorry, couldn't resist.

This will be subjective. Obviously I'm a big fan of Super Strats, so if you definite Stratiness by what Leo originally designed, I'd disagree. If you'd open the definition to include the likes of a San Dimas Charvel, then I'd agree. I've never really played a Les Paul, so I can't comment too far. I can't imagine having a Strat without a humbucker at the bridge. A Tele bridge single coil rules. A Strat one is just . . . there.

My only gripe with a Strat is that the Strat body shape (and the Les Paul shape for that matter) has pretty much defined what an electric guitar should look like. So go into a GC and see how many non-Strat or non-Les-Paul bodies you find. As "out there" as guitarists can be, we're a dreadfully boring lot when it comes to guitar body shapes. I guess that's why I like pointies because at least it's different.

[Robert]

Wingsdad, no problem! I enjoyed your response greatly. I think I understand what you mean about the forum rules. What that part refers to is arguing about disciplinary decisions made by administrators or moderators. Discussions and different opinions than administrators/moderators regarding guitar stuff are most welcome! I'll make a change to the rules to clarify this.

Anyway, I've always felt that the hollow body guitars are a different breed of guitars and I tend to play them way differently than solid body electrics. I guess it may be unfair to exclude the great hollow body guitars out of this discussion, so what the heck, let's include solid body guitars too! I've always wanted a 335 and maybe one day...

I know I'm an ignorant slut, a gear slut that is...

[Andy]

Obviously I'm a big fan of Super Strats

me two , but I think were a minority here, in fact I see a very low count of Les Paul posts as well.

this is a very dominant strat and tele territory.

[wingsdad]

Thanks for clarifying that, Robert.

For the record, while over the years I've played and owned at least one of all of the 'Classics' I yakked about, out of all the guitars I've owned since I got it in '81, my Fender STRAT is my #1 'Go-to' guitar, kind of a 'Swiss Army Knife'. However, it is NOT a 'classic' Strat by design, not even close, and was never meant to be; it has an alder body that weighs in at around 9 lbs., 9 Pickup Selector Positions (including Bridge & Neck in Series and all 3 in Series) and a single Master Tone control. (This versatility is why at one point, after 'retiring' from active gigging, I'd sold off my stable except this one...the only 6-string electric I had until I started rebuilding a collection around 10 years ago.) I start with IT, then if I find I'm a little hemmed in, even working my amp and/or effects with it, I reach for one of the others that are more 'specific'.



...
I've always wanted a 335 and maybe one day...



Maybe, as a single coil guy, you should give an Epi Casino, or if you can find one, a vintage Gibson ES-330TD, a try? P90's, hollow, not semi-hollow...it followed the 335, going back to the P90's. My first pro quality guitar was a '64 330. Then I got a '66 Tele. Didn't get into the Strat, or LP's until the mid-70's.

[Spudman]

Every guitar hangs differently on me. So far the Strat is the one that feels best. Everything is at just the right angle and there are no sharp edges digging into my ribs or forearm. The one exception being some of the Ibanez guitars such as the RG or S series. Both of those really are just modified versions of the Strat design. The Musicman Luke hangs perfectly as well and could be included as a Strat design. It's just that I feel more mobile and at ease with the Strat hanging off me compared to all the other guitars. It has more flow. It's smooth. I also love all the tonal options more so than any other guitar.

[sunvalleylaw]

me two , but I think were a minority here, in fact I see a very low count of Les Paul posts as well.

this is a very dominant strat and tele territory.

I would love to add a super strat some day. I would like to sometime find a good post 2006 MIM for a good price and mod it to suit. That, or a good Ibanez superstrat. There is one over at Spud's house I really like. I think it would be fun to have a tele too though.

I guess I focus on the playability and design of the guitar first before considering the pickup, tone knob and switch configurations, when answering this question. My strat is set up pretty traditionally, but with a 5 position switch.

[Spudman]

I would love to add a super strat some day. There is one over at Spud's house I really like

Don't you think I notice that as soon as it gets close to Christmas how you start dropping hints? Sheesh!:whatever: "Dont you know you're going to shock the monkey."

[sunvalleylaw]

Don't you think I notice that as soon as it gets close to Christmas how you start dropping hints? Sheesh!:whatever: "Dont you know you're going to shock the monkey."

No, no no . . . no hinting. I am berry grateful for your help on the Vik. But going over to your house to look at gear is better than going to a good guitar store. Better selection than most too! :D

[oldguy]

I really have dug all the Ibanez super strat style guitars I've had the chance to play, but so far the Charvel Model 6 has eased the G.A.S. enough I haven't bought one.
I did just buy another Roadhouse Strat, so I guess I'm one of the Strat dominant folks here............:whatever:

[Robert]

Well, we DO have a Gibson section, just seems to be kinda dead over there...?
:whatever:

[R_of_G]

Well, we DO have a Gibson section, just seems to be kinda dead over there...?
:whatever:

I posted there once. Then I got lonely. :whatever:

For what it's worth in this thread, I like my Strat. I like it a lot. I don't like it a billionth as much as I love my Gibson ES-135. Now, I know there is a wide difference between a semi-hollow and a solid body in terms of tone and playability and many other factors. That said, I'm not sure the Strat is the solid-body to end all solid bodies for me. It's fun to play and as well as this one plays I couldn't pass it up for the price at which I got it, but I still crave a Tele. It's just more suited to my playing.

[Blaze]

Startocaster - Les Paul & Telecaster played by the same guy


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[just strum]

:D Well, I guess a Les Paul would look good hanging on a wall around here, might even bring one to a gig if I knew the crowd was small :) ... but not yet. I'm not ready for a Les Paul yet.

Feel free to have your opinion guys - I think most of us are either a single coil guy or a humbucker guy. Y'all know what I am.

The point of this thread is just to stir up some thoughts about the Stratocaster!

I also need to add this is about solid body electrics only. Acoustics or hollow body guitars are not included in this discussion, as I see them as different instruments.

Well, since the rules have been clarified - Robert, you are so full of...

Just kidding. I would have disagreed with the beginning of this thread, but since you clarified it by stating solid body, I would have to agree with you (you in a clarifying mood today?).

I don't like the LP and every LP I've tried at the stores just didn't do anything for me. As for the Strat, it has to have one of the most recognized and I believe comfortable bodies. At first I didn't like the sound I was getting from mine, buy once plugged into a tube amp, things changed.

I am a humbucker guy and prefer the tone and versatility of the ES335 style guitar, but your clarification knocked that out. I also think that a Fender Strat is only a real Strat if it has three singles, so that is where mine loses a little (HSS), but I still feel it's a keeper.

[Spudman]

Strats fly around your neck tons better than a Les Paul or other.

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Correct guitar
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[Algonquin]

Ahhh, the dreaded Yngwie 360 manouver... I patched many a hole in the ceiling on that one before I gave up. :D

[just strum]

I can't believe that Strat hits a pole, smack the concrete, and the head and neck are intact. Now they definitely have Gibson/Epiphone beat when it comes to neck/head strength

[ZMAN]

My arsenal is made up of Strats and Assorted Gibbies. I think a guitar that is totally overlooked is the SG. And yes it comes in a single coil (p90).
I think what a lot of people miss is the ease of play on the neck of any double cut away guitars. They are set much higher in the body and therefore make the frets from 15 up totally accesible. I always find it hard to play Strats (10) or LPs (3) on those frets. I have no problem with my SG, ES335 or Sheraton.
I know a lot of people think they are neck heavy but I still say thay are the easiest guitar to play.
You can talk all you want about Chimey and Quack but the growl from a hummbucker and even the same from a P90 will always make the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Oh and I guess I do love Strats I have 10 of them but probably 60/40 towards the double cuts.

[Andy]

As far as ease of play I'll have to go with my ESP,, full access to the 24th fret , thin super smooth neck, neck thru body, no heel and resonates like a tuning fork. Action as low as you could possibly get.It all but plays it's self !

I've been wanting annother strat for a long time, I don't have the funds to get what I want right now, but I'm 99% sure it will be a strat (and used).
just have to get the job situation squared away with steady income returning.
If not for that I would already have one.

I had a very early squire also , and after some swaps(pickups ,tremelo) that was the best playing strat I ever....owned! I let the guitarist for Boots Randolf borrow it one weekend and he would not give it back, this is a guy who had several strats so we made an even trade, my squire for a 74 strat. I couldn't pass it up, but I didn't like the 74 couldn't warm up to it so I traded that in on something
(I don't remember what exactly) but that was my last real strat.

sure wish I could get that squire back.

[just strum]

Well if nothing else, this thread did get me to take the Strat out of its case.

Did a little more messing around with the p/u switch, tone knobs, and RP than I normally do and hit on some nice tones.

[marnold]

Joe B. could play a fistful of dirt and make it sound cool. He played that Tele when I saw him in Green Bay. I nearly was blinded by it a couple of times.

[kiteman]

I was an LP and an SG guy for a long time til I bought a Carvin bolt kit. My very first strat and now I got a DC127 being made at Carvin. Now I'm a strat guy and I feel better about it.

Why? The strat is easy to play on and it's breakable. You can pop the neck off and put on another. You can pop off the pickguard and put on another with different pup configs. You can't do that on a Gibson easy enough.

I see the strat as a working man's guitar.

[Spudman]

I can't believe that Strat hits a pole, smack the concrete, and the head and neck are intact. Now they definitely have Gibson/Epiphone beat when it comes to neck/head strength

Except that it's a Peavey.

[peachhead]

I'm with DVM on this one I think- each is it's own remarkable sound and you can't replace either. I'm still lusting after an LP, but then again I'd love to have another Strat (right now the object of my desires is a Jimmy Vaughan) but then again, I'd like to have a Tele. Three different sounds, all (I think) essential to quality of life on this planet, none necessarily better than the other.

Now if I just knew how to play the damn things better than I do...

:D

[oldguy]

Except that it's a Peavey.

I thought there was something weird about that headstock.........
I was gonna try that w/ my Roadhouse, but it kept snagging on the straps of my bibs.............;)

[SuperSwede]

Except that it's a Peavey.

:D



And Robert if you think that strats are great, just wait until you trade in your copy for a real Fender ;)

[Tibernius]

I'm with DVM on this one I think- each is it's own remarkable sound and you can't replace either. I'm still lusting after an LP, but then again I'd love to have another Strat (right now the object of my desires is a Jimmy Vaughan) but then again, I'd like to have a Tele. Three different sounds, all (I think) essential to quality of life on this planet, none necessarily better than the other.


Same here. I tend to play different guitars for different styles.

I actually think that the Tele is more versatile than the strat. While the strat has 5 different tones, they'll all variants of the same one. Whereas the Tele has three completely diffferent ones.

And it looks nicer. :D

[ZMAN]

We are not saying they aren't a tough guitar. I have a DVD of SRV at the El Mocambo, in Toronto. He is playing number one and puts it down on the floor and put both feet on it and picks up the neck and trys to surf on it.
He then finish the set with it.
IF you want to see a Strat fest just view both of the Clapton Crossroads DVDs. It looks as if you have to have a Strat to get on Stage!
I would agree with Robert if he made the thread title "The Stratocaster the best modular guitar ever made".
Funny thing that most people don't know is that Leo Fender could not play guitar. He was an engineer, and designed the guitar to be comfortable and easy to make. The basic design was done in 1953! He used Musicians feedback to tweak the original design.

[markb]

The weekly jam at my local pub is definitely a strat owners' club meeting. We sometimes get a bloke with a Les Paul but even he borrows my strat sometimes. I have to agree with Tibernius on the tonal range of the tele. Fender's original creation just covers more ground.

[Andy]

I can't argue the versatility of strats and teles, mabey they are the "best guitar in the world"!




tho Les Pauls are cooler.

[just strum]

I just noted in another thread how I have been spending more time with the Strat and finding out just how versatile it is. Still love my Dot and Wildkat, but I have a new fondness for the Strat.

[Katastrophe]

No doubt about it, Leo Fender was a genius.

His idea to make a guitar modular is pure freakin' brilliance. If a neck twists, bolt on a new one. Don't like the pickguard? Bolt on a new one. It made for durable guitars that could take a beating, that could be made by regular people, not necessarily luthiers. That made the guitar cheaper.

So, let's recap:

1. Easier to repair.
2. Durable.
3. Modular.
4. More easily customized to the player.
5. Cheaper to manufacture.

I would never dream of doing to a LP what Stevie Ray did to Number 1. I'd be so freaked out over every nick and ding that I wouldn't be able to play it. That said, I love the way good LPs play, and their sound is totally unique, too!

It's pretty cool, actually, to look at the different ways that Leo and Les addressed the design issues with the electric guitar.

[TS808]

I respectfully have to agree....I love a strat. It's not only the tone but the "feel" of it. I've owned teles, Les Pauls, an SG, and even an Ibanez at one time, but I always gravitate back to the strat and that is always my number one guitar. My Agiles have pretty much been collecting dust lately. Shorter scale guitars always feel "stiff" to me. The strat just feels right.

[cherokee747]

The Strat has always been my guitar of choice.I currently have an American Deluxe and an American Standard. I love the tones, feel and playability of them.I play mostly blues- blues rock so they fit like a glove as to my music.Bought my first Fender brand new in 1966 and have'nt looked back.Crank em through a 65 Bassman or my Plexi clone and for me, am in tonal heaven.:AOK: Mike

[mrmudcat]

The Strat has always been my guitar of choice.I currently have an American Deluxe and an American Standard. I love the tones, feel and playability of them.I play mostly blues- blues rock so they fit like a glove as to my music.Bought my first Fender brand new in 1966 and have'nt looked back.Crank em through a 65 Bassman or my Plexi clone and for me, am in tonal heaven.:AOK: Mike



AGREED:dude:

[pes_laul]

yeah I'm definately a humbucker sorta guy but I do quite enjoy coil tapping ;)

I like the strat feel but I can't play them very well it's like I can't solo very fast

[Andy]

I don't consider it a "one or the other"
I love strats and singlecoils , I equally love thick humbucker lp style guitars.
I can pick either one up and play for hours.

I love strats with humbuckers. and p-90 equipped les pauls...

I need to own them all!

[sumitomo]

I remember at a Robert Cray concert,watching him take off one strat and sliding it to a roadie stage side and he slid another to him,he picked it up played it the rest of the night.Sumi:D

[oldguy]

Yep, Strats are fine guitars all right, no doubt about it.:D
I have 3, and 3 more Strat-style guitars.


The Wilburn has 2 Kent Armstrong humbuckers and a 5 way switch that let's you go (from back to front) 1. bridge pu, humbucker....2. bridge pu, single coil....3. Both pu's, single coil....4. neck pu, single coil....5. neck pu, humbucker. It's not a bad switching scheme. The combined single coils get close to a Tele sound, the individual single coils, ditto, and the individual humbuckers fatten up the sound and cut through a little more.

[helliott]

Interesting discussion, and timely for me. Recently I've been breaking in a new band, and figuring out what rig will work best. My Tele is for specialized work, the Epiphone is too big and not quite versatile enough, which left the PRS CE22 or CE24 or my Fat Strat. Tried a bunch of combinations, and settled on The Strat through Tonelab through 30-watt Peavey, with the Mesa Lone Star ready for use in bigger venues. This rig gives great tone options, especially with the Strat's S1 switching available.
We're looking at some Allman Brothers (Statesboro, One Way Out), Skynrd (I Know a Little), Los Lobos (I Walk Alone), SRV (Cold Shot) plus some Band (Ophelia, The Shape I'm In). For this sort of music, the Strat has just the right variety of tones and clean/dirty options, especially with the versatility of the Tonelab. Another deciding factor for me was the Strat's simplicity. I'm doing a fair amount of lead vocals in this band (yikes!) and The Strat is just dead easy to manipulate, browning out where required, running volume at 7/8 boosting to wide open for solos. For me it's just intuitive, and much as I like the PRS tone, The Strat is a perfect fit.
So for the next while, #1 is Strat, #2 the PRS twins.

[kiteman]

Now that I'm a strat guy I went for a super strat.

HSH config and a super switch.. oh my. :dude:

[Spudman]

Look how inspirational our forum is.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2204135

[sunvalleylaw]

LOL!, and look how the members there treat the thread.

I do admit that when I see the title to this thread, I want to reply:

"Well, Duh!" ;) :rotflmao:

[Jimi75]

yeah I'm definately a humbucker sorta guy but I do quite enjoy coil tapping ;)

I like the strat feel but I can't play them very well it's like I can't solo very fast

After hundreds of discussions with musicians the a.m. is really the no. 1 argument against the STRAT for most of them. I think putting a humbucker into a STRAT is pure blasphemy (just kidding!!!!), but honestly if a Strat is set up correctly and if you mod your STRAT that way that one tone controle can controle the bridge pu, you will have rock heavenly sounds that make it so darn easy to play fast solos. It is important to find out which neck radius offers your personal stlye of playing the most comfort. Bear in mind that it depends on the neck radius if you cen set your strings low enough to suit shred mode playing. By the way, I enjoy humbuckers too from time to time and it is relaxing to switch from "working man's playing" to "relax and easy hb playing".

[sunvalleylaw]

Ha Ha, and I say the above when I am not playing my Hagstrom. When I am playing the Vik, my attitude is different. :)