Oh, and btw, howdy all. I've been away for quite a while, just trying to survive and get them good grades in college while retaining something resembling a life (though not a social one; if I can just sit down for a couple of hours every night after homework to play some guitar or games, I'm happy).

Anyway, sorry this is a long post but it DOES involve 3 guitars. The three Strats I'm looking at are: A Strat Standard MIM SSS, a Deluxe Players Strat, and a Lonestar Strat. The one I'll get would be a Sunburst with Rosewood fretboard.

I initially wanted the Deluxe Players, but I haven't been hearing the nicest things about the Vintage Noiseless pickups- it's said that they can be on the harsh/shrill side and they don't have that "true Strat sound". When I played one versus a Standard, I did notice that the sound seem a bit thinner next to the Standard. Also, I hear they're actually humbuckers (I'm getting a Strat in the first place because I want a single coil pup guitar) and I've even seen someone mention something about them being gated (this surprises me). I've also seen complaints about the Standards and that the pickups there aren't great, but perhaps closer to that whole "Strat sound".

The Lonestar represents the middle ground to me. Yes, it has a humbucker, but it's a Pearly Gates and unlike its Roadhouse Strat brother, you can get it with a rosewood fretboard. I'm worried about the Texas Specials, though, because I do want to be able to get a nice clean sound out of it, too. However, I'm mainly a low volume player, so maybe the extra push might help me when I finally plunk down the money for a Fender Blues Jr. and want to get some overdrive. I just don't know if the Texas Specials are the most versatile of pickups and while I'd love something like a Stevie Ray sound, I don't want it to be the only thing I have.


The only other considerations I have is I like the 12" radius neck on the Deluxe Players over the 9.5" of the Standard and Lonestar, as I don't have huge hands and it feels comfortable to me (but that could also be because I'm used to my Epi Les Paul, which also have 12" radius necks) and for some reason, the $400 tag on the Standard has me wondering where they're cutting corners in build quality.

Input?