Members Oldskool Texas Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Along come CBS, and they make the headstock bigger so it can sport a bigger branding label: blammo, the headstock shape is now a functional design rather than purely a cosmetic thing. Well, that's how I choose to see it, anyhow... Good post, and I'm totally on board until this part. From what I have read, Leo Fender considered "functionality" to be the degree of practicality and utility in a guitar's manufacturing and repair, as well as in its ability to convey musical tone. Since the only function of a decal is visual advertising, I'd say it clearly falls under the category of "cosmetics." In other words, I think you've got it backwards - the small headstock was purely functional; the larger was cosmetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notcool Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 I've played 70s Strats, and the guitars from the early part of the decade were okay, I guess. But the late 1970s Strats are pure {censored}. I'd smash one in a heartbeat if I had the chance. Actually, the Mexican made 70s reissues are a whole lot better than that junk that was made in the late 1970s. Whenever I see a late 1970s (black pickguard era) Strat selling for $1000 or better, I want to vomit. Hell, my MIM standard Strats play like a dream compared to that overpriced garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Volitan Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 There was nothing wrong with them. Same thing that was "wrong" Norlin Gibsons. Just a bunch of ignorant people who can't judge a guitar on a case-by-case basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bikehorn Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 what? everything I have ever read about the sale to CBS sited Leo's constant health issues as the reason for the sale. He then went into early retirment that lasted oh, about 2 months before feeling better and getting back to work. I haven't heard about expansion issues before. His health was in decline due to the stresses of being the behind an exploding company that was building instruments unlike anything else at the time. Everyone has seen every last obscure Fender design by now and it's mundane to think a bout but really, at the time these designs were from outer space. Who else would come up with something as crazy as the Jazzmaster? They were completely earthshattering in their heyday and other companies had to resort to copying Fender - making designs they previously looked down upon because Fender was just slaughtering them in the image and sales department(this is why flashy designs like the Gibson Firebird, Explorer, Flying V, etc were introduced...they had to prove they weren't boring starchy old guys catering only to jazz players). Leo was a serious workaholic and he was designing new stuff all the time. Lots of his time went into tweaking things and let's not forget, he was as busy designing amplifiers as he was guitars and the manufacturing process to make those guitars actually happen. He was not really a businessman and as the company got bigger and bigger, he was having to make more business type decisions rather than just work on his art. After he recovered, he did a little consultancy work for CBS Fender and then began Music Man. This is what I got from "American Guitars" by Tom Wheeler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cold Gin Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 The four best strat players ever play (played) "crappy" CBS Fenders: Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Chris Impelliteri. And the worse strat players play pre-CBS or post-CBS Fenders: Eric Clapton, SRV, John Mayer etc. A coincidence? I think not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 The four best strat players ever play (played) "crappy" CBS Fenders: Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Chris Impelliteri. And the worse strat players play pre-CBS or post-CBS Fenders: Eric Clapton, SRV, John Mayer etc.A coincidence? I think not. While Jimi played CBS Strats, he played them before Fender's problems cropped up. The bullet truss rod and three-bolt neck plate didn't appear until after his death. He still had the stamped saddles on the trem. Also, the finishes didn't yet convert into those thick, dipped and polished finishes of the '70s. Ritchie Blackmore is known to be a tinkerer, so it seems he was able to overcome the issues with his guitars. Also, it wasn't every guitar. Part of the problem was the inconsistency. If you got a good one, you got a GOOD one, but if you got a bad one, it was BAD. Yngwie Malmsteen doesn't count because he's a douche with no soul. Sure, he can play, but I yawn in three seconds. He sounds like speed exercises over and over to me without any actual composition unless he's playing some classical piece was was written centuries before he was born. Who the hell is Chris Impelliteri and why should anybody care? I won't comment on the last three because that's always up for contention, however I happen to like all three and they can/did outplay just almost every member of this forum in one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 The four best strat players ever play (played) "crappy" CBS Fenders: Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Chris Impelliteri. And the worse strat players play pre-CBS or post-CBS Fenders: Eric Clapton, SRV, John Mayer etc.A coincidence? I think not. OMG... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yngtchie Blacksteen Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Yngwie Malmsteen doesn't count because he's a douche with no soul. Sure, he can play, but I yawn in three seconds. He sounds like speed exercises over and over to me without any actual composition unless he's playing some classical piece was was written centuries before he was born.The jealousy is strong with this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 'While Jimi played CBS Strats, he played them before Fender's problems cropped up. The bullet truss rod and three-bolt neck plate didn't appear until after his death. He still had the stamped saddles on the trem. Also, the finishes didn't yet convert into those thick, dipped and polished finishes of the '70s. Jimi H started playing brand-new (ie big-head) generally mapleboard Strats after he relocated to the US in 1968.Prior to that (1966 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitar-fish Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 So let's see...if Jimi played 60s Strats, he would have sucked? And if Clapton played 70s Strats, he'd sound better? :poke: The CBS-era Strats were worse than any other Fender era to date. It's a fact, deal with it. Does that mean EVERY 70s Strat was awful? No, not anymore than it means every 60s or 80s Strat was great. But generally speaking, the 70s products were bad, because the people running the company were more concerned about making a profit than they were about making quality instruments. Thankfully those days are over. Does this mean if you own a 70s Strat we're picking on you? Not at all. But to claim that there was "nothing wrong with them" in the 70s, and it's just "ignorant people" who think otherwise...well, you don't have the facts of history on your side, which makes you look like the ignorant one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cephus Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 I have a cast fender strat trem that is from that era, I think. I have it in my squier funk guitar i built. I think it sounds good and the strings are much easier to get out after a break than the vintage style bridge that was on my 1988 '62 ri strat. Are they supposed to be crap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Edward Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 The four best strat players ever play (played) "crappy" CBS Fenders: Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Chris Impelliteri. And the worse strat players play pre-CBS or post-CBS Fenders: Eric Clapton, SRV, John Mayer etc. A coincidence? I think not. Hey there! How are thnigs under the bridge this time of year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yngtchie Blacksteen Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Two more '70's Strat users are Robin Trower and Walter Trout. I'm guessing a lot of people use the '70's Strats because they feel and sound different to the earlier ones, and maybe they were just cheaper than earlier '50's and early '60's Strats back in those days, so it made sense to use them. I don't think Blackmore and Malmsteen would've necessarily sounded better with Strats of an earlier vintage, just... different. Personally, I love the looks of '70's Strats, the big headstock with the revised logo looks great to me. Oh, and Chris Impellitteri? That wanker shouldn't be mentioned alongside truly great players. For shame... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GRANKOR Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 The jealousy is strong with this one. nah, it's not jealousy I agree and I don't even play much guitar anymore. Malmsteen is boring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yngtchie Blacksteen Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 nah, it's not jealousy I agree and I don't even play much guitar anymore. Malmsteen is boringWhat does his music have to do with anything? The man knows very well how the instrument works, certainly better than whatshisface here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Two more '70's Strat users are Robin Trower and Walter Trout. I'm guessing a lot of people use the '70's Strats because they feel and sound different to the earlier ones, and maybe they were just cheaper than earlier '50's and early '60's Strats back in those days, so it made sense to use them. I don't think Blackmore and Malmsteen would've necessarily sounded better with Strats of an earlier vintage, just... different. Yeah, I definitely don't think it's the guitars that made a difference. David Gilmour played pre-CBS Strats and Teles and early CBS (big headstock, no bullet or three-bolt) Strats and he was awesome regardless. Actually, his black Strat is loaded with some early '70s greybottom pickups. Personally, I love the looks of '70's Strats, the big headstock with the revised logo looks great to me. Oh, I like the looks of them, too. It's just the inconsistency that gets to me. And the incorrect cut on the upper bout of the Teles. I do admit that I love the look of the Deluxe and Custom Teles. Oh, and Chris Impellitteri? That wanker shouldn't be mentioned alongside truly great players. For shame... Well, at least you know who he is. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ZooropaTV Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Whilst I concur that Fender had some QC issues in the 70s which generally were a consequence from mass production, there are a lot of lightweight examples around that simply sound awesome. I owned a lot of 70s Fenders (Strats), for a while I bought them off ebay by the dozen just to keep the good ones and sell the others, rarely without a small profit btw. I experienced that the earlier the better, most 71-74 Strats I played were good to very good guitars. I finally kept three, a olympic white '72, a natural '73 and a black '75, all shown below (the '76 3tone sb hardtail shown was sold recently because I found out that I am not a hardtail guy when it comes to Strats). I have yet to see and play a better Fender Strat from any recent production (MIA and/or MIM), but that may just be me. Black ones needs black pickguard and such:cop::cop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yngtchie Blacksteen Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Well, at least you know who he is. LOLUnfortunately, I would say. Ah, he's removed all those dreadful instructional clips from YouTube. Too bad, they were very entertaining. Imagine a Malmsteen clone with increased speed, weaker technique, and no conviction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Yngchie -- didn't your boy use pre-CBS Strats (either originals or reissues) at some point in his career? I vaguely remember seeing pics to that effect. And only you can tell whether he sounded significantly different with them or the bigheads. Same pickups in everything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GarysBlues Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Much of Hendrix's music was played on pre-CBS Strats. He didn't play CBS Strats till the White Strat. Which is what a 68? Still very early on with CBS? SRV one of the Four Worst Strat players? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 SRV one of the Four Worst Strat players? Remember who said it... I'm still waiting for it to be announced that Cold Gin has won a Darwin Award. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yngtchie Blacksteen Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Yngchie -- didn't your boy use pre-CBS Strats (either originals or reissues) at some point in his career? I vaguely remember seeing pics to that effect.And only you can tell whether he sounded significantly different with them or the bigheads. Same pickups in everything?I know he uses Strats of all vintages, from '50's ones to his current signature line, and I honestly can't tell them apart soundwise, probably because he runs all through the same Marshall + OD pedal setup. From what I've read, he puts Dimarzio pickups in most of his Strats, but he doesn't alter the old ones beyond that. For instance, no scalloping. What vintage would you say this is? Maple neck, normal headstock... '50's? [YOUTUBE]_QsMrpbN2eo[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GarysBlues Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 Remember who said it... I'm still waiting for it to be announced that Cold Gin has won a Darwin Award. I know he thinks everyone missed that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 70s CBS Fenders suck because I no longer have the 72 Custom Tele or 75 strat I had back in the 70s... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cephus Posted November 21, 2007 Members Share Posted November 21, 2007 70s CBS Fenders suck because I no longer have the 72 Custom Tele or 75 strat I had back in the 70s... Me, too. When i got rid of mine, I knew it was a {censored} piece and I thought long and hard about it before letting it go. But when I saw an auction for one that was 10X what I sold it for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.