Whats the facination with Strats?

[Professor Tom]

 

The EJ is a lovely guitar fe true, but Professor Tom was craving a 63-style Strat, a brief the JB Custom Shop fulfils beautifully. The EJ is more of a 57-styled Strat, but it's as good at what it sets out to do as the Beck is at what IT sets out to do. If Prof T had been GASing for a revved-up modern 57, the EJ is exactly what I'd've recommended -- and if my owntaste had run to 50s (as opposed to 60s) Strats, the EJ is what I would've got for myself.

 

 

I can't live with maple boards but Eric did say in an interview last year that there would be rosewood board versions soon but I haven't heard much about them since then. I must try the Jeff Beck Custom Shop model and see what it's like. I knew that you had one and I thought at the time "sounds good" to me. I went to a major dealer in Stevenage who have a lot of custom shop Strats, a lot of them to their own orders but

[csm]

I must try the Jeff Beck Custom Shop model and see what it's like. I knew that you had one and I thought at the time "sounds good" to me. I went to a major dealer in Stevenage who have a lot of custom shop Strats, a lot of them to their own orders but

[Professor Tom]

I've tried Fender's regular production Jeff Beck Signature -- both before and after getting my CS -- and wasn't terribly impressed, but the CS model is absolutely IT, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly why there's such a dramatic difference in quality. UK pricewise: RRP

[clay sails]

In response to OP:

 

For me, Strats have earned their place in my imagination because I like the way the neck feels -- the slight curve just feels right in my hands.

 

I also like the "single coil" sound (ala Mark Knopfler & David Gilmour).

 

There's nothing wrong with the other guitars you mentioned, either (Gibson, Jackson, etc.)

[csm]

 

I heard you say that before, I was wondering too what the dramatic difference could be between the two Jeff Beck models, quality of wood maybe one of them but as jetydosa says the Nash Timewarp series Strat is another possible answer. I read a review of the them and they raved about the mojo, playability and the sound but slagged off the methods used to relic the guitars. Well, is that any worse than a relic Strat with a worn body and bridge and a gleaming new neck and fingerboard ? {censored} it, it's all too complicated these days !

 

 

I don't know if quality of wood has as much to do with it as the degree of care and skill put into the carve and finishing of the neck. The two grades of Jeff Strat sound pretty similar, but feel very different, so I guess it's CS workpersonship rather than basic materials.

 

You could indeed check the Nash out, though I saw a review somewhere which suggested that it wasn't that fantastic a guitar under all the flashy relicking: a showpiece rather than a player's instrument.

 

There's always the obvious option for lusters after a 63: Fender itself provides a 62 RI at just about every price point from the MIM Classic range(including the much-praised Classic Player) through American Vintage up to the stratospherically expensive Masterbuilt CS Time Machines.

 

And if you're in the enviable position of being able to get seriously spendy, you could probably pick up a real-life 63 refin for five or six grand.

[Professor Tom]

 

I don't know if quality of wood has as much to do with it as the degree of care and skill put into the carve and finishing of the neck. The two grades of Jeff Strat sound pretty similar, but feel very different, so I guess it's CS workpersonship rather than basic materials. You could indeed check the Nash out, though I saw a review somewhere which suggested that it wasn't that fantastic a guitar under all the flashy relicking: a showpiece rather than a player's instrument. There's always the obvious option for lusters after a 63: Fender itself provides a 62 RI at just about every price point from the MIM Classic range(including the much-praised Classic Player) through American Vintage up to the stratospherically expensive Masterbuilt CS Time Machines. And if you're in the enviable position of being able to get seriously spendy, you could probably pick up a real-life 63 refin for five or six grand.

 

 

Refinished, yes I've also been thinking about that also, actually I posted a thread on exactly that earlier this morning which has been relegated onto page 2 I think ?

[jhall]

They're nice

[Help!I'maRock!]

 

my experience is the opposite. I've seen a lot of people who start on strats and then buy an epiphone or cheap gibson as their second. Why? Because they're sick of the strat and want something different. After that, the ones that stick with guitar eventually go back to the strat because they have enough experience to know what strats can do. everything.

 

 

i ran like hell from the strat and will never return.

[ilovemystrat]

i love my MIJ strat, she kicks ass and is nigh indestructible

 

my les paul rocks too, however she needs abig amp to kick arse

[ilovemystrat]

 

Even when I didn't have any interest in guitars and I didn't know anything about them I always thought the Strats were the most beautiful of the guitars. I'm sure that when most people who don't have interest in guitars hear the word "guitar", the image that comes to their mind is that of a Strat even if they don't know how it's called.

 

 

exactly. b4 i even started playing guitar, it was a strat that was in my mind

 

nothing else.

[cephus]

 

I've been dipping a lot into Blues lately, I own a WildKat and a Fender American Strat... Even though the WildKat gives me that feedback of the hollow body and the warmer P90 tones for Blues, Jazz and Samba... I just adore playing them on the Strat. It just feels so much more comfortable... almost like being 'inside' the guitar body. It's so inviting, almost sensual. Am I digressing? Oopps.. I've always loved all the guitars I've owned and parted with.. Now my Strat I can't fathom parting with it. It's as if it were an extension of me.

 

 

You know, it's funny, but I recently got an epiphone ES-295 after playing strats for like 20 years. It totally changed my style and I just don't feel like the strat does it for me anymore. It's like it's too transparent and has no character. I used to like that about it when I wanted a guitar that allowed me to play anything. Now I am more focused on playing my specific thing.

 

Weird.

[csm]

This is all subjective as hell, of course, but ...

 

Different guitars bring out different aspects of my playing and musical personality. With a Tele, I feel clipped, concise, tight and focussed: very Clint Eastwood. With a 335-style, I want to be sweeter, smoother, gentler, more poetic and more lyrical. You can't just hammer the {censored} out of a 335-alike the way you can a Tele (well, you can, but it won't sound very good). You have to go a subtler route

 

With a Strat, I can touch on both those territories, capture key elements of both those feels; and something about it (maybe it's the wiggle stick) also brings out my extrovert streak.

 

I love and value all three ... but the Strat feels the most complete, and playing it makes me feel at MY most complete -- musically speaking, anyway.

 

EDIT: And I could never quite suss out what Les Pauls were FOR. Apart from finding them physically uncomfortable to play, there's no aspect of me that they speak to or for -- whereas for other people they're the perfect tools of expression. Go figure.

[notcool]

If we're talking stock Strats with single coil pickups, they don't work for everything unless you have an amp and effects setup that can modify the tone to your liking. I've played more Strats than any other type of guitar simply because the Strat is the most comfortable electric guitar to sit down with. I also like the cleaner sound of single coil pickups for rhythm playing.

 

I rarely use the 'two pickup combinations' on a Strat. Some people call the tone a 'quack', but it sounds more like a 'ping' to me. I just can't get into that sound.

 

Every Strat that has passed through my hands has had the tone control wired to the lead pickup. If I want to rock hard, I just turn the tone control down halfway to get rid of that annoying 'twang'.

 

For recording, I like to use an early 1960s reissue Strat for the rhythm tracks and a Les Paul for the solos. The Strat has fairly weak yet very clean sounding vintage alnico type pickups and heavier bass strings on it.

 

If I want to use a Strat for lead and rhythm playing, especially in a live situation, a Mexican made Fender Standard Strat will do. The pickups have ceramic bar magnets and are 'hotter' than the alnicos in the vintage reissue.

[Willyguitar]

I think the stratocaster is so popular here, because it is a kind of winning formula. I recently bought a Gibson LP, and found myself completely disatisfied with the sound by comparison. I tried out other humbucking guitars, an HSS and then picked up an SSS strat again. Those three single coils give you completely unique sounds - perfectly balanced at each point if you get a good one, and capable of a real range of sounds. Don't be fooled into thinking that those single coils are somehow inferior, because they are thinner. You will never get a humbucker to produce that chime and jangling sound, but you can get a single coil, with the tone turned down, or in a different position to sound aggressive and reasonably thick.

 

Strats are so talked about because you can't really beat them in my opinion. Humbuckers were designed to cut out hum... but ultimately you lose some of the subtlety

[vnad]

My story is that a Strat specifically and Fender in general are among the best at supporting the left handed guitar player. Another factor is that Strats are one of the easiest guitars to customize to nearly any configuration, in other words - versatile. Very comfortable to play as well.

 

All you righties blather on and split hairs about the hundreds of models available to you. Try finding a lefty (any brand) in most any music store and you are lucky to find more than 2 - 3 and they are usually MIM Fender Strats.

 

I have 2 lefty Strats - an Am Dlx and a MIJ that I have modified to my specifications and I love them! Especially when playing them through a nice hot tube amp. I also have 2 lefty Fender Tele's and 6 other various lefties.

 

Strats are my choice because that was what was available to me at the time.

 

Well, what about the other guitar makers:

Gibson - nope (don't feel like waiting a year to get one anyway - customer service sucks) - used to have a 76 LP Custom lefty - poor workmanship, fit & finish! Gibson wouldn't give me the time o day!

PRS - yeah, right (no lefties made any more) - I've heard they are more over rated than Gibsons.

Gretch - do they make the Billy Gibbons model in a lefty? nope

Rick - love to have a lefty 325 but not one I will likely get to play before buying.

 

I ain't whining - I chose to play left handed and I believe that it's not so much the guitar as it is the player.

 

As a very famous guitar player once said:

"Shut up and play your guitar"

BTW - he played a Strat

[seifukusha]

classic, but they just dont get my attention (and ive had about 5) for long

[jedistar]

They kinda look pretty...

[Rich]

My strat is tighter than my LP, and more cutting. Also if I turn the boost off and roll back the volume I have an instant shimmery clean.

 

The floyd thing was cool in the 80's when I couldn't play guitar and liked to dive boooooooomb, but would be a waste on any of my guitars nowadays.

 

Oh, and I still can't play for crap.