Talk Me Out Of Buying A Strat!

[bsman]

 

I bought a Strat and regret it. Want it?

 

 

You bought a CBS-era strat. You have nobody to blame but yourself. :poke:

[steve_man]

 

I bought a Tele to get the single coil experience and I am happy with it. What is going to be the big difference between the Tele and a Strat?

 

 

The tones you get from positions 2 and 4 are worth owning a Strat, imo.

[Deadbeat Son]

 

You bought a CBS-era strat. You have nobody to blame but yourself. :poke:

 

 

Ha! True, but that's not the issue. I hate to say it, but it's the "Stratiness" of it that I just don't jive with. Although it plays comfortably, the Strat tone just isn't for me.

[Invader.CC]

Reasons NOT to get a strat: 1) Single coil hum 2) Everyone and their grandma plays strats. 3) Longer-than-Gibson scale might hurt your widdle fingers 4) Lousy sustain 5) Vibrato bridge hassles 6) Thin, trebly "tone" 7) weak pickup output 8) Only good for country, surf or disco music.

 

I see you have never played a Strat..

 

As for the OP's question If you have never owned a Strat you owe it to yourself to give one a chance and decide for yourself..I would suggest a American Standard over a Road worn ..Road worns are good guitars no doubt about it but the American Standard is the original and are considered the measuring stick for Strats ..Not the top of the line but were the comparison starts..

[Guitar Heel]

I pretty much played nothing but Strats for my first 10 years of playing, then we had a breakup. We're pretty much still separated, but I wouldn't say divorced... I don't feel like I "need" a Strat anymore. Maybe you don't either?

 

If you wind up with a Hwy, just make sure it's 2006 or later...

[Bro Blue]

 

I am looking seriously at the Highway One Strat. My Tele is a Highway One and I really like it. I put SC noisless in it and it sounds pretty good but I don't know if the noisless pickups take away from the Tele vibe because I never compared any other Teles. Maybe someone could set me straight on this because I think I might need a pickup upgrade on the Highway One Strat. Maybe not. What are people opinions on this? Are the pickups good in the Highway One Strat and if not is Noisless a good option or do you ruin the Strat vibe with those? And what would be a good pickup upgrade?

 

 

It depends on what you want from your Strat. My Hwy One Strat is H/S/S. The bucker isn't bad and I have not changed it. The singles are Alnico III pickups and are pretty hot. In positions 2 and 4 it sounds very nice clean, very quacky. The neck does not sound like a vintage Strat pickup, but it does sound Stratty. The thing the Hwy Ones do better than most Strats is handle gain. Add dirt and they sound really good. Add more and they still sound really good while maintaining single coil character. If this were my only Strat I don't know if I would be happy with them but, since I do have other Strats, it fills a niche.

 

The American Specials have Texas Special pickups. Think SRV. OK for leads, but tend to get mushy when playing dirty chords. They sound best at either slight breakup or lots of gain. They sound pretty good clean.

 

Tex Mex pickups are not a cheaper version of Texas Specials. They sound nothing like them. They are bright and high output. The bridge can be ice-picky if you do not have your bridge wired for tone. I like them. They sound very good clean. The neck is a beast in a good way.

 

Stock American Standard pickups are OK, but after a while they seem bland. The stock MIM Standard pickups are ceramic, which is not necessarily bad, but most I have heard I don't like. Some really like them.

 

The Classic Vibe Squiers are very good guitars. They have two things going for them: they are cheap and they have great stock pickups. The 50s has Alnico III while the 60s has Alnico V pickups. They are made in the same factory as Tonrider. I also like the vintage split-shaft tuners.

 

I have stayed away from noiseless pickups since you can't hear the buzzing when you play and there's thing thing called a volume knob that can reduce hum by a simple turn. There's also positions 2 and 4 on the switch if I need it. I'm not saying they sound bad, I just never got along with the ones I tried. It one of those things where they sound great with other people playing them, I just didn't like playing them.

[Mr.Grumpy]

I see you have never played a Strat..

 

 

Yes, I have. I owned one one of the Japanese-made strats in the early 90's, (sold it) and currently own a G&L Legacy Tribute They're great guitars! Even though I own a Tele and a couple of humbucker guitars, I had to get a strat because I love strat sound.

 

The OP wanted reasons not to buy a strat, and I gave some... I'll try to be less helpful in the future.

[Bro Blue]

tele > strat. Let's move on. Nothing to see here. If you feel like you need a 3 single coil guitar, at least get one with a little personality, like a vox phantom or a Yamaha SGV:

 

Those are the ugliest guitars I have seen in a long time. They rival the visual nastiness of a BC Rich.

[burton4snow]

Tell me more about the pickups in the Highway one. I like the idea that they dont get mushy on high gain and I thought this is what most strats did thats what I was looking for more note articulation when playing dirty.

[Guitar Heel]

I think they were pretty much designed for higher gain settings. Hotter than standard MIAs. Middle is RW/RP and all that, but only 2006 and later. Can't stress that enough.

[burton4snow]

I would be ordering this from Guitar Center so I am sure it will be past 2006. Is there any concerns with the Highway One? How does this stack up to the American Special?

[Bro Blue]

 

Tell me more about the pickups in the Highway one. I like the idea that they dont get mushy on high gain and I thought this is what most strats did thats what I was looking for more note articulation when playing dirty.

 

 

Guitar Heel is right, they were made to handle more gain than most Strat pickups. They sound really good with distortion pedals and preamp distortion. Like I said above, only positions 2 and 4 give that clear Stratty quack. If you want vintage Strat tones, the Highway One stock pickups are not it. If you want a Strat on steroids, meaning it has definite Strat characteristics to the sound but with a little more ball hair, the Alnico III pickups are for you.

 

Also, there are a lot of Strat pickups that are not mushy with gain, the Tex Mex is one of them. Single coil pickups are different than buckers and a mistake is that people try to play with too much gain (which they tend to do no matter whether they play with buckers or singles).

[Deanriffs]

Here are some reasons:

 

1. Strats are the most versatile electric (at least mainline) out there - great for funk to metal to country

2. They are comfortable to play

3. They come in lots of different flavors (colors)

4. They look cool, especially in a retro way, but can be made to look modern too quite easily (pickguards and pickup covers)

5. Jimi's tone

6. Rory Gallagher's tone

7. Mark Knopfler's tone

8. David Gilmour's tone

9. Eric Johnson's tone

10. SRV's tone

 

Hope this helped talk you out of a Strat.

[Zemmy]

you need a Strat

 

NEXT!!!

[FoonkySteve]

Ok he said he has humbuckers...why would he get a blacktop?

 

OP also has a tele with coils. Yeah, i know, a tele isn't a strat, and yeah, single coils define a strat, i merely suggested another option

[imbuedblue]

If you feel like you need a 3 single coil guitar, at least get one with a little personality, like a vox phantom:

 

This. There's already an overpopulation of Strats out in the wild.

[Zledi]

What you need to do is buy my Jay Turser Strat for $100 with its case. Because I hate strats...

[Stackabones]

 

I have that one in blue. Not gonna swing it at the blues jam (due to looks), but the guitar sounds stratty imo. Nut is a bit narrow for my tastes. I'm planning on putting some lipsticks in it.

[Muddslide]

I have that one in blue...

 

Did you by chance purchase it from a fellow forum member?

 

I miss it.

[Stackabones]

Did you by chance purchase it from a fellow forum member? I miss it.

 

 

Nah, I got it from amazon when they were blowing them out for $100 or something.

[catscurlyear]

Call me stupid, but who's this?

doo yow feeoow loyk eye doow!!!!!!!!,that had to be the worst peter frampton impersonation.although peter frampton`s use of the talkbox on that song was probably the worst use of a talkbox ever. don`t buy a strat, buy a talkbox.

[Muddslide]

 

You don't need a Strat, and I am quite serious. Here's why: 1. They hang weird, unless you play at nip level. 2. Completely inoffensive and non-unique looks. They are the oatmeal of guitar aesthetic. 3. Unless you *want* to be 45 and copping tired SRV licks, in-between positions are stupid. 4. The bridge is a nightmare. If you float it, it's fragile. If you deck it, it won't stay in tune. 5. Unless you're blasting through a 100-watt stack, your tone will always be acceptable for elevator music. 6. What a terrible bridge pickup. 6a. Strats breed neck pickup heroes. 7. It's basically a neutered Telecaster, complete with a few curves and fiddly bits attached to appease the women.

 

 

This sounds exactly like me a few weeks ago. I still think some of these points are valid to an extent, but I feel much differently now.

[TheBlueStrat]

Strats are awesome. Jesus played a stratocaster.

 

And by Jesus I mean John Frusciante when he hasn't shaved for a month.

[theManfromAlabam]

I think every guitar player should have two tele's, two strats and at least one LP.

 

A picture of my old beater partsocaster may help with your decision..

 

[cloudy2010]

Looks very nice stuff.