Advice on a strat?

stuey222

stuey222

New member
So I'm in the early stages of getting a new guitar and I'm leaning towards a strat. I'm thinking of selling my 5150 combo and my Floyd strat and using that money and adding a bit to it to get a nicer strat around $1000-$1500. I've been looking at the American Standard, Vintage '57, or Eric Johnson strat. Any advice from any of you. I know I need to play a few and plan to do that when I get back to Nashville in August, just trying to get a jump start on this thing, so I can have the guitar before I really get into my guitar lessons next semester.

I'm looking for a vintage voiced strat with tons of those bell-like tones and a maple fretboard. I love the weight and sound of an ash guitar, but I'll go with alder if that's all I can find. I prefer a nitro finish as well. I need it to be very easy to play and sound good, not great, just good.

So, any thoughts?
 
Re: Advice on a strat?

only advice is to play a bunch ... and listen with your ears and feel with your hands ... dont rely on your eyes ... if you play enough examples, you could EASILY find a MIM jimmy vaughn model that will feel and sound incredible to you ... i came *this* close to buying either a MIM JV or a MIM 50s model (yeah, i know, i ended up with an EJ - so sue me :D ) ... also, the john mayer was also a VERY happenin guitar (tone wise) - but the one i played had a *terrible* setup and the shop wouldnt work with me on price) ... the cool thing about some of the better MIM versions is that for the price, you can get a maple board AND a rosewood board model and set them up for different strat uses ... as for MIA models, also check out the hot rod models ... some very cool players (i dig the 62)

have fun - good luck
t4d
 
Re: Advice on a strat?

The 57RI Strats have a 7.25" radius. This IMHO make the Strat harder to bend on, but will have more of a vintage feel. IF you are planning on playing fast and bending a lot I would recommend the Eric Johnson Strat. The EJ Strat has all the features you mention. Its Nitro, I am not certain, but I think the Fretboard Radius is 14" which would make it very flat and that will make it easier to play with lower action and bend well with lower action. The American series are 9.5" and these are also very easy to play. As far as tones are concerned the EJ pickups are probably going to sound better for that real vintage chime and a lot of that has to do with the bridge. I like a vintage bridge on a STrat. The 2 point Trem I don't feel sounds as good and does not sustain as well. The other option obviously is pickups. I have a 57RI that has been heavily modded. One ome was I put a set of Duncan Antiquity Texas Hots in it, and it sounds considerably better than it did with the stock pickups. I also have another Strat that has the Surfers. These I like a tad bit better, but it really is subjective to your ear. I think you will probably be fine with the stock EJ Strat. The pickups sound really good, it has a nicely shaped neck and the fingerboard is relatively flat by comparison to other Strats. Its a god choice for what you want.
 
Re: Advice on a strat?

I have never played any strat that feels or sounds any better than my 2 Highway one Strats. The upgraded versions are fantastic if you find a good example. The A3 pickups that come stock have plenty of chime. They are the only ones I have ever left stock in any strat.
 
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