Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

the guy who invented fire said:
Just a note guys...he said maple fingerboards were a big deal for him.
Click to expand...

Very true, and I appreciate the note, but suggestions for guitars with other fingerboards could be helpful to anyone else dealing with this same issue at some future date.

And you're absolutely correct. I love maple fretboards and I love being able to feel the maple in the neck. Some necks have some much finish or clear coat or something on them that I can't get the feel of the wood that I enjoy so much.
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

Here are three possible options
1. Try a Firebird preferably one with mini buckers. I'm a strat guy myself but loved the feel of the Firebird.

2. PRS and not their budget line I mean a actual PRS. Those are some of the most easy to play guitar I have ever tried.

3. Try a different pup configuration. HSS, HSH maybe?

One other option and this is way out their is to try a Hollow or Semi Hollow guitar preferably one with a bigsby if you can find it.
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

A PRS CE might also be a hit.
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

I'm not trying to pigeon hole the OP, I'm just saying some guys like the body shape of the strat more than the body shape of the les paul or sg or what have you. There are tons of strats and teles because they're cheap and they sound great. Calling a les paul or a 335 something out of the ordinary is like calling a BMW or Mercedes out of the ordinary - yeah, because they're harder to afford. That argument just seems to me to focus more on the success of the strategy than the guitar itself.

And a 24 3/4 scale guitar is going to be as a very literal matter easier to play - the strings are easier to bend, there's less distance between the frets, etc. I don't see how that's an insult in any way. Les Paul into a marshall is a can't miss sound - you plug in and try to make it sound bad. That, in my mind, is easier than something like a tele into a blackface where it is very easy to sound bad. Brighter guitars amplify things like string talk, pick-slips, etc. It's like playing clean is more difficult than playing distorted. That's just been my experience with them.

I've played and thoroughly enjoyed les pauls and sgs. I've tried an es-335 but didn't get to play it for very long. They're great guitars. But, I find myself playing 25.5", bolt-neck guitars more often. I just gravitate to the longer necked guitars because for my playing, there's a greater dynamic range. Again, YMMV, didn't mean to come off like I was insulting the les paul.

Like everything, YMMV. I'm just sharing my experience with the matter.
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

Jimijames, I hear you. I definitely gravitate towards maple bolt-on necks with a longer scale length. Nothing against Les Pauls at all, just tried that and it didn't work.
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

Another vote for a Music Man...either a Silo or Silo Special...or even an Albert Lee. The cool thing about Music Mans is that the pickguards with the electronics snap in with a molex connector, so you can load up pickguards with vastly different pickups and switches and swap them out in 5 minutes.
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

If you like the feel of a thin body (ala Strat) and want to expand on the S/S/S config of that guitar, i would look into these :



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13238_GibsoN_SG_61_Satin_Ebony_100521557_a.jpg
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

If you are a pro or semi pro locked into a Number One, you really need to have a Number One-A...a guitar so close to your One that you can gig with it and and be perfectly comfortable with it. A must have.

I'm a Strat guy too, and since about 1994 my strat of choice is a G&L Legacy. But I also like 2HB tones, so I will use a Les Paul or ES-335 for 12-15 songs at a gig. But I would never want to do a four-hour gig with just a Gibson. But I do want a backup for my Legacy, so when I can I take another, third guitar to the gig, I take a G&L model called a Legacy Special. The LS has a set of dual blade HBs that can not only get me some PAF-ish tones, but the guitar's PTB tone controls get me close to vintage alnico tones too....the perfect backup to both my Legacy and my Paul...Strat ergonomics and some nice thick tones too.

So consider the Legacy Special. If you like the idea of a clone of your MIM Strat, you could try modifying it with a different pickup set, switching and/or tone controls to contrast with your main guitar, while keeping the same ergonomics and feel.

I like gigging with both Legacy and a Paul/335. I love the variety of tones, and the shorter Gibson scale also comes in handy on some songs. I can easily adapt to the neck difference, but the Gibson switch and control placement can make me a little uncomfortable. It's worth it to me, but you may find that a clone of your Strat with a hot pickup set may be what you're looking for.

But beware, the concept of the "one guitar that can do it all" is a myth...it doesn't exist. So by all means, a second guitar is good to have. Then the trick is to have the right guitar for each song.

Good luck!

Bill
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

Boogie Bill said:
I like gigging with both Legacy and a Paul/335. I love the variety of tones, and the shorter Gibson scale also comes in handy on some songs.

the concept of the "one guitar that can do it all" is a myth...it doesn't exist. So by all means, a second guitar is good to have. Then the trick is to have the right guitar for each song.
Click to expand...

+1. I always like to have two different kind of guitars at gigs, different in design and tone, so that my sound has more variety to fit certain songs better. Plus it helps to keep you fresh when you change up guitars throughout the night. Technically, any guitar can do anyting, but in reality, some do certain things better than others. I urge you to reach out beyond Strats and Strat copies and get something truly different. The difference in sound and feel may inspire you.
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

Bill, I do have a second guitar that meets that need basically already. A strat with single coil sized humbuckers as my #2 guitar. I believe the neck guitar I add to the arsenal (that varies a little more from the strat line) will have some actual humbuckers.

Chris, that PRS is gorgeous!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

Chris, you got a nibble, now just ease out the line and let him take the bait.

how-i-caught-a-fish-on-another-line-21385560.jpg
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

Maple neck'd PRSs are smoking hot . . .
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

the G&L fallout has a strat-like body but with a humbucker and p90. fantastic guitar.
 
Re: Best guitar for a Fender Strat player to branch out with

New Charvels
EVH Wolfgang
 
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