Best Strat for about $700,-?

[Bartdef]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

It is WELL known in the Fender collector community how amazing vintage MIJ Squiers are. Those instruments were made with American hardware, assembled in Japan.

Assembled so well, Fender had to put a halt on production because the Squiers were competing too well with their USA models.

Search eBay for a late 80's Squier. They can cost well and above your $700 budget.

Don't judge a book by its cover.
(...)

Sorry, I meant the Squiers they make nowadays, especially the lower priced ones, neither do I judge a book by its cover, I tried some, and I definitely think there are better guitars out there for the same price.

 

[Bartdef]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

On terms of the g&l guitars, they are great! I had a g&l legacy tribute, and tribute asat special. Great guitars for the money, and would be just as good, if not better in some cases, than fenders. They are wonderful for the money

I see those are mentioned a lot, I'll see if I can find some time and test a few soon, thanks!

 

[Bartdef]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

IF you are within a 700 dollar budget I would find the best 500 dollar guitar you can buy (new or used) and then spend your last 200 on great guitar work by a great guitar tech. Adjusting action, intonation, minor fretwork etc and good strings can make all the difference in the world. Learn to read music as good and fast as if you took Evelyn Wood - and take lessons for your next 16 years - I am pretty sure you won't regret it!

Haha thanks, I'll do the lesson part for sure

 

[uOpt]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

The G&Ls are very reasonably priced, with quality equaling Fender US (not AVRI) and the main difference being that they look different. The question then is why not take a Blazer which costs even less

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

Hey Bartdef . . . seeing that you are in th EU, have you ever looked into the Tokai offerings ?

They make some seriously GOOD instruments.
And i know they are more accessible in Europe than in the US.

No idea how much they cost on your neck of the woods though.

Over here, they are very reasonably priced !

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

Sorry, I meant the Squiers they make nowadays, especially the lower priced ones

You owe it to yourself to at least test out a Classic Vibe. They've been known to feel people into believing they're the real thing. See Anderton's Telecaster blind test.

 

[DreX]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

You owe it to yourself to at least test out a Classic Vibe. They've been known to feel people into believing they're the real thing. See Anderton's Telecaster blind test.

Good value aside, I don't care for those pickups, despite their being alnico.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

A couple that I can think of at the moment are:

Cort G260
Godin Session
Yamaha 212V (comes in quilt or flame maple top)
Sterling Sub Silo 3
Vintage V6
Squire Classic Vibe
PRS SE EG(discontinued but cool guitars)
Fender MiM strat

Most if not all of those may need a pickup swap, but if you can get a used one in mint condition then your wallet won't take a hit getting new pickups. Is ordering from thomann possible? Although some of those I mentioned need to be checked out in person before buying..

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

A used Godin Progression may lurk around too. Those are dynamite and, being off-brand, may be undersold. You can get a Session for well under your asking price.

 

[Lampy H]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

I would pick up an LTD. One of the Fender-y ones, not their super strat style guitars. I've played both their Tele and Strat guitars, and they feel great for not a lot of cash. I think new they're about $400 here, which leaves room for upgrades and such while staying in budget.

 

[Bartdef]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

The G&Ls are very reasonably priced, with quality equaling Fender US (not AVRI) and the main difference being that they look different. The question then is why not take a Blazer which costs even less

I'm not taking anything yet, I wanna think this through and mostly feel them so I can have a guitar for life, not just one I'll sell next year.

 

[Bartdef]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

Hey Bartdef . . . seeing that you are in th EU, have you ever looked into the Tokai offerings ?

They make some seriously GOOD instruments.
And i know they are more accessible in Europe than in the US.

No idea how much they cost on your neck of the woods though.

Over here, they are very reasonably priced !

Thanks man, I forgot about those! I'll check some out

 

[Bartdef]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

You owe it to yourself to at least test out a Classic Vibe. They've been known to feel people into believing they're the real thing. See Anderton's Telecaster blind test.

I'll try one if you really want me to, however the Squiers I tried till now aren't the guitars I'm looking for, and I'm putting that in a nice way.

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

I'll try one if you really want me to, however the Squiers I tried till now aren't the guitars I'm looking for, and I'm putting that in a nice way.

Haha, if you don't want a Squier, you don't want a Squier. Nobody here is forcing anything on you.

Just know, there have been leaps and bounds in overseas quality control.
As you can see from the astounding list of Strat copies the forum bros have brought forth.

But, it sounds to me like no matter what we tell you, you're gonna end up with a Fender.

In which case, I'm going to recommend the Fender Deluxe Lone Star Stratocaster.

It is an amazing guitar. I owned one. I'm not even a Strat fan, and I bought one, full retail $600 USD, for a Mexican model.

If you eBay, you can find used American versions for the same price, and they come stock with a Pearly Gates bridge.

Both the Mexi and USA are excellent.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

Haha, if you don't want a Squier, you don't want a Squier. Nobody here is forcing anything on you.

Just know, there have been leaps and bounds in overseas quality control.
As you can see from the astounding list of Strat copies the forum bros have brought forth.

But, it sounds to me like no matter what we tell you, you're gonna end up with a Fender.

In which case, I'm going to recommend the Fender Deluxe Lone Star Stratocaster.

It is an amazing guitar. I owned one. I'm not even a Strat fan, and I bought one, full retail $600 USD, for a Mexican model.

If you eBay, you can find used American versions for the same price, and they come stock with a Pearly Gates bridge.

Both the Mexi and USA are excellent.

How does the Mexican version compare to the American version in terms of quality and feel?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

The G&Ls are very reasonably priced, with quality equaling Fender US (not AVRI) and the main difference being that they look different. The question then is why not take a Blazer which costs even less

In regards to the Tributes, I agree. They are about at the level of standard U.S.A. Fenders, or maybe a bit below due only to the use of a few bits of cheaper hardware. But if you're talking about U.S.A. G&Ls, I disagree. U.S.A. G&Ls easily match the quality of AVRI Fenders, and match or nearly match Custom Shop Fenders. And that's for less money than either, all while being built to order as a matter of course. (Of course, the built to order thing doesn't apply at the OP's budget, because he would be buying used if spending $700 on a G&L – just a general comment about the superior value of G&Ls.)

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

U.S.A. G&Ls easily match the quality of AVRI Fenders

IMO the AVRI Fender's are the finest guitars the company makes. Just as good, if not better than their Custom Shop work.

There's just something about the nitro finishes, the vintage style hardware. The smell.

I only have two guitars I ever regretted selling. One was a VOS TV Model Les Paul. The other, my '62 Surf Green Stratocaster. Best strat I ever played.

So, while G&L makes a darn fine instrument, I don't think it matches that particular series. Just me.

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

How does the Mexican version compare to the American version in terms of quality and feel?

I never had both side by side to do a comparison as they were released at different times.

IME, across the board, Mexi strats just have more poly on them.

They feel newer, less broken in. American strats have that extra bit of warmth in palm of your hand.

As far as tone goes though, they have the same Texas Specials. I personally hate the Pearly Gates so I much prefer the Twin Head humbucker in the Mexi version. It sounds more balanced when split.

Plus I loved that ocean turqoise color. I only sold mine because I went through a 7-string phase.



So sexy. Still stand by the Yamaha though. Much better overall guitar.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

I never had both side by side to do a comparison as they were released at different times.

IME, across the board, Mexi strats just have more poly on them.

They feel newer, less broken in. American strats have that extra bit of warmth in palm of your hand.

As far as tone goes though, they have the same Texas Specials. I personally hate the Pearly Gates so I much prefer the Twin Head humbucker in the Mexi version. It sounds more balanced when split.

Plus I loved that ocean turqoise color. I only sold mine because I went through a 7-string phase.

View attachment 55772

So sexy. Still stand by the Yamaha though. Much better overall guitar.

I'm looking at getting the Roadhouse, which is essentially the same guitar but with single coils and a different mod. I was just wondering what the quality was like compared to an American Standard because I played an Am Std not too long ago that played like absolute butter and sounded amazing. It's probably gone now though, but if I had the moolah at the time, I probably would've picked it up.

But then I came across the Lonestar Deluxes and Roadhouse Deluxes here on the net and for Mexican strats, they seems to have a lot of bang for the buck, and sound insanely good.

Also, what makes the Yamaha better in your opinion? Just curious.

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Best Strat for about $700,-?

But then I came across the Lonestar Deluxes and Roadhouse Deluxes here on the net and for Mexican strats, they seems to have a lot of bang for the buck, and sound insanely good.

Also, what makes the Yamaha better in your opinion? Just curious.

I'm not really big into onboard modelling. The Roadhouse seems like a lower feature VG strat to me, which is good for some people, but I like my instruments bare bones, and for my amps/interfaces do the tone sculpting.

They are an incredible bang for the buck, especially if you consider their used prices. I personally think it's just a more robust (and attractive) instrument, and is a definite upgrade over the American standards. As I mentioned, I really dig the Twin Head humbucker. Fender seems to have developed it for splitting, so it sounds VERY close to a real single coil.

The Yamaha Pacifica is a more refined version of the stratocaster. It has a faster neck. The tremolo system is more stable. They actually deck the tremolo out of the factory, so beginners don't have to deal with tuning stability. The fretboard radius is super flat. You can still chicken pick on it, but you can perform amazing vibrato on it. I love the factory pickups that come in it. It's lighter and more ergonomic.