I suspect Strats just aren't my thing.

[Rex_Rocker]

So that's another thing. How much do I sell it for?

It is a Fender MIM Road Worn body from 2010. It is a bit beat up. Meaning more beat up that it was from the factory. It's developed some finish checking and it's got a little bit of finish mishing right below what was supposed to be there from the factory on the arm cutaway.

It's a Fender MIM Flat Oval baked Maple neck from 2023.

It's got Fender locking tuners, Fender straplocks, Highwood saddles, a cheapie Musiclily steel block, a Chinese pickguard which isn't actually bad, a Duncan Custom, and a DiMarzio SDS-1.

I was thinking 600? 500?

 

[Masta' C]

Yeah, I doubt turning it into a "real Strat" is gonna help the issue. I'd probably play it even less.

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting that. Only that the "Strat" platform tends to be best suited to more traditional "Strat" features. There are so many other guitars that are "Strat-like", but improve upon the basic design of a Strat significantly that there's no point in settling. You're talking about doing drastic mods (in addition to everything you've already done) to try and get it sounding right. Even then, you're not happy with the neck, so it's really a bust.

I think you could get $500 out of it. Personally, I think it looks cool, at least from the pic you shared. Plus, the upgrades are tasteful. The difficulty is going to be finding a "Strat" buyer that just happens to appreciate those specific features. You might consider parting it out. A loaded Fender neck with locking tuners in good shape is worth $300 easily and someone might spend upwards of $250 for the loaded body with those upgrades (make sure mention "relic", ha ha!).

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, I don't think 500 is too bad. I could probably get a used Korean LTD for that which I'm sure would suit me better.

 

[Supernautilus]

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting that. Only that the "Strat" platform tends to be best suited to more traditional "Strat" features. There are so many other guitars that are "Strat-like", but improve upon the basic design of a Strat significantly that there's no point in settling. You're talking about doing drastic mods (in addition to everything you've already done) to try and get it sounding right. Even then, you're not happy with the neck, so it's really a bust.

I think you could get $500 out of it. Personally, I think it looks cool, at least from the pic you shared. Plus, the upgrades are tasteful. The difficulty is going to be finding a "Strat" buyer that just happens to appreciate those specific features. You might consider parting it out. A loaded Fender neck with locking tuners in good shape is worth $300 easily and someone might spend upwards of $250 for the loaded body with those upgrades (make sure mention "relic", ha ha!).

You’re right about parting. I realized a while ago that getting your money back on modded guitars is nearly impossible. The best way is parting. There’s a whole cottage industry for parting now on Reverb and Ebay…bodies, necks, hardware, etc. Which works out for anyone wanting to build a partscaster, so it’s kind of a win-win.

 

[EmiAba]

So that's another thing. How much do I sell it for?

It is a Fender MIM Road Worn body from 2010. It is a bit beat up. Meaning more beat up that it was from the factory. It's developed some finish checking and it's got a little bit of finish mishing right below what was supposed to be there from the factory on the arm cutaway.

It's a Fender MIM Flat Oval baked Maple neck from 2023.

It's got Fender locking tuners, Fender straplocks, Highwood saddles, a cheapie Musiclily steel block, a Chinese pickguard which isn't actually bad, a Duncan Custom, and a DiMarzio SDS-1.

I was thinking 600? 500?

My very first guitar was a 91 fender stratocaster American standard. Black with white pick guard and rosewood fingerboard. It was a present my late aunt bought me to celebrate my high school diploma in 1994. I always had a love/hate relationship with it. And still don't know why. Maybe the neck shape or its tone but I got rid of it few years later in favor of a 2003 les paul classic. I am fashinated with the stratocaster body shape when someone else is playing it but I don't see me playing it. While I have different feelings for the ibanez az224f I own nowadays.
Anyway in Italia a MIM strat in a good shape is around 600 euro. And I think it's a fair price

 

[donaldr]

I always loved the Strat look and playability. I like the sound it produces but from other people, not me. I have a wonderful MIM Strat that only has the body and neck from original, everything else has been upgraded. I tried the HSS config but back to SSS vintage output. I don't use it that much but it's the perfect Strat for when I would want to play a Strat in the future or for when I want to add a different sound layer in a recording.

I have an LTD Strat copy and this one sounds fantastic. Again only the body and neck left from the original, with STK-S4 neck and STK-S7 bridge (dummy middle), 3-way switch and Gotoh 510 bridge. I play that Strat (which sounds beefy) as much as my two main guitars (Godin and Ibanez) but for different things. Maybe try this pickup config before selling? But use it for something different that what you are using your other guitars for.

 

[donaldr]

A lot of guys say they don't like Strats because all the Strats they've set up to be super Strats haven't worked out for them. Hot humbuckers, metal, and a synchronized tremolo don't go to well together in my opinion. I think that all the magic from a Strat comes from the SSS part of it.

Nope, vintage output SSS and 6-screw bridge (upgraded to Hipshot) config for me and still don't like it that much. Maybe it's the alder body?
I might try a loaded pickguard with neck/bridge Red Devil pickups.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I don't think the 6 point trem is so much a problem (for me) as the distance between the saddles and the bridge pickup is. This pickguard ain't too bad, but I had a pickguard based on the Tom Delonge Strat which has the bridge pickup a mile off the bridge itself.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

This is not my Strat, but you can see here how you can almost fit another bridge pickup between the bridge pickup itself and the edge of the saddles.

 

[Mincer]

This is not my Strat, but you can see here how you can almost fit another bridge pickup between the bridge pickup itself and the edge of the saddles.

Well, to me, that would be a bonus. I don't like bright bridge pickups.

 

[GuitarStv]

If you want a bright bridge pickup, ditch the humbucker and put a low wind single coil there. Brightness for days.

 

[Securb]

I hated Strats for years. I found a MIM SSS—yes, I found it at an abandoned bus stop at night. It went through many upgrades and mods, but now it is always competing as my No. 1. It has a Babicz bridge, LSR roller nut, locking tuners, Dimebucker/Bill Lawrence L-250B, and a stutter pot. I can't put this guitar down.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

If you want a bright bridge pickup, ditch the humbucker and put a low wind single coil there. Brightness for days.

It's not just "brightness" I want. You could probably put a low wind single coil in the neck position of a guitar and have it be even brighter than a bridge humbucker, yet it still wouldn't sound great for the stuff that I want to play.

 

[Lucius Paisley]

Hendrix, Murray, Frusciante, LaLonde... all strats, all the time (most of the time, anyway) but with so many differences in setups. It's weird with all that versatility, you can't find one you like. Oh well.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Tone can be changed to a pretty significant extent. If you don't like the neck, that can be swapped too.
It all depends on how willing you are to keep going. But it sounds to me as if this guitar isn't worth further effort to you.
IMO probably better to sell it and get something you love.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Hendrix, Murray, Frusciante, LaLonde... all strats, all the time (most of the time, anyway) but with so many differences in setups. It's weird with all that versatility, you can't find one you like. Oh well.

To be fair, I haven't tried many. I've just owned this one. But I don't really feel motivated to try others, honestly.

And I don't play anything in the style of Hendrix, Murray, Frusciante, or LaLonde either.

 

[Masta' C]

I think Securb is on to something with the Dimebucker in the bridge

 

[Securb]

I think Securb is on to something with the Dimebucker in the bridge

The Dimebucker just seems to work for me. I have two Dimebucker-loaded guitars, my Strat and my Iceman. The EQ is almost the opposite of my Black Winter guitars. The Dimebucker is slightly mid-scooped, while the Black Winter is mid-forward. When I double-track in the studio, I get a very full tone with amazing articulation.

 

[Explorer84]

Sell it and put the money towards another piece of gear that you’ll like and want to use. Good luck.

 

[GuitarStv]

It's not just "brightness" I want. You could probably put a low wind single coil in the neck position of a guitar and have it be even brighter than a bridge humbucker, yet it still wouldn't sound great for the stuff that I want to play.

Play better music then?