Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

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I went to a small gig downtown,few days ago.There were four ambitious kids ,trying to play some really complicated progressive stuff...Some lack of synchronization,some unfortunate sound effects but generally a pretty decent performance.
What really pinched me was the guitarist's axe,a Strat Deluxe MIA HSS...Shock #1:Progressive with a Strat?
The second and deadly shock was that guitar's sound.We're all familiar with the squeaky,woody,bluesy sound of a Strat,right?Well that thing yielded a fat,deep,almost Hi-Fi sound with straight reference to Steve Vai or something!And as you can figure no super equipment was available...absolutely stunning.

So..is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?


P.S.Strat owners threads would be very interesting...
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Do you not believe in spaces between commas, exclamation points, question marks and ellipses?
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Well the "H" in "HSS" might have to do with it.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

H8Red442 said:
Do you not believe in spaces between commas, exclamation points, question marks and ellipses?
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You took the words right outta my mouth! That was really hard to read.

Strats are tonally versatile indeed. They have three pickups and are easy as pie to modify.

I do think Teles and 335's are more versatile, however. I am not sure why that is. They just seem to glide really smoothly in and out of different styles of music. Strats have a lot of tonal variations on tap, but the basic tone itself seems less versatile to me, in terms of what styles of music it suits.

Don't get me wrong; nothing does "the Strat thing" except a Strat-style guitar...but I find them hard to use as my only guitar. I could easily be happy playing most gigs with only an Esquire/Tele or only a 335. I love Strats, and I use them, but I've never played in a band that played all "Strat songs," so I've rarely used them live.
 
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Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

ItsaBass said:
I do think Teles and 335's are more versatile, however. I am not sure why that is. They just seem to glide really smoothly in and out of different styles of music. Strats have a lot of tonal variations on tap, but the basic tone itself seems less versatile to me, in terms of what styles of music it suits.
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Funny, I was just pondering this very subject yesterday.

I agree for the most part. However, an HSS Strat with the right pickups is just as versatile as a Tele/SG.

But yeah, I find that a SSS strat with vintage voiced pickups is less stylistically versatile, even though the player has a wider variety of sounds at their dispersal. Good thing I play Strat music :)
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

I play and favor a strat always for it's comfort and sheer versatility..
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

I can play just about anything I want to with my Strat. Granted, it's not your standard fare SSS Strat, but HSH. I can get a lot out of it.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

More of it is on how the signal is processed, not the particular guitar. Look at Eric Johnson for example.

Then there's the player.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

ItsaBass said:
I do think Teles and 335's are more versatile, however. I am not sure why that is. They just seem to glide really smoothly in and out of different styles of music. Strats have a lot of tonal variations on tap, but the basic tone itself seems less versatile to me, in terms of what styles of music it suits.

Don't get me wrong; nothing does "the Strat thing" except a Strat-style guitar...but I find them hard to use as my only guitar. I could easily be happy playing most gigs with only an Esquire/Tele or only a 335. I love Strats, and I use them, but I've never played in a band that played all "Strat songs," so I've rarely used them live.
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+1, at least on the 335 part. True, nothing does 'the Strat thing' like a Strat, but then again, I like Strats best when they aren't instantly recognizable as Strats. I don't see the pure SSS 'Strat thing' sound as all that desirable, except in the hands of a truly talented musician, like Hendrix, Blackmore, or Johnson. Then it sings. And yes, I'm a bit jaded after hearing so many players not being able to EQ their Strats. Like Wah Wah has said, 'Strats do not suffer fools lightly.' Not an instrument the average player can get to sound good. Those that master the Strat are a joy to listen to; I just wish more guys could.

A 'Strat song' band. OMG! :eyecrazy:
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

"The Strat thing" aside, you mentioned a sound similar to Vai's.

Well, Vai's guitar is pretty much a 24-fretted Strat with a Floyd.
Nothing too complicated; Alder body, Maple neck and a Rosewood fingerboard. Just like your run of the mill Strat. Like someone already said, the H in HSS has a lot to do with it...?
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Well there are the clean strat tones and then there are the dirtier strat tones...I just can't seem to get 'The Sultans Of Swing" leads to sound right on anything other than the strat in the quacky position...A compressor helps also.. ;o) They don't make one,but a Clapton lefty strat could surely cover alot of ground!
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

I love how people always say things like "Nothing in the world sounds like a Strat but a Strat"...

What a dumb ass statment...that could be said for any guitarin the world...try it for yourself and you'll see...

Here's a few examples...

"Nothing in the world sounds like a Jazzmaster but a Jazzmaster"...

"Nothing in the world sounds like a ES-150 but a ES-150"...

"Nothing in the world sounds like a White Falcon but a White Falcon"...

See, now aren't all of the above statements true???

I'm not a Strat hater, far from it but that statement always buged me.

As for playing everything with a Strat sure you can bet then again....same type of dumb ass statement...you can play anything in the world on any guitar...I mean, do Strat have notes on them that Les Pauls or don't?? Is it impossible to play Country on an SG...can you not play jazz on a Mustang...can one not play a shuffle on a Gretsch...

I mean, really...what are we asking ourselves??

I say all guitars are tools and I will use whatever too I feel does the job best...
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

blueman335 said:
+1, at least on the 335 part. True, nothing does 'the Strat thing' like a Strat, but then again, I like Strats best when they aren't instantly recognizable as Strats. I don't see the pure SSS 'Strat thing' sound as all that desirable, except in the hands of a truly talented musician, like Hendrix, Blackmore, or Johnson. Then it sings. And yes, I'm a bit jaded after hearing so many players not being able to EQ their Strats. Like Wah Wah has said, 'Strats do not suffer fools lightly.' Not an instrument the average player can get to sound good. Those that master the Strat are a joy to listen to; I just wish more guys could.

A 'Strat song' band. OMG! :eyecrazy:
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Brother...I couldn't agree more on that.
Just get around on YouTube.You see a Strat being demonstrated and you are almost sure of what you're about to listen!The usual( below base )result comes to enforce Blueman's spot.
That's the main reason why I enjoyed the guitar parts so much that night.A classic rock-blues benchmark ,mutated by a young musician...
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

I say all guitars are tools and I will use whatever too I feel does the job best...[/QUOTE]


Your closing paragraph is a HUGE contradiction to all your previous grandiose statements...
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

grey said:
Your closing paragraph is a HUGE contradiction to all your previous grandiose statements...
Click to expand...

Yes. Yes it is. Sounds like somebody just needs some Midol or something.
 
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