ilikeoverdrive
New member
Greetings forum! It's good to be back after a long hiatus with not enough time to post anything :raincloud.
And so, after so much deliberation and research, both on the field and in this forum, my quest to find the best strat for me has finally ended at Thomann :banana: !!!
It is a wonderful 2018 Fender American Original 50's Strat! To me, this is nothing short of Custom Shop at a third of the price. Specs are already well known to veterans here but I'll discuss its features more in-depth in a minute. Flawless construction, super tight neck pocket, came already set-up and in tune! Click on my avatar to see it!
I did a very short unboxing with overdriven sounds for those interested, you can find it in the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvhli8jp0Sw
Long read part incoming!
Many here have awesome strats and know what one should feel and sound like. But if you're new to strats and single coils in general, and are interested in purchasing a proper vintage spec strat, here's what you should know:
- don't worry about the truss rod heel adjust, these baseball bat maple necks don't move a lot and it'll very rarely, if ever, require adjusting
- between the vintage tuners, the bone nut, and the entire quality of the instrument, you'll find that this guitar stays in tune forever
- that vintage 6 point trem really works. I couldn't believe it. You can use it absolutely fine, but for even less fuss when changing strings and tuning you can easily deck it, as I did. Just add two more springs in the back and tighten that claw. It's already almost decked from the factory, so it is incredibly easy
- the nitro finished neck is very big but perfectly sculpted and rolled. And honestly, going from a satin finished shred machine (ESP, Mayones) to this glossy nitro baseball bat, I can say speed is in your hands alone regardless of the neck. As for comfort, I like'em all to bits, and couldn't do without them! It's a different feel for sure but you'll like it a lot!
- the nitro finish is very different from the ones I have on my "modern" guitars, i.e. gloss poly, satin poly and oil finishes. It isn't sticky but it does feel different at first if you're used to modern guitars. It's also very thin and rather fragile, take good care of it, unless you want it reliced within its first few weeks! Only use soft 100% cotton cloths to clean it and take your time when cleaning it! Polish it too fast and the heat will tend haze the finish a bit. Don't worry though, just take your time wiping it, and those apparent scratches and dirt will go away nicely! Also the finish has a strong sweet smell and it's there to stay, probably for years.
- the 9.5'' radius 21 narrow tall frets are super smooth. Shred away, whatever you play, they'll take it with super low action and no fretbuzz. AT ALL! Tuned to E standard with 10-46 strings.
- the Pure Vintage 59 pickups are a treat! The noise is minimal even with very high gain applications. Sparkly and detailed with cleans, you heard them a million times, no explanations needed. Extremely punchy, with sharp attack and a very strong bass response with high gain. Unforgiving to mistakes, it will make you practice those roaring riffs and solos more until they sound crystal clear. If something doesn't sound right unplugged, it's going to sound a lot worse amplified, especially when using lots of distortion. The high end can sometimes be a bit overpowering on the bridge pickup, but that's not an excuse not to play high gain with this. Adjust your EQ with your ears not eyes, don't expect those humbucker settings to work for singles in the same way. If you're in a hurry though, take that tone knob to about 6 and it will give you all the thickness of your humbuckers, but with a lot better clarity and punchy bass. Or switch to the middle pickup, excellent for both swinging high gain rhythm and leadwork too. Neck pickup can do high gain rhythm as well, but be ready for a low end onslaught. The in-between positions have their own unique and rather unusual sound with high gain, but do experiment, and be yourself! That's the best sound there is. One more thing: ride those tone and volume knobs and that 5 way switch. This guitar can literally sound like and do everything you have in mind with just that. Ditch pedals if you can, just grab a gainy all tube amp, because IMHO that's the best music you will ever make! Sound is subjective so the key words here are experiment and have fun!
So this is it! Grab a strat and have fun! Cleans, crunch, sizzle, high gain, whatever you like, just gun your amp and make your own music! And I really hope to hear more singlecoil high gain tones from everyone in the future, I'll be sure to contribute as well!
Thank you for your attention!
And so, after so much deliberation and research, both on the field and in this forum, my quest to find the best strat for me has finally ended at Thomann :banana: !!!
It is a wonderful 2018 Fender American Original 50's Strat! To me, this is nothing short of Custom Shop at a third of the price. Specs are already well known to veterans here but I'll discuss its features more in-depth in a minute. Flawless construction, super tight neck pocket, came already set-up and in tune! Click on my avatar to see it!
I did a very short unboxing with overdriven sounds for those interested, you can find it in the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvhli8jp0Sw
Long read part incoming!
Many here have awesome strats and know what one should feel and sound like. But if you're new to strats and single coils in general, and are interested in purchasing a proper vintage spec strat, here's what you should know:
- don't worry about the truss rod heel adjust, these baseball bat maple necks don't move a lot and it'll very rarely, if ever, require adjusting
- between the vintage tuners, the bone nut, and the entire quality of the instrument, you'll find that this guitar stays in tune forever
- that vintage 6 point trem really works. I couldn't believe it. You can use it absolutely fine, but for even less fuss when changing strings and tuning you can easily deck it, as I did. Just add two more springs in the back and tighten that claw. It's already almost decked from the factory, so it is incredibly easy
- the nitro finished neck is very big but perfectly sculpted and rolled. And honestly, going from a satin finished shred machine (ESP, Mayones) to this glossy nitro baseball bat, I can say speed is in your hands alone regardless of the neck. As for comfort, I like'em all to bits, and couldn't do without them! It's a different feel for sure but you'll like it a lot!
- the nitro finish is very different from the ones I have on my "modern" guitars, i.e. gloss poly, satin poly and oil finishes. It isn't sticky but it does feel different at first if you're used to modern guitars. It's also very thin and rather fragile, take good care of it, unless you want it reliced within its first few weeks! Only use soft 100% cotton cloths to clean it and take your time when cleaning it! Polish it too fast and the heat will tend haze the finish a bit. Don't worry though, just take your time wiping it, and those apparent scratches and dirt will go away nicely! Also the finish has a strong sweet smell and it's there to stay, probably for years.
- the 9.5'' radius 21 narrow tall frets are super smooth. Shred away, whatever you play, they'll take it with super low action and no fretbuzz. AT ALL! Tuned to E standard with 10-46 strings.
- the Pure Vintage 59 pickups are a treat! The noise is minimal even with very high gain applications. Sparkly and detailed with cleans, you heard them a million times, no explanations needed. Extremely punchy, with sharp attack and a very strong bass response with high gain. Unforgiving to mistakes, it will make you practice those roaring riffs and solos more until they sound crystal clear. If something doesn't sound right unplugged, it's going to sound a lot worse amplified, especially when using lots of distortion. The high end can sometimes be a bit overpowering on the bridge pickup, but that's not an excuse not to play high gain with this. Adjust your EQ with your ears not eyes, don't expect those humbucker settings to work for singles in the same way. If you're in a hurry though, take that tone knob to about 6 and it will give you all the thickness of your humbuckers, but with a lot better clarity and punchy bass. Or switch to the middle pickup, excellent for both swinging high gain rhythm and leadwork too. Neck pickup can do high gain rhythm as well, but be ready for a low end onslaught. The in-between positions have their own unique and rather unusual sound with high gain, but do experiment, and be yourself! That's the best sound there is. One more thing: ride those tone and volume knobs and that 5 way switch. This guitar can literally sound like and do everything you have in mind with just that. Ditch pedals if you can, just grab a gainy all tube amp, because IMHO that's the best music you will ever make! Sound is subjective so the key words here are experiment and have fun!
So this is it! Grab a strat and have fun! Cleans, crunch, sizzle, high gain, whatever you like, just gun your amp and make your own music! And I really hope to hear more singlecoil high gain tones from everyone in the future, I'll be sure to contribute as well!
Thank you for your attention!
