Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

EAProwlerB

EAProwlerB

New member
Fender American standard or American Standard Special?
Build a Warmoth and nitro paint it?
Any other recommendations?
For 60s/70s rock thru a 6V6 champ (need to find a costume, another story) and Boss Katana 50.
From what I read I can't really see much difference between the standard and the standard special except price.
Haven't built a guitar so the Warmoth path is fraught with danger or at least many tries to get it right.
There are all sorts of strat clones out there but have a warm spot in my heart for Fender.
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

What do you have again (guitar and pickups) and how do you want it to differ?

I've been playing my new (to me) Classic Player Strat, flatter radius, bigger frets and slightly bigger neck, CS69 pickups, I'm amazed it's MIM. (link)

On the other hand, sometimes you just need an American Strat...
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

All my Fender style guitars (Strats and Teles) are all partscaster builds and I prefer building my own and utilizing my own pickup configurations. They all suit me best because they have everything I've designed the to do.
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

I own a '98 American Std. Strat (in my avatar) that plays and sounds pretty awesome. You can't go wrong with a Standard, but that's just my opinion. Everyone has different tastes.



;>)/
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

Thank you all for the thoughtful advice and suggestions.
Being told that poly finish on a guitar smothers tone wood, might as well have a partical board guitar. Any opinions?
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

I'd go partscaster too. Between Fenders parts online and Fender Licensed aftermarket companies you can create just about any guitar you want with your personal specs.

I've had great luck with Warmoth, Musikraft, USACG, Allparts and Mighty Mite–would put the quality of later 2 as less than the first 3. Warmoth and Musikraft are the 2 I've used the most, extremely consistent quality and customer service.

My most recent build was finished by these guys and turned out beautifully (I believe they are the cheapest nitro finish out there if you go with their Pro Sat Nitro, which gives a super close to the wood look and feel.)
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

I believe the American Standard has a compound radius neck

If I were you I'd get a blue one
Blue ones always sound best, unless they are some other color
Then those sound best

Isn't after all the player who sounds better than the instrument

Play well and yea Blue
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

EAProwlerB said:
Thank you all for the thoughtful advice and suggestions.
Being told that poly finish on a guitar smothers tone wood, might as well have a partical board guitar. Any opinions?
Click to expand...

That its an opinion held by someone who doesn't know the first thing about what they're talking about.

Not all poly is thick, and even then there are plenty of guitars that rock even with it.
You might find a thick coating might get enough to impact the overall tone, but you'd need a LOT of testing of what happens to draw any conclusion of how it affects tone. And even then given that every plank of wood is unique you could't draw any meaningful conclusion about any guitar you bought as any change would be individual to the guitar in question.

I like thin finish - I like to see the wood without huge plasticy distortions over it for one. But critical interfaces like necks and body joins are way better where the wood is in more contact to my sensibility.
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

ehdwuld said:
I believe the American Standard has a compound radius neck

If I were you I'd get a blue one
Blue ones always sound best, unless they are some other color
Then those sound best

Isn't after all the player who sounds better than the instrument

Play well and yea Blue
Click to expand...

I have a blue one. It has tiny microphones located in various parts of the cavity. The pickup selector opens and closes the pickup openings. A guy that works at the music store builds these. They sound different.
WP_20170329_17_05_39_Pro.jpg
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

AlexR said:
That its an opinion held by someone who doesn't know the first thing about what they're talking about.

Not all poly is thick, and even then there are plenty of guitars that rock even with it.
You might find a thick coating might get enough to impact the overall tone, but you'd need a LOT of testing of what happens to draw any conclusion of how it affects tone. And even then given that every plank of wood is unique you could't draw any meaningful conclusion about any guitar you bought as any change would be individual to the guitar in question.

I like thin finish - I like to see the wood without huge plasticy distortions over it for one. But critical interfaces like necks and body joins are way better where the wood is in more contact to my sensibility.
Click to expand...

Not arguing but do wonder why Fender top of the line guitars have nitro finishes?
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

EAProwlerB said:
Not arguing but do wonder why Fender top of the line guitars have nitro finishes?
Click to expand...

People who play vintage-style guitars tend to value nitro finishes because that's the way they did it in the old days. Some players also believe the nitro will help the guitar sound better. I'm not getting into that. But Fender chooses to offer it on certain instruments because they feel it helps sell the guitar.
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

EAProwlerB said:
Thank you all for the thoughtful advice and suggestions.
Being told that poly finish on a guitar smothers tone wood, might as well have a partical board guitar. Any opinions?
Click to expand...

Anyone that speaks in absolutes like that should largely be ignored. Decent neck and pickups and a particle board guitar can sound fantastic.
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

I would advise you to not be in a big rush, and visit your local guitar stores and play some vintage reissues, even MIM, to get a feel for what you prefer as far as Rosewood/Maple fingerboard , and especially a six point tremolo vs. 2 point.

I would start off with the Fender. The fretwork on Fenders is a great reason to buy Fender.
Once you find the Fender you like, swap the pickups for Duncans probably, then you can begin to get down pat what is is you might want ideally, along with some research as to the best synergy of material to use for a good assembly, and along with some of the best premium hardware parts...then go shopping at warmoth?

As far as Nitro Vs. Poly, Warmoths' Poly is extremely thin, and by 'extremely' I mean about microscopically thin, so it does not hamper vibrations. It IS gloss, and some people do not like that.
Fenders Nitro is layered in tons of poly like undercoat, so in the end there isn't a huge difference I don't think- not sure. I do like the idea a guitar to 'breathe' though the finish , and that's what you are looking for in a lacquer finish?
 
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Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

A third option could be a G&L. You can order the guitar exactly how you want it. They have several neck profiles, frets, nut type, everything. They offer custom guitars at no extra charge.

If you're set on Fender, I'd go for the compound radius.
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

you have a blue one
sounds great don't it

the first sentence
about the neck radius
the main point

the special has a 9.5 radius

I'm still firmly in Camp Blue

think candy blue with black pickguard

oh oh candy red

or just play the blue one ya got
:p
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

+1 to esandes and G&L!!!!!

G&L is the way to go. I went to GC today and they did not have a single Fender that I would trade one of my G&Ls for. G&L has lots of neck choices; any USA-made guitar is available in way more colors than Fender offers. Frets are factory Pleked. Legacy is the basic Strat model. Legacy HB has a bridge PAF. Legacy 2HB is the "New York" strat version. Legacy Special has three thick Dual Blade pickups for an articulate yet muscular tone. S-500 has Leo Fender's hot MFD single-coil pickups...a strat on steroids. The Comanche has Leo's MFDs in a Z-Coil...a marvelous and unique sounding pickup...all the range of a single coil, but without the noise. Glen Campbell used the Comanche in his later years.

I typically gig with a Legacy and a Legacy Special, and a Gibson LP or 335. But the Comanche and S-500 are great choices when I can only take one guitar.

(BTW, Google my post "Comanches For Dummies" on the guitarsbyleo.com forum.)

Yes they are poly finished....but they can do nitro, too! G&L is a Custom Shop. Why go thru the hassle of a parts guitar when you have so many options with G&L?

Early Legacys used Duncan pickups and I have some of those early guitars. But, to my ears the current factory CLF-100s (I also have several of these) are just as good and spanky as those old SSL-2s.

You can sometime find good deals on used USA guitars, if you don't have the dinero to custom order. OR...if you are on a really tight budget, look at some of the Indonesian-made Tribute models...made with USA Pickups and hardware. Blows away MIM Fender.

G&L.

/thread.

Bill
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

Yep. I've wanted a "real" G&L for years, and I'm reminded every time I play my dad's. The next guitar I buy brand new (and one of the only guitars I would.)

I live local and am near the factory (a pretty small shop in an industrial park) often; wish they gave tours, but if they did I probably wouldn't be able to resist trying to buy one on the spot.
 
Re: Need another Stratocaster. which one should I get?

EAProwlerB said:
Thank you all for the thoughtful advice and suggestions.
Being told that poly finish on a guitar smothers tone wood, might as well have a partical board guitar. Any opinions?
Click to expand...

I have a 1966 Fender Stratocaster that someone primered over the original paint and added what looks like some psychedelic dayglo oil paint job and then sealed it with 1/8" thick of boat varnish which has now craquelured all over the place. It's the best sounding Strat I've ever played or owned. I don't know about poly, however. That would probably ruin it.

dCANTMV.jpg
 
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