JeffB
Let it B
So, I’ve been playing a Strat now and enjoying the piss out of it for over a month. While this is certainly not my first strat or strat type as many of you know, it’s the only one I’ve been able to really bond with since my Deluxe Strat Plus circa 1993.
Due to my somewhat recently diagnosed CTS, I’ve had to change my practice habits, physical playing style, and previous preferences in a guitar over the past 7 months or so. The guitars and specs I used to swear by (namely flatter radii, high neck angled, large fretted Gibson scale instruments) aggravate my CTS to the point where I cannot play without extreme discomfort. Neck angle and taller frets in particular kill me.
The Strat however, with its rounder radius, lack of neck/string angle, wider spacing, longer scale length, smallish flat backed /wide neck, and medium-ish size frets has become surprisingly comfortable when in years past they always felt very “alien” to me. Always loved strats, but just could not get along with them.
As a mostly long time Gibbo/Hamer/Dean, etc player (23 or 24 years), I thought I’d give my observations after settling into this very different style of guitar on how they differ at least to me.
Probably the biggest difference I’m reminded of is how more touch sensitive a strat, (even with a bucker) is. Quite simply you have to play a strat with more forcefulness. It makes you work harder - and lets you know when you aren’t up to snuff. VERY apparent in the picking hand. The wider spacing and increased tension does not tolerate “slop” or laziness whatsoever. You will learn to be more efficient in the picking hand or you might as well give up.
This touch sensitive nature also makes for more expressive playing, even under pretty high gain. It responds better to things like Vibrato, bends, shaking chords, etc. More “vocal”, if you will.
Conversely, I feel the strat and its wider spacing/longer scale frees up the fretting hand. It simply is more tolerant of fretting technique. This is where the shorter Gibson scales and narrow spacing will eat you alive if you are lacking precision in your fretting hand. Not that a Strat is completely tolerant, just noticeably more-so: You’ve got more wiggle-room (literally and figuratively) between strings and frets.
Tonally, the Strat naturally lacks the aggressive nature of a Gibson style instrument. There is a certain amount of “power” or “balls” that is inherent in the design of the Gibson styles, whereas the strat requires you to supply the aggression via pups and/or playing style. I don’t feel this is a wood type issue, but simply design. The Stat is more pristine and a clean slate to work off of tonally-whereas the Gibson is pre-disposed to a certain amount of “raunchiness”.
Technically the strat is more stable on a day to day basis once it is set-up properly and the strings are broken in, etc. However, when a Strat does “go out” due to humidity or temp fluctuations, it REALLY goes out to the point of not being very playable at all and requires a bit more time and care to bring things back to where they were.
Of course, YMMV and all that. But thats just my experience having not played a Strat for any significant amount of time and getting used to one again. Please feel free to discuss :bigthumb:
Due to my somewhat recently diagnosed CTS, I’ve had to change my practice habits, physical playing style, and previous preferences in a guitar over the past 7 months or so. The guitars and specs I used to swear by (namely flatter radii, high neck angled, large fretted Gibson scale instruments) aggravate my CTS to the point where I cannot play without extreme discomfort. Neck angle and taller frets in particular kill me.
The Strat however, with its rounder radius, lack of neck/string angle, wider spacing, longer scale length, smallish flat backed /wide neck, and medium-ish size frets has become surprisingly comfortable when in years past they always felt very “alien” to me. Always loved strats, but just could not get along with them.
As a mostly long time Gibbo/Hamer/Dean, etc player (23 or 24 years), I thought I’d give my observations after settling into this very different style of guitar on how they differ at least to me.
Probably the biggest difference I’m reminded of is how more touch sensitive a strat, (even with a bucker) is. Quite simply you have to play a strat with more forcefulness. It makes you work harder - and lets you know when you aren’t up to snuff. VERY apparent in the picking hand. The wider spacing and increased tension does not tolerate “slop” or laziness whatsoever. You will learn to be more efficient in the picking hand or you might as well give up.
This touch sensitive nature also makes for more expressive playing, even under pretty high gain. It responds better to things like Vibrato, bends, shaking chords, etc. More “vocal”, if you will.
Conversely, I feel the strat and its wider spacing/longer scale frees up the fretting hand. It simply is more tolerant of fretting technique. This is where the shorter Gibson scales and narrow spacing will eat you alive if you are lacking precision in your fretting hand. Not that a Strat is completely tolerant, just noticeably more-so: You’ve got more wiggle-room (literally and figuratively) between strings and frets.
Tonally, the Strat naturally lacks the aggressive nature of a Gibson style instrument. There is a certain amount of “power” or “balls” that is inherent in the design of the Gibson styles, whereas the strat requires you to supply the aggression via pups and/or playing style. I don’t feel this is a wood type issue, but simply design. The Stat is more pristine and a clean slate to work off of tonally-whereas the Gibson is pre-disposed to a certain amount of “raunchiness”.
Technically the strat is more stable on a day to day basis once it is set-up properly and the strings are broken in, etc. However, when a Strat does “go out” due to humidity or temp fluctuations, it REALLY goes out to the point of not being very playable at all and requires a bit more time and care to bring things back to where they were.
Of course, YMMV and all that. But thats just my experience having not played a Strat for any significant amount of time and getting used to one again. Please feel free to discuss :bigthumb:
. The Les Pauls react more to left-hand "after-touch" manipulation of the string, namely the violin style vibrato.
