Single-coil GAS got the best of me

JacksonMIA

Lemur-buckerologist
I've been GASing for a true strat for several months now, and it finally reached the breaking point. Picked up this baby on Evil-Bay.

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It's a 97 (if I'm reading the S/N correctly :smack:) Jimmie Vaughan strat. The guy I bought it from had installed the pearloid guard and aged/cream accouterments. He sent all the original pieces, too, so I can return it to stock if I ever want to. It looks surprisingly white in those pictures. I'll snap a few more pics, hopefully, later this week after I give it a good cleaning and full setup (though it was actually set up mostly how I like it and was pretty close to in tune when I pulled it out of the box).

The thing plays great. It's one of the most comfortable strat necks I've ever played (and I've tried several of the higher end Fenders in the past couple of weeks, including a couple of other signature models). I really like the matte finish on the neck if it's going to be finished at all. Medium jumbo frets are my friend, especially on such a round fingerboard. Surprisingly, it didn't take any adjusting to it, even being used to my Jackson. It's nothing like the Jackson, but it's just so natural feeling your fingers are right at home.

The bridge is amazing. I don't really have a lot to compare it to, tonally, but it sounds very good. It was set up well, but it's got to be the best feeling vintage style bridge I've used.

Tonally, it's great. The pickups aren't really what I was looking for, but so far I really like them. I'm going to at least give them til the end of the year before I decide about swapping them out. They'll probably go in another strat if I do, though. Very balanced pups. And I LOVE the tone controls.

For those who don't know, it's wired Master Volume/Neck Tone/Bridge Tone. This leaves the middle pup on full, and you can back off the tone on the neck or bridge pups and get some really cool 2 and 4 position tones.

The guitar is an incredible value. Even at new prices, they're probably the best bang for your buck I've come across as far as vintage style strats.

I need to give a big thanks to Christian (the guy who invented fire) for talking me into it. We spent several hours on the phone and through PMs helping me decide what I needed. Dude knows his stuff.

Thanks, man!
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

I was wondering if you got it on friday! Congrats Bro! :bigthumb: That thing is pretty and looks super clean for a 10 year old guitar.

I've been steered towards that model too for a strat due to the neck. How would you say it compares to your typical modern C shape Fender neck?

And yeah..Vintage bridges sound/feel much better, AFAIC.

Is it made in mexico?
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

Sweet score. And I love white/creme on a Strat. Enjoy.
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

Nice, Rich. Those Jimmy Vaughans are great guitars. One of the best deals out there IMO. If I wasn't so stuck on 22 frets I'd grab one myself when I enter the new Strat market (like that'll happen anytime soon...LOL).
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

NEW STUFF ROCKS!!! i've never played a JV, but i've ALWAYS heard how awesome the necks are!!!
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

White strat and purple sheets, just think of all the porn conotations! Nice score, whats the radius?
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

Thanks guys!
JeffB said:
I was wondering if you got it on friday! Congrats Bro! :bigthumb: That thing is pretty and looks super clean for a 10 year old guitar.

I've been steered towards that model too for a strat due to the neck. How would you say it compares to your typical modern C shape Fender neck?

And yeah..Vintage bridges sound/feel much better, AFAIC.

Is it made in mexico?
It's kinda in between the C and V shapes. Soft-V is a pretty good description. I can't say I've played anything close enough to say it's like X guitar. You'll just have to try one. Make sure you have the money, though, because you'll probably take it home.

Yeah, it's MIM.
vinterland said:
White strat and purple sheets, just think of all the porn conotations! Nice score, whats the radius?
That blanket is actually dark red. I was trying to get as much sunlight into the room as I could, but I guess the CFLs still threw the color off too much. That's probably why the guitar looks so white, too.

It's a 9.5" radius. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like it since I'm used to the Jackson, but it's not bad at all. I guess the combination of the radius and the neck shape really worked out well.
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

It's a smokin guitar, we plugged it into the Marshall and DL4. It needs some dialing on the bridge pup for my taste, but it smokes none the less.

Luke
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

Congrats, nice lookin' strat. I lopve the soft-V shape necks on the JV and 50s reissue strats, very comfortable.
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

That's it. I'm buying and screwing up a Squier!
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

Nice buy, I really like mine...Oly white is a cool color. Word on the street is that the pickups with the JV really have to be at the right height to really come alive. I moved mine as close to the strings as possible without messing with tuning then lower them back down a bit and that's where they sounded best on mine. When I would crank the bridge pup I swear it's got some sweet tele-vibe to it. Some guys over on the FDP say the same thing. Crank that bridge pup and see what you hear...
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

I messed around with it for a while yesterday and raised it quite a bit. It still needs to be tweeked a little bit, but I wanted to get everything set up like I want it first.


Erik, I've had a Fender for a while now....sort of. :D
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

JacksonMIA said:
Erik, I've had a Fender for a while now....sort of. :D
What, your Jackson (since FMIC now owns Jackson/Charvel)? Not hardly, bro. :eek13: She no say Fender on the headstock, she's not a Fender. :D
 
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Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

:laugh2: :laugh2:



I do have a Fender amp, though.


EDIT: Forgot about my acoustic, too.
 
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Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

JacksonMIA said:
:laugh2: :laugh2:



I do have a Fender amp, though.


EDIT: Forgot about my acoustic, too.
Ok, well, I'll give you that. It took you long enough to get to the Strat Club. Now all you need is a Tele. :D :laugh2:
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

Tell me about it. I've been GASing for one for a while now. Got it pretty much spec'ed out, too. Strange, how it was much easier to decide on the tele. One look was all it took (someone should write a song about that :laugh2:). I agonized for months (just ask Luke) throwing around various ideas including a Hwy 1, USACG, Nash gutars, etc. I saw this one on ebay and decided to finally put my money where my mouth is and get one.

Knowing me, I'll grab a different tele at the last second. :smack:
 
Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

I'll probably have to build. I want it just like this only with a maple fingerboard.

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Re: Single-coil GAS got the best of me

Nice. :bigthumb: I'm not a big Bigsby fan but with that color, it looks OK, very tasteful and classic.
 
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