Strat GAS questions

G0lden

G0lden

New member
I've been looking into getting a new Strat. I really like the specs of the Eric Clapton version. It has a blocked trem and those funky tone knobs. And a Maple neck (one of my favorites).

But... Plain black is a little ugly. When I spend money on a guitar, I usually get something pretty.

So the second choice is the Select Series with a flame top.


My question is, Would they sound the same? The EC has some interesting hardware. The N3 pups seem better than the Select Single Coils on the custom. But I never really know until I get them home and play them on my equipment... for like a week.

I know you are going to ask what sound I want. But I really don't know. Just the classic "strat" sound. I just play to play, and have one of each of my favorite guitars. :-)

Thanks in advance.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

If you want a "classic strat" sound, dont get a clapton. Get something with traditional electronics. Perhaps one of the rissue models would be more appropriate. The clapton also has an unusual neck profile.
So lets say you have found yourself a strat with a maple neck and your favourite top. Pickups are easily replaced on strats. You might find that the stockers give you the sound you want, but if not its a pretty easy job with a soldering iron to put in the best set for the sound you are after in your head. If you get a couple of pots and caps, you can keep the original wiring intact for later on if you want to sell your axe as original. Pickups are only part of the equation, and there are so many options out there it seems a shame to be limited to one particular setup because a big name player uses it. Think about Eric himself....his original blackie is made up of the best parts of six different strats that he bought cheaply and screwed together. I reckon the "golden" strat would be better for you and a more fun project.
Blocking the trem is no big deal, and tricked out knobs cost only a couple of bucks. That stuff is so not important when choosing a guitar.
What is really important is how resonant an axe sounds unplugged. If if sounds good, you can set it up to feel good. If it ticks those two boxes then looks come after that. Everything you need to know about an axe is there before you plug it in. After that, the sky is the limit in terms of making it the best axe for you. Pickups, different bridge saddles, string blocks, trick wiring...the list goes on....but the great thing about strats is that all of this stuff is easy, reversible and cheap to modify. Start with a good pice of wood, not some famous guy's signature.
If you get a strat and tweak it to be your personal dream strat, its gonna be a hundred percent more rewarding to play than a big corporate version of a famous player's axe.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

What he said -

Play a bunch of them. You might find you prefer a Rosewood board. I tend to, but I don't exclusively play them.

While I like Vintage Style Strats a LOT, I'd probably recommend looking at the current American Standard line for consideration. Some will argue with me but I really prefer the smooth feel of a 2 post bridge.

I'd just stick with Singles at first and then when you have the urge (and money) start exploring the noise cancelling options.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

i like the american standard too. The bridge is really good. I just did not mention it cos he suggested a "classic strat" sound.
Having said that, i reckon i can get some classic sounds out of this axe. Its a strat plus deluxe that i bought new in 1991. (the pups in it now are ssl-1's - the last in a long succession of pickups over the 20 or so years ive had this. The ssl-1's are gonna stay mainly cos to me the sound as "classic" as you can get. Its had texas specials, gibson and SD humbuckers, stacks, lace sensors, overwounds, you name it in there. There is no one perfect strat sound. Only the one that works best for each individual player.
P1130219.jpg
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

Don't forget to try a G&L Legacy. It's a vintage Strat, with the right upgrades over a vintage guitar--yet even with the upgrades it still retains that vintage feel and character. I had a 1960 Strat that I had to sell after my divorce in 1990. I bought a Legacy a year later, and I've never really missed the old Strat--the Legacy is a superior guitar.

G&L is the company Leo founded after he sold Fender. Leo passed in 1991, but company has maintained Leo's vision. The quality and value in these guitars is really solid.

If you want a guitar with a hotter pickup than the vintage alnico pickups of the Legacy, try a Legacy Special, S-500 or Comanche model.

For more info on G&L guitars, come join the G&L Discussion Page Forum at www.guitarsbyleo.com.

Here's some of my G&Ls to drool over:


P2110278-1-1.jpg


From left to right is "Mary Kaye", a Transparent Blonde ash Legacy with a set of Antiquity Texas Hots, including a RW/TP middle and the Custom Bridge;

"Marilyn", an ash Legacy Special in Transparent Butterscotch Blonde, with an ebony board and the factory Gotoh Dual Blade Pickups;

"JoJo", a Fullerton Red Legacy with G&L's Gun-Oil Tint neck.




CloseupofWinstonComancheandMomS-500.jpg


Here's a shot of my Tobacco Sunburst on ash Comanche, again with the GOT neck on the left; and my 3CSB S-500. This guitar came to me with a JB, Jr. bridge pickup, but it really couldn't keep up with the hot G&L MFD pickups, so the guitar is back to stock. I love the Comanche Z-coil MFD's for their high output, hum cancelling design and incredible clarity. The S-500 MFDs are really hot single coils with a wide frequency response and an agressive tone. The standard factory mini-toggle on these models allows for seven pickup combinations.




JudyandLeslieLegacys.jpg


Here's a pair of Legacy twins in 3CSB. The one on the left is my first G&L from a very early production run in 1992. The one on the right is a Legacy of the same vintage hat has been upgraded with Sperzel locking tuners and the Gotoh Dual Blade pickups from a Legacy Special. The necks on these are very slim and very fast.



ASATDeluxeCloseUpB-1-1.jpg


And for you guys that prefer Teles, here's my maple over mahogany ASAT Deluxe in 3CSB. (That's camera flash on the lower right.) A stunning maple-topped guitar with the factory '59N and TB-4 bridge (with coil-split) and 3-D birdseye neck. A 250K pot tames the JB, giving it a thick rock tone. Note the factory Custom Shop Dual Fulcrum Vibrato--one of Leo Fender's best designs ever. I usually get my 2HB tones from a Les Paul or ES-335, but for some things this guitar can't be beat. My understanding is that this guitar was made as an endorsement guitar for Art Alexakis of Everclear.

Bill
 
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Re: Strat GAS questions

+1 for all of the above.

Stratocasters are strangely variable from one to the next. Try as many as possible before making your choice.

As for maple versus rosewood fingerboards, one of my absolute heroes is Richard Thompson. For decades, he got his distinctive tone from a late Fifties Strat. Nowadays, he is getting exactly the same trademark tone from a Custom Shop guitar with a rosewood 'board.

IMO, the Select Wood models are targeted at guitarists who listen with their eyes, if you know what I mean. (This does not mean that people should not buy and cherish them.) To my way of thinking, Leo Fender espoused function over form and both of those over appearances.

Having grown up in a time when Fender guitars all had 7.25" fingerboard radii, the AVRI feels right to me in a way that the Am Std never entirely manages. Having said that, either will make a reliable professional instrument to last you for the rest of your life.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

Funkfingers said:
. To my way of thinking, Leo Fender espoused function over form and both of those over appearances.
Click to expand...

And yet with a little help from Freddie Tavares and other friends, he came up with the most beautiful and widely copied electric guitar ever devised.

This isn't directed to the quoted poster above, who is just giving sound advice (not trying to start an argument), but I hate it when people say similar things about Leo, as if he was some silly greasemonkey who only knew how to use a torque wrench and a screwdriver.

He was practical, to be sure, but he had a good eye and -- even though he wasn't a musician -- a good ear.

He had his share of happy accidents, but he was smart enough to take advantage of them. And yeah, he made his share of mistakes, too.

To the OP: You're getting good advice. Play a lot of Strats. But an EC-signature model and a Select model will sound nothing alike. Have fun in your search.
 
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Re: Strat GAS questions

I have just returned from my nearest Fender dealer. I have now seen a Select HSS Stratocaster up close and personal. It is a very handsome electric guitar. The drop top echoes Tom Anderson models whilst the clear varnish around the top edge creates the same illusion of binding as found on some PRS guitars.

The problem is that I don't care very much what a Fender electric guitar looks like. I only care about the playing feel and the sound. A mildly tweaked AVRI does what I require. I can beat the brown stuff out of it without worrying whether my fingernails might be leaving scratches in the clear topcoat.

Inkstained. I did not say or intend anything derogatory about Leo Fender. Above everything else, the guy was an astute businessman. He made products that regular professional musicians could use, at prices that they could afford. Highly figured maple caps are not part of the formula.

In the pioneering days of the solid body electric Spanish guitar, detractors used words such as "canoe paddle". They were not far wrong. Luckily for all of us, those canoe paddles make some fantastic sounds.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

Funkfingers said:
In the pioneering days of the solid body electric Spanish guitar, detractors used words such as "canoe paddle". They were not far wrong. Luckily for all of us, those canoe paddles make some fantastic sounds.
Click to expand...

I completely understand the "canoe paddle" thing. I've even heard Tele lovers make the remark.

Obviously, I'm letting emotional attachment and decades of playing Fenders color my view of these instruments, but I don't understand how the Tele and the Strat could possibly be improved aesthetically.

The Fender Musicmaster on the other hand ...
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

Thanks guys.

And thanks for adding about 50 variables into my search. :-)

A little history...
I started playing back in '92. My parents first got me a black no-name short scale single pickup pawn shop guitar. About a year later when I could actually play guitar, we went back to that pawn shop, and I traded in that for a strat copy. I still have this guitar. It's called a Lotis. It has a different head than you will find on the internet. Maple Neck. Black body. 3 ply white pick guard. It came with black EMG pickups (passive). I never liked the sound of this guitar. It plays great, but it was the only think I knew for the next (almost) 20 years.

Now I can afford buying a new one. (I've purchased more than a few.) I was staying away from Strats because I thought I hated their sound. I got a Tele months ago. I love it's sound. So it got me thinking that "real" strat probably sounds different. And no, I'm not changing anything on my old Lotus. It's staying the way it is because that's how it's been.

I currently own:
LP Studio Anniversary Flood (blue)
LP Studio 60's Tribute with p-90's
Epi Dot Royale (seth + phat cat) (I love the fat neck on this)
Tele - American standard (quarter pound custom shop tapped pups)
Pink Squire that I purchased for my wife (sounds like dog poo)
B.C. Rich Warlock - Neck Through design with nut sack head (Gus G Fire pups)
'95 Alvarez acoustic (sounds amazing - purchased new)
Martin D-15M (mahogany top)
Fender 12 string (super cheap model)

So anyways... I'm not sure if that all means anything. But I guess I have to go down to the local GC and play things. I just hate playing stuff in there. There is always some punk kid with an amp on 11 trying to impersonate Yngwie, non stop, for an hour straight, same licks, over and over and over...

And yes, maybe I do like my guitars to look as good as they play. ;)
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

Three points for now.

1) If you enjoy your pawnshop guitar EXCEPT for its stock pickups and you have a budget, why not upgrade the pickups?

2) Since you despise the pink Squier, why not sell that and use the proceeds to fund something else?

3) For comparison purposes, how does dog poo sound exactly? Treble/Mid/Bass stats, please? :D
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

Take a look at the Eric Johnson series. You can find used ones at decent prices. It's about as "custom shop" you can get without going to the Fender Custom Shop.

Now if you're totally on a very tight budget, there are some Squiers out there that are worth looking at.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

Funkfingers said:
Three points for now.

1) If you enjoy your pawnshop guitar EXCEPT for its stock pickups and you have a budget, why not upgrade the pickups?

2) Since you despise the pink Squier, why not sell that and use the proceeds to fund something else?

3) For comparison purposes, how does dog poo sound exactly? Treble/Mid/Bass stats, please? :D
Click to expand...

Money is not an issue. Never was. The pawnshop guitar is staying the way it is for nostalgia sake.

And for #3, I don't really remember. It doesn't play well either.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

I own 2 EC Strats. One I bought New and it is a Monster guitar, the other is a metal flake Green & is a nice guitar but doesn't sound like the other. Mine are very early models that have the lace sensor pickups. The Noiseless IMHO sound very sterile by comparison. I have played many of the new ones and really have never been happy with the tone that I get with them. Basically the Strat has a 9volt battery in the back cavity that powers the preamp. The last tone control activates the preamp. It adds 25db of midrange boost to the circuit which is supposed to make it sound more like a Humbucker but I just think it sounds muddy. I rarely use the preamp. I bought the guitar mainly because of the way it feels & plays. I love the "V" neck and my original EC guitar sounds better then most Strats I have played. The TBX tone control is like adding a treble boost to your tone. I think it is one of Fenders most versatile Strats, but as Gibson 175 said if you want a more traditional sound looks elsewhere. These guitars have more output & will definitely drive your amp harder. They can sound amazing but they can also be harsh sounding. Most of the newer ones sound sterile to me. Look at a 57 RI with a 9.5" radius neck. The original 57 RI has a 7.25" radius & will force you to run your action higher to avoid it choking on bends in the middle of the neck. The American RI are great but the radius can be a concern. The American Standards have a two point trem and some feel that it affects the tone in a negative way. I think they are fine. Pickups are also easy to replace. I also have 3 othe Strats other then the two in question and most of them are setup with replacement pickups. I have a set of Surfers in one, a set of Texas hots in another & a set of Fralin blues specials in the third. I don't usually use the Clapton Strats when I paly live shows. as much as I love them I think my others sound more traditional for the blues I am doing...
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

7.25" is not necessarily a bad thing - but back when dinosours ruled the earth, it was the only choice if you wanted a new Fender. :-)

I find action does not need to be really high, but someone here has called my definition of low action "Sky High". :-P I'm speaking of an action slightly above 4/64"@ the 12th fret High E, 5/64ths at the low E.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

LReese said:
7.25" is not necessarily a bad thing - but back when dinosours ruled the earth, it was the only choice if you wanted a new Fender. :-)

I find action does not need to be really high, but someone here has called my definition of low action "Sky High". :-P I'm speaking of an action slightly above 4/64"@ the 12th fret High E, 5/64ths at the low E.
Click to expand...

I don't really measure my action that often. I try to keep the strings on a Strat or Tele following the radius of the fingerboard and adjust the height of the strings to where the guitar plays good and doesn't choke. Some guitars can be set pretty low & they play well, others have to be higher. Some people try to setup each guitar the same way and unless every guitar has perfect frets, a perfect neck it just doesn't work some guitars simply play better & sound better with higher action. I also have been accused of playing with high action. I guess playing some slide & a ,ot of acoustic guitar will do that!
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

Well the Clapton comes in a couple of colors and you dont have to get black, I personally am not fond of solid black finishes and go more for Trans and Retro colors. As far as the sig guitar stigma it does not bother me at all unless it is over the top and too closely associated with an artist. Think-EVH Frankenstrat, Zack Wylde Bullseye Lester or a Strat with three big decals that spell out SRV lol. I have both a Surf Green Beck Strat and Olympic White Clapton which has turned a really nice cream color thanks to my cigarette smoke. Though I am a big fan of both guitarist it is what the guitar had to offer and not some scribble on the headstock that 95% of the audience is clueless about.

As stated already though the Clapton with the TBX and 25db Mid Boost does not sound like your normal Strat and borders on humbucker territory. Unlike a lot of guys I am a fan of Fenders Noiseless pups as I was never a purist and cant stand 60 cycle hum and these are dead quite. Also if they are good enough for Beck and Clapton they are good enough for me. Though Beck only uses the two sets he has that John Suhr made for him and are deeper to where his Strats have to be routed for them to fit.

Though I have never played one I have never heard anything but praise for the Eric Johnson model, which is based off a 57 and has a 12" radius, Hotter wound single coils, Nitro finish, and a 6 point trem. So it is more of a mix of a vintage ax with some modern tweaking. I am a Fender die hard and really have to hand it to them for building such awesome guitars at the price point they are selling them. A few years back they hiked all the top models up too $2,200 at the worst possible time (economy going in the tank) they slowly dropped them all back down to where they were before the hike. A Clapton or Beck will run you $1,599 and an EJ is $1,799. But as everyone advised go sit and play a few models and you will connect with one.
 
Re: Strat GAS questions

American standards are plentiful, cheap and come in a variety of colors. They are without exception solidy and well constructed instruments. Put in your pickups/wiring/bridge of choice and you have your own signature model right there. If you ever want to re-sell, screw all the original gear back in and you have lost nothing in the experience.
 
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