Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

Does anyone know how the Hot Rod series compares to a true vintage 50s Tele or 60s Strat? Getting a vintage axe is soooooo pricey, but is there more to that extra money than just the vintageness (new word) of it?

- Keith

 

[millsart]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

i'm also a huge fan of the 62 starts and have been wishing Fender would have them with modern neck features... The flatter radius and medium frets sound great!!!! I also love Rosewood Board strats.... which is odd as for years all i ever wanted was maple boards..

I wish it came in Candy Red. But that Green is nice... i'm a sucker for Candy and metallic colours....

They do have the Classic Players 60's strat that has a great neck. 12" radius, MJ frets and pretty nice quality rosewood and just the right thickness C shaped neck (imho)

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

I just discovered my dream strat today, and while I'm in no position to buy anything, I realize this is the guitar I must own as a main player! :eek13:

I played a Sherwood Green Vintage Hot Rod 62 this morning for an hour, and it's the best strat they've come out with for my personal specs.

It comes in 3 color SB, Sherwood Green, and Olympic White. It's basically a 62 US strat with big beefy neck, flatter radius, medium jumbo frets crowned nicely, nitro finish, sweet pickups, and vintage hardware. All the specs I love. It sounded amazing. $1600 street price, but can be found discounted slightly.

I thought I liked the EJ strat till I played this today. I like it even more......being a fan of rosewood.....it's almost like the 60's counterpart to the EJ.

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0100140846

Worth trading a 77 Marshall JMP or 87 Silver Jubilee combo for? I MAY be able to do that. And for the Sherwood Green model as wel, lol. No, don't worry. I'm not going to part it out for the body! Three months old and mint condition with case.

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

That is a sweet strat right thar. It's like a NOS vintage axe that someone re-fretted with medium jumbo wire. That is incredibly cool as I love tall frets and vintage axes. I might have to start selling off stuff to get one of those.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

Worth trading a 77 Marshall JMP or 87 Silver Jubilee combo for? I MAY be able to do that. And for the Sherwood Green model as wel, lol. No, don't worry. I'm not going to part it out for the body! Three months old and mint condition with case.

Never mind--denied! Not interested in trades.

 

[millsart]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

Does anyone know how the Hot Rod series compares to a true vintage 50s Tele or 60s Strat? Getting a vintage axe is soooooo pricey, but is there more to that extra money than just the vintageness (new word) of it?

- Keith

Well lets just say that the Hot Rod series, custom shop relics, closet classic NOS and all the other "vintage" guitars on the market have not hurt the market for a true vintage strat.

If its truely worth spending that $30,000 or more on a true vintage really comes down to a personal question that can only be answered by the guy with the $30,000.

I've got an affordable MIM 60's players classic which is basically a 62 style body/neck with a few modern touches such as modern radius, mj frets and 2 point bridge. Its got some nice vintage sounding Custom Shop 69 pickups, mint green pickguard and some "aged" plastic parts. I paid about $500 for it. It very much looks the part, plays great like you'd expect from a modern guitar and sounds awesome to my ears. I can get all the classic strat sounds I want out of it. And I've got $29,500 left in the bank (I wish right LOL)

Seriously though, does it compare ? Yes and no. I'd be a darn fool to say its as good because its not, HOWEVER, as I said, I love the look, I love how it plays, and it gets me all the sounds I'm after.

So in that regard it more than compares for "my" needs.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

In my eyes, the top characteristics of a guitar are tone and feel. What I'm ultimately wondering is whether or not newer, more affordable guitars are able to achieve the same tone and feel of an expensive vintage guitar.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but in general, are vintage guitars just better in terms of tone and feel. (I realize this is rather subjective, but I'm wondering what's in all the extra money shelled out for true vintage guitars. Is it the intangible mojo of a vintage? Is it the antique value of it? Is it the fact that it's been broken in? Does it really offer better tone and feel?)

- Keith

 

[millsart]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

Feel can be a tough one to asnwer because its so subjective. For me personally, I don't like the feel of a vintage strat (don't hate me lol). I do not like the tiny vintage fretwire they used to use, nor do I like the 7.5" radius. Theres nothing wrong with those things mind you, but given I've always played guitars with flatter radius and jumbo frets, the true vintage specs don't feel right to me.

I'd have a very expensive guitar that probably sounds amazing and has all the cool vintage mojo you could shake a stick at, but would I enjoy playing it ?

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

^^^ Some great questions and answers. You've all seen my posts about the 59 strat I'm in love with, but just ain't got the 13K to spend on it. And would I if I did? I've also never played a custom shop or specialty stratocaster either, so maybe if I pick up an EJ or a 62 or 57 Hot Rod, I'd feel and hear everything I need to? That 62 Hot Rod has the look and description to really get the juices flowing.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

One of the reasons I'm asking so much about the Hot Rod reissues and true vintages is because I'm interested in getting vintage tone and feel without paying the vintage price tag. Maybe that can't be had, and those tones are reserved for the fortunate few.

Ultimately, I think it comes down to me going to a shop and playing as many guitars as I possibly can, to see what I really like. However, surely there are enough guys on this forum who have had enough experience with vintage axes and modern reissues to be able to make a fair comparison.

Like you, 75LP, if I had $13k burning a hole, the concern would be moot.

- Keith

 

[millsart]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

I think you can recreate the looks and even the feel of a vintage instrument but tones something else all together. Different woods, manufactoring, age etc all just can't be recreated.

If lets say a 62 strat is known to be the most amazing strat tone ever, and there was a way to use modern techiques to match it, they most definatly would. No one would be paying as much as they are for vintage gear if so.

This isn't to say that a modern guitar can't sound good, but short of time travel, you just can't make a guitar made last year match the 50 years of aging and playing a real vintage 57 would have.


Keep in mind though that in reality its not always that night and day of difference.

Every vintage strat isn't going to sound amazing, you've still got to cherry pick to get a really good one.


Its entirely possible you luck out with a modern guitar that beats a vintage guitar if you've gotten a really nice new one and had a less than stellar old strat.

Maybe the best of the best vintage will blow away anyitng made today but then again, its tough enough afford anyting vintage much less a $100,000 rock star collector only cherry picker.


I'd say simply go for the 62 Hot Rod. It will look the part, it should be at least 90% there tonewise, maybe 95% if your lucky, and play it and be happy.

Its going to cost you tens of thousands of dollars to get something similar as a true vintage and yeah maybe you'll get that extra 5% but would it be worth the cost ?

I know I for one sure couldn't be too happy with a guitar that expensive because I'd be without a roof over my head LOL

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

One of the reasons I'm asking so much about the Hot Rod reissues and true vintages is because I'm interested in getting vintage tone and feel without paying the vintage price tag. Maybe that can't be had, and those tones are reserved for the fortunate few.

Ultimately, I think it comes down to me going to a shop and playing as many guitars as I possibly can, to see what I really like. However, surely there are enough guys on this forum who have had enough experience with vintage axes and modern reissues to be able to make a fair comparison.

Like you, 75LP, if I had $13k burning a hole, the concern would be moot.

- Keith

Keith, here's a thread I started a week or so ago asking the exact same thing. Check out the responses.

Mario

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=119475

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

Keith, here's a thread I started a week or so ago asking the exact same thing. Check out the responses.

Mario

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=119475

Awesome! Thanks, Mario. This looks like a great thread -- as you said, exactly the kind of stuff I'm asking.

- Keith

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

That thread went way better than I'd hoped. I love hearing from guys who really have experience and knowledge of things like this, like Lewguitar, Gearjoneser, wahwah, millsart, Jeremy etc and anyone else who I may have left out.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

Getting back to the main subject here, who has actually played a bunch of the 62 Hot Rods, and does the quality vary from guitar to guitar? I've been trying to go and try some out but the time isn't happening. I'm selling off some stuff to hopefully score one, but I'd like some opinions. Any buzzing or fretting out? Are the pickups laid back or ripping? Is the action nice and easy or like playing barbed wire, lol.

 

[david kornblatt]

Re: Vintage 62 Hot Rod Stratocaster

guitars are a funny thing
""the whole is more than the some of its parts"" and maybe a person must need to be a stellar player to get good tone out anything