Best stratty guitar under £300?

mrleon83

Firstly, sorry , this question has probably been asked a million times before.. .I struggled to find one though? .... 

So, i've just committed to a new bass (being delivered Friday! woohoo) , so I have £300 left over and I feel like I need a Strat (ish guitar) in my life.. 

I did start a WTB thread but it was before I found the bass, and wanted to make sure of the cash left over (I'm being strict on myself to use no 'new' money on gear....)

If I sell the PRS, I'll probably just get a Vela.. but in the meantime , what would you go for and why?

Oh and ideally used .... 

guitars4you

I'd say take the used route - More guitar for the same bucks - I'm not going to say any specific model, as in reality you should not get a crap Strat for £300 - And regarding used I've not looked around to see what is available today 

mrleon83

guitars4you said:

I'd say take the used route - More guitar for the same bucks - I'm not going to say any specific model, as in reality you should not get a crap Strat for £300 - And regarding used I've not looked around to see what is available today 

Yeah, i'm looking at ebay far too much... I was thinking mexican strat, but in my head they seem a bit expensive (£250-350?)

munckee

I suspect the most popular answer will be squier classic vibe used or vintage strats.  I bought a squier standard and upgraded tuners, electrics, saddles etc and was a lovely guitar if you are into modding.

Tenebrous

I hate to self-plug, but I highly doubt you'll find a better S-type guitar for 320.

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/145609/fs-yamaha-611vfm-sunburst-w-hiscox-case#latest

guitars4you

mrleon83 said:

guitars4you said:

I'd say take the used route - More guitar for the same bucks - I'm not going to say any specific model, as in reality you should not get a crap Strat for £300 - And regarding used I've not looked around to see what is available today 

Yeah, i'm looking at ebay far too much... I was thinking mexican strat, but in my head they seem a bit expensive (£250-350?)

should get  good Mex for that price - See if you can find one with any upgrades like p/ups etc

5redlights

£300 should get you a used MIM strat. A bit of lucky hunting might get you one of the used classic series 50s or 60s strats. 

£300 may also get you a used MIJ strat, something like a Fernandes or Tokai, if you look for collection only ones on ebay or local gumtree/facebook. 

mgaw

what a bout G&L tribute series, bit heavy but very nice for the money

DrCornelius

The Vintage V6s are nice if you want the classic Strat look and sound , as far as super Strats go I think I'd have to agree with @Tenebrous :-)

Kalimna

£300 for a classic series would be a pretty good find - Ive been looking for a Classic Player for a while, and the cheapest Ive seen has been about £430. And the odd Classic Series labelled-as Classic Player.

From previous posts, it does seem that a Squier Classic Vibe is the way to go.

Adam

BeardyAndy

Vintage V6 is a great looking guitar and if other Vintages' are anything to go by it'll play just as well but I'd still agree with the masses and buy a used MIM Fender, I have one (a Tele') and its my go to guitar.

mrleon83

Tenebrous said:

I hate to self-plug, but I highly doubt you'll find a better S-type guitar for 320.

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/145609/fs-yamaha-611vfm-sunburst-w-hiscox-case#latest

I do keep eyeing that up.. I'm looking for classic singlecoil strat tones so I'm not sure if it quite fits...

munckee

mgaw said:

what a bout G&L tribute series, bit heavy but very nice for the money

I had a tribute tele and it was excellent.

mrleon83

munckee said:

mgaw said:

what a bout G&L tribute series, bit heavy but very nice for the money

I had a tribute tele and it was excellent.

I'm watching a quite local G&L Tribute strat, what's a fair price for those ?

DrBob

There have been some really nice Partscasters go for around that round these parts, even some with GSPBasses bodies & necks.
Mental spec at that price point 

mgaw

mrleon83 said:

munckee said:

mgaw said:

what a bout G&L tribute series, bit heavy but very nice for the money

I had a tribute tele and it was excellent.

I'm watching a quite local G&L Tribute strat, what's a fair price for those ?

£250-£300 maybe

mrleon83

Cool, thanks for the suggestions so ...

MIM Fender
Classic Vibe Squier
G&L Tribute

As far as Fernandes/Tokai.. is there any discernible difference, I had a Tokai strat which I shouldn't have sold , and my childhood guitar was a Fernandes Les Paul.. so I know they're good quality ... and that feels like the way I may go.... 

Matt_McG

I have a Tribute ASAT. Fantastic guitar for the money. When I was shopping for mine (albeit 10 years ago), it was noticeably better than the MIM Fenders. I suspect that's not true now (better Fender quality control, etc), but they are certainly very good guitars.

The CVs are very good, but, if it was me, and a bridge 'bucker was OK, I'd also go for @Tenebrous 's Pacifica

Arktik83

I've also had a G&L tribute ASAT and it was a bloody great guitar.  Really well made.  I've had a USA G&L as well and that was top banana too, don't have a single bad thing to say about G&L's, a superior alternative to a Squier and up there with the top end of the MIM Fenders IMO.

mrleon83

So G&L, high praise indeed, I probably won’t be able to try before but, what makes them so good? I’m watching a (as per the advert) early 90s tribute, we’re they ok back then?

mgaw

yep I would say, I bought their strat tribute recently for a friends son, it was an earlyish one, heavy but excellently built, felt solid in a good way, very good pickups...good hardware, lovely neck...in my opinion, they feel more substantial than a lot of others in this price range and in my book that's a good thing for what that's worth