Perfect design (in the mind's eye)?

thegummy

The Strat is definitely the closest without a doubt.

The perfect guitar would be a Strat with some minor modifications to fix imperfections rather than any other existing design or probably even any new design.

A Strat with the pickup selector up where it is on a Les Paul, with a Tele style input jack and with only 2 knobs, spaced further down from the strings.

I should have that made actually, doubt it would be too hard. The switch would probably be the hardest.

TTBZ

thegummy said:

The Strat is definitely the closest without a doubt.

The perfect guitar would be a Strat with some minor modifications to fix imperfections rather than any other existing design or probably even any new design.

A Strat with the pickup selector up where it is on a Les Paul, with a Tele style input jack and with only 2 knobs, spaced further down from the strings.

I should have that made actually, doubt it would be too hard. The switch would probably be the hardest.

Musicman Stingray, Luke or Pettruci would cover most of that. Love the Luke 3, the neck is so comfy and easy to play and they sound great with those Transition humbuckers. The Stingray in charcoal frost looks bloody lovely too.

HAL9000

My Pacifica 611H comes pretty close for me. The combination of a splittable HB at the bridge and a P90 at the neck is really very versatile. It's a hardtail (which is my preference - I never use a trem). It has a Fender 25.5" scale which is also my preference. What would I change? Well the fretboard radius is a little flat at around 14"; 9.5" would be nicer. And given the choice I'd probably have a maple, rather than a rosewood, board. Other than I'd leave well alone.

Some photos...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/2bmuHSgeVtbP5vo44CU889mYnEqRKBGlb2teGViROFv

https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/r7GVr1sSRiYCEjiPTGqSex4Ev1kymLOxPAwHtLWYTOA

https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/gc79UV9DeOzAHwi88bPQ7mnvRjbIUV9bGxOCXatpOra

Danielsguitars

bacchanalian said:

Danielsguitars said:

I'd probably go junior too but I'd definitely tweak the sc junior design because the lip isn't great so a normal long tenon would sort that and a belly contour and more sculpting around the heel etc to bring it up to modern expectations 

That sounds like a Collings 290

Someone bought my sc special and compared it to his collings 290 and mine worked better for him in a live situation so obviously not the same, i only know how mine is made and mojo pickups help too 

earwighoney

Danielsguitars said:

bacchanalian said:

Danielsguitars said:

I'd probably go junior too but I'd definitely tweak the sc junior design because the lip isn't great so a normal long tenon would sort that and a belly contour and more sculpting around the heel etc to bring it up to modern expectations 

That sounds like a Collings 290

Someone bought my sc special and compared it to his collings 290 and mine worked better for him in a live situation so obviously not the same, i only know how mine is made and mojo pickups help too 

Was that the Limba one? 

That was my favourite of all the many of your guitars I tried. 

thegummy

TTBZ said:

thegummy said:

The Strat is definitely the closest without a doubt.

The perfect guitar would be a Strat with some minor modifications to fix imperfections rather than any other existing design or probably even any new design.

A Strat with the pickup selector up where it is on a Les Paul, with a Tele style input jack and with only 2 knobs, spaced further down from the strings.

I should have that made actually, doubt it would be too hard. The switch would probably be the hardest.

Musicman Stingray, Luke or Pettruci would cover most of that. Love the Luke 3, the neck is so comfy and easy to play and they sound great with those Transition humbuckers. The Stingray in charcoal frost looks bloody lovely too.

Got excited but there doesn't seem to be an SSS version of the ones you mention.

The Cutlass is SSS and gets very close, it has the 2 knobs thing and the preferably situated input jack but I can't find a non-roasted maple fingerboard and the colours aren't that great to choose from.

It is closer to perfection than the Strat though so well spotted. If they just had a non-roasted maple fingerboard and a body colour I liked it could be perfect, assuming the body is as comfortable as a Strat.

Danielsguitars

earwighoney said:

Danielsguitars said:

bacchanalian said:

Danielsguitars said:

I'd probably go junior too but I'd definitely tweak the sc junior design because the lip isn't great so a normal long tenon would sort that and a belly contour and more sculpting around the heel etc to bring it up to modern expectations 

That sounds like a Collings 290

Someone bought my sc special and compared it to his collings 290 and mine worked better for him in a live situation so obviously not the same, i only know how mine is made and mojo pickups help too 

Was that the Limba one? 

That was my favourite of all the many of your guitars I tried. 

Yes, I'm planning another one now, I've got some lovely limba for it too

bacchanalian

earwighoney said:

Danielsguitars said:

bacchanalian said:

Danielsguitars said:

I'd probably go junior too but I'd definitely tweak the sc junior design because the lip isn't great so a normal long tenon would sort that and a belly contour and more sculpting around the heel etc to bring it up to modern expectations 

That sounds like a Collings 290

Someone bought my sc special and compared it to his collings 290 and mine worked better for him in a live situation so obviously not the same, i only know how mine is made and mojo pickups help too 

Was that the Limba one? 

That was my favourite of all the many of your guitars I tried. 

Sorry, I did not realise you had already made an improved model. I think they are logical improvements but if Gibson tried to market one they would inevitably be criticised for strying from the authentic.  I am sure yours sound amazing with Mojo pickups

TTBZ

thegummy said:

TTBZ said:

thegummy said:

The Strat is definitely the closest without a doubt.

The perfect guitar would be a Strat with some minor modifications to fix imperfections rather than any other existing design or probably even any new design.

A Strat with the pickup selector up where it is on a Les Paul, with a Tele style input jack and with only 2 knobs, spaced further down from the strings.

I should have that made actually, doubt it would be too hard. The switch would probably be the hardest.

Musicman Stingray, Luke or Pettruci would cover most of that. Love the Luke 3, the neck is so comfy and easy to play and they sound great with those Transition humbuckers. The Stingray in charcoal frost looks bloody lovely too.

Got excited but there doesn't seem to be an SSS version of the ones you mention.

The Cutlass is SSS and gets very close, it has the 2 knobs thing and the preferably situated input jack but I can't find a non-roasted maple fingerboard and the colours aren't that great to choose from.

It is closer to perfection than the Strat though so well spotted. If they just had a non-roasted maple fingerboard and a body colour I liked it could be perfect, assuming the body is as comfortable as a Strat.

The Luke comes in HSS which is probably as close as you’ll get! Brilliant guitar and the built in preamp is a great feature - balances out the volume between humbucker and singlecoil and there’s also a push push clean boost on the volume knob. Eye watering prices though.

rossi

Strat for me .I agree the Gibson LP  junior is a fine design but its a limited spec guitar .The  Strat covers most of the ground  and various  specs  make it even more versatile design wise.A decent carve on a Fender neck is work of art in itself .

thegummy

TTBZ said:

thegummy said:

TTBZ said:

thegummy said:

The Strat is definitely the closest without a doubt.

The perfect guitar would be a Strat with some minor modifications to fix imperfections rather than any other existing design or probably even any new design.

A Strat with the pickup selector up where it is on a Les Paul, with a Tele style input jack and with only 2 knobs, spaced further down from the strings.

I should have that made actually, doubt it would be too hard. The switch would probably be the hardest.

Musicman Stingray, Luke or Pettruci would cover most of that. Love the Luke 3, the neck is so comfy and easy to play and they sound great with those Transition humbuckers. The Stingray in charcoal frost looks bloody lovely too.

Got excited but there doesn't seem to be an SSS version of the ones you mention.

The Cutlass is SSS and gets very close, it has the 2 knobs thing and the preferably situated input jack but I can't find a non-roasted maple fingerboard and the colours aren't that great to choose from.

It is closer to perfection than the Strat though so well spotted. If they just had a non-roasted maple fingerboard and a body colour I liked it could be perfect, assuming the body is as comfortable as a Strat.

The Luke comes in HSS which is probably as close as you’ll get! Brilliant guitar and the built in preamp is a great feature - balances out the volume between humbucker and singlecoil and there’s also a push push clean boost on the volume knob. Eye watering prices though.

There was a time when HSS would have been something I'd be okay with but since I got the Diamond Geezer I really love the single coil bridge sound in a Strat. Not necessarily more than a humbucker bridge but equally good and different.

p90fool

I don't think you could get more chalk and cheese than my Strat and Les Paul, but they're both perfect for me. 

thegummy

The Schecter Nick Johnston also comes close to my "perfect Strat" vision.

No maple fretboard either though but it does have the 2 knobs instead of 3 which I actually think looks so so nice that I might get a custom pickguard to make mine that. Might even be worth losing the rarely-used blender mod for the aesthetic benefit of the 2 knob setup.

I just wish Fender had changed the Strat's output jack to the side where it is on the Tele. I think I read that its position on the top of the body was to save costs in manufacture but surely these days that's not even an issue. And it's not as if it's realistic to move it either, it would involve filling a massive hole on the front.

skullfunkerry

thegummy said:

The Schecter Nick Johnston also comes close to my "perfect Strat" vision.

No maple fretboard either though but it does have the 2 knobs instead of 3 which I actually think looks so so nice that I might get a custom pickguard to make mine that. Might even be worth losing the rarely-used blender mod for the aesthetic benefit of the 2 knob setup.

I just wish Fender had changed the Strat's output jack to the side where it is on the Tele. I think I read that its position on the top of the body was to save costs in manufacture but surely these days that's not even an issue. And it's not as if it's realistic to move it either, it would involve filling a massive hole on the front.

My Squier has two knobs with the volume further away from the bridge and it's much better; if it had had the standard three I wouldn't have bought it. I was looking at the Schecter Sun Valley and the Charvel SoCal the other day and thinking how much better they look without the front-mounted jack socket, and wondering how easy (or not) it would be to move it...

thegummy

skullfunkerry said:

thegummy said:

The Schecter Nick Johnston also comes close to my "perfect Strat" vision.

No maple fretboard either though but it does have the 2 knobs instead of 3 which I actually think looks so so nice that I might get a custom pickguard to make mine that. Might even be worth losing the rarely-used blender mod for the aesthetic benefit of the 2 knob setup.

I just wish Fender had changed the Strat's output jack to the side where it is on the Tele. I think I read that its position on the top of the body was to save costs in manufacture but surely these days that's not even an issue. And it's not as if it's realistic to move it either, it would involve filling a massive hole on the front.

My Squier has two knobs with the volume further away from the bridge and it's much better; if it had had the standard three I wouldn't have bought it. I was looking at the Schecter Sun Valley and the Charvel SoCal the other day and thinking how much better they look without the front-mounted jack socket, and wondering how easy (or not) it would be to move it...

I imagine it would be easy enough to drill the new hole, it would be filling the existing one at the top that seems like it would be messy to me.

guitargeek62

thegummy said:

I just wish Fender had changed the Strat's output jack to the side where it is on the Tele. I think I read that its position on the top of the body was to save costs in manufacture but surely these days that's not even an issue. And it's not as if it's realistic to move it either, it would involve filling a massive hole on the front.

It does make production easier, even today with CNC's. Having it on the front means you only need to route directly from above* the body and don't need to drill anything from the sides barring strap buttons.

For smaller builders or production runs it doesn't make much (if any) difference, but for a large builder like Fender and the scale they work at, every penny really does count.


All that said, this is a design thread, and I agree with you - side-jack's look "better" on S-types to me too.



*Ignoring trem cavities or string-thru holes, and rear contouring.

thegummy

guitargeek62 said:

thegummy said:

I just wish Fender had changed the Strat's output jack to the side where it is on the Tele. I think I read that its position on the top of the body was to save costs in manufacture but surely these days that's not even an issue. And it's not as if it's realistic to move it either, it would involve filling a massive hole on the front.

It does make production easier, even today with CNC's. Having it on the front means you only need to route directly from above* the body and don't need to drill anything from the sides barring strap buttons.

For smaller builders or production runs it doesn't make much (if any) difference, but for a large builder like Fender and the scale they work at, every penny really does count.


All that said, this is a design thread, and I agree with you - side-jack's look "better" on S-types to me too.



*Ignoring trem cavities or string-thru holes, and rear contouring.

To be honest I'd even prefer the plain jack at the front like on their basses or the Jazzmaster etc. cause then if you use a right-angled jack it's still quite neat, it's just the Strat specific one that requires a straight jack but then sticks out.

Re: the costs, even if it still saves money, I wouldn't have thought it mattered much when looking at the markup the guitars sell for etc. and how much a guitar costs in total, surely it wouldn't add massively to the cost.

SquireJapan

Blackmachine B6 by a million miles for me. 

 You just have to look at how my many people have ripped off Doug’s designs. 

More importantly, with the blackbird pickups, ash body, Stainless jumbo frets and fixed bridge ... I have very every box ticked. 

EDIT: I was sober when I first wrote this, but given how many typos you'd assume I sent this mid session. Fixed most of them now 

Kittyfrisk

"You just have to look at how my people have ripped off Doug’s designs."
 Who is your people & why is they so bad like?

bluechargeboy

thegummy said:

The Schecter Nick Johnston also comes close to my "perfect Strat" vision.

Yep yep yep me too! Shame about the whole two-and-a-half-grand thing though.