The Dominance of Stratists

crunchman

Stuckfast said:

I went for years deliberately not owning a Strat because so many other people do. I thought they'd be generic and would make me look and sound like everyone else. Also let's face it the name Stratocaster is just silly.

Now I've been through three or four and I barely play anything else. I think Leo just got it right. And for me it needs to be SSS and have the original Fender trem.

Agree

RaymondLin

I have been looking for my ideal strat for a while

Olympic White
RW board
Nitro finish
5 way blade
9.25 radius
late 50's pick ups.
Under 8lbs.

Not fussed about relic or VOS

fretmeister

I have a very nice strat and I like it.

But it's the only 25.5 scale guitar I own. I'm much more comfortable on 24.75.

I wish there was more choice than just Gibson inspired models at that scale.

ICBM

fretmeister said:

I'm much more comfortable on 24.75.

I wish there was more choice than just Gibson inspired models at that scale.

All full-scale Rickenbackers and most Gretsches are.

(Technically Gretsches can be slightly shorter at around 24.6", but so can Gibsons.)

fretmeister

ICBM said:

fretmeister said:

I'm much more comfortable on 24.75.

I wish there was more choice than just Gibson inspired models at that scale.

All full-scale Rickenbackers and most Gretsches are.

(Technically Gretsches can be slightly shorter at around 24.6", but so can Gibsons.)

What I'd really like is a rough strat shape (Or Ibby / Jackson etc) with the Gibson scale and a hard tail, or at least a regular strat trem I can lock down.

And a 42mm nut - maybe 42.5mm like my very heavy Epi Zakk Wylde. 43mm is too wide for me.

Philly_Q

RaymondLin said:

I have been looking for my ideal strat for a while

Olympic White
RW board
Nitro finish
5 way blade
9.25 radius
late 50's pick ups.
Under 8lbs.

Not fussed about relic or VOS

That doesn't sound like an unusual or hard-to-find spec (assuming - pedantry alert - 9.5" rather than 9.25" radius).  Are you just looking for a particularly good one?

RaymondLin

Philly_Q said:

RaymondLin said:

I have been looking for my ideal strat for a while

Olympic White
RW board
Nitro finish
5 way blade
9.25 radius
late 50's pick ups.
Under 8lbs.

Not fussed about relic or VOS

That doesn't sound like an unusual or hard-to-find spec (assuming - pedantry alert - 9.5" rather than 9.25" radius).  Are you just looking for a particularly good one?

Sorry, 9.5.

This is very close but no cigar.

https://www.guitargaragelondon.com/product-page/fender-stratocaster-62-vintage-reissue-usa-aged-white-nitro-relic-2011

One question though, the rear plate, it has no markings on it, is that normal?

punchesjudy

RaymondLin said:

Philly_Q said:

RaymondLin said:

I have been looking for my ideal strat for a while

Olympic White
RW board
Nitro finish
5 way blade
9.25 radius
late 50's pick ups.
Under 8lbs.

Not fussed about relic or VOS

That doesn't sound like an unusual or hard-to-find spec (assuming - pedantry alert - 9.5" rather than 9.25" radius).  Are you just looking for a particularly good one?

Sorry, 9.5.

This is very close but no cigar.

https://www.guitargaragelondon.com/product-page/fender-stratocaster-62-vintage-reissue-usa-aged-white-nitro-relic-2011

One question though, the rear plate, it has no markings on it, is that normal?

That's a partscaster mate. 

tony99

reckon the continued production of strats through most of the 60's while the traditional lezza as an icon was lying dormant will have something to do with this

that period was essentially Rock's formative years, and although there were other models available, teles and SG's, this comes down to a straight shoot out between the 2 big guns for me

a period when almost anyone and everyone would look at the beatles and stones and say "hey let's put a band together" could not go to a shop and buy a brand new les paul

surely that's a big factor in this stratty world in which we find ourselves, this....stratosphere

RaymondLin

punchesjudy said:

RaymondLin said:

Philly_Q said:

RaymondLin said:

I have been looking for my ideal strat for a while

Olympic White
RW board
Nitro finish
5 way blade
9.25 radius
late 50's pick ups.
Under 8lbs.

Not fussed about relic or VOS

That doesn't sound like an unusual or hard-to-find spec (assuming - pedantry alert - 9.5" rather than 9.25" radius).  Are you just looking for a particularly good one?

Sorry, 9.5.

This is very close but no cigar.

https://www.guitargaragelondon.com/product-page/fender-stratocaster-62-vintage-reissue-usa-aged-white-nitro-relic-2011

One question though, the rear plate, it has no markings on it, is that normal?

That's a partscaster mate. 

Oh yeah, it does say on the description.

punchesjudy

RaymondLin said:

punchesjudy said:

RaymondLin said:

Philly_Q said:

RaymondLin said:

I have been looking for my ideal strat for a while

Olympic White
RW board
Nitro finish
5 way blade
9.25 radius
late 50's pick ups.
Under 8lbs.

Not fussed about relic or VOS

That doesn't sound like an unusual or hard-to-find spec (assuming - pedantry alert - 9.5" rather than 9.25" radius).  Are you just looking for a particularly good one?

Sorry, 9.5.

This is very close but no cigar.

https://www.guitargaragelondon.com/product-page/fender-stratocaster-62-vintage-reissue-usa-aged-white-nitro-relic-2011

One question though, the rear plate, it has no markings on it, is that normal?

That's a partscaster mate. 

Oh yeah, it does say on the description.

An overpriced partscaster at that. Shame cos it is quite nice. 
Those guitargarage people have a few parts guitars for sale they've priced real high. 

RaymondLin

punchesjudy said:

RaymondLin said:

punchesjudy said:

RaymondLin said:

Philly_Q said:

RaymondLin said:

I have been looking for my ideal strat for a while

Olympic White
RW board
Nitro finish
5 way blade
9.25 radius
late 50's pick ups.
Under 8lbs.

Not fussed about relic or VOS

That doesn't sound like an unusual or hard-to-find spec (assuming - pedantry alert - 9.5" rather than 9.25" radius).  Are you just looking for a particularly good one?

Sorry, 9.5.

This is very close but no cigar.

https://www.guitargaragelondon.com/product-page/fender-stratocaster-62-vintage-reissue-usa-aged-white-nitro-relic-2011

One question though, the rear plate, it has no markings on it, is that normal?

That's a partscaster mate. 

Oh yeah, it does say on the description.

An overpriced partscaster at that. Shame cos it is quite nice. 
Those guitargarage people have a few parts guitars for sale they've priced real high. 

I can wait, I have no need for one....GAS is kept at bay mostly, until i see a bargain.

hollywoodrox

skullfunkerry said:

hollywoodrox said:

I love my squier contemporary 2018 HH not really into the SSS 

Same. Mine is a Contemporary Active and it's the best Strat I've ever played 

Nice . . That’s a Floyd Rose one as well isn’t it? The neck on mine is lush.

hollywoodrox

Ritchie Blackmore , early vai , Yngwie , Dave Murray and Adrian Smith , early Phil Collen  Strat Superstars of Rock 

ESBlonde

When I first got a strat many years ago, it was as a second guitar 'just for those commercial sounds', I thought it was scratchy and thin and not very musical on it's own.

But that's almost the point, the more I played it the more I realised that it just sat well in the mix, it can lean towards jazz, or metal or rock or funk or pop as well as any other guitar. In addition the lower power PUs would work better when FX pedals were introduced into the whole.

There used to be a saying (before the availability of a huge choice or brands and styles) that any player can sound OK on a LP, even a novice. But you had to master the strat to make it work. There was perhaps some element of truth in that.

Listen to Richard Thompson, or Mark Knophler or Chris Rea or Mick Ralphs where they use that OOP bridge and middle that folks complain about on thier own strats. It's lyrical, musical and enhances rather than gets in the way of the music.

I get what a dual humbucker can do (good examples especially), and I have fallen in love with a Tele with just a smidgeon of amp drive as a base sound, but a strat does have so much more to give.

lasermonkey

Having had a good think about it, Strats are a rarity amongst the bands I like. 

TTBZ

fretmeister said:

ICBM said:

fretmeister said:

I'm much more comfortable on 24.75.

I wish there was more choice than just Gibson inspired models at that scale.

All full-scale Rickenbackers and most Gretsches are.

(Technically Gretsches can be slightly shorter at around 24.6", but so can Gibsons.)

What I'd really like is a rough strat shape (Or Ibby / Jackson etc) with the Gibson scale and a hard tail, or at least a regular strat trem I can lock down.

And a 42mm nut - maybe 42.5mm like my very heavy Epi Zakk Wylde. 43mm is too wide for me.

That spec would be on my wish list too! I like the idea of a good strat but the reality is I don’t find them comfortable either due to the scale, nut width or size/shape of the body. The comfiest one I played was a highway 1 relic which felt slimmer on the body. It says “original contour body” on the headstock, having a look online it seems those may be contoured slightly different which I guess changes the feel somehow. I don’t get why there’s not a hardtail option as standard either.

The closest Gibson style in terms of comfort and singlecoil tone for me is an SG with P90s.

springhead

This discussion started by referring to discovering new music/guitar players and invariably it's a Strat.  Whilst I do like a Strat, and Strat players, the best new to me players of the last few years, that I've subsequently been to see, are:

1 Kirk Fletcher

Seen him 3 times, different guitar each time: Les Paul, Tele, 335

2 JD Simo

Seen him 3 times:  1960 Les Paul (into an old JTM 45, no pedals - flip me it sounded good!), 335, 335

3 Josh Smith

Seen him once, Telecaster.

Dunno what that means - they make the sort of music and sounds that I like, or maybe subconsiously I don't like strats after all!

Caffeine_Vampire

I love my Strat but when I play it I’m thinking about my Tele. 

YellowLedBetterMan

The nicest guitars I've ever played are strats. But expensive ones. In the realms of expensive guitars, a Custom Shop strat or boutique S-type is hard to beat.

But cheaper guitars? There's not a stray out there I've got on with that didn't come with a price tag below a grand and a half.