After Covid19 lock down - CS Strat tryout

Voxman

Once we are all able to get back to some kind of normality, whenever that will be, I'd like to take my excellent 2009 USA Special Edition Standard Strat to one of the good stores selling CS Strats and try out a few as I'd like to see what the differences are from a playing feel and tone perspective.  I'd like to make up my own mind as to whether these live up to the hype and are really worth the price. 

guitars4you

I recall a similar thought pattern a few months ago of a customer - He had a JV Squier to potentially trade in and 'upgrade' - He said he would only do a deal if the difference was significant - He turned up at the shop - I plugged in the guitar to my demo amp, played 2/3 licks and was about to hand him the guitar when he said 'I'll have it as it sounds far superior' - I still made him play it to make sure that he was happy with the feel etc

Granted such stories won't apply to all - Many won't feel any difference, subtle or otherwise, justifies the price difference

But you have 2/3 good stores in the SE area who will let you have a test drive - Be open minded about the actually spec at this stage regarding pick-ups and neck shapes as no one can tell you which will be most suitable to you

tone1

The trouble with trying out a really good Strat is that once heard, you can’t un-hear it....it may only be 10% better than the one you have but..... you have to have it... 

stickyfiddle

I honestly haven't yet found a CS Strat (or any other top-end brand) that beats my own parts Strat. Which isn't to say they're not good, as my own Strat is borne out of 10 years fettling and part-swapping. I certainly believe most CS Strats are better than most non-CS, but there are also exceptions to that as well

If you get into actual vintage stuff it's a different kettle, but good ones start at 4x CS money, so it's hardly a fair comparison. 

It's also worth getting someone else to play your guitar and a shop one, as I always find my own gear sounds different when someone else plays it (not better or worse, but certainly different)

Voxman

tone1 said:

The trouble with trying out a really good Strat is that once heard, you can’t un-hear it....it may only be 10% better than the one you have but..... you have to have it... 

It would have to be significantly better to justify the cost and that means way more than just the pickups which can easily be changed.  

RaymondLin

guitars4you said:

I recall a similar thought pattern a few months ago of a customer - He had a JV Squier to potentially trade in and 'upgrade' - He said he would only do a deal if the difference was significant - He turned up at the shop - I plugged in the guitar to my demo amp, played 2/3 licks and was about to hand him the guitar when he said 'I'll have it as it sounds far superior' - I still made him play it to make sure that he was happy with the feel etc

Granted such stories won't apply to all - Many won't feel any difference, subtle or otherwise, justifies the price difference

But you have 2/3 good stores in the SE area who will let you have a test drive - Be open minded about the actually spec at this stage regarding pick-ups and neck shapes as no one can tell you which will be most suitable to you

Ha nice.

The problem is that last time I went into a store and demo a guitar (World Guitar), it was plugged into a Matchless....everything sounds glorious through that amp!

And yup, I left with that Les Paul I tried out.

Teyeplayer

tone1 said:

The trouble with trying out a really good Strat is that once heard, you can’t un-hear it....it may only be 10% better than the one you have but..... you have to have it... 

Wisdom awarded and I’d say this about any guitar ‘type’ too. I was once lucky enough to use a friends original 64 es335 in the studio, man that guitar ruined me. I tried everything! In the end the closest sound was believe it or not a Taylor t3b, but it never felt quite right. Played very well though and didn’t make a bad sound when recorded -just like that 335. Likewise, my heavily modded 500+ gig early 2000s tele has ruined every other tele. It’s not even my favourite neck, but I know that guitar so well that the rest are second best. Ultimately, there are just some good ones, some crap, some average and some really blow your socks off good. Finding them is the problem.

Hattigol

Voxman said:

tone1 said:

The trouble with trying out a really good Strat is that once heard, you can’t un-hear it....it may only be 10% better than the one you have but..... you have to have it... 

It would have to be significantly better to justify the cost and that means way more than just the pickups which can easily be changed.  

I may be wrong but it sounds like you may have made your mind up already.

Voxman

Hattigol said:

Voxman said:

tone1 said:

The trouble with trying out a really good Strat is that once heard, you can’t un-hear it....it may only be 10% better than the one you have but..... you have to have it... 

It would have to be significantly better to justify the cost and that means way more than just the pickups which can easily be changed.  

I may be wrong but it sounds like you may have made your mind up already.

No, you're quite wrong. But I want to play and judge these for myself and directly compare to a good modern day USA standard Strat through the same amp with the same amp settings in the same room and at the same volume because that's the only way I'll be properly able to hear, feel and assess the difference.  What I won't do is to buy a CS without a direct comparison simply because of their rep and just so I can say I have a CS Strat. It really will have to be a blindingly great guitar that has that indefinable mojo. Otherwise, what's the point. 

And if I find one that I really fall in love with, and it's at a sensible price, then I'll buy it.  

thebreeze

You’ll have to spend quite a bit of time playing lots of them because they’re all slightly different to each other.  Neck shapes, finishes - on neck and bodies, weights, pickups, woods.  The permutations start to add up.  You’ve then got the Artist models; Michael Landau (really liked) v Eric Clapton (not really).  Some of them end up being wildly different to each other eg the Rory Gallagher (really liked) v David Gilmour (really didn’t like).

I’ve probably played about a hundred CS Strats and owned six or seven.  I really like the worn necks, the relics/heavy relic finishes.  In the end my keeper has been a NOS model.  I didn’t expect that.

Barnezy

Have to agree, once you've got in to CS guitars there is no return. When CS becomes your standard, everything else feels crap unfortunately. 

chris78

I spent a day tele shopping in London with a mate last year. We started with vinteras (what he thought he wanted from reading tinterweb) and moved through the range- performer, pro, American original, Suhr and cs fender. 

Now, Mark had decided he was going to get a 50s vintera. He’d spent ages doing the usual YouTube video, reviews, forums etc. As we moved through the range though, the guitars just got better and it wasn’t only pickup related. He ended up with an American Original 60s simply because he didn’t want to pay over 2k, but the cs and Suhr were noticeably better guitars. The cs was double the price, but wasn’t double the guitar, hence his decision, but personally, I couldn’t have heard the cs tele and got anything less

guitars4you

thebreeze said:

You’ll have to spend quite a bit of time playing lots of them because they’re all slightly different to each other.  Neck shapes, finishes - on neck and bodies, weights, pickups, woods.  The permutations start to add up.  You’ve then got the Artist models; Michael Landau (really liked) v Eric Clapton (not really).  Some of them end up being wildly different to each other eg the Rory Gallagher (really liked) v David Gilmour (really didn’t like).

I’ve probably played about a hundred CS Strats and owned six or seven.  I really like the worn necks, the relics/heavy relic finishes.  In the end my keeper has been a NOS model.  I didn’t expect that.

That is the best way of buying a guitar isn't it - To stay open minded and then even surprised at what you end up with, as it should be the one that felt right, played right and sounded right - Hands and ears first test, eyes last test !!!

Musicwolf

chris78 said:

The cs was double the price, but wasn’t double the guitar, hence his decision, but personally, I couldn’t have heard the cs tele and got anything less

I guess that it’s the same with almost any kind of purchase – guitar, camera, fishing rod, kitchen knife.  Performance vs. price is a logarithmic scale whereby you have to keep doubling the price to achieve say a 10% improvement in performance each time.  Your jumping off point is going to be an individual decision based on how proficient you are with the item (i.e. can you appreciate the difference) and the depth of your pockets.  Then there’s the added complication where you can appreciate the improvement of the next step, and you have access to the funds, but you can’t justify the expenditure because you have a family that insists on being fed.  This is when it becomes very dangerous to start test driving CS instruments.

melod

guitars4you said:

thebreeze said:

You’ll have to spend quite a bit of time playing lots of them because they’re all slightly different to each other.  Neck shapes, finishes - on neck and bodies, weights, pickups, woods.  The permutations start to add up.  You’ve then got the Artist models; Michael Landau (really liked) v Eric Clapton (not really).  Some of them end up being wildly different to each other eg the Rory Gallagher (really liked) v David Gilmour (really didn’t like).

I’ve probably played about a hundred CS Strats and owned six or seven.  I really like the worn necks, the relics/heavy relic finishes.  In the end my keeper has been a NOS model.  I didn’t expect that.

That is the best way of buying a guitar isn't it - To stay open minded and then even surprised at what you end up with, as it should be the one that felt right, played right and sounded right - Hands and ears first test, eyes last test !!!

Totally agree.. I remember very well when I saw an Albert lee sss in pink burst and jokingly asked to play that pointy pink strat.......

I didn’t buy it at that point but regretting ever since! It’s one of those guitars you catch yourself smiling when you hand it back.

But it’s also true that one should avoid playing guitars through amps he/she is unfamiliar with. Playing through a super expensive amp will give you a false impression if you are used to a blues junior etc (nothing wrong with that)

Fez

I agree with @melod ; the ideal is to play a guitar through an amp you either have or at least know your way around. 

Jonathanthomas83

As much as I love my CS Strat, I find myself still playing my re-acquired Vintage Reissue '57. It's neither better or worse, but it's home.

Voxman

I'm fully prepared to try out a lot - at that price I want to make the right decision. But I'll rule out heavy relics regardless of how they play or sound as I simply hate the look. I'm not averse to some very light tasteful vintage type 'aging' though. And I'd also love to get an 'early 60's' one in my favourite finish - metallic lake placid blue (where you get that lovely yellowing affect to make it like teal) with a nice rosewood board.   But hey, I'm open minded and feel/tone will be the main biggie.

Voxman

Fez said:

I agree with @melod ; the ideal is to play a guitar through an amp you either have or at least know your way around. 

That's OK, I've owned a load of amps, and played through even more.  But I'm going to play the same guitar through a few different amps inc a Fender and a Marshall as I've found that sometimes a guitar that sounds great through a clean Fender doesn't necessarily sound so good through a Marshall and vice-a-versa - weird, but sometimes true...anyone else found that?

JayGee

I tried that some time ago and ended up keeping my MIJ (actually one of the much derided fotoflames) but with a set of Bare Knuckle Slow hands fitted to it.

I’m very careful about using the word better with regard to something with a large subjective content so let’s just say it felt more right for me than anything else I played, with an added observation that after happily playing what is unquestionably a decent quality instrument regularly for 15 years or so it’s probably quite hard to see anything else as “right”...

dcg

stickyfiddle said:

I honestly haven't yet found a CS Strat (or any other top-end brand) that beats my own parts Strat. Which isn't to say they're not good, as my own Strat is borne out of 10 years fettling and part-swapping. I certainly believe most CS Strats are better than most non-CS, but there are also exceptions to that as well

If you get into actual vintage stuff it's a different kettle, but good ones start at 4x CS money, so it's hardly a fair comparison. 

It's also worth getting someone else to play your guitar and a shop one, as I always find my own gear sounds different when someone else plays it (not better or worse, but certainly different)

This is very smart advice.  I've successfully built a number of Tele-partscasters, and with the right neck, body, and pickups - plus a good nitro finish - you are going to get an excellent guitar.  You've done the research and produced your own Custom Shop guitar (it just isn't worth CS money though).  You do have to be sensitive to the geometry and alignment of the neck and bridge - fixing a Bigsby with a Mastery bridge was a real brainteaser - but if you have an eye, and can use basic tools, the results should be very satisfying.  Three of my parts Teles are still part of the family arsenal, including one where I bought the parts from Warmoth's shop when I was in Seattle - and that was 25 years ago.  A very well known guitar shop in the UK mistakenly thought it was an original '52...

Second point; the guitar will always sound different (and maybe better) if you hear someone else play it.  The only legitimate comparison is for you to first play it yourself, then pass it to the instore maestro.