Stratocaster Heaven

[guitarman2]

I've played and owned a few strats over the years and could never really bond with them. Back when I owned my Roland d50 with the gk2 driver it just seemed that the strat was better suited to use for my guitar synth then my tele's. Well its been many years since I've even picked one up and I've played Tele's exclusively since then.
Last week I was on holidays and decided to just hang around home as I had just been to Florida in March. My wife wanted to go shopping in Cambridge so I just told her to drop me off at Murch (Long&Mcquade) and I'd just look around and play some guitars. I promised not to buy anything. Well I guess I just can't be trusted. I picked up a 62 reissue hot rod strat and this thing felt so beautiful. Plugged it in to a couple different reissue fender amps and it sounded so sweet. I kept my promise and didn't buy it but it will be mine in a few short months. I promised to first pay off my AV 52 RI that I just bought. 4 more payments then I'm going for the strat. It is probably the best feeling strat I've picked up.
Gawd does it ever end?

[LaRSin]

no it never does. :rockon2:

[caaustin02]

Amen,

That is such a great feeling when you pick one up and feel a connection right away. What a great way to kill some time.

[Spikezone]

I was over at a friend's place on the weekend and he was showing me his gear. He pulled out a nasty-looking (not really, just obviously home-made) guitar case and showed me the '61 (or was it a '60?) Strat contained therein! WOW! I didn't plug it in, but I must admit, I have never played a smoother guitar! It was like butter, and despite the fact that the old control knobs had been replaced, I was tryin' REALLY HARD not to drool on it. What a treat! There are definitely some gems out there!
-Mikey

[fraser]

not sure if this is positive or negative input- but ill say it anyway-
ive been a strat player since about 1980-81. for years i just had the one guitar, a 68 or so we figure. at times it was a complete dog, a complete waste of time- but then suddenly, everyone i jammed with, everyone i taught, everyone who played that guitar, wanted thiers to feel like that-
thing is, it was just a mongrel by then, a bunch of strat parts, some of wich didnt really even belong-
but since id been playing it all the time, and constantly tweaking it- a pickup adjustment here, a truss rod tweak there, as needed, on almost a daily basis, it felt great all the time-
nowadays only the original body remains- every other bit and piece has been replaced several times over- but its still great- and thats because it gets personal attention regularly
a setup is everything with a strat- but it cant just be anybodys setup, or a fender employees setup- it needs to be the guy whos going to play its setup for that guitar.
that is why you can try 15 strats and none of them appeal to you- then find the one thats just right- all in the setup.
of course that precludes things like scale preferences and what kind of tone you prefer- but you know that-
just my opinion really, but im pretty adamant lol
glad yu found one you like anyways terry:smile:

[zontar]

not sure if this is positive or negative input- but ill say it anyway-
ive been a strat player since about 1980-81. for years i just had the one guitar, a 68 or so we figure. at times it was a complete dog, a complete waste of time- but then suddenly, everyone i jammed with, everyone i taught, everyone who played that guitar, wanted thiers to feel like that-
thing is, it was just a mongrel by then, a bunch of strat parts, some of wich didnt really even belong-
but since id been playing it all the time, and constantly tweaking it- a pickup adjustment here, a truss rod tweak there, as needed, on almost a daily basis, it felt great all the time-
nowadays only the original body remains- every other bit and piece has been replaced several times over- but its still great- and thats because it gets personal attention regularly
a setup is everything with a strat- but it cant just be anybodys setup, or a fender employees setup- it needs to be the guy whos going to play its setup for that guitar.
that is why you can try 15 strats and none of them appeal to you- then find the one thats just right- all in the setup.
of course that precludes things like scale preferences and what kind of tone you prefer- but you know that-
just my opinion really, but im pretty adamant lol
glad yu found one you like anyways terry:smile:

It may be that way moreso for Strats--I don't know, but a good setup makes all the difference for any guitar. I loved my S&P 12 string when I bought it, but the store said to bring it back after a couple of weeks and they'd set it up--and it was like a completely different guitar after the setup--I loved it before, but after? The difference was incredible.

[guitarman2]

It may be that way moreso for Strats--I don't know, but a good setup makes all the difference for any guitar. I loved my S&P 12 string when I bought it, but the store said to bring it back after a couple of weeks and they'd set it up--and it was like a completely different guitar after the setup--I loved it before, but after? The difference was incredible.

The strat I tried was definitely in need of a set up. But it was the feel of the neck and the tone that sold me. A set up is nothing as any guitar that I have not owned will most likely need to be setup for my tastes.
The AV52RI I just bought felt not too bad except for the b string buzzed way too much. I figured since I had a freebie from L&M I'd let them do it but it came back worse than it was. I had to adjust it as best I could. I need it for the next 2 weeks but after that I'll be taking it to Lynn (formerly of Peghead) for a proper setup.

[konasexone]

Setup, Amen. There was a guy in Brampton by the name of Brian who did work for a place called the Traveling Musician. He could set up a banana if he had to.
I took a home made to him once that I thought it was a piece of poo. Pretty soon all my buddies were after me to build them one. Oh, ya, that setup (miracle adjustment) put me back a whole twenty bucks.:bow: