all of the sudden i love strats
- luau
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
^
I dug my guy out of the closet this morning and have been having fun with it. You can't very well have the blues when your guitar is as bright as the sun and you can't very well get into relicing when it's thickly coated in that which cannot be reliced. *taps head*
70s jokes aside, it's not a bad guitar and not too heavy at 8.4lbs.
I dug my guy out of the closet this morning and have been having fun with it. You can't very well have the blues when your guitar is as bright as the sun and you can't very well get into relicing when it's thickly coated in that which cannot be reliced. *taps head*
70s jokes aside, it's not a bad guitar and not too heavy at 8.4lbs.
- countertext
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
That Capri Orange is beautiful. I’ve got a Monaco Yellow one that is pretty beat up, and it is WAY more than 8lb.
- luau
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
Nice! I love that color, too. I got the bug for these quite a while back and wanted either the yellow or orange, trem, with a rosewood board and never did find one that suited me so I settled for maple.countertext wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:47 amThat Capri Orange is beautiful. I’ve got a Monaco Yellow one that is pretty beat up, and it is WAY more than 8lb.
- Embenny
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
So, my first electric guitar was a strat, but I stopped using it sometime around 2002, broke it down into parts, and upcycled the neck into my first Jazzmaster build in 2008, which ended up broken back down into parts. I got a couple of O.G. Classic Vibe strats dirt cheap back in the day but sold them when I was moving cities and needed to downsize.
That's a long way to say that I've been largely strat-less for two decades, but that changed when HNB traded me this incredible '86 (birth year) ARI (no "V" yet) strat:
(Photo credit to HNB).
Oh. My. Goodness. I forgot how fun a good strat can be! That neck pickup tone is ingrained in my head as probably the greatest electric guitar tone of all time. I love my Jags, Mustangs, and JM, but after years of playing them, hearing a strat neck pickup still somehow feels like coming home. Something about the response of the bridge and trem springs, and the size and location of the pickup adds up just right to me.
I still kind of recoil in horror if I hear a clucky position 2/4 tone come from my own amp - that's still the blooz lawyer and 80's wedding cover band tone to me - but the single-pickup tones are all delightful. That bridge pickup, which I had once been convinced was "too thin" by Y2K-era internet forums and reviews - is just nasty in the best possible way. Especially in the era of amp modeling, where my AxeFX III can be set up with any patch for any guitar/pickup I care to play, it takes absolutely no effort to get it sounding as thick as I could want it to, but it's far more fun to let it shine in all its funky, spanky glory.
Forgive me, OSG, for I have sinned. It's been one day since I last played a Red Hot Chili Peppers riff and enjoyed it.
I find I have to shorten my strap a bit to get it playing at an ergonomic angle compared to my Offsets, though. I'm not sure whether I've just gotten used to Offsets (and now Gibsons - my other recent transgression), which have more of a neck angle and a higher bridge, but the strat bridge feels kind of awkwardly sucked into the body to me now. I'm sure I'll adjust. With a shorter strap or playing while sitting down, it seems fine, but standing with it makes my right wrist feel a little awkward with palm mutes especially.
Oh, and that volume knob. I'm now being reminded that while palm muting, it used to scratch up my cuticles the fingers of my right hand. Still does! Why is that volume knob so close to the strings? I literally haven't had this issue on any guitar I've played other than a strat. I get why some people would just uninstall the volume pot and go with a volume and master tone setup in the two remaining pickguard holes.
The magic of this guitar, though, is that it's a vintage-spec strat with a 35 year-old nitro finish that has been played hard. It's got that identical, worn-in/partially bare/greying in spots thing going on with the neck that I've only experienced on the 60's Jags and Mustangs I've owned. I'm sure as hell never going to spend the 5 figures it takes to buy an actual 60's strat, so this is the only way to experience true decades of play wear on one, and I'll be damned if it isn't a fully authentic experience!
I've played a number of poly CBS Fenders, and they just don't age the same. Old poly just kind of chips away, while old nitro sinks into the wood and just gradually disappears in the spots that are rubbed the most. The previous owners definitely didn't stick to cowboy chords - the wear comes up pretty high on the neck.
I'm a happy camper right now. If someone told me a year ago that my two most recent trade acquisitions would be a strat and an ES-335, I wouldn't have believed them. I think it's been decades since I had more than one non-offset guitar, and now they're multiplying. The shame!
That's a long way to say that I've been largely strat-less for two decades, but that changed when HNB traded me this incredible '86 (birth year) ARI (no "V" yet) strat:
(Photo credit to HNB).
Oh. My. Goodness. I forgot how fun a good strat can be! That neck pickup tone is ingrained in my head as probably the greatest electric guitar tone of all time. I love my Jags, Mustangs, and JM, but after years of playing them, hearing a strat neck pickup still somehow feels like coming home. Something about the response of the bridge and trem springs, and the size and location of the pickup adds up just right to me.
I still kind of recoil in horror if I hear a clucky position 2/4 tone come from my own amp - that's still the blooz lawyer and 80's wedding cover band tone to me - but the single-pickup tones are all delightful. That bridge pickup, which I had once been convinced was "too thin" by Y2K-era internet forums and reviews - is just nasty in the best possible way. Especially in the era of amp modeling, where my AxeFX III can be set up with any patch for any guitar/pickup I care to play, it takes absolutely no effort to get it sounding as thick as I could want it to, but it's far more fun to let it shine in all its funky, spanky glory.
Forgive me, OSG, for I have sinned. It's been one day since I last played a Red Hot Chili Peppers riff and enjoyed it.
I find I have to shorten my strap a bit to get it playing at an ergonomic angle compared to my Offsets, though. I'm not sure whether I've just gotten used to Offsets (and now Gibsons - my other recent transgression), which have more of a neck angle and a higher bridge, but the strat bridge feels kind of awkwardly sucked into the body to me now. I'm sure I'll adjust. With a shorter strap or playing while sitting down, it seems fine, but standing with it makes my right wrist feel a little awkward with palm mutes especially.
Oh, and that volume knob. I'm now being reminded that while palm muting, it used to scratch up my cuticles the fingers of my right hand. Still does! Why is that volume knob so close to the strings? I literally haven't had this issue on any guitar I've played other than a strat. I get why some people would just uninstall the volume pot and go with a volume and master tone setup in the two remaining pickguard holes.
The magic of this guitar, though, is that it's a vintage-spec strat with a 35 year-old nitro finish that has been played hard. It's got that identical, worn-in/partially bare/greying in spots thing going on with the neck that I've only experienced on the 60's Jags and Mustangs I've owned. I'm sure as hell never going to spend the 5 figures it takes to buy an actual 60's strat, so this is the only way to experience true decades of play wear on one, and I'll be damned if it isn't a fully authentic experience!
I've played a number of poly CBS Fenders, and they just don't age the same. Old poly just kind of chips away, while old nitro sinks into the wood and just gradually disappears in the spots that are rubbed the most. The previous owners definitely didn't stick to cowboy chords - the wear comes up pretty high on the neck.
I'm a happy camper right now. If someone told me a year ago that my two most recent trade acquisitions would be a strat and an ES-335, I wouldn't have believed them. I think it's been decades since I had more than one non-offset guitar, and now they're multiplying. The shame!
The artist formerly known as mbene085.
- luau
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- sal paradise
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
I’m completely into both the 70s orange & the 80s reissue
Love the look of strats. I can’t ever get on with the bridge pickup, but I too love the neck sound.
Love the look of strats. I can’t ever get on with the bridge pickup, but I too love the neck sound.
I have nothing to offer anybody, except my own confusion?
- Embenny
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
Yes! Exactly. And I do actually like that about poly. It's just something about the 70's neck finishes where they seem to either be in perfect condition, or to chip and flake off, leaving rough edges you can feel. It doesn't lead to that "old, broken in" feeling of old nitro, that's for sure.
Your strat looks like it's in fantastic condition, so I'm not surprised the neck finish is still intact. I'm not sure whether the chipping I've seen has been from dings or just from repeated expansion and contraction (I'm in Canada, so old Fenders here tend to have seen harsh seasonal changes), but I've come across some local Compstangs in particular that I'd have loved to own had it not been for the really unpleasant sensation of running my thumb across jagged edges as I moved up and down the neck.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.
- luau
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
It's in pretty good shape. I think someone just played it on the couch and then wiped it down and put it away.. every day for years. Oddly enough, I've got a Compstang or two with some of that and have used some fine steel wool to knock unpleasant edges off. I've got a little edge wear on the Strat that'll probably go that way, but it hasn't gotten there yet. I think it just gets brittle and, as you say, dings and climate are probably both factors. I'm no fan of poly and think about selling this Strat and building up something a bit more proper, but it suits my meager needs and is easy on the eyes so it's hard to get too motivated.mbene085 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:47 amYes! Exactly. And I do actually like that about poly. It's just something about the 70's neck finishes where they seem to either be in perfect condition, or to chip and flake off, leaving rough edges you can feel. It doesn't lead to that "old, broken in" feeling of old nitro, that's for sure.
Your strat looks like it's in fantastic condition, so I'm not surprised the neck finish is still intact. I'm not sure whether the chipping I've seen has been from dings or just from repeated expansion and contraction (I'm in Canada, so old Fenders here tend to have seen harsh seasonal changes), but I've come across some local Compstangs in particular that I'd have loved to own had it not been for the really unpleasant sensation of running my thumb across jagged edges as I moved up and down the neck.
I like yours very much. My grandparents owned a music store which they sold in '85, were Fender dealers, and, with me being born in '70, I'm pretty nostalgic about the late 70s/early-mid 80s instruments. In fact, my favorite Strat activity is opening the case of my '83 Stratocaster Elite, which came from the store, burying my head in the case and taking the biggest whiff of it I can. Then I shut it right away and hope the smell lasts the rests of my days.
- JVG
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
Got any more pictures of that beautiful blue strat?
As a long-time Strat lover, I enjoy it when people either re-discover strats, or get past an anti-strat bias.
Don’t forget to explore the middle pickup on its own - it’s a unique and beautiful sound that you wont get from any other Fender!
As a long-time Strat lover, I enjoy it when people either re-discover strats, or get past an anti-strat bias.
Don’t forget to explore the middle pickup on its own - it’s a unique and beautiful sound that you wont get from any other Fender!
- Jordan
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
I used to have the anti strat Bias. Put a parts mongrel together with Fender/custom bits and never looked back. Still love my offsets, and the Mustang is still my favourite guitar but nothing sounds or plays like my Strat. about £800 in parts and easily one of the best guitars I've ever played.
- badform
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
I have been spending a lot of time re-bonding with my #1, a guitar that was assembled the first time when I was 14 years old with my uncle. Since then it's been gutted and rebuilt several times, and another full rebuild is coming soon. This has always been my guitar to perform experiments on. Or the one that I learn a new skill on, such as fret leveling. Or as you can see - how to cut a hole for a Kahler when I was still a teenager and what to do when I regained my senses. Last night I looked down and felt like there was an artsy, crappy cell phone shot to be had ...
- daemon
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
Posted this in another thread, but I acquired a bunch of necks and ended up putting this Squier Strat one to good use, along with a Fiesta Red body from an auction and a nice anodized guard from a fellow OSG member. Weighs in at a ridiculously light 6.4lbs and is a blast to play.
- MattK
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
Courtesy forum member tribi9 and the truly outstanding* services of Canada Post, a 1983 Squier Japan JV serial SST30 (with the killer SQ5 pickups):
*ly slow
*ly slow
- Fiddy
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
They just like to add suspense to the delivery process that is all. So happy it got there safely.
- smora
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Re: all of the sudden i love strats
This thread got me hyped to put a Strat back together. I started on a Strat, but of course wanted to venture out and try everything else. Took it apart to use the neck on a parts JM way back when and ended up parting out the rest. The JM went on to become my main platform, but there's still an itch it can't scratch. Got inspired by an old shell pink build on here that had a bound neck. Might be able to make something similar happen.