So Strats were my first love, the affair lasted many years, but after being without one for several years (I went to Teles) and getting back into them with the below two beauties recently, I'm not sure they're 'me' anymore.
I definitely prefer Teles for the beefy sound and Jazzmasters for clean + warble sound, so where do Strats fit? Anyways, both are absolutely terrific specimens. I'd always wanted a GVCG guitar, but couldn't swing the cost back when they were super popular in the mid-2000's, selling for like 5-6k, so when this '57 Mary Kaye one popped up a month or so ago on Reverb I snagged it (a bit under $4k). Still not cheap, but I'm so glad I went for it as it's got the most amazing chunky neck profile, super resonant body (whole thing weighs 6.9lbs) and fat sounding pickups. Just a killer guitar, Jonathan does such amazing works, sucks he stopped building, though I love his music as much as his guitars so I'm happy. The other is a CS '60 reissue in matching headstock Sonic Blue, which shoots a lot like Surf Green at times.