the fender stratocaster is perfect.

[faderbug]

let's face it, in the 50+ years it's been around they have tried to copy it, modify it, improve it, turn it upside down, change it's pu lay out, more frets, turned it in to a semi-hollow, scalloping, ... but the moment you hold a real fender stratocaster you know it : leo fender was a genius and the strat a visionary, timeless guitar that can be changed but not improved.

[faderbug]

i hate strats!

[rayc]

They only look good on Buddy Holly.

[Track Rat]

Not perfect but essential for sure. You gotta have a Srat, a Tele and a Gibson (something with humbuckers) to just cover the basics. Then there's hollow bodies..............

[Dani Pace]

I wont argue that time and use has proven the Strat to be a standard among guitars. Many great guitarists have used them and that says a lot.
I don't have anything against the sound of a Strat, but I have never been able to quite get a feel for the body, guess I'm just more of a fan of Les Paul body styles. Strats feel a little bulky to me. Maybe it is just a "whatever you are used to" thing.

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by Dani Pace

I wont argue that time and use has proven the Strat to be a standard among guitars. Many great guitarists have used them and that says a lot.
I don't have anything against the sound of a Strat, but I have never been able to quite get a feel for the body, guess I'm just more of a fan of Les Paul body styles. Strats feel a little bulky to me. Maybe it is just a "whatever you are used to" thing.

I could never get a feel for a gibson neck. It feels so alien to me that I can hardly play a les paul or sg. They do sound damn sweet but I guess I'll always be a strat guy. I love the using the neck pickup on a strat. If I was'nt playing in a cover band, I'd use the neck pickup exclusively.

I've never played a perfect strat but everyone has their preferences. Some day when I'm old, I'll blow some of my retirement funds on a custom made strat and tweed amp.

There's no such thing as a perfect guitar. There's way too many cool guitars and it would suck limiting yourself to one.

[Henry Mars]

A Strat is no differrent than any other tool ... when you need it you use it. When I need an ES335 I use it. Sometimes a Tele is what I need. There is no perfect axe. If there were a perfect axe then I wouldn't own a half dozen different makes.

[SMC Productions]

Originally Posted by wetteke

i hate strats!

They SUCK!

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by SMC Productions

They SUCK!

your momma sucks

[Anomaly Design]

I never owned one, never played one and don't have to. Although I would like one to add to my collection since it would bring a different edge to my tones. I'll play whatever I can on the neck given to me without complaint. Grew up on Gibson (raised by my Gibson '71 SG Standard), and accumulated 2 Guilds and a Jackson, plus 2 other low budgets. I love my guitars but I don't see myself needing any guitar more than another, except probably my Guild 12-string acoustic!

Fender? Meh.

[killthepixelnow]

I have to admit I HATE LesPauls, they look terrible, they suck to me. Strats look great and sound great but I'll never buy one for myself. I use a V shaped Jackson Randy Rhoads.

[Outlaws]

Originally Posted by killthepixel

I have to admit I HATE LesPauls, they look terrible, they suck to me. Strats look great and sound great but I'll never buy one for myself. I use a V shaped Jackson Randy Rhoads.

Isn't that the only shape they come in????

[espskully]

Had maybe 10 Strats in my life - sold every damn one. I will never buy one again. A Tele - yes. But after getting my first Les Paul - there was no going back to a Strat.

Just my personal taste though!

[sweetpeee]

Perfect?


Hmm....I DO like the cut away on the body where the picking hand forearm rests.I like that they're pretty lite.You can change your tone a lot, on the fly while playing. If you asked a non musician to draw and electric guitar, the strat would probably be the most commonly drawn.



I think the Strat HAS been inproved upon. Original vintage strats might sound good, but the bridge configurations and whammy bars have been drastically imoproved upon. They stay in tune better than they use to and intonation is more accurate. They tend to introduce noise/hum a lot more than guitars with double coil pickups. For me, the volume knob is way too close to the bridge.


J.P.

[mx_mx]

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

your momma sucks

But does she come with a single coil pickup and a whammy bar?

[episg]

Strat with a nice Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro2 HB in the bridge = gorgeous.
And all you guys saying strats suck? They dont. You simply dislike them. No guitar with that kind of following can suck.
No one can possibly compare a les paul and a strat. They're so completely different theres no point. Besides, theyre both used to make a different sound anyway.

And also, It's all down to a matter of personal preferance.

Rant over.

[cephus]

A strat configuration (not to get into the fender versus knock-offs) really serves me as the most versatile set up. I like single coil pickups much better than humbuckers because of rhythm playing. Like I can switch between rhythm and lead just by my grip on the pick and the force I am using. HB guitars don't have this cool crossroad. I like the sound of a les paul or a 335 or teles. It's just that they sound like their one thing. A strat can sound like anything.

I do agree that it helps to put some kind of ornery bridge pickup in it. I have an old old duncan quarter pounder in mine. It has more mids for crunchiness, but it's still a single coil so it can do the 1-2 switch position.

When I play live with my strat, I use the middle pickup almost all the time. The bridge hardly ever. Now the rhythm pickup is the one with ass. I use it when i want more oomph. Probably most guys go to the bridge pu for that. The strat on the rhythm pickup is my full-throttle tone.

[cephus]

Originally Posted by sweetpeee

For me, the volume knob is way too close to the bridge.

I love it there. On my guitar I built, it's even a little closer. I can back it down to 7 and it cleans up the distortion for the verse. Back to ten for the solo.

[killthepixelnow]

Originally Posted by Outlaws

Isn't that the only shape they come in????

I can imahine a Gibson Flying V strato... or a BC Roch Warlock strato, shit! Maybe... a Parker Fly strato. That would be great! It must come with a Floyd Rose.

My idea, don't copy!

[mshilarious]

The Strat was just a prototype for the ultimate guitar of all time, the So-Cal

[Zaphod B]

Originally Posted by Henry Mars

A Strat is no differrent than any other tool ... when you need it you use it. When I need an ES335 I use it. Sometimes a Tele is what I need. There is no perfect axe. If there were a perfect axe then I wouldn't own a half dozen different makes.

Hear, hear.

[breeeeza]

Originally Posted by mx_mx

But does she come with a single coil pickup and a whammy bar?

actually TWO single coil pick ups, ONE humbucker AND a whammy bar. What does your come with?

[mx_mx]

Originally Posted by breeeeza

actually TWO single coil pick ups, ONE humbucker AND a whammy bar. What does your come with?

A rusty snatch....oh, are we talking about guitars?

[breeeeza]

Originally Posted by mx_mx

A rusty snatch....oh, are we talking about guitars?

im not sure, if were not then mine has an on/off switch

[Double]

A vintage styled strat is one of the most versatile guitars around. You can use the bridge pickup for great over the top distortion (Hendrix) or for faux tele sound. The middle pickup can be tuned to sound like a big box Gibson or you can use the bridge and middle together for that out of phase sound that Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd and early Mark Knopfler use. The neck pickup can do it all from woody jazz to haul ass overdrive (SRV).
Gibson guitars are one trick ponies and one trick is all the horse can do. Don’t get me wrong, some Gibson’s are great sounding but they only have that one sound. You can’t make a Gibson sound like a strat but you can make a strat sound like Gibson.