got the strat

gibs

gibs

New member
I mentioned in the "how do I buy a bass" thread that I was going to see a guy about a strat....turns out he had sold it...

so, being that I had to take some of my mom's medical stuff to the lab in Tyler, I came back home via a little town that has a highly recommended guitar store.......lotsa new stuff (tons of taylor acoustics, fender, very little gibson) and lotsa used stuff, including a back room that has the high dollar collectibles.......I didn't even go into that room......

I played about 6 strats in the store, 2 mexican, 1 japanese, and (I shit you not) a chinese one, and yes it said fender and on the back it said made in china.....they were actually all ok, but just not "there".....then I played with a red american (that horrible cocktail lounge dark red, not the cool red), and it was ok too.....
but the tone just wasn't there for some reason.....and they all had lots of wear, which can be a good thing, because it meant they were played a lot, so they must be ok, right?...not necessarily.........

and then I saw it......

such a pale yellow, I thought it was that cream thing fender had going on......

I saw the serial number started with E4 (which is 1984 in fender speak, unless it's a vintage or special model).....

this thing had no dings...I mean NO dings....not even pick scratches....not even those pseudo pick scratches that look kinda chalky......no bumping into the amp dings...no walking through a door wrong dings....NOTHING............

every fret was excellent.....just ever so little string depression grooves.....

my tele has a maple fingerboard.....I'm not a guitar wiz, I don't play fast, and I'm not crazy about maple fingerboards......

this one had rosewood.........mmmmmmmm.....rosewood........

plugged it in.....5 switch worked....tones worked....volume worked....tone so strat......mmmmmmmm........tone...............

chords loud or mellow or chunky or heavy......mmmmmm....tone......

my ONE lead riff.........mmmmmmm.....tone......

It said "Buy me. I am strat."

and so I did.....and I'm really really glad......

I had done a little research this past week, and on one site, there was a valutation by year on fender strats......(I also have a handy dandy serial number list, so I pinpointed it to a 1984 with no question)...the valuation was $700 in pristine condition, and this one is......I paid $600 (the guitar was$550, but I bought an old hardshell case for it, price $50)

in 1985, when fender was sold again, the 86 models in pristine condition were listed at $600....so I think I did ok...

But I can't figure out the color....does clear coat finish turn that yellow without crackling?...or is this some kind of weird pastel color that was only offered back then?....the fender site is no help at all on colors.....this is a real yellow, but ultra pale......

anybody know about fender colors?....gibs (who after waiting 30+ years, finally has a strat):cool:
 
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you don't like maple???

i just bought a fender (ash body, natural finish) with a maple fingerboard.

what didn't you like about maple? i've heard that it's brighter and slicker/faster. mine won't be in for another week.
 
I guess I'm not fond of it because I don't play fast....maple to me is too slippery, particularly with fairly light gauge strings....it's just me...or the varnish.....I like my tele for what it does, though, and it has a completely different sound.....I don't like the weight of my tele either, thing weighs about 900 pounds......there was a strat hybrid at the store yesterday that I didn't play, but I picked it up...it was real heavy too, and thicker than most...lotsa ash I guess..........gibs
 
I'm not slamming ash or maple, mind you, it's just a personal thing......I think I'm probably in the minority here as far as digging rosewood and lighter bodies........gibs:)
 
And at the end of the day it's what you like to play and what tone you like that matters.

I find that the wood type depends on the type of guitar. On some I would prefer (and do) maple, others rosewood etc. I let the guitar decide for me.
 
Gibs,

I have a LP and two strats. All have rosewood fretbds. I can play the maples, but I seem to prefer the rosewood. I hate that satiny type maple that are on the (or some of the) Strat Deluxes (or whatever the $%&^% they call em these days - feels like the bd is covered in chocolate syrup or something.

Of course, if I were GIVEN such a guitar I'm sure I'd learn to enjoy it in no time (nah - probably just sell it and buy some much-needed recording gear). :)
 
I don't know what Fender calls that color. I bought a 25th anniversery model from a guy on ebay. The pictures made me think it was that olympic white, but bigger than shit, it was a real pale yellow! Not un-pleasant, but not what I expected.
 
Maple v. Rosewood v...

Hmmm. Maple = fast?

Most of my axes have rosewood fretboards. Maybe that's why I can't play like Yngwie. :p
 
Nice pick Gibs, I like that color too.

I posted the color question on the FDP, we'll find out. I'm thinking it's "Antique White" or something like that.

H2H
 
Hard2Hear and getuhgrip, thanks!....I like it, and I had no idea antique white had that yellow hue......it's really good looking.......gibs
:)
 
Goooood work, Mr. Texas - even from a Gibson nut. Looks like you found a jewel. Now get out and play that thang!!
 
rosewood fingerboards tend to play a little faster than maple. this is mostly due to the fact that rosewood requires no finish. However, since most fender necks are finished maple anyway, the speed of an unfinished rosewood fingerboard is mostly negated. the one drawback i have found with maple fingerboards is thatif you have pretty strong sweat, like i do, you start to wear through the finish pretty quickly. and then your fretboard either looks old and nasty, or "reliced" if you want to spin it. I think the reason Leo Fender switched over to dar fretboards was because he saw a band playing fender instruments on tv, and he thought the finish worn off the maple fingerboards looked awful.

but i have been happy with both fingerboard woods, though i do have to do more preventive maintenance on my maple fingerboard guitar... i just make sure to wipe it down every time i touch the thing.
 
my new ash - maple fender american

i love it, i love it, i love it, g-g-g-g (voice of Rosco P. Coltrane)

do others know about this maple on ash thing? it looks great and it feels great. up until a couple of months ago, i'd never even thought about natural finish guitars. now i have the fender and a 5-string conklin bass that are both natural stains.

of course, i'll still be gigging with my stein until i really get use to the fender.
 
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