Fender Strat recommendations

  • Thread starter Thread starter amt7565
  • Start date Start date
i love my 18yo ibanez se-350....wouldn't swap it for a $500aus strat.
someone mentioned a gibson?....at this price point?....
Wouldn't u have to spend more to get the good ones?
 
amt7565 said:
Thanks everyone for your valuable comments.

At GC, I almost got the EJ strat today....but...I found the action a bit too high. I traded my Ibanez JEM and got the Ibanez RGT6E instead. Plays very well.

Is it easy to adjust the action on the EJ, does anyone know? I loved the finish though. And the tone was phenomenal! The HW1 was no match for this guitar it terms of tone.

I might still end up getting the EJ...need some time to think..
Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm sure they'll be able to set up the EJ with a lower action for you, especially if you use lower-gague strings.

I've got one of these:
http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/4/8/3/229483.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/yeffqh

She nice :D

If you can find this model I really reccomend it if you're usually a fat-neck type player who wants a Strat.
It's got a lovely ebony fingerboard and feels as though the neck is ever so slightly wider thanon a regular strat. This could be to do with the neck shape, rather than the actual width - I haven't actually measured it.

It has a very dark bell-like tone on the neck pup.
Utterly beautiful through my Fender CVR.
Love those SCN pups :)
 
code-
Thanks mate. It sure does look good. I will check it out.

Question for everyone:
How will it sound if I got a HW1 and installed EJ pups? Are they the same pups?
 
you mention the EJ? $1300-$1600

Thats not what I'd consider a "cheap one" though, as you originally mentioned?


the EJ are really a labor of love for him it seems. I don't get it personally, but if you read the articles on it EJ put more time in his signature Strat than most.

The pickups each from a different year, old Fender stuff mixed with new, the neck is really unique. The string and angled headstock, lighter weight, nice extra-shaved/angled back (probably lighter weight?)..there's a lot of details on the EJ. Unique is pretty much the word, imo. a long list.

Funny you noticed the tone, the articles I read EJ is a tone-addict...
one article he seemed to almost have worn the Fender Custom shop guys out painstakingly trying like 18 different pickups or something.. special thickness of nitro, top line alder, all these things to do with his obsession of tone, no string guides on the headstock dampening the vibrations...whoooa! :eek:


pretty cool all the work he put into it.
 
An EJ is probably the only sig Fender I'd consider buying, well, maybe a YJM... both are pretty spendy though.

On that topic, does it have to be Fender? You can get spectacular strat-styled guitars for $500-$1000 that don't say "Fender" on the headstock.
 
ermghoti said:
An EJ is probably the only sig Fender I'd consider buying, well, maybe a YJM... both are pretty spendy though.

On that topic, does it have to be Fender? You can get spectacular strat-styled guitars for $500-$1000 that don't say "Fender" on the headstock.
Click to expand...


And which guitars do you mean?
 
Carvin Bolt
Yamaha Pacifica
Xaviere XV 850
Various G&L and Tribute models
ESP
Fernandez
Peavey Predator (dirt cheap, but MiA and pretty nice)
Suhr (used ,$1k)
Anderson (ditto)
any of the Rondo Music cheapies fight way over their weight class.
get parts from Warmouth or USCG and roll your own
etc

The strat is unquestionably the most widely imitated electric instrument. Nearly every manufacturer offers a version.
 
ermghoti said:
On that topic, does it have to be Fender? You can get spectacular strat-styled guitars for $500-$1000 that don't say "Fender" on the headstock.
Click to expand...

Have you checked out Blade guitars, from Switzerland? They're beautiful, and sound great. The RH2 model should work out at just less than a thousand dollars:

http://www.bladeguitars.com/

amt7565: Fender don't sell the EJ pickups seperately, probably to stop people buying them only and putting them in standard strats. You can swap out the Highway 1 pickups. Check these out, I've heard they're quite close to the EJ pickups:

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0992113000
 
32-20-Blues said:
Have you checked out Blade guitars, from Switzerland?
Click to expand...

Good one! They just got some of the lower-end ones at my local shop, and while I haven't handled them yet, they look like real workhorses.
 
ermghoti said:
Carvin Bolt
Yamaha Pacifica
Xaviere XV 850
Various G&L and Tribute models
ESP
Fernandez
Peavey Predator (dirt cheap, but MiA and pretty nice)
Suhr (used ,$1k)
Anderson (ditto)
any of the Rondo Music cheapies fight way over their weight class.
get parts from Warmouth or USCG and roll your own
etc

The strat is unquestionably the most widely imitated electric instrument. Nearly every manufacturer offers a version.
Click to expand...

Bumping that Yamaha!!
 
Thanks everyone for you valuable comments. I will take those into consideration.

When I started learning guitar 25 years ago, I had a Fresher electric (Made in Japan- same style as strat mustang). I still have it, but it's not very playable. I had a tech restore it for me for $350.00, but the pups seem week and the neck is a bit out of shape. I am holding it for sentimental reasons.

Next time I am at FC I will try out the other models. I am interested to get my hands on those Swiss models now....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top