Is there such a thing as an affordable Strat?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Prism
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yeah.. what they said..

When you are looking around though.. I think one of the main things you should look at is the guitar's action.. this is the distance of the strings from the fretboard.. make sure you stay away from guitars where the strings are high and uneven above the frets.. the first guitar i ever had was my dad's Takamine acoustic.. the action was horrid.. the strings were far too high off the board.. and I damn near killed myself trying to learn how to play.. I can still barely play the thing.. prefering instead to pick my guild acoustic..

A guitar with strings that are close to the fretboard without losing clarity is very important to your patience and sanity..

Cy
 
# A guitar with strings that are close to the fretboard without
# losing clarity is very important to your patience and sanity..

Yes, but remember that the action on guitars is usually set high in the stores anyway. Setting up a guitar to play right by your standards takes a bit of user tweaking. Not hard, usually, but it won't do it by itself.
 
get the REAL thing.

Isaiah,

If you're that serious about a 'Strat, price and buy a
top of the line model from Fender. True, it'll cost you more.
But if you find that you can't hang with it, resale is far far
better than a cheapie. When it comes to Fenders, you really
do get "what you paid for". With anything else you're adding
things here and there. By the time you're done you've spent the same good money that you would have on a high end model.

And... like the salvage yard owner said in the movie "Christine"

"You can't polish a turd."

Peace and blessings upon your quest for your six-stringed
Excalibur!

Faithmonster
 
# When it comes to Fenders, you really do get "what you paid
# for".

I'm not sure quite what you mean by a top of the line Fender, but I would have to say that one _rarely_ gets what he pays for with American guitars, which are obscenely overpriced for what they are.

The idea of dropping $1800+ on a guitar with a screw-on neck should establish this within the sentence itself.

If I decided to sell my L-Series for the appraised $12,000.00 I can guarantee you that whatever monied mook bought it would be dropping about $11,500.00 of that merely on satisfying some insane head trip that had nothing to do with guitar quality.

My take is that if a guy shops hard, he can get a new US Strat for under $700 and if he shops hard he can get a good used one for $500 or less.

My advice was - if he was set on a Fender Strat, which he said he was - to shop hard from private parties and get a used US Strat in good , original shape for about $500 and hang onto it and don't modify it. He's got a standard professional instrument that nobody will look down his nose at and he will probably never lose money on it if he decides to sell it or give up guitar.

I advise against buying a Mexican, Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian or Venusian Fender/Squier/fake unless he gets it dirt cheap (new Squiers were going for $99 at GC recently)...but a good US Strat will sound better, probably play better and will give him that strange psychic boost a new player gets from knowing he has "the real thing" and not some wannabe instrument, no matter how well it plays.

That isn't rational, but it's definitely real. I remember the boost it gave me when I made that switch decades ago and I still see it in others.

Young Prism may do as he wishes, but my advice was tailored to his specific question and he could do worse than follow it. 8-)
 
No shit.

Get a top of the line Strat if only for the resale value? I don't think so.

Think about it. The guitar is going to depreciate at least a couple of hundred just by taking it out the door. Then it's going to depreciate even more when you actually play it and it gets a little scuffed up. Not only that, but you didn't know exactly what you were looking for when you got it, so now you realize that you prefer a rosewood neck to a maple, but didn't get the rosewood because you weren't familiar with the nuances when you purchased your first guitar. Hell. Once you've been playing for a while, you may realize that you really prefer the tone and feel of a Les Paul. Now you're stuck selling the guitar when you finally decide on what you really want after playing for a while.

Point being, you can get a good guitar for $300-500 or even less if you shop around. If you are considering an investment, unless you have money to burn, you should check out mutual funds with the money you save in buying a decent mid-priced guitar.

Sure you'll get some additional snob pleasure and a marginal increase in tone and playability out of an expensive guitar. However, the resale value hardly even comes close to the difference in price.
 
Bongolation - I was just wondering - if it's such a crappy guitar, why did you keep it?

... and who appraised it at $12,000?

Seems to me that a late '64 or later pre CBS instrument in 3-tone sunburst (and I'm going on the picture here which shows what appears to be a 'transition' logo) would retail at somewhere between $5k to $7k.

Maybe prices have gone up so much since I stopped trading them?

I definitely agree that some of the so called 'wonder guitars' from yesteryear are absolute dogs - but I've played some killers from that period, too.

I think it's all about finding the one that plays and sounds like you like - and buying it.

As for a recommendation, I have two.

1. Go to your local store and find a Yamaha Pacifica with a pickup configuration you like. They are excellent guitars, and reasonable inexpensive, too.

2. Find a 1957 or 1962 re-issue strat (maple or rosewood fretboard, your choice) that has been played a lot, but not abused. It's going to cost you more, but some of them are GREAT guitars. If you find one with a lot of playing wear, but no abuse, it means a pro owned it and played it six sets a night - and a pro isn't going to keep a bad guitar. Choose carefully and enjoy.


foo
 
get a mexi caster, ive got a mexican tele and it feels and sounds as good as the 1,400 dollar ones.. basically the hardware is where you lose out with the mexican ones, a freind has a mexicaster with a flame maple neck. so nice.. and if down the road you want it to sound a tad better drop a 100 bucks into a new pickup..
 
If I only had $200 dollars to spend on a strat, I would buy a Yamaha Pacifica. IMHO, the build quality and consistency of a much more expensive guitar.

Dragracer
 
foo said:
Bongolation - I was just wondering - if it's such a crappy guitar, why did you keep it?

... and who appraised it at $12,000?
Click to expand...

I keep it because it appreciates just sitting in the closet. Yes, you're right: You are wrong, they HAVE gone up in recent years. It was worth about $6k only a few years ago.

GC's vintage guitar manager here appraised it at $10k-$12k retail due to condition, mainly, and condition is _everything_. If you think retail is much less, trust me, you're dreaming. You would not BELIEVE the prices on beat-to-hell, non-rare old Fenders. Absolutely ridiculous. Trashed early-'70s Tele for $7700 as but one example I saw yesterday. Junk.

As far as other Strats, I can never remember one I much liked, and I've played, well...a _lot_ of them. This one isn't much better or worse than any others I've played. There's nothing especially wrong with this one, it's just a Strat.
 
Wow - then I guess my guitars are worth a lot more than I thought!

Cool, but now I'll be even more reluctant to take them out gigging )c:]


$7,700 for a trashed '70's Tele - unbelievable - unless it was trashed by Kurt and Courtney of course ;-)

foo
 
foo said:
Wow - then I guess my guitars are worth a lot more than I thought!

Cool, but now I'll be even more reluctant to take them out gigging )c:]


$7,700 for a trashed '70's Tele - unbelievable - unless it was trashed by Kurt and Courtney of course ;-)

foo
Click to expand...

The best part was that when I went by there today, the $7700 Telcaster was _gone_. I absolutely don't know what made that axe that expensive, nor who would be insane enough to buy it.

Yes, I am amazed by the increase in the price of these instruments, but the condition can make over 300% difference, easily. The guy I talked to says it's relatively rare to find an old Strat that hasn't been refinished, therefore destroying its value. Still, absolute garbage old Strats - refinished, refretted, modified, mismatched neck and body, etc., etc...are going for over $4k all the time. A near-mint, two-owner L-Series that's all there is worth some major bucks and will just keep going up.

And, yes, the instruments are too valuable to play. I have several, including the Strat, which I did take out and play a bit today. I am hard on it just because it's a Strat; it's not a bad example. It gets _great_ sound, I have to admit...but I've been buying less pricey guitars, including nice imported ones, to play and record with. Proving there are deals out there, I got a new 2000 American Standard Tele in natural ash with hard case:

http://www.netcolony.com/image.cgi?url=/arts/epizeuxis/amp-tel2.jpg

for $429 in March from GC, and have gotten some incredibly fine top-of-the-line DeArmonds at give-away prices more recently.

These are the guitars I play and really like. The Strat just seems too much of a risk to mess with, especially when I prefer the other ones anyhow. I imagine I'll record with the Strat a little once I get my studio finished, but for the most part I play the DeArmonds and let my vintage guitars rest in safety.
 
bongolation said:
# When it comes to Fenders, you really do get "what you paid
# for".

I'm not sure quite what you mean by a top of the line Fender, but I would have to say that one _rarely_ gets what he pays for with American guitars, which are obscenely overpriced for what they are.

The idea of dropping $1800+ on a guitar with a screw-on neck should establish this within the sentence itself.

My take is that if a guy shops hard, he can get a new US Strat for under $700 and if he shops hard he can get a good used one for $500 or less.

My advice was - if he was set on a Fender Strat, which he said he was - to shop hard from private parties and get a used US Strat in good , original shape for about $500 and hang onto it and don't modify it. He's got a standard professional instrument that nobody will look down his nose at and he will probably never lose money on it if he decides to sell it or give up guitar.

I advise against buying a Mexican, Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian or Venusian Fender/Squier/fake ...but a good US Strat will sound better, probably play better and will give him that strange psychic boost a new player gets from knowing he has "the real thing" and not some wannabe instrument, no matter how well it plays.

That isn't rational, but it's definitely real. I remember the boost it gave me when I made that switch decades ago and I still see it in others.

Young Prism may do as he wishes, but my advice was tailored to his specific question and he could do worse than follow it. 8-)
Click to expand...



Easy, man.

You and I are on the same wavelength. A good used US Vintage
(whatever it is now) is exactly the point of entry and I agree with you on another point- about the psychic boost from knowing that
one has in his hands "the real thing" and the even simpler fact
that it plays better than a lesser product.

It is disheartening that the Japanese have produced instruments
of better quality than ours. American guitars are obscenely over
-priced, but I have yet to see that make a difference. Even with the screw-on neck. It's like this...the V-twin engine design is the worst for vibration, but would you pass up a Harley for a Honda?

To each their own as far as tastes go. Resale is another hard fact
to look at, especially "if he decides to sell it or give up guitar.".
A higher end product like a US Vintage or Reissue will be a better seller if that happens.

So, it's all good. I happen to be the most diehard Fender nut I know. I also love old Cadillacs. To each their own, and to all
happiness and peace. If we disagree, is it serious? I hope not.
Life's too short by at least 5,000 years,give or take a week or two... but damn! there's NOTHING like a Fender! :-D

Peace and smiles

Faithmonster
 
faithmonster said:

It's like this...the V-twin engine design is the worst for vibration, but would you pass up a Harley for a Honda?
Faithmonster
Click to expand...
Man you really don't get it aye??? It's all about THE SOUND man!! :D
 
not so, Mary Lou...

BBB said:

No shit.

Get a top of the line Strat if only for the resale value? I don't think so.

Think about it. The guitar is going to depreciate at least a couple of hundred just by taking it out the door. Then it's going to depreciate even more when you actually play it and it gets a little scuffed up. Not only that, but you didn't know exactly what you were looking for when you got it, so now you realize that you prefer a rosewood neck to a maple, but didn't get the rosewood because you weren't familiar with the nuances when you purchased your first guitar. Hell. Once you've been playing for a while, you may realize that you really prefer the tone and feel of a Les Paul. Now you're stuck selling the guitar when you finally decide on what you really want after playing for a while.

Point being, you can get a good guitar for $300-500 or even less if you shop around. If you are considering an investment, unless you have money to burn, you should check out mutual funds with the money you save in buying a decent mid-priced guitar.

Sure you'll get some additional snob pleasure and a marginal increase in tone and playability out of an expensive guitar. However, the resale value hardly even comes close to the difference in price.
Click to expand...




Yes, shit. But only if you need to.


Getting a "top of the line 'Strat if only for the resale value"
is truly stupid- however if you decide further down the road
"to change horses in midstream", at least you won't get soaked as bad.

Everything depreciates. That is inevitable. And it might get
"scuffed up". Fender has a new "cosmetically aged" product
line called "Relics"- seems that use and some mild abuse add
some character and value to these noble axes.

As far as not knowing what one likes- such as rosewood vs
maple for the neck, choice of finishes I will say this but once-
whatever you want you'll study and get, every damned time.
You'll drool over literature until you finally find the "right one".

And-gasp! Heaven forbid- that the one you thought you loved
is not "the one"- like I said, and Bongolation did- you won't get
hurt near as bad changing your mind. Point being, even those of us with mutual funds don't have money to burn. We buy what
we want, period end of report. A guitar is an investment to a collector. To a musician it is an extension of his creative spirit
and will. It is something that defies mere monetary valuing. This
also clearly seperates the musicians from the non- musicians.
This one simple view. Are you a musician? perhaps?

There is a quiet sense of confidence one has when in a jam session with a quality instrument. When the other musicians see the Fender Tweed case carried in by that musician they know
that person takes his music seriously. And what they hear when the music starts is pleasure to their ears. Nothing equals the sound produced by an instrument of quality and legend. Would
you settle for a copy, or a Stradivarius? a Kimball or a Steinway?

Music isn't cheap. But then again love isn't either. You pay for
everything in this life that you want, and you get what you pay
for too. Money comes and it goes. It is but our humble servant. Snobs are uneducated, prejudiced and opinionated,highly negative excuses for human beings who worship things
and use people. If I were to lose every last thing I have I can say
this...

"Far better to be a has-been than one who never was."

And dream of the next Fender I'll own... what'll it be now? a
Tele, or maybe that 'Strat... or I'll just roll over and pester the
redhead for awhile.

Faithmonster:D
 
make mine a Hawg!

Roel said:

Man you really don't get it aye??? It's all about THE SOUND man!! :D
Click to expand...

Make mine a Hawg! Beautiful noise! LOL

Faithmonstre
 
Im late in this discussion and it has probably been said but maybe build your own?
 
Form over substance.

I've gotta lean towards the Pacifica. It performs great for the price.

Then again, Prism metioned that he really wants a Strat. Then get a used one, mid priced.

Are you getting it to show it off or to play it? If you have cash to burn and care about impressing people that much, go ahead and get the more expensive Strat. If you want something that plays well and want to get a good performance for the price, go mid-priced.

I'm usually impressed by a good musician that plays an unknown instrument. It's quite the opposite when a poor musician plays expensive name brand equipment.

Btw, I sold my Harley a month ago because it just didn't perform as well as the Jap bikes.
 
all right.. I've watched this post go by and refrained from throwing in my opinion because I mentioned this recently on another post.. but I just can't keep my fingers from typing sometimes...

Sure it's a great feeling playing in a jam session with a brand name.. but I've had a different experience: I've walked into a jam session.. opened my case and watched the laughter and jokes fly when they read the words "Zender Splaterblaster" labeled on the jap copy headstock.. Then after they hear how good it sounds and how well it plays.. it becomes the life of the party.. I've had similar reactions from music dealers when I was in repair shops or buying amps.. the laughs turn to compliments... Furthermore I usually walk away from these episodes with both a little notoriety and a lot of respect..

You think I give a dog's ass that it's a copy? Hell no..

Best damn $100 I ever spent...
 
yawn

BBB said:

Form over substance.

I've gotta lean towards the Pacifica. It performs great for the price.

Then again, Prism metioned that he really wants a Strat. Then get a used one, mid priced.

Are you getting it to show it off or to play it? If you have cash to burn and care about impressing people that much, go ahead and get the more expensive Strat. If you want something that plays well and want to get a good performance for the price, go mid-priced.

I'm usually impressed by a good musician that plays an unknown instrument. It's quite the opposite when a poor musician plays expensive name brand equipment.

Btw, I sold my Harley a month ago because it just didn't perform as well as the Jap bikes.
Click to expand...


To each his own. In the end the only one we give a shit about
impressing is ourselves. What is price? one man's fortune to another's pocket change. That isn't about shit. I go for the happiness every time.

BTW - I ride a BMW. But I adore Harleys. Shoulda sold me yours.

Faithmonstyr
 
Gipson Flieng Phee

Cyrokk said:

Sure it's a great feeling playing in a jam session with a brand name.. but I've had a different experience: I've walked into a jam session.. opened my case and watched the laughter and jokes fly when they read the words "Zender Splaterblaster" labeled on the jap copy headstock.. Then after they hear how good it sounds and how well it plays.. it becomes the life of the party.. I've had similar reactions from music dealers when I was in repair shops or buying amps.. the laughs turn to compliments... Furthermore I usually walk away from these episodes with both a little notoriety and a lot of respect..

You think I give a dog's ass that it's a copy? Hell no..

Best damn $100 I ever spent...
Click to expand...



Exactly my point. To each his own. I have a Flying V copy that
somebody named "GIPSON" on the headstock. That gets me a
buncha smirks until I plug it in and play...it has the hottest pair
of Humbuckers I've ever heard, a silky smooth action and sustain
that makes everybody want to dust a few riffs off it.

Do I give a shit that it's not a true Gibson Flying V? And did I
waste $125.00?

Hell f*<$@n' no. People who know me wish I'd found the guitar
for THEM. And a music shop that restrung my l'il bomb discovered
that those pickups weren't stock- they are vintage Gibson!
Ask me if I'm happy. Go on.

It's all in whatever you're into. You can look at life as a turd
sandwich, or you can find...

"Diamonds in the dewdrops
And gold in the morning sun."


We all search for our six stringed Excalibur...

Leo Fendermonster
 
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