Tell me why this is dumb....

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RWhite

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OK, I usually play a Les Paul copy (think Epiphone) with Dimarzio pick ups, the classic fat 1970's type sound. But occasionally for recording a particular piece I like a Fender Strat tone, especially the bass pickup ala Hendrix. I still have my first guitar, a Strat copy, but the neck is going on it and it doesn't seem worth fixing.

I'm in Guitar Center this last week and I see a Squire "Fat Strat" (humbucker at the bridge position) on sale for $200. Plays pretty decent. So I thinking this would be somthing I could use as a spare, plus I could put in a couple of Kinman single coil pickups and use it for recording.

I know the American standards are better constructed, but I don't see myself paying $750+ for a guitar that will be just a second banana.

OK, so does this make sense?
 
Tuners are probably crap, and the body is likeley plywood, but if it serves the purpose, and you aren't too proud to play a Squier, then go for it.

(Good thing C7's not around...):D

Queue
 
It doesn't really matter whether it's the real deal or a K- Mart blue light special.. If it sounds good enough to you, is durable, and feels good when playing it, then go for it.

Cy
 
BTW....the Kinman's are a great choice...I put a set in my Strat a few weeks ago...nice tone and dead quiet...
 
You might wanna check out a cheapie Kramer.........My cousin has one of these w/out the humbucker, and it's very very good.......laminated wood (read particle board), which can actually ding a lot less than regular wood....tone is very good, too, despite the wood difference, and has a good amount of sustain......the necks are really good also.......matter of fact, the necks would almost cost as much as these gits....

these are the guitars(and web site) that a lot of the big name brands are pissed off at.......the non-hum is $75 freaking dollars....this one below with the humbucker at the bridge is $90 ......as a back up, how could you go wrong?...the Pacifica IS an alder body,however....something to consider if you have really picky ears.....and the one below has 21 frets.....those are about the only differences......this one is made in Indonesia...cousin's guitar's finish is awesome too.......his has tele style chrome vol/tone knobs which are excellent.......I don't know if the fat model does.....

does his sound just like my american strat?.....no, but damn close.....and probably as close as any other strat copy would....unless it's a custom jobby....and of course the humbucker option on the one you want will be different....

The whammy bar on my cousin's needed some loosening when it arrived.....but it's very sturdy, and his 3 single coil pups sound great........has a strat "quack"......the one here with the humbucker will of course sound different........which may be what you want if you want humbuckers.........

no, I don't own stock in Kramer or music yo....but I know a good deal when I see one, and I've heard one too......gibs








http://www.musicyo.com/product_specs.asp?pf_id=397
 
I'm with ya there...

I'm not sure if anything I have would be considered "first rate".

-but I like it, and it serves me

Queue
 
Thanks for the feedback.

Actually I had forgoton about the Yamaha, which is silly because when I went guitar shopping with my nephew last year that is what I wound up buying for him. Seemed like a pretty solid beginnner guitar. Would probably work for me too.

Yes, I'm interested in Kinman just because of their reputation for being very quiet. I rarely ever tried to record with my old Fender copy (or my Bass player's AS Strat) because the hum and noise were intolerable.

And I never use a whammy bar anyways, although I concede that they can be fun.
 
in my opinion id be afraid to go back to my squier again. it was my first electric and i thought it was good....that is until i got a custom shop strat. i dont know how i played that guitar now that i look back on it. it was a piece of driftwood with strings, still, i love that guitar for sentimental reasons... i learned all my hendrix on that guitar.
 
The BEST KEPT secret in Fenderland

Take some time and look for an '82 or '83 Squire from Fender Japan. These guitars are the real deal. They have solid wood bodys, the famed Fender "C" sized necks and you can find them with rosewood and maple fingerboards. They can be found for around $350 most of the time.

These guitars are late seventies Fender bodies and necks that were shipped to Japan and asembled with lower grade pickups and tuners. But everything else IS Fender, right down to the oversized seventies era heaadstocks and three bolt tilt-necks. Your color choices are limited, I've only seen them in white and black with black pickguards.

Like I said these guitars are a bargain......real Fender under the Squire name BEFORE Squire became as cheap as they are now.
 
I'm with Daddy-O!
I've heard those early Squires are quite the steal. But more than that, USED is the way to go. I will never buy a new guitar again. If you are a little more patient, you can find just about anything you want at half price or greater.
For example: I just got a "used" EBMM Silhouette (Which beats the pants off any Strat, IMHO) off Ebay for $600. It was as good as new in every way, still smelled new, and even still had the plastic on the pickgaurd.
If you have your heart set on a strat, you can't turn over a stinking rock without finding 5 used ones for sale. Look on Ebay. Look on Harmony Central. I'll bet you could find an American strat for $350 (less than the price of you Squire + Kinman's) if you're patient and ready to buy the moment you find it.
I own many guitars, and I haven't bought one new in 10 years. I've never been cheated (though it happens), and with the money I've saved, I've been able to afford even more gear! :D
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
As far as the new stuff goes, spend and extra 50-100 bucks to buy the Fender branded Mexican-made strat, instead of the Squire brand. They are a lot nicer. For example, the Fender "Standard" strat is close to the same thing as the "American Standard", except it's made in Mexico. The pickups and bridge are different, but it sounds like a strat. Also, to second the Yamaha Pacifica 112... I have one, I bought it for 179$, and I really dig it, I often use it over guitars that cost ten times as much. But it has a humbucker in the bridge, so it doesn't really sound like Hendrix.
 
Actually I had been looking at a "Mexican" Strat at one point. But to be honest, I cant tell much difference between them and the Squire cheapies. The thing I notice most about the top of the line Strats vs everything below them are the frets, the less expensive ones have cheaper thinner wire. Beyond that I don't see, feel, or hear a lot of difference. And I'll be removing the pickups anyhow.
 
If the neck is your only real issue,a Stuart Macdonald neck will
only run you about $100 dollars.Far superior to any neck you'll
get on a Squire.For that price you should get about any wood combo you desire(give or take 10 or 20 bucks).Don't compromise,
CUSTOMISE!!!
 
Hey do you have a link to this Stuart McDonald place? Or know a dealer that sells them?

I went back to GS and tried out the Squire I had seen. Turns out that the neck was more screwed up than I would accept from any new guitar, cheap or not.

Strangely enough, this particular one was from Indonesia. I checked a few other cheapy Squires and found a mix from China and Indonesia. The Indonesian Squires had better hardware and tuners but the necks seemed to be all as regualr as Swiss cheese. The Chinese models had better necks but cheaper hardware (bridge, tuners, etc.)

That Yamaha is looking better all the time... but for now I think I'm putting the idea on hold. Thanks to all for all the info though.
 
I don't want to rain on the parade, but buying a Squire Strat, and then putting in Kinman's and and swapping out the neck for a custom one seems to me a bad way to go. At that point all you're doing is wasting your time trying to make a "silk purse out of a sow's ear."
Save up your $ and buy what you need to begin with. And buy used. I know you're just looking for a spare. I gaurrantee you can find a US strat for less than $500. You can also find a ton of American made Kramers from the '80's for around $300, all of which would be better than a Squire.

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
No, I wouldn't do both - I would either buy a guitar and upgrade the pickups, or just buy a new neck for the old "Fender Pretender" guitar I have now. I've already done plenty of work to that one, including installing a "Stratoblaster" preamp a few decades ago.

I agree that $500 is a fair price to pay for a decent guitar, but right now I'm looking to pay about half that. And I have seen individual Squires in the past that impressed me, it's just that the quality is all over the map so I expect it may take awhile to find one I like.

As I said in another thread recently, some time ago I wanted to get a spare bass to keep in my studio to play arround with, and to have something if my bass player "dropped in" without his bass. He plays a Fender Precision. So when guitar center had a sale on Squire P-Bass copies for $99, we checked it out. I told him to pick one he liked and I would buy it. I think he tried about 7 different instruments but he found one he liked much better than the rest. Now he doesn't even bother to bring his bass. He (and I) thinks his pickups have a bit more punch, but other than that the cheapie plays and feels the same.

I'm sorry, but when I walk through Guitar Center and see $400 Epiphone Les Pauls sitting next to virtually identical $4000 Gibsons, I just gotta laugh. For an acoustic intrument, sure. For a solid body electric, its just assinie.

Just my opinion of course.
 
Lawsuite Strat

A Strat copy that is as good as any new Squire Mexican, Korean, or otherwise is a Tokai (if I spelled it right). This company was sued by Fender because the guitars were made so close to the real strats. Tokai also made Tele and Les Paul copies--all of good quality.
 
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