the fender stratocaster is perfect.

[travelin travis]

exactly. his 'sloppyness' hides a perfect intuitive sense of timing.

it's like hearing thelonious monk for the first time : you think he's off and all of a sudden you realise he's not, it's just his sense of timing playing little tricks.



man! i LOVE music

That which I thought was sloppy playing was really a free mind and awesome rhythm chops. Oh, and his effects...........I really can't think of another guitar player that ever used effects so well.

 

[cephus]

you think he's off and all of a sudden you realise he's not, it's just his sense of timing playing little tricks.

Don't give him too much credit. The best thing about hendrix is the way he wasn't bound by convention and therefore came up with strange new music.

He was off - alot. It's not like he had an advanced form of timing and intonation that allowed him to deliberately modulate in and out. He could put his fingers on virtually anything he heard in his head and he tried to do that all the time. Sometimes, he missed the first time.

 

[Henry Mars]

Likes and dislikes are very subjective. To all of you Hendrix fans, I say enjoy.
Monk I got the first time ... Cecil Taylor took awhile.

 

[faderbug]

Don't give him too much credit. The best thing about hendrix is the way he wasn't bound by convention and therefore came up with strange new music.

He was off - alot. It's not like he had an advanced form of timing and intonation that allowed him to deliberately modulate in and out. He could put his fingers on virtually anything he heard in his head and he tried to do that all the time. Sometimes, he missed the first time.

blasphemer.

 

[fretwire3d]

New strats suck, especially the new USA ones. I have a '94 MIJ that i use for everything and the only nicer strat i've played was an Eric Clapton signature. If i were to own one guitar, it would be a strat. They are light comfortable, and lots of pickup combos.

The one thing i hate about strats is the volume knob location. it's so fucking stupid. you can't palm mute the high strings without turning it. I modded mine to master volume and master tone with 7 pickup combo mod. I only use the two bottom holes and i covered the open hole by the bridge with a little Expos sticker.

Now, thats a perfect guitar.

 

[daav]

New strats suck, especially the new USA ones. I have a '94 MIJ that i use for everything and the only nicer strat i've played was an Eric Clapton signature. If i were to own one guitar, it would be a strat. They are light comfortable, and lots of pickup combos.

The one thing i hate about strats is the volume knob location. it's so fucking stupid. you can't palm mute the high strings without turning it. I modded mine to master volume and master tone with 7 pickup combo mod. I only use the two bottom holes and i covered the open hole by the bridge with a little Expos sticker.

Now, thats a perfect guitar.

It's like we are long lost twins. I too prefer my MIJ strat to all other guitar i have played and I spent a long time wanting to hate it because it was cheap when i bought it and i assumed i needed somehting spendier to be legit or something.

I too laoth the volume knob. I stuffed a couple picks int here in a manner that gets them trapped in the pick guard and keeps the damn knob still when i don't want it moved.

Daav

 

[mshilarious]

The knob on the So-Cal is in the perfect spot

 

[Zaphod B]

The volume knob on my '91 Strat Plus has always been stiff enough that you have to want to move it. Never been a problem for me - just brushing against it won't move it.

 

[Jahn]

I never thought Hendrix was that great .... I didn't like his sound with or with out the Strat.
I saw him live, had a good laugh and walked out. I guess it was ok, just not for me.

i wish i had the privilege to even have the chance to walk out on hendrix. sometimes you don't know what you got 'till its gone. i wonder how many amazing artists i'm missing out on as we speak?

 

[mx_mx]

i wish i had the privilege to even have the chance to walk out on hendrix. sometimes you don't know what you got 'till its gone. i wonder how many amazing artists i'm missing out on as we speak?

Just me.
......

 

[Jahn]

Just me.
......

Aside from the obvious choice of course

BTW Last year I finally saw Les Paul live, on my birthday over at the Iridium here in town. He does more with two fingers than I can do with all my fingers and toes and thumbs combined - plus, his custom Paul makes my LP Custom look like a wuss. That was a memorable night!

Edit - AH just remembered one. Never got the chance to see SRV live. I did see his Strat tho, but it just wasn't the same. I have much love for both kinds of guitars, but it's really about the players behind the axe - and there are plenty of amazing musicians behind each type, so why argue?

 

[ibanezrocks]

The strat is a classic design, theres no disputing that. However the argument about its flaws is difficult because one must define what a flaw is. To me a flaw is something that is not subjective, although I don't like a guitar with only single coils I understand that other people do like them. There are several flaws in the Fender Strat that serve no purpose at all other than to stay true to the original:

1. String trees. They ruin the tuning stability, especially on guitars with trems. An angled headstock could easily be used.

2. Neck heel. Theres no reason for it to be square, as a slightly smaller contoured heel does not sacrifice any tone.

3. Classic Trem. They offer poor tuning stability as well as limited range. It doesn't have to have a floyd rose, there are many similar systems to the strat trem that offer basic improvements.

4. Finish. For the price of some of the strats a poly finish is simply unacceptable. A nitro finish allows the wood to breath more and promotes a healthy aging of the wood.

5. Strap buttons. The stock fender strap buttons are far too small. They dont have to be straplocks, just increase the size a little bit.

For me the neck heel has been the biggest obstacle on a strat, I like the variety of models offered, and I applaud Fender for making those choices available without making them overcomplicated by giving each slightly altered model a new name (such as Gibson feels the need to do).

Having said that, I'll stick with superstrats if I have to.

 

[Zaphod B]

There are several flaws in the Fender Strat that serve no purpose at all other than to stay true to the original:

All valid points, with the possible exception of the nitro vs. poly argument, and that's only because I don't really understand why nitro is the better finish. Maybe someone can explain it to me.

 

[Double]

All valid points, with the possible exception of the nitro vs. poly argument, and that's only because I don't really understand why nitro is the better finish. Maybe someone can explain it to me.

Nito will allow the guitar to dry out naturally and become lighter which equals to more natural body sustain and tone. Poly will coat your guitar with a substance that will protect your guitar from wear but it will not wear down. Subsequently the guitar will not breathe or lighten up. So after twenty years the poly guitar will not sustain as well as a guitar with a nito finish. That’s one of the major reasons vintage guitars sound better.
Getting back to the Fender thing, I wonder how many rockers realize that Jimmy Page used a telecaster for the first couple of Led Zepplin Albums not Les Pauls.
Also that Jimmi Hendrix was known for using Strats but used Gibson’s as well, like his flying V.

 

[mshilarious]

Jimmy Page used a telecaster for the first couple of Led Zepplin Albums not Les Pauls.

I did know that! It's tough to get some of those early Zep tones on a LP, even on some of their later stuff, it certainly sounds Tele-ish. I don't know the specifics, but I imagine Page had a preference for recording Teles.

In the Firm years, he was the first I remember to play a Tele with a Hipshot.

Page is maybe the ultimate tone generator. Some people don't like his tones, but he had more of them than just about anybody else. I especially like when, in the "Song . . ." movie, he switched LPs for one solo, from PAFs to something a wee bit hotter, and that tone is so dirty it kills Yeah, that's why I eventually switched from Teles to LPs.

 

[ibanezrocks]

It is a strange misconception that he used Les Pauls all the time, but when thats all you ever saw him with it makes sense. However after knowing that it is pretty easy to tell when he was using a telecaster. His sound is very much based on a thin tone with lots of layers.

 

[OhSh1rt]

They are cute to play now and then, but when it comes down to it, to me it just doesn't feel like a real guitar, hand me a semi-hollow gibson over a fender any day.

I'm not a big kid (6'1) but the strat just seems so small, ive played my friend's dad's american strat through a old vintage marshal (tube) stack, and sure they have a nice sound but it's just not for me.


-jeffrey

 

[David]

The volume knob on my '91 Strat Plus has always been stiff enough that you have to want to move it. Never been a problem for me - just brushing against it won't move it.

I've got a strat plus also. Do you like the neck on yours? I thought I liked mine at the start, but i've been a tele man all my life 'big beefy neck tele's' and this neck I guess, is a modern C? I dunno but it's just to slim. Plays well and stays in tune though.

 

[cephus]

They are cute to play now and then, but when it comes down to it, to me it just doesn't feel like a real guitar, hand me a semi-hollow gibson over a fender any day.

I'm 7'10" and I know what you mean about a regular guitar feeling puny. For me, I like to strap on a baby grand piano like an accordion and the chicks think I am DY-NO-MITE!

Strats are cute little sissy guitars guys. Get with the program. Now it's time for wrestling practice, so I gotta go make myself throw up.

 

[Zaphod B]

I've got a strat plus also. Do you like the neck on yours? I thought I liked mine at the start, but i've been a tele man all my life 'big beefy neck tele's' and this neck I guess, is a modern C? I dunno but it's just to slim. Plays well and stays in tune though.

Yes, I like the neck - it has the satin finish and a rosewood fingerboard. The size suits me fine, as my hands are small.