The Strat - fashion vs function

  • Thread starter Thread starter pure.fusion
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rayc said:
Now we need a sub thread that addresses the price factors in Australia & whether it'd be cheaper to fly to the US to buy a guitar.
The prices down here for brand names are silly expensive & the thought of buying online & importing, site unseen/unplayed, is unpalatable too.
If there's a place somewhere between a rock & a hard place it's Australia for music gear.
It's too much of a lottery for the cheaper end of the brand market yet there are squillions of lesser brands guitars that are available to be tried out & a good one/deal/feel/sound found, somewhere, amongst them.
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Yep. I've heard the tales of people returning from the US, tales of stores full of quality second hand strats and stupendo cheap prices. Ahhh well; it is what it is.

FM
 
Wasn't there a comparatively recent bump in the price of US standards? I also read somewhere that Guitar Center were encouraged to keep them closer to the RRP...I see the listings start there at $999. I picked mine up here for Eur 999 with a free Fender Champion 600, thought it was a cool promotion.

Yamaha Pacifica is a more than viable alternative to a Mexi IMO.
 
I'm confused by the 'standard vs US' thing. I have a '95 US standard. Does that mean that it's not as good as a standard, or does it means it not as good as a US one? Or.. does it mean it's better than a standard, or does it mean it's better than a US one? What does it all mean??? :confused:

Not that I care, I love my strat, it's awesome.
 
legionserial said:
I'm confused by the 'standard vs US' thing. I have a '95 US standard. Does that mean that it's not as good as a standard, or does it means it not as good as a US one? Or.. does it mean it's better than a standard, or does it mean it's better than a US one? What does it all mean??? :confused:

Not that I care, I love my strat, it's awesome.
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I'm not personally convinced that simply buying a US made strat absolutely garuntees that you'll have a superior ax.
It always comes down to finding a guitar that meshes with you ..... if you love it .... then it's a great guitar for you.
I often use flat out cheapos although since I've had my Stinnett I'm pretty fixated on that guitar.
But basically, in my opinion a guitar is so personal I think you have to put your hands on it and play it to know.
I wouldn't choose a git simply based on a general idea like 'he US ones are the best'
 
agreed with above. i love love love my parker P-42 pro, and that things like made in korea or something. it has two flaws: 14th fret is a bit raised so the high E gets stuck under it when i bend like crazy, and the coil tap doesn't work for the bridge humbucker....other than that, i don't even care. i love that guitar; it plays so well, sounds so thick for being a 7lb small body guitar, and i love it as much as my USA strat!
 
I have three Strats that I play on a regular basis. A '68 Cream finish Strat (when the only options were the finish and fretboard), a '91 MIM Strat with a 7.25" radius that I can bend into the neighbor's yard and it stays in tune pretty well. This one has been severely tricked out (or modified if you wish?) and it's my beater, it looks like hell, but I love the thing. Lastly is an '08 American Standard with the dual flex truss rod in Blizzard Pearl that has the coolest chimey Fendery tone I've ever heard.

So each one has different pups and it's own character (so to speak) but I like each one for what it is and what the others don't do...if that makes any sense?
 
Lt. Bob said:
I wouldn't choose a git simply based on a general idea like 'he US ones are the best'
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Nah, nor would I. It was kinda a joke about the 'US vs standard' question because it doesn't make any sense.

I love my US strat but I got it before I knew anything about the difference in country of manufacturing. At the time I worked in big a guitar shop that had a few million pounds worth of guitars on display, so I tried out a whole bunch of different ones and decided I liked that one best.

The best way to choose a guitar is to blindfold yourself and have people hand them to you to try out one after the other without knowing what they are.
 
legionserial said:
The best way to choose a guitar is to blindfold yourself and have people hand them to you to try out one after the other without knowing what they are.
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man, that's true. No preconceived ideas impacting your judgement.
 
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legionserial said:
I'm confused by the 'standard vs US' thing. I have a '95 US standard. Does that mean that it's not as good as a standard, or does it means it not as good as a US one? Or.. does it mean it's better than a standard, or does it mean it's better than a US one? What does it all mean??? :confused:

Not that I care, I love my strat, it's awesome.
Click to expand...

I guess 'Standard' refers to Mexis but I use 'US standard' to distinguish between the Specials, Highway 1s and Deluxe variations - all US made, but all different. It's confusing and I think Fender have become more like Gibson in this regard.
 
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