What is your favorite model/year Stratocaster?

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ido1957

ido1957

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I had a 70's hardtail that was stolen but it was awesome for sustain (a strat??) and tone. My '89 EC Strat is as good so that's my fave right now.... :D
 
Wish I could afford the vintage gear ! I bought a Roadworn about 1.5 yrs ago... got it set up by Cargills - used to be Tommy Emmanuel's guitar tech.... she's awesome, very happy.
 
i like my '89 USA strat plus (the ones that came stock with the wilkinson roller nut and the lace sensors)..had her since like '03
 
ZoSo58LP said:
i like my '89 USA strat plus (the ones that came stock with the wilkinson roller nut and the lace sensors)..had her since like '03
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I'm right there with you man! Stays in tune great! Lace sensors sound amazing!
 
We should call this the Lace Sensor thread - my Strat has 3 GOld Lace Sensors!
 
I like Strats and have owned a few (and sold). But I recently have aquired an 81 Fender Lead and an 83 Fender Bullet (both USA models) and I just love them. The Bullet is a Strat with a Tele neck. The Fender Lead is a monster of a guitar. Has one humbucker in the bridge position, looks like shit, but is the best playing Fender I have ever played. I bought them to resell, but after setting them up, I just cant sell them. I may part with the Bullet if the offer was right. But the Lead I will pass down to my kids. Its a keeper. Here is the Lead I and the Bullet
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To me if it doesn't have three single coils and a whammy it's not really a Strat,it's just Strat-like.I have a MIJ 60's style Strat but it's really hard for me to get excited about minute differences from model to model.I guess I'm not fond of those big 70's Strat heads.
 
Ah, Greg pretty much hates EVERYTHING.

I don't really have a favorite model/year- 1) I have not played enough different Strats, nor played them enough, to choose one over another, and 2) I am plenty pleased with the Strats and strat-like guitars (2000 USA standard lefty, 2001 Squier Standard lefty, Westone Spectrum SX,) so I have to not want to search anymore.

But, the features all three share (modern trem bridge, SSS- switchable on the Westone, 5-way switch, Texas-Special pups- similar on the Westone) are important to me in a Strat, so the SRV model would be my favorite- but I don't care to emulate someone else's look, so the "SRV" engraved on it is a real turn-off for me.
 
stevieb said:
Ah, Greg pretty much hates EVERYTHING.



But, the features all three share (modern trem bridge, SSS- switchable on the Westone, 5-way switch, Texas-Special pups- similar on the Westone) are important to me in a Strat, so the SRV model would be my favorite- but I don't care to emulate someone else's look, so the "SRV" engraved on it is a real turn-off for me.
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Yeah,I don't mind artist inspired/endorsed models,but I don't want anything more than a small logo on the headstock.

You can keep any relic model too,if I'm spending my money on something new I want it to be new.
 
Powerchords through the bridge p/u on a single-coil strat going into a maxxed out Marshall are cool. Otherwise, strats suck.
 
Originally Posted by stevieb
Ah, Greg pretty much hates EVERYTHING.


Greg_L said:
Nope, just strats.
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I do know that you also hate Teles-they are an aquired taste tho...
Greg loves punk rock, he's from Texas and he's Italian-and if he survived an Italian father he turned out okay......I remember the wrath of my Italian father!!:eek:

And my favorite Strat is my 1974 American sunburst-ain't no relic-it's just very worn in and played...
SunburstStrat-GFSpickup.jpg
 
Lol. I hate teles way more than I hate strats. I've never heard or played a tele that I've liked.

I have 2 strats, and I hate them both:

1) 1991 MIM SSS - this is actually the best strat there is. I got it in 93-94. I don't know what it is about the pickups in this guitar, but they're not as shrill as typical strat pickups. They almost sound like P-90's, and that's a good thing. It hums and buzzes like crazy though. It's never my go-to guitar, but it's good for a rhythm track opposite the SG. I don't use it for leads unless I'm doing something surfy.

2) 2000 Squire cheapo Strat - This thing is a useless piece of shit in it's stock configuration. I bought it for 50 bucks many years ago because I needed a guitar at the time and my Mexican was broken. It sounds so bad that it inspired me to buckle down and fix the Mexican and I haven't touched the Squire since.

Whenever I go to a guitar store, I always grab a USA strat or tele just to see if my mind can be changed. Nope. Still hate them. They feel so cheap and tinny. Gibsons wallop all over Fenders. I do like Jaguars and Mustangs and other oddball Fenders though.
 
I've always looked at the price tags on Strats and wondered what the hell you are actually paying for, Then I look at the headstock and remember....oh yeah....it says Fender Stratocaster on it.
 
I've always thought that if you're really serious about tone, you shouldn't have a neck held on with screws or a volume knob that gets in the way.
 
I prefer the 'Fender' scale but I don't care for wimpy single coils. I pretty much like my Stinnet best of all .............. 25 1/2" scale but some buckers to get a fat sound.

And yes, I have a strat ...... actually two strats. I use them for beach gigs because nothing can harm a strat. They do have that going for them ..... close to indestructable and if anything does get messed up you can just unbolt it and bolt a new one on.
 
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