Stratocaster vs. Taylor Solidbody
 

Looking for some opinions and/or comparisons of a Fender Strat (I like the Jeff Beck model) or a Taylor Solidbody.

I have never played electric and looking to venture into that arena.

Are the guitars comparable? Pros or cons of either?

I live in a pretty rural area of WA so a side by side is not really feasible.

I did do a search and saw a number of threads discussing the Strat but did not find one comparing the two.

Thanks again for any insight.

I have the Strat Pro (as close as the Jeff Beck Model) and I had a Taylor Solid Body before they came out with the single coils. I love the sound of a great Strat. My T3 (with the HD Pickups) in single coil mode is very strat like, but it is hard to beat the whole strat package for sound. I think they are different enough...and it sure seems taylors can be picked up used for some serious deals.

Where is WA do you live.....I am on the "Wet side" of the cascades in Edmonds.

Thanks Matt. Live in Poulsbo so an hour or so to Seattle/Edmonds via ferry.

Also looking at the T-3 with Bigsby as an all around guitar. I must say you have a very impressive collection of guitars. In addition to its beauty, how do you like the T-3/B?

I am really liking it...it has the vintage Alnico pickups, and they are different than the HD pickups. I have only had the T3/B a couple of days. I really like having a vibrato and the Bigsby is nice. If you ever get over here...let me know. My business is right up the hill from the Edmonds ferry and i have an amp at work!

I got the T3 instead of a Gibson 335. a fellow bandmate has a nice vintage Es335 and I hope to compare my T3's to his set up soon.

Thanks on the collection....sold a few recently and bought a few more. I enjoy the guitars!

matt

I have a Custom Shop Strat and a Taylor SB, as well as a couple of Parkers, a Tele, a Gibson LP, and a couple of Alembics. I think a Strat is an excellent first choice for an electric guitar. Although the easiest electric in the world to play is a Parker, especially those prior to around 2004, before Ken Parker left.

The Taylor plays/feels like their acoustic guitars. Their pups are proprietary, not better or worse, just different than pups on other electrics (my pups are the mini HBs). I like having it but wouldn't want it to be my only electric.

I have tried to warm up to the T3s and T5s. They are just not my "cup-o-tea".

Hey Morty - what kind of music do you enjoy listening to? To simplify things, I think it starts with the Fender Strat sound (single coils / alder or ash) or the Gibson Les Paul sound (humbuckers / mahogany with maple cap). What do you listen to and what you would like to play will make this much easier.

yes, a LP is also an excellent choice for a first electric.

Wasnt that impressed by the feel and quality of the Taylor electric guitar and it didnt feel even slightly similar to a Strat. Id the say the Strat is probably more versatile with the addition of a humbucker in the bridge position and a two point trem.

Get a Strat. Arguably the most versatile electric on the market (if not a Tele). The Taylor is all right and I love their high end acoustics, but from my experience not very versatile and plays like an acoustic.

big mind change here

The Stratocaster has a 25.5" scale.
The Taylor Solid Body has a 24.875" scale.
The Gibson Les Paul has a 24.75" scale.

One feature that sets Taylor Solid Body apart is the easily interchangeable pickups which can be switched from a three single coil arrangement like the Stratocaster to the two full-size humbuckers like a Les Paul, to a three pickup mini-humbucker layout simply by swapping pick-guards.

https://www.taylorguitars.com/taylor...igs380x318.jpg

I found the two Taylor electric guitars I bought and quickly returned in rapid succession: a Taylor SolidBody Classic and a Taylor Solidbody Standard, sounded kind of sterile and non-musical compared to my Hamer Studio with its Seymour Duncan '59 pickups. Aside from the pickups, the two Taylors were well-crafted and played easily with beautifully polished frets that enabled easy, butter-smooth vibratos.

Regards,

SpruceTop

I might as well chime in here. I own both. I have a Deluxe American Strat VG and the Taylor Solid body classic with the noiseless single coils. Both play well. My Strat has a maple neck and fingerboard and I love it. The Taylor has a rosewood fingerboard and its OK too. Better more definitive tones come from the Taylor with those single coils, much more so than the Strat. As for playability, both play well, however I disagree with some who mentioned the Taylor solidbody plays like an acoustic.....far from it! I own a Taylor GA8es acoustic and the solid body plays nothing like it. The solidbody is far easier to play and responds just like the strat. It is silky smooth.

With the various pickup combinations available and the choice now with the new trem. option. The Taylor will be more versatile in terms of tone and ease of changing out the pickups. Its plug and play. No, its not a stratocaster, but it is one hell of a guitar.

My last remark is this. You will not be disappointed with either.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s..._2546Large.jpg

OH, just remembered this. Some of you who thought the neck played like an acoustic...... they did change the neck in 2007 on the Solid body Classic from a 15" radius to the current 12" radius. I know I tried the Solid body when it first came out, and hated, I mean hated the neck, it was too thin and the low and high e strings easily slid off the fret board. After the neck redesign, that's when I fell in love again.

I own both. An Eric Clpaton Sig strat and one of the new double cutaway Taylor SB's (got it at a guitar show 2 months ago, it was a proto). Love my strat, but I think the Taylor is definitely better/ more versatile overall. The interchangeable pick guards are awesome. I have a Humbucker set-up and Humbucker -single-single set-up. Also for me the Taylor has the best action and playability I have ever played(warning: I am only an intermediate- low end advanced player). On a side note my buddy who is a pro bought a proto too. His main guitar is an awesome Gibson custom LP. He says the Taylor is the best playing giuitar (referring to action and feel) he has ever played. He goes for the Taylor as his everyday guitar. I am glad I have both, but if I had to sell one I would keep the Taylor. Just make sure you play both before you buy...

How about those Mav's...

Oh here is a picture:

http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/y...boaa/RHHS1.jpg