Need your advice...

[smpetty]

I sold my electric equipment some years ago... but I keep listening to Tom Johnston, SRV, Jimmy Page, Warren Haynes, David Gilmour, Nirvana and Ritchie Blackmore and wanting to play along... again. I think that I'll go with a Strat. So...

1) What Fender Stratocaster model(s) do you recommend? I love the look and the specs of the SRV strat, but I want something that will give me a huge range of tone because I'm only going to have one electric setup to cover a huge range of old music...

2) What small amp should I consider? I will use it only at home so I don't need a ton of watts and I'd like it to have headphone outputs. I LOVE the tube amp sound and I HATE do-it-all digital amps like the Line6 stuff. My favorite old amp was my Fender Princeton... I miss it a lot. Again I want something that will give me a huge range of tone because I'm only going to have one electric setup to cover a huge range of old music...

3) How can I get that Warren Haynes/Gov't Mule tone out of a Strat?

Any other ideas or suggestions?

I kept most of my old pedals... so I'm good to go with effects and such.

Thanks much in advance,

Scott

[Scriptor]

Originally Posted by smpetty

I sold my electric equipment some years ago...

Scott,

I was in the same boat as you (that's why it was so crowded) a few years ago. No electric guitars or assessories for over 20 years. I gradually got back in. First a Tele then a Strat, pedals and a couple of amps.

I'll share what I did in hopes it might help.

For amps, I started out with a Fender Super Champ XD (which I still have). Great little amp for home use. More than plenty of volume for home and good tube tone. Pretty no frills although it has some effects and amp modeling that I seldom use. If you could find one of these (they are discontinued in favor of an upgraded model but I still see new ones out there; supply is dwindling; used ones you should also be able to find) it would be a good choice IMO. But there are certainly other options in small, simple tube amps.

My Tele is a MIM Deluxe Blackout (3 pickups; 5-way switch). I like it a lot. But since I cut my teeth on a Strat, I thought I wanted one of those. Since I already had a Tele, I considered that I wanted a Strat with verstility so I went wiht the HSS (American Deluxe). This was quite some steps up from what I thought was reasonable for my budget, but I reallly enjoy this guitar. It has a humbucker in the bridge position and an S1 switch for 5 additional variances of tones; certainly gives more versatility than a regular Strat (but I cannot argue with the the classic 3 single coil Strats; signature for sure). Find a shop where you can try out all the Strat personalities and see which one speaks to your needs. No substitute for test driving.

Then I spent some time (and too much money) building a pedal board. I have just recently felt that I am at a place of contentment with what I have and am getting the tone and quality that fit my playing style.

(forgot to mention that I picked up a Fender DRRI for a great price along the way; it is way more amp than I need for home use but I have hopes to be playing out one of these days before I get too old and it will fit that purpose; it sure sounds great and inspires more playing).

Good luck with your re-entry into the world of electric. Keep a close watch on your wallet; if you are like me, things can get a little out of control ... "this is all I need; wait, but what about ... " ...

[Warren Gilmour]

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3) How can I get that Warren Haynes/Gov't Mule tone out of a Strat? 


As a fellow strat player (MIM HSS) I'm curious on this too! Warren is strictly a Gibson guy (Les Pauls mainly with Mule) and mainly ES 335's on his new solo stuff (which is amazing BTW). I've been getting some pretty cool sounds (more his solo e335 stuff) from Guitar Rig 3...which is an amp modeling software.

[jomaynor]

I agree that the HSS configuration (this has a humbucker in the bridge position) is ideal for what you want in a Strat.

For amps, unfortunately tube amps and headphone jacks aren't seen together, although there may be some exceptions that I'm unaware of. I suppose this has to do with the type of load that a headphone jack presents.

The Fender Mustang I or II and the Vox Pathfinder are good sounding solid-state bedroom amps that have headphone jacks.

If you want a tube amp, and can live without the headphone jack, the new all-tube Fender Super Champ X2 is my recommendation. Either that, or the previous model, if you can find one - the tube output Super Champ XD, which is a very good sounding amp.

[guitararmy]

This strat looks versatile...
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guita...lectric-guitar

I'm using a Roland Cube 30x at home. The Fender Mustang series of amps looks nice too. Another option would be getting a no-frills amp and a multi-effects unit. I use a Line 6 Pod XT Live at church....

[mikealpine]

I hope I'm not out of line with this, because I am also new to electric guitars and absolutely do NOT have the experience or expertise to recommend specific models or even know particular guitarists' musical styles, but I just bought a very cool guitar from Line 6 called the Variax JTV, and mine is the 69 model (similar to a Strat shape - there is one that is shaped like a Les Paul and another shaped like some kind of Ibanez). This thing is a technological wonder and is a "modeling" guitar. I wasn't familiar with this before yesterday and was so impressed, I bought it today (good mom's day discounts at the larger stores). It has extremely close approximations of various guitars, such as Strat, Tele, Les Paul, some kind of jazz guitar(s) and acoustics (including a 12-string!). On its own, it sounded great too, with the model I chose sounding rather Strat-like. I don't know your budget, but this really is worth looking at, IMO.

By the way, I was looking at the Blackout Deluxe, Tele Acoustasonic, Tele Nashville Power and others that can sound like more than one guitar.

Just wanted to throw this out there as I am really excited...I literally just picked it up and can't wait to get home!!

Mike

[terrapin]

Getting a Warren Haynes tone out of a Strat is a stretch, but you can probably come sort of close. First I would recommend that the Strat have a Humbucker pickup in both the neck and bridge positions. The typical H-S-S Strat will not really work as you need to get the more "woody" sound that comes from a neck pickup.

As far as amps, Warren plays MOSTLY Marshalls and recently PRS amps. I would say look for something with EL34 power tubes. DEFINITELY NOT El84's and probably not 6V6's. A Princeton Reverb is a fabulous amp, but won't get the W. Haynes sound.

Then, get a medium to high gain OD pedal. NOT a distortion pedal as you want the warmth and openness of tube-like OD not distortion or fuzz.

[blue]

As you know, you can't do it all with any one guitar. what's your most favorite tone? If it's SRV/Buddy guy type stuff, a strat is the way to go.

Pair that with an older Fender Blackface and you have that one side of the blues covered. Even Robert Cray, which is NOT my cup of tea. As long as you avoid the Deluxe reverb it won't be that expensive. And Deluxes are only expensive because their size is so perfect for so many people. They are popular because they are almost never too much amp. I'm with you. Blackface or older. Silverface if I have to as long as the circuit isn't too changed. A bandmaster is always a great choice, and always cheaper than a Bassman (Thanks Brian Setzer! ). If it's you in your basement black face vibrochamp is the best value in the vintage guitar gear market and one HECK of an amp!!!! I play mostly through my early silverface champ, which has the same circuit as the blackface, but is much less attractive. The upside is it's also $100 to $200 cheaper because most don't realize the circuit is unchanged. And it's ugly. Did I mention it's ugly?

I'm not a gibson blues sound kind of guy. So I can't really help you there. That SRV style (he didn't invent it, but if you say SRV style everybody knows what you mean) where you saw across the strings no matter what you're playing just can't (my opinion) be done on a Gibson and sound good. You can get all kinds of awesome sounds out of a Gibson you can't get out of a strat too. Just not that one IMO.

As to strat model, don't sweat it. I do prefer the vintage style bridge for a fatter tone. But after that, you might as well pick based on neck shape. I love both the 57 and 62 AVRIs. I also think the Robin Trower sig is a real sleeper if you can deal with the 70's headstock. Often a great price on those for a great guitar. I have too much love for the single coil bridge pickup by itself to be able to live with an HSS.

Just personal preferences.

[smpetty]

Thanks Scripto! I have a Tele that I built many years ago... it was never properly grounded and used to occasionally electrocute me I think that I'll get a Strat and at some point rework the electronics on the Tele (which is otherwise quite nice).

The Fender Super Champ sounds like a good option... I'll see if I can hunt one down.

Thanks again,

Scott

Originally Posted by Scriptor

Scott,

I was in the same boat as you (that's why it was so crowded) a few years ago. No electric guitars or assessories for over 20 years. I gradually got back in. First a Tele then a Strat, pedals and a couple of amps.

I'll share what I did in hopes it might help.

For amps, I started out with a Fender Super Champ XD (which I still have). Great little amp for home use. More than plenty of volume for home and good tube tone. Pretty no frills although it has some effects and amp modeling that I seldom use. If you could find one of these (they are discontinued in favor of an upgraded model but I still see new ones out there; supply is dwindling; used ones you should also be able to find) it would be a good choice IMO. But there are certainly other options in small, simple tube amps.

My Tele is a MIM Deluxe Blackout (3 pickups; 5-way switch). I like it a lot. But since I cut my teeth on a Strat, I thought I wanted one of those. Since I already had a Tele, I considered that I wanted a Strat with verstility so I went wiht the HSS (American Deluxe). This was quite some steps up from what I thought was reasonable for my budget, but I reallly enjoy this guitar. It has a humbucker in the bridge position and an S1 switch for 5 additional variances of tones; certainly gives more versatility than a regular Strat (but I cannot argue with the the classic 3 single coil Strats; signature for sure). Find a shop where you can try out all the Strat personalities and see which one speaks to your needs. No substitute for test driving.

Then I spent some time (and too much money) building a pedal board. I have just recently felt that I am at a place of contentment with what I have and am getting the tone and quality that fit my playing style.

(forgot to mention that I picked up a Fender DRRI for a great price along the way; it is way more amp than I need for home use but I have hopes to be playing out one of these days before I get too old and it will fit that purpose; it sure sounds great and inspires more playing).

Good luck with your re-entry into the world of electric. Keep a close watch on your wallet; if you are like me, things can get a little out of control ... "this is all I need; wait, but what about ... " ...

[smpetty]

Originally Posted by Warren Gilmour

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3) How can I get that Warren Haynes/Gov't Mule tone out of a Strat? 


As a fellow strat player (MIM HSS) I'm curious on this too! Warren is strictly a Gibson guy (Les Pauls mainly with Mule) and mainly ES 335's on his new solo stuff (which is amazing BTW). I've been getting some pretty cool sounds (more his solo e335 stuff) from Guitar Rig 3...which is an amp modeling software.

Thanks Warren - what/how are you running your Strat into the amp modeling software? There wasn't such a thing the last time I was playing electrics

Scott

[smpetty]

Originally Posted by jomaynor

I agree that the HSS configuration (this has a humbucker in the bridge position) is ideal for what you want in a Strat.

For amps, unfortunately tube amps and headphone jacks aren't seen together, although there may be some exceptions that I'm unaware of. I suppose this has to do with the type of load that a headphone jack presents.

The Fender Mustang I or II and the Vox Pathfinder are good sounding solid-state bedroom amps that have headphone jacks.

If you want a tube amp, and can live without the headphone jack, the new all-tube Fender Super Champ X2 is my recommendation. Either that, or the previous model, if you can find one - the tube output Super Champ XD, which is a very good sounding amp.

Thanks jomaynor - and thanks again to Scriptor - that's two strong recommendations for the HSS and the Super Champ XD/X2. I'll put these at the top of my list. Are there big differences between the MIM and the American HSS Strats? Is it worth the extra money to go American?

Thanks again,

Scott

[smpetty]

Originally Posted by terrapin

Getting a Warren Haynes tone out of a Strat is a stretch, but you can probably come sort of close. First I would recommend that the Strat have a Humbucker pickup in both the neck and bridge positions. The typical H-S-S Strat will not really work as you need to get the more "woody" sound that comes from a neck pickup.

As far as amps, Warren plays MOSTLY Marshalls and recently PRS amps. I would say look for something with EL34 power tubes. DEFINITELY NOT El84's and probably not 6V6's. A Princeton Reverb is a fabulous amp, but won't get the W. Haynes sound.

Then, get a medium to high gain OD pedal. NOT a distortion pedal as you want the warmth and openness of tube-like OD not distortion or fuzz.

Perfect - thanks Terrapin.... I've got some homework to do

Scott

[Scriptor]

Originally Posted by smpetty

Are there big differences between the MIM and the American HSS Strats? Is it worth the extra money to go American?

Thanks again,

Scott

Yes. There are differences. However, I'll say after having both my MIM Deluxe Blackout Tele and AmDlx HSS Strat for a good while now, I find myself playing the Tele more. I think the 3 pickups and 5-way switch on the Tele give it some Strat-like qualities while retaining the classic Tele personality. A pretty good axe for a guy like me who likes both.

[smpetty]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

I hope I'm not out of line with this, because I am also new to electric guitars and absolutely do NOT have the experience or expertise to recommend specific models or even know particular guitarists' musical styles, but I just bought a very cool guitar from Line 6 called the Variax JTV, and mine is the 69 model (similar to a Strat shape - there is one that is shaped like a Les Paul and another shaped like some kind of Ibanez). This thing is a technological wonder and is a "modeling" guitar. I wasn't familiar with this before yesterday and was so impressed, I bought it today (good mom's day discounts at the larger stores). It has extremely close approximations of various guitars, such as Strat, Tele, Les Paul, some kind of jazz guitar(s) and acoustics (including a 12-string!). On its own, it sounded great too, with the model I chose sounding rather Strat-like. I don't know your budget, but this really is worth looking at, IMO.

By the way, I was looking at the Blackout Deluxe, Tele Acoustasonic, Tele Nashville Power and others that can sound like more than one guitar.

Just wanted to throw this out there as I am really excited...I literally just picked it up and can't wait to get home!!

Mike

Thanks Mike - the Variax guitars are very cool and Line6 does some unique things with their electronics. I'd like something simpler... fewer bells and whistles... for now. The Variax sure does give you a ton of tones in one package!

Scott

[mikealpine]

No problem. I wanted something simpler too, but for the money (and my limited knowledge), I just want to turn a dial and have the sound I want. This thing does that. I'm also not as up on specific artists and the tones they get, and being able to mix with amps and such; I just want to get close, so again, for the money I feel like I bought at least 5 guitars.

However you do it, good luck with it and enioy!!