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  #1  
Old 04-21-2008, 07:32 PM
sarNz sarNz is offline
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Default Fender Strats

What would you do?

1. Save up $1500 for a beautiful American made to last your whole life
2. Buy a much cheaper Mexican made that is still quite nice
3. Buy a cheap washburn from my friends (with 3 single coils), customize the body, then put strat pickups in it
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Old 04-21-2008, 07:36 PM
rolleiguy54 rolleiguy54 is offline
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Default New strat

4. Buy an American standard, can't list price but you can look it up

5. buy a used american deluxe
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Old 04-21-2008, 07:40 PM
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A year ago I had 3 USA Strats. One American Standard, One American Deluxe and One American Series. I sold all of them when I got my ESP Vintage Plus. Now I have 2 of the ESPs and could not be happier. Less than the $1500 and has all the vibe of a good Relic Custom shop piece with 110% of the tone.
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Old 04-21-2008, 07:54 PM
Seagull Lover Seagull Lover is offline
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4. Go Canadian and buy a Godin.
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Old 04-21-2008, 07:55 PM
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"Buy the best guitar that you can afford and don't worry about where it was made." That's the answer I got when I posed the same question in a guitar shop recently............
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Old 04-21-2008, 08:06 PM
sarNz sarNz is offline
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hmm, i checked out those ESP's, very cool. what makes the difference between a 'nice fender' and the other ones?

What separates the guitars so much to charge so much extra money?

If it's craftsmanship, I'd love to just set up my own guitar. Is it the wood? What's different about the neck on a fender and that on a squier? hardware? please enlighten me!
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Old 04-21-2008, 08:09 PM
dahn8 dahn8 is offline
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6. Or buy a G&L Legacy or S-500
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Old 04-21-2008, 08:09 PM
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In the Fender line, the price difference is primarily pickups, hardware and setup. The attention to the Frets and Nut get much better as you go up the line. The hardware is higher quality as you go up the line. Pickups get "better" as you go up the line. I prefer the sound of the Custom Shop Fender stuff but for the $$$ Seymour Duncan can get you a better vintage Fender sound than Fender these days.
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Old 04-21-2008, 08:14 PM
sarNz sarNz is offline
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hmm, i checked out those ESP's, very cool. what makes the difference between a 'nice fender' and the other ones?

What separates the guitars so much to charge so much extra money?

If it's craftsmanship, I'd love to just set up my own guitar. Is it the wood? What's different about the neck on a fender and that on a squier? hardware? please enlighten me!
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Old 04-21-2008, 08:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dahn8 View Post
6. Or buy a G&L Legacy or S-500

I agree 100%! G&L's are the best Fender style guitars on the market. My vote is S-500!

Sprinter
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Old 04-21-2008, 08:25 PM
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I got one of these several years back and it's been a phenominal guitar. The neck is absolutely perfect and it fat headstock looks so awesome. The massive duncan pick up is a BEAST. Check them out, they don't make them anymore but they're all over ebay. It's a Delonge sig model.

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Old 04-21-2008, 08:33 PM
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Taylor Daly Taylor Daly is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sarNz View Post
What would you do?

1. Save up $1500 for a beautiful American made to last your whole life
2. Buy a much cheaper Mexican made that is still quite nice
3. Buy a cheap washburn from my friends (with 3 single coils), customize the body, then put strat pickups in it
Save up and get a good '62 Reissue. That being said, I currently play a Classic Players MIM strat that outplayed all the '62RI at Daves Guitars. Replaced the pups and it rocks. The neck is perfect for me and fast...love it. Im still jonesin either an Oly White or Blue 62RI though
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Old 04-21-2008, 08:40 PM
Trumpeter Trumpeter is offline
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Plus 1 on G and L





DADDY LIKE!!
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  #14  
Old 04-21-2008, 10:07 PM
bluende bluende is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sarNz View Post
What would you do?
1. Save up $1500 for a beautiful American made to last your whole life
2. Buy a much cheaper Mexican made that is still quite nice
3. Buy a cheap washburn from my friends (with 3 single coils), customize the body, then put strat pickups in it
If you already know that you like Strats and have a good idea about which features (neck profile, fret size, pickup type, fretboard radius, body wood, etc) that you prefer, I'd highly recommend saving up for a high end Strat.

I essentially went through your steps 2 and 3 and numerous cheaper guitars while I was learning about what I like....and have finally ended up with a fantastic '59 Thin Skin strat. The Thin Skins come in a few different models, like '54, '59, '62, and are only sold by a few dealers....I think they are the closest thing to a custom shop Strat that you can get without paying Custom Shop Fender prices.

This Strat has eliminated GAS for sure, but as others have suggested, there are lots of good choices/brands out there and it's always fun to try out lots of guitars, esp if you're still narrowing down what you really want for features/sound.

Here's mine with my amps (6.5lb ash body, thin nitro finish, Custom 50s pickups, 9.5" radius, chunky C profile, slab rosewood board, 6105 (tall narrow) frets):
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  #15  
Old 04-22-2008, 04:44 AM
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As a long-time acoustic guitarist, venturing into Fender-land has been like going from a small convenience store to a Super Dooper Walmart with a dizzying array of options and possiblities. I read many posts on the Fender Forum concerning Strats going out of tune due to the action of the whammy bar against the strings and opted for a new American Standard Telecaster. I really love the guitar's tone, looks, and playability as well as its standard SKB case. It wasn't cheap but seemed reasonably priced compared to the price of decent acoustics....
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