MIM Strat

[Livingston]

Beautiful guitar! Congratulations!

I'm not much of a Strat person so no suggestions on upgrades. In fact, I've owned 2 x Strats (actually 1 x Strat and 1 x Strat-type) in the past - an American Standard and a G&L Tribute Legacy. I bonded more with Tele style guitars and eventually sold the Strat/Strat-style guitars.

Recently, I've been hankerin' for another Strat...not sure why. A couple weeks ago, I purchased a Players Series Strat which I believe is the next generation MIM.

I just received it last week so haven't even put on a new set of strings yet. Mine is configured like yours - 2 x single coils and 1 x humbucker in the bridge position.

I would have preferred a pau ferro or rosewood fret board but I happened to see a demo selling for much less than new and it happened to have a maple fretboard. My first mod will be to swap out the neck. I've ordered a roasted maple neck with pau ferro fretboard from Warmoth.

I'm not a huge fan of the tremolo bridge. I think I'd prefer a hardtail, but I guess I'll give it some time before modifying the bridge.

Anyways, congratulations and hope you enjoy your new axe!

[sloar]

Thanks, and also thanks for all the great advise from everyone.

[Chickee]

Beautiful guitar! You chose a good looking strat. I like that the rosewood fretboard is oh so dark, almost black in that picture. You can really tell the difference now from the pau ferro boards fender is putting on everything except their really expensive series of guitars.
I wish you much luck with your new rig.

[Mark L]

What Frank Hudson wrote above is excellent advice.

Several years ago I acquired a used MIM strat to give to my niece. I set it up easily according to Fender’s instructions. The thing that really made a difference was adjusting the pickup heights, which is incredibly easy and makes a huge difference. Makes me wonder how many pickups are changed out based on a sound that has not been optimized via height adjustment.

Also, you definitely need to get a decent amp for the guitar to sound right. Fender Blues Junior and Pro Junior are places to start, and may cost you more than the guitar, even used. They function together as a unit, almost needless to say. Usually true: a good amp makes an average guitar sound way better than a good guitar sounds through a so so amp.

Best wishes and have some fun!

[perttime]

Originally Posted by Livingston

...
I'm not a huge fan of the tremolo bridge. I think I'd prefer a hardtail, but I guess I'll give it some time before modifying the bridge.
...

Blocking the "trem" is something that many like to do. A "real" hardtail strat is a guitar that was never routed for a "trem": there's a simple bridge on top of the wood, and the strings go through the body, like on a Telecaster. (or the bridge might be a "top loader" with no need to go through the body)