Strat Advice: Professional or Original '50's (sorry to ask, but stores are closed)

[Mike Mandel]

Posted this in a bunch of places, might as well here.

3 months ago I bought an American Professional Tele, and I just love the neck. Running it through a new GTX100.

Had a Strat 20 years ago, and its sound and feel are now calling me back.

Stores are closed, so can't really try the different models and A/B them. Might have to just order online.

If anyone wants to weight in, would love any advice you can give me on these two models, and which one you prefer.

[raysachs]

Well, the necks are pretty different and the pickups are pretty different. The American Original 50s has a pretty beefy Soft V neck, the Am Pro has more of a deep C or a D. If you have a preference for one of those. They both have 9.5” fretboard radius and I think they both have narrow tall frets, so similar in that regard. The American Original has pretty classic vintage pickups. The Am Pro has pretty controversial pickups. I’ve never plugged one in, so I don’t know how they sound, but people seem to love em or hate em. I’ve seen a number of folks who either got rid of the guitar or swapped out the pickups. It’s a pretty modern design and they just don’t seem to work for some people.

I’d personally buy an AO50s over an AmPro, but that’s just based on my preferences. I love fat V necks and I pretty much always love classic vintage pickups. I played an American Pro unplugged in a shop and thought it played quite well - I liked the neck but my preference is a v neck on a strat... Hard to know without playing them. The Am Pro is a few hundred dollars cheaper. The AO50 is maybe a safer choice, but I have no idea what you’d prefer...

-Ray

[mercy]

Ive had both designs and its no contest for me, strats rule. Any kind