Buying a Stratocaster

[stephenT]

My 2¢. There is no substitute for a stratocaster. No humbucker guitar will come close regardless of split coils or whatever.

Folks will tell you what they like/bought brand-wise, there are lot's of choices but only Fender makes Stratocasters (yes, plenty of knock-offs and boutique choices, again, not Strats).

If you're buying new, you might consider Sweetwater for their set ups or a smaller Fender dealer and ask that the instrument be set up or even PLEK-ed before it's sent out. There's a wide variation of the species in playability.

I'm only offering this link for the chuckle.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ster-nos-black

[Dirk Hofman]

OK, I should have known the good and bad side of posting here. Great information and enthusiasm! Thank you! A bunch of reasons why expensive ones are a good choice, and of course you gave me electric GAS! Y'all can piss off! Hey, maybe Electric GAS is my band name?

@FrankHudson, thanks, and I'd love to try neck shapes, but during this time I'm not going to be going to music stores and touching a bunch of guitars. Probably another good argument for keeping the cost down in my initial foray into electric. I'm pretty flexible with acoustic necks so I should be fine.

@jdto thanks for the details in the finishes!

@stevecuss I'm definitely not hung up on Gilmour or anyone, it's just a solo I started working on with my D-28 Authentic and doing the bends made me want to get an electric. A strat just seemed like a pretty versatile and comfortable classic choice. I have an acoustic amp which will work for starters, though it won't deal with distortion. I'll use it to start and figure out the amp bit later. Mostly I'll be using headphones to keep the noise at a minimum in the home.

@KevWind, that PRS looks awesome, and I watched a few videos of it compared to a Les Paul and a Strat. Might be exactly the right guitar, sonically and ergonomically. Love where it fits in the tone department. Yours is gorgeous.

@YamahaGuy, that does look like a great spec, thank you very much for the suggestion! I'm not sure I'm in love with the look of it versus a Strat, and yes, I'm that shallow.

@Rev Roy, beautiful guitar! Congrats, and I hope you enjoy it very much.

@6L6 I will take a look at those models as well. I'm not decided yet. Especially after hearing from all you GAS-makers!

@TJChapin I'm seeing the Player series still. I'll look at the Venturas, but haven't run across them in my search yet.

@Ian111 thanks, great info and details! I'm not getting the guitar for a song or artist, I just think it's a good all 'round and versatile guitar. If there are better ones I'm all ears!

@stephenT, I was wondering about setup, I usually buy from my local shop and get setups there, so really appreciate those comments. On the Gilmour sig model, that looks like tremendous bang for the buck. Does it come with a case?

Y'all are great, thanks so much for the help.

[Ian111]

The Player Strat is a great guitar in HSS format. If you like to play with lots of gain (classic rock riffs) it’s a good combination of of classic Fender sparkle (surf to SRV blues) and heavy humbucker stomp that won’t embarrass you in front of your friend with a Les Paul or SG. The American Strats will give you a more traditional cleaner Strat tone but the Player series will be more than acceptable except for the most discerning ears.

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

The Player Series is a great guitar. You won't have any issues with that. Squier Classic Vibe Strats are very nice and well respected and are about half the price.



You should factor getting a nice amp as well which could set you back a few hundred.



BTW: Comfortably Numb is a great solo. I learned it back in the late '80s.

It’s a classic solo (I learned it back in the ‘80s too!). I love the first solo in D major too, makes a nice preview to the main B minor solo later.

[M Sarad]

I own a Chinese Squire Strat with a Fender 50th Anniversary sticker on it, a Sunburst MIM Strat from 2005 with the Duncan Everything Axe Pickups, and a Brondel Strat with a Tele pickup in the bridge position.

I have no complaints.

[wrathfuldeity]

Just another thing to be mindful of, since you are coming off a D28. Pay attention to the nut width. I've always preferred a 1.75" width from my D35 days. So ended up with a mia Peavey Predator for cheap and have heavily modded to spec'd for my preferences of pu's and such. My #1 and think for moi, I like it better than a CS at a fraction of the price.

[Tracerbullet]

I’ve got a couple of Fenders. They are all a little different. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. I’ve got Classic Vibe. Limited edition Player. I enjoy playing them all. Spend the money and get a good amp. It makes all the difference. Recommend a Princeton reverb but they can be speedy. Also have a Mustang 3.
Have fun. You think GAS exists now....................

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Right on, thanks RP!
Good read, thanks!

Now for the next one, HSS or SSS? I'm thinking HSS as I do like to rock.

Hey Dirk, an HSS gives flexibility and it's worth considering. Depending upon the humbucker you put in you can get excellent tones from metal to hard rock to rock. Iron Maiden has used Fender Strats throughout their entire 40 year career (HSH).

I like a single coil in the neck because instead of the humbucker because it has such great tone (i.e. Stevie Ray Vaughan). The one thing you lose with a humbucker in the bridge though is you lose position #2 on the 5 way switch, which is the combination of the bridge and middle humbucker. That's what Mark Knopfler used on Sultans of Swing. You could wire the humbucker with a coil split but I don't think you'd get quite the same tone.

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Hey Dirk, an HSS gives flexibility and it's worth considering. Depending upon the humbucker you put in you can get excellent tones from metal to hard rock to rock. Iron Maiden has used Fender Strats throughout their entire 40 year career (HSH).

I like a single coil in the neck because instead of the humbucker because it has such great tone (i.e. Stevie Ray Vaughan). The one thing you lose with a humbucker in the bridge though is you lose position #2 on the 5 way switch, which is the combination of the bridge and middle humbucker. That's what Mark Knopfler used on Sultans of Swing. You could wire the humbucker with a coil split but I don't think you'd get quite the same tone.

Talk about ironic timing: Just before I read your post I’d just put that album on the record deck, side 2 - which starts with Sultans of Swing!

Dire Straits and Pink Floyd (especially Wish You Were Here) were my inspiration on lead guitar and why I always wanted a Strat!

I always enjoyed the second album, Communiqué, more though, especially Once Upon a Time in the West and News; great album.

[3notes]

Sultans of Swing ..... Electric guitar. All. The. Way. ..... Love it.!!

I saw Dire Straights live back in the 80's. Memorable.

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Just spray it down with lysol and let it sit outside for 3 days.

Seriously though, if your seriously considering a US made Strat or say the $1500 -$3000 range and if you are not dead certain you locked into a Fender Strat only. I would offer there are some very worthwhile alternatives to Fender. Hear me out.

I went through this 3 1/2 years ago and had fully intended to get a Fender Strat or perhaps a Tele (given I had not touched and electric for some 47 years) I realized ,,,"I did not know what I did not know"

Now the good news bad news, is (being pre-corona) I spent some 3-4 months going to guitar shops all over the grater Denver Metro area playing everything I could get hands on from $1000 to about $2500 and low and behold I ended up buying a PRS CE 24 (which interesting enough has and overall shape more like an LP ) but with a bolt on neck and split coils. has a lot of Fender type spank

If it were me and I were you And you can wait (because of distancing)

I would consider two things,, actually playing some US Fender's (before purchase) as well as PRS CE 24 and The Silver Sky. And I would plan a trip to the Kiesel Factory (don't know where you are from Escondido) and check out their Strat style offerings

https://www.kieselguitars.com/customshop/

Photo of my first venture back into electric.... BE FOREWARNED -- GAS in the electric realm is double the economic hit !!! there are guitars and there are amps

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

Best bang for the buck, go for a 6 series Yamaha Pacifica. Please look at their specs before dismissing the idea. The 611 has a hardtail with locking tuners, Seymour Duncan P90 and Humbucker, and Tusq nut and saddles. The 612 has Seymour Duncan pickups HSS, locking tuners and a great tremolo system. These are essentially already hot rodded guitars for the price of a MIM strat.

Don't you hate it when you post that you're interested in buying a particular brand/model guitar, and then people try to tell you that other ones are better?

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by pieterh

Talk about ironic timing: Just before I read your post I’d just put that album on the record deck, side 2 - which starts with Sultans of Swing!

Dire Straits and Pink Floyd (especially Wish You Were Here) were my inspiration on lead guitar and why I always wanted a Strat!

I always enjoyed the second album, Communiqué, more though, especially Once Upon a Time in the West and News; great album.

Hey Pieter, yes, I remember learning Sultans of Swing in the late '80s, same as Wish you were Here (I still have that cassette). I was never a Strat player though ... even though I have three, lol. I did play my HSS last night though.

[YamahaGuy]

Originally Posted by Jerry D

Don't you hate it when you post that you're interested in buying a particular brand/model guitar, and then people try to tell you that other ones are better?

The OP did ask for "subjective thoughts."

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

The OP did ask for "subjective thoughts."

I am all for the feedback. I don't know much about electric and have enjoyed perusing the suggestions people have made! Also been fun finding some new YouTube channels with good electric content and comparisons. Darrel Braun's stuff has been helpful, and if folks have good YouTube electric recommendations I'm definitely interested.

Guitar GAS. Amp GAS. Pointless as mostly I'm going to play in my home. But I've resisted to this point.

[Steel and wood]

Just a thought, put a hum bucker in the bridge of your Strat and you lose that treble single coil tone that a lot of players use, particularly for their lead lines. (Can get a lot of country tones using the bridge pickup also).

I also haven't picked up a Stratocaster with a neck shape that wasn't comfortable and felt good in the hand. (No matter the subtle differences between guitar versions). In fact the only Fender I didn't feel comfortable playing was a Fender Custom Shop heavy relic Telecaster that I took off the wall at my local music shop that had a baseball bat size neck that would have taken some getting used to.

Brand new or second hand, MIM Stratocasters are fantastic guitars. (Not that much cheaper than their USA counterparts these days though).

Good luck!