I notice that a lot of people use strats or teles, and a lot of people say you need at least one strat in your collection, but i notice most people have just one or 2 amongst a much larger collection of humbucking guitars, and most (aside of the obvious SRV, Clapton, Hendrix) world famous guitarists are primarily known for playing gibsons or, in a lot of cases, superstrats. Also whenever fender does video demos they never get beyond clean or that slightly broken up sound. So the question is :

How many people use a typical (ie non humbucking - we'll allow stacked singlecoils) strat for everything?

How many use it when the tone requires it?

Does the srtrat really have a place in the world of rock or will it always be primarily a blues/funk/indie/pop guitar?

so as people don't get annoyed at any supposed generalisation:

when i see most i mean MOST, not all other beyond those three - and i'm talking really famous guitarists as in popular/household names...not musician's musicians like EJ who only generally appeal to guitarists and not known generally beyond that circle

I use my Telecaster for everything.

98% of playing is clean, a wide variety of genres, so a Mosrite or Strat or Jazzmaster with singles is a lovely experience. (often tamed by an Electro-Harmonix Hum De-Bugger)

Sometimes even good double coils sound too thick and verge on indistinct compared to an excellent single. (Remember the old Gibson ad with the guy going on stage with a flat top? "No distortion to cover your a**"?

My Strat covers everything. I don't need anything else, period.

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You dig?

I love my strat. it can be played in any musical situation.

I own other guitars, and I don't actually have a brand hate on for the other big brands. but I tend to use my favorite strat all the time, the others tend to sit for long periods of time, sometimes years, and over a decade for one.(and it was my main before the strat, it went a 15 year stretch between plays.)

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I use My J Bass For everything.

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My Baby, 2008 Standard American Jazz Bass

I had an old fake Beatles bass. It was super cheap, damaged beyond any repair as well. I had a friend convinced it was the real thing, an old Hofner.
he was a Beatles fanatic. So i used what was left of it to shovel snow when he would come over. he was near tears, til one of my roommates spoiled the joke.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

exactly

i use mine as a coffee table

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Paddle faster! I hear banjo music!

I use my Squier for everything I play because with the new multi effects amps and computer software you can make it sound like anything you want.

Also you forgot that it plays with two pickups so it has a humbucker as well.

Although I have recorded and sent demos on it I prefer to use the Seymour Duncans on my homemade strat because the notes sound through heavy distortion better. But it's not a super strat either just Duc Buckers and Hot Rails. I plan on building another one and it will also be a strat.

yeah but that defies the object of this discussion - i'm talking about standard traditional singlecoil fenders, not something you've souped up with humbuckers

I don't play professionally, but I use my American Deluxe Strat with three single coils for everything from classical to Motley Crue. I must admit, I don't play in front of an audience, and for the most part I play classic rock/blues based music. Nonetheless, I don't see the strat/tele with-single-coils sound as being inappropriate for heavier music, at all.

I'm a Fender guy down to the bone. I've never owned a solidbody guitar that's not a Fender and they all have single coil pickups. The only humbuckers I have ever had were on two jazz boxes, one of which I still have and which I enjoy playing now and then when I get in that kind of mood.

Not that I have anything against any of those other guitars. I just love to play Fenders.

I use both my Strats for everything I play (right now I do not own anything else) and can switch between the two of them with any song.


RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head