Hi everyone, I have created a profile on this forum just for one question.

This may seem a bit strange but here goes..
I have been playing guitar fanatically for about 1.5 years not very long i know. I have always been a big fan of a lot of fender users: jimi hendrix, SRV, Eric Johnson, Clapton etc. (have adoration for page and bb king as well though)

I started out with a rubbish guitar that I don't even want to mention and about 6 months ago I wanted a new guitar.
My first guitar had been a stratocaster look a like, and I was going to look for another something in that same street or at least i thought..
Eventually i ended up with a Tokai les paul love rock model. Simply by it's sounding better than anything in my price range.

Even though I absolutely love my current guitar I keep looking ahead, I'm currently saving money to get myself a real top notch guitar and amp.

My question is..
Even though I mainly seem to like the sound of stratocasters when looking at my favorite guitar players. I have NEVER found a stratocaster that sounded well to my ears. If i had to pick a guitar today it would be a les paul or Es-335 respectively, which somehow I think is a shame.

Do you people think I may just have had the misfortune of not finding a good stratocaster yet? Or will it never really be my kind of guitar?

Welcome to the forums yendis,
Well as they say its in the Ear of the beholder... I didn't get from your post if you had actually played a Fender Stratocaster... if thats the case, get to the music store and check them out. If thats not the case, I dont know what to tell you, keep in mind that its all personal taste, if the Les Pauls sound better to you then stick with them. Its all cool

Good Luck in you quest

Bill

_________________
Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Hey Bill thank you for the quick reply,

I have never actually owned a real Fender Stratocaster but i have played them in stores, usually not more than 15 minutes though.

You're right with the fact that it's not bad nor do i feel bad to like for example a les paul more right now, but I just feel a bit weird about it because i do like the sound of a stratocaster when i hear stevie ray play it for example.

Hello Yendis,

Firstly Welcome to this Forum.

Sounds like you like the voice of a Humbucking pickup,
whereas, Strats for the most part sport single coil pups.
The are Strats out there with humbuckers so look around,
check out the Youtube, talk to you dealers. Frankly, from
my point of view the Stratocaster is the most comfortable
guitar and many pick-up combinations are out there.
Keep looking you may find the axe of your dreams.

Cheers.

Hello Yendis,

Here's a photo of a dual humbucker Stratocaster
I nicked off the web.

and a Squire model

Cheers.

What is it you like about the LP or the ES335? Not that there is anything wrong with either one. Like the others say, it's such a personal choice. You just have to play them until one speaks out to you. So nice to be looking for a new guitar - enjoy.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

Gridlok

yendis,

Welcome the the Forum. I am more of a Rocker but I am staring to get into Blues. I have 2 Stratocasters. I have a Fender Highway 1 and a Squier CV 60.

The Squier CV 60 is a Blues machine. Great tone.

My Highway 1 I have modified the stock SC bridge pickup with a Dimarzio Super Distortion. This is great for the Rocker side of my music, but it still gives a good Blusey sound as well. Just a matter pedal/amp settings.

You have mentioned 3 prominate Fender users in your list of favorite guitarists. A couple of these players have their own signature models. Maybe this is something to consider; play one of their models. I have also heard that the Kenny Wayne Sheppard model is pretty good for Blues.

You may even want to try this: Play a Fender Road House or a Lone Star Strat. When you play them, play them through a Fender Blues Jr. amp. These are about the Bluesiest stock guitars I can think of.

You may be just one of those people that like Humbuckers, try as many guitars with Humbucker pickups. They do offer a fatter sound than single coils.

If it is not the sound, but feel of the guitar you do not like, then the Les Paul body style/neck may be more your liking. You may even want to look into Gretch guitars as well.

Good luck with your search. Let us know how your research goes.

RK

I'm no expert, but it sounds like you are really discounting the role of the amplifier. The same guitar can sound very different through different kinds of amps.

Maybe you haven't heard a strat plugged into the proper rig to get the sound you like.

_________________

Welcome Yendis,sorry to hear your bad experience with Strats.In trying out a Strat you must keep in mind that the amp settings for a Strat are markedly different for a Strat than a Les Paul,if you play a Strat through an amp set at the levels you're used to it won't sound the same at all.I suggest that you try a Strat(a Real Fender)again and try different EQ settings and I am pretty sure you'll change your mind.Now a word of caution about Tokai Love Rocks,several years ago people found out that real Tokai Love Rocks were equal in quality and tone to a bona fide Gibson Les Paul,some even surpassing the Gibson.Unfortunately some unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers started producing pretty convincing Knock-offs of Love Rocks.My buddy recently bought what he thought was a Love Rock from a reputable dealer(the dealer was fooled too)when he ran the serial number through the Tokai Registry he discovered it was a very very good fake with great quality and tone but none the less not a Tokai.There are Les Paul and Love Rock dedicated web sites that should be able to help you verify the authenticity of your guitar.Good Luck.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Yendis,
You can't force it. If you aren't feeling any strats then it's just not meant to be. No shame. Find what works for you. The big picture is all guitars have pretty much the same components. Personally, I never found an SG that felt right. No big woop. I like AC/DC just fine but I'll most likely never buy an SG. Just cuz a lot of your favorite artist use a certain guitar doesn't mean you should HAVE to.

_________________
Live guitars: 2009 LTD Truckster, 1989 Strat Plus, 2001 Am Standard Strat, 1996 MIJ Jaguar, 2007 Gibson Explorer 76 reissue, 1999 Ibanez RG7621, LTD MH-301, LTD FM400, 1999 Jackson Kelly, Mystery Les Paul, Hamer Chaparel, Fender FM 62SCE A/E Mandolin

What I found interesting when I tried out my Am Standard Ash Strat in the store, when sold me on it wasn't so much the sound, (although it did sound good), but more the way it felt and how the action was along the fingerboard. I realized that for me, I had to sort of learn how to play that specific guitar to realize the sound I wanted to get from it. The same was true for my other Strat and my acoustic as well. Once I've had the guitar for a while, I know that I can make it sound just the way I want it to.

I wonder if this is the case with other players.

_________________
Calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling a drug dealer an undocumented pharmicist.

Yep, I made mine. But, honestly ... it sounds like you are in need of a Gibson SG Standard or RI.

_________________
Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Welcome to the Forum yendis! mostly because you are new to guitar, trying to explain the differences in guitars at this point in your experience would be like trying to explain to a three year old why a 'Vette is a better transportation choice than a little red wagon. Play on Bro!

_________________
you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Hey everyone sorry for late reply,

Yeah I have a very simple amp at the moment, I use a roland cube 20x. Which is decent enough but not a long term thing, you guys think i should "upgrade" that first? Or perhaps go for both guitar and amp at the same time?

The reason I like a Les Paul and Es-335 at the moment I think is because of the really thick sound they have. But listening to jeff healey or SRV or whatever really makes me hear a sound that is sort of ultimate to me, a sound that I'm not sure I'll be able to reach with the aforementioned guitars.

There's also the difference in pricing to consider. If I find a Strat that I like compared to a les paul.
American Strat = 1000-1200 Euro's
les paul = 2000 and up
Correct me if I'm wrong