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Post subject: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 7:22 am
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Old guy here, small hands, creaky old fingers, used to play 50 years ago, getting back into guitar playing. Currently selling-trading 2 Ovations. Tried a Strat, Squire, Telecaster and Jaguar. Seems like the fist 3 are candidates. MUCH easier than Ovation for me to play.
If I remember , the Jaguar has a shorter-narrower neck = no good for me at this time. Maybe later assuming my playing improves. Currently working on basic rythem chords in all positions, hope to get into all kinds of music and ultimately lead.
So the question(s) are......................
Which one would most likely be the best choice for me now - say $1500 max?
What are the generic and specific detail differences between these 3 ?
Differences in construction? materials? electronics? cosmetics?
What do they mean? What features might be important to me?
Playing each one for 5 min in the store leaves me with more questions than answers :oops:
Looking forward to enlightenment from the Fender guitar cognoscenti
Thanks in advance
Tom

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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 7:33 am
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I would recommend a USA Standard Stratocaster. It's a versatile instrument and it has that sound that you hear all the time on the radio. I've heard it said the Strat has been used to record more music than all other electric guitars combined. I've never taken the time to substantiate that claim but it seems believable to me. There is a reason why it's still so popular after almost 60 years.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 8:46 am
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BMW, I am leaning toward the Strat but wonder about the variations and options?
Can you shed any light on the variations? Are there different woods? pickups?
Stuff that I might be interested in?
Or does the "USA - STD" define a specific combination of items/features?
Thanks
Tom
BTW I also have a 2006 R1200GSA

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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 10:23 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Hi Tom and welcome! This place rocks.
I´m 43, been playing for 30 years.
I share your view on Ovations, and in time I let mine go.

Most Fenders you will encounter will be an Alder body.
All Fender pickups sound great in my opinion, and delving into
that universe gets pretty esoteric, also my humble opinion.

If I were you, I´d spend much more time at the store, and
drive around looking for the neck that feels right as a point of focus.
Also, used Fenders are a thrill to explore and discover.
There´s an axe out there with your name on it, it will click.
Do you fancy a striking color or perhaps a natural oil finish?
The natural wood finish is likely to be Ash. I think those weigh more.

Another decision right off the bat is whether you are attracted
to a maple fingerboard or a rosewood slab.
Tell us about your discoveries.
Happy Trails!

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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 10:43 am
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This one has captured my attention.......Fender American Special Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar. I may buy it today!

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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 11:19 am
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The American Special HSS is a good choice at a good price.

There are some similarities and a number differences between it and the American Standard. The necks are similar in size, but you can get a maple or rosewood fret board with the Standard....Rosewood only with the Special HSS and a'70s headstock. Alder body with the Special, Alder, with one Ash choice available with the Standard. Pickups, tuners and bridge are different. More colours to choose from with the Standard.

If it were me, I'd choose the Standard. I really like the Fat '50s pickups.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 11:40 am
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Aspiring Musician
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play plenty if theres nor ush. bear in mind also its no good spending $1500 on a really nice guitar and having no amp to play it through, or some crappy little cheapo amp.

if 1500 is your budget, and you dont have an amp, spend a fair few pennies on a decent small amp.

and remember - a crap guitar will sound decent through a quality amp. a $2k guitar will sound like a big noisy turd through a $20 amp.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:31 pm
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I'm still old fashioned when it comes to this. Go to a guitar store and try out everything you can. It seems to take the doubt out of things.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:57 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Get a guitar with a round and meaty neck that fits in the pocket of your hand. One that's too flat will make your fingers hurt and cramp.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 3:45 pm
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If $1,500.00 is your budget, then might I suggest that you get a Fender American Special Strat ? They're USA made and only sell for around $900.00 . They have Texas Special pickups and are IMo, better than the USA Standards. Plus that would leave you with $600.00 left over which you could use to get yourself a decent amp to play to through with. Probably a Blues Junior .


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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 4:12 pm
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I'm an old guy too, in late 60's, and have small hands. Bought an American Special early last year, love the feel and sound. Great neck for small hands, like mine. That's my vote. But, as others have said, play and compare, that's how I chose the Am Spcl...

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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 5:05 pm
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If you play many new ones then "The One" will jump out from the rest.

You have to kiss a bunch of frogs to find a princess.

Even though various instruments of the same mass production model all have the same specs I've found that supposedly identical ones can play and sound quite different from each other.

So I can't say to get this model or that model. Instead I think you have to play a bunch and find the one you like best. I know that is true with Fender mass produced electric basses anyway. Once you get to Custom Shop level there are far fewer variables that impact sound and play making it safer to blind-buy.

I'm to the point that I'm pretty well set for life electric bass instrument wise, yet I still play new mass produced Fender ones at stores looking for another very special one. They are all good, but now and then you find a really special one. The same is true with guitars. You just need to find one of the very special ones. When you find it, you will know.

Someone suggested the American Special Sratocaster. I suppose it is possible to find one of those also that is way better than the rest. However I'd be more apt to go with an American Standard than an American Special. For one thing the case alone almost makes up the value difference in the cost plus there is nicer wood and hardware.

I really don't have many new guitar days left. Maybe one or two. So I want them to be really good ones. Right now I'm looking for a special Telecaster guitar, I've played about 40 and so far nothing special is jumping out at me. I'm in no hurry. It will come along.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 5:44 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
I would recommend a USA Standard Stratocaster. It's a versatile instrument and it has that sound that you hear all the time on the radio. I've heard it said the Strat has been used to record more music than all other electric guitars combined. I've never taken the time to substantiate that claim but it seems believable to me. There is a reason why it's still so popular after almost 60 years.


+1 If it fits in your budget (and it appears that it does), you can't go wrong with a USA Standard Stratocaster. That's a guitar you'll love. You'll never have to make any excuses or justification for buying it; everybody knows its legacy. And it will make an awesome family heirloom one day when you decide to pass it on.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 7:40 pm
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Hello Tom and welcome to the forum,if you have budgeted $1500 for the combined total of guitar and amp,you may be interested with the Fender Jimmie Vaughn and the Blues Jr. 15W amp.The Jimmie Vaughn is Mexican made but is of excellent quality plus it has Tex-Mex pickups which have a very fat 60s Strat vintage tone.The Blues Jr. is a tremendous amp,it has a very wide tonal range and it also has very very good reverb and tremolo circuits.I bought this set-up for my own use 4 years ago and the total came in at considerably less than $1,500.

Both the Strat and Tele are excellent guitars but the Tele tends to be a lot brighter sounding, while although the Strat can sound very bright as well,it has a much broader tonal range partially due to it having different pickups and 3 of them opposed to 2 on a Tele.

Other good choices in amps that offer great sound and features along with a low price are: The Fender Mustang amp,they range from just about $100 for the Mustang 1 and up for bigger, more powerful and feature laden models but all of them are very low in price considering the versatility of even the most thrifty models.
The Valvetronix Series from Vox are also a very good buy,they are hybrid modeling amps that sound incredibly tubelike-so much so that it would take a very sensitive ear to tell the difference from a real tube amp in a blind test.These amp have at least 33 amp models that are very very true to the sounds of the amps that they are modelling and 16 very realistic effects plus an amazing reverb/delay section with several types of reverb and delay .These amps also range from around $100-$125 and up-the VT 20 is a great little amp that pumps a loud 20W and has a surprisingly good sound for an amp having just a single 8" speaker.
The Marshall Valvestate series is also hybrid but it's laid out much like its Vox cousin with regard to the amp/preamp makeup.The Marshall models are very true to the tube amps that they emulate and do a very convincing job of mimicing some of the classic Marshall amps-the price range of these is along the lines of the Vox also.

Anyway,that's a few suggestions and some very good possibilities for you to ponder,I hope they are of some help and don't just add more confusion-happy hunting.Cheers.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Guitar advice for newbie ?
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 7:22 am
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After all the great advice I tried some and bought the Strat Amer HHS in black which I will pick up today :mrgreen:
And a Mustang1 for openers.

My next prob is to find music to play. I need sheet music, lyrics, chords but can't pay $5 for each selection. How to find stuff on line to play?
Thanks
Tom

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