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Post subject: Re: HSS - Have I made a Boo Boo?
Posted: Wed May 04, 2016 7:36 am
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Professional Musician
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Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:01 pm
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Just gonna toss my own $.02 worth in here just to muddle things up a bit....

My experience with HSS Strats is that like so many things guitar related, it really depends on who you are, what you play and what you expect. For myself, I tend to play a rather wide range of eclectic material...everything from Chuck Berry and Elvis to Stevie Ray Vaughn and Pink Floyd. While I know there are a few folks out there who see this as a rationalization, this is one of the reasons why I do actually have so many guitars...currently around 25, with 9 of those being Strats.

To work backwards here, my two favorite Strats ('96 and '96 MIM's) are (now) both equipped with Seymour Duncan rails. While they don't really really produce a true "Strat-like" tone, they don't really have the full blown, edgy sound of a full humbucker either. For the majority of my work, I tend to find these work best...I can push them for the edgier work I do, like the SRV or the ZZ Top, they'll lay back and really sing for the Pink Floyd and Eric Clapton tunes, or I can clean them up really nice for the Southern Rock and occasional country tune (-very- occasional country tune)...although I've been using my Ibanez Artcore for more of the countryish stuff lately (not to mention that awesome BB King sound!). For those times when I really need a more vintage Strat tone...say my "surf music" tendencies, I have my '93 Black Label with the over-wound GFS pickups or my '87 MIJ Squier with the Fender VN's.

...and then there's "The B_tch"...my '99 HSS. For the most part she's also a pretty good "all rounder", but yes, that HB at the bridge seems to fit only certain applications. Tried using it for some Skynard stuff once and it felt like my back teeth were being pried loose with a jack hammer, LOL! Sounds -really- great for stuff like the ZZ Top or even the occasional AC/DC tune, where I have the distortion (or tube amp) kicked up a bit (works good for the Deep Purple stuff too), but tends to be WAY too much edge for stuff like Lynard Skynard or SRV. With some stuff, the single coils work great (like Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight"...nice tune for that neck pickup), but yea...I don't generally use that guitar exclusively at a gig, just because there ARE times when I like to have that single coil at the bridge. I guess if that was the ONLY guitar I had, yea....I'd probably tap/split the HB and upgrade the single coils, but for me, it's just as easy to swap guitars when needed. For most shows, I usually have 2 or 3 guitars with me (not including the acoustics when needed), so it's not a big deal for me to swap out guitars between tunes. Most of the time it depends on the set list, the venue or sometimes what mood I simply happen to be in before the show.



...and for what it's worth, I have yet to meet a Mexican Strat that I didn't like. I've been playing Strats since '96 and while I will admit to a preference for the early - mid 90's Mexican's, I don't think I've ever seen a "bad" MIM...some of them can use a few upgrades, but they are really great instruments all around.

Again, just my own opinions.


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Post subject: Re: HSS - Have I made a Boo Boo?
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 8:45 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:33 pm
Posts: 811
lomitus wrote:
...and for what it's worth, I have yet to meet a Mexican Strat that I didn't like. I've been playing Strats since '96 and while I will admit to a preference for the early - mid 90's Mexican's, I don't think I've ever seen a "bad" MIM...some of them can use a few upgrades, but they are really great instruments all around.
Again, just my own opinions.

I have to agree with you on this one--I have a beautiful US Vintage '62 Stratocaster that plays beautifully, but if I ever had to replace it, I'd definitely go with a MIM Strat. I've played several, and rarely have I been disappointed.

...I have to give the same seal of approval to the MIM Telecasters as well--my main go-to guitar is a modified 1995 Fender Tele Special. It's the one I grab when I'm going to record, jam, perform or even just goof off; it sounds, "feels" and looks amazing, especially for a "cheap, lesser" instrument.

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