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Which one?
2008 new MIM strat sunburst, rosewood $400 50%  50%  [ 10 ]
2006 new MIM 50s reissue mim strat, orange, maple $525 45%  45%  [ 9 ]
2008 new sqiuer deluxe daphne blue maple or rosewood $245 5%  5%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 20
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Post subject: went shopping for strat - even more confused
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:34 am
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Okay, went shopping for a sunburst strat, rosewood neck over the weekend. Neither music store had a MIM strat with rosewood, except for a HSS, which wouldn't have been proper comparison, other thent he neck felt pretty good. Played a new ORANGE 2006 50's reissue MIM maple neck ($525); a 2006 used MIM strat - mid pickup was not right - some strings were dropping out, maple neck ($300). Played a Squier strat with hardtail bridge and beer graphics - just wanted to try the rosewood neck; a vintage mod squier with rosewood (red w tortoise pickguard- $299); and a squier deluxe maple neck in Daphne blue ($245).

Results? Still not sure which one was perfect. The best were the 50;s reissue and the squier deluxe. My original budget was the $200 Squier standard. The biggest thing was I have wanted a sunburst strat for as long as I have been playing. The orange reissue is a nice color - I wouldn't mind it, but that still doesn't get me a sunburst. And the pickguard is kinda funky on it. Single ply and the pickup screws wer pushing it up and it was "warpy" in other places too.

The daphne blue deluxe had the silkiest feel to it. the satin finish neck was great. It felt wonderful. Again, not available in sunburst.

Every one of the squiers with rosewood had fret edges that were downright sharp. Not smooth at all. I know that can be fixed, but why would the factory leave them like that? The maple necked deluxe had smooth frets....

The music store guy offered to order me a new 08 MIM sunburst with rosewood for $400. but I don;t get to play it first to make sure. I have a strat copy which is perfectly acceptable with a maple neck, so I don;t really need a maple neck. I could buy the daphne blue squier and refinish my old copy guitar....

BTW, I bought a bone nut and new "economy" bridge (allparts) and put them on my old strat copy. Recently put a squier loaded pickguard on it. THe sustain is incredible!!!! I can pick an open note, go get a cup of coffee and come back and it's still ringing.... Okay that's a bit of a stretch but not much.... It made a HUGE difference. the guitar has a 1.5" nut so I have to crave one from a blank, but by the time I got done, I had improved the action and made it sound a world better.

So any suggestions on which way to turn? Basically, I think I'm down to the Sunburst rosewood or the deluxe squier. The squier deluxe does not come in sunburst.

Randy :?:


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:47 am
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I think you gotta hold out for the guitar you want. There would be nothing worse than paying out for a new guitar, enjoying it, but all the time feeling it wasn't really the one you wanted. That includes ephemeral items like finish. Settle for an orange Strat? No, no, no...

And honestly, you need to play before you buy. Nothing worse (again) than having a guitar that looks how you want but feels uncomfortable.

You've either got to get your shop to order the guitar you want, on the basis that if it is not right you won't buy it. Or you've got to get along to other towns and keep looking in other music shops till you find the instrument you want.

But just keep an open mind. Most of my happiest purchases came about when I went into the store chasing something entirely different. Be ready to walk out with something totally unexpected if you find it speaks to you across the room. The best guitar marriages come about that way.

Good luck - C


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:59 am
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Ceri wrote:
I think you gotta hold out for the guitar you want. There would be nothing worse than paying out for a new guitar, enjoying it, but all the time feeling it wasn't really the one you wanted. That includes ephemeral items like finish. Settle for an orange Strat? No, no, no...

And honestly, you need to play before you buy. Nothing worse (again) than having a guitar that looks how you want but feels uncomfortable.

You've either got to get your shop to order the guitar you want, on the basis that if it is not right you won't buy it. Or you've got to get along to other towns and keep looking in other music shops till you find the instrument you want.

But just keep an open mind. Most of my happiest purchases came about when I went into the store chasing something entirely different. Be ready to walk out with something totally unexpected if you find it speaks to you across the room. The best guitar marriages come about that way.

Good luck - C


That's real good advice Ceri just gave you. I think he is absolutely correct!


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:02 am
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Uh yeah, exactly. THat's the deal with the non burst colors. The orange one has been there a while. I really like the color. Kinda loud and bright. The daphne blue pice is very 50;s looking and plays great, too.

Not enough of a connoisseur of tone to really know difference in the squier and the fender. i *COULD* refinish my copy in sunburst. It has a beautiful two piece bookmatched blonde body that would look really nice in sunburst, and the black edges would hide a bit of filler to fix a couple of drops (dents and dings). It plays so good and sounds so nice after my recent mods that it is a keeper for sure. I don;t care if is says Fender or not. The new one either has to be Fender or Sqieur, though, at the very least. I'm really torn.

I can almost rule out the orange one on price, unless I can trade my musicmaster towards it and I'm not sure I want to part with the 40 y/o original fender.... that's a whole other inner debate. It doesn't play THAT much better than some of the others I played. And it's not like I'll probably ever leave the house to play. It's mostly for home plunking.

I usually chuckle when I see folks asking what kinda guitar they should buy, and now I is one too.


Thanks
randy


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:10 am
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BTW, I do get the bit about keeping an open mind. That's why I was so surprised that I liked the daphne blue Squier so much.

As for searching other towns, the one place is 25 miles away, second is about 40. The closer dealer is willing to work with me pretty much anyway I want. And they'll be able to service it conveniently should I need to.

Funky colors will speak to me. No offense intended, but a black guitar could be free and I probably wouldn't take it.

WE'll see - I really haven't talked with the missus enough about it yet. And we have 3 kids and new house. So it may be price driven.

Thanks
Randy


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:12 am
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Tell you what. All this talk of refinishing and making bone nuts. Sounds like your skill level is well ahead of your budget.

So why not buy an utterly wrecked MIM Strat on Ebay and then put your efforts into totally restoring it? Refinish, new hardware - heck, learn refretting, if it is called for.

Few things in life more satisfying than rescuing a guitar that is heading for the breaker's yard and putting it right back on top form. And if you do it well you'll love that instrument forever.

A much more creative way to go than arguing with music stores about their ordering policy...

Cheers - C


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:27 am
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I had the exact same problem and ended up traveling cross country to try the guitar i wanted. All i can suggest is that you do the same or be patient and wait for one to turn up. You could get the store to order one and if its not right tell them to send it back to the distributor as faulty. If your anything like me though your more likely to overlook flaws in the guitar you want. So be strict with yourself. The final option is the 2nd hand market. Found some great stuff 2nd hand, but its usualy flawed in some way.

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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:33 am
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Ceri,

Yeah I don't mind doing some work. With the old guitar I figured I had nothing to lose. It's been thru a failed brige project in the 80s. It's like an old car. You can rod it up and no worry about it.

I have been looking on ebay and every music store in town. No fender strats. A couple overpriced squier affinties.

But I want a nice new guitar. I've only had 3 guitars in my life. Only one new one and it was the first. It was so crappy, I sold it in a couple months. I still have the strat copy and the musicmaster. I can mess with them all I want. I can restore the MM or rod it into a duo sonic or leave it alone or even sell it. I'm in a quandary over it too.

The strat copy would only be refinished in a sunuburst, beacuse of the body wood.

I really want a new one and my b-day is coming up quick. There is nothing in the world I really need or want so a new guitar is just an extravagance that would be a lot of fun. My 8 y/o son can have it some day, if he wants. Or one of the kids... he went shopping with me and is already picking up stuff at an alarming rate. The salesman was impressed that e is lready playing Jimi Hendrix licks...

I've been watching the evil bay and even bid on some cheap MIMs.

I just want to get the best bang for the buck. I'm thinking it thru, financially. emotionally, and even the long run. Warranty, resale, std parts, etc.

Wife was no help. "just decide which one you want and don't look back" she says....

Thanks
Randy


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:22 am
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I'm sure we all feel for your quandary. Sounds like you have been particularly un-greedy over the years, by the standards of many of us here on the Forum. So now you really deserve the guitar of your desires. Hold out for it, that's all there is to say!

Gotta question what you said about your wife, though:

66musicmaster wrote:
Wife was no help. "just decide which one you want and don't look back" she says....


No help? She seems like the most helpful wife of all! Excellent advise from an excellent woman, by the sound of it... :wink:

Cheers - C


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:34 am
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Ceri wrote:
I'm sure we all feel for your quandary. Sounds like you have been particularly un-greedy over the years, by the standards of many of us here on the Forum. So now you really deserve the guitar of your desires. Hold out for it, that's all there is to say!

Gotta question what you said about your wife, though:

66musicmaster wrote:
Wife was no help. "just decide which one you want and don't look back" she says....


No help? She seems like the most helpful wife of all! Excellent advise from an excellent woman, by the sound of it... :wink:

Cheers - C


My wife made the mistake of saying that to me just the other day. I think she's having second thoughts now, Too late!! :)


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:56 am
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She is a good one, but I figured she'd lay down the max money figure, which would effectively decide for me. She is a great lady.

Thought I had a MIM tex mex on ebay, but went too high. I'm a tightwad too, so I stopped at $300 on a 97.

Still wondering as I'm wandering.
Randy


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:04 pm
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Just curious, what are you hoping to get out of the new guitar aside from the sunburst paint job? It sounds like you love the guitar you have now. It would be a shame to spend a bunch of money on something you don't like playing as much as the one that's already payed for.

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Post subject: sharp fret edges
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:19 pm
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The guitars don't come from the factory with sharp edges but what happens is if the guitar gets exposed to heat in storage or transport, the wood shrinks due to moisure loss. It may take some weeks for the wood to recover enogh moisture to re expand. I used to file down the fret ends in the winter when the furnace dries the humidity out of the air but then in the summer I would find that the fret ends are a bit short when the wood expands. If the fret ends are still sharp after the wood re expands you could get a guitar tech to carefully dress the sharp edges and you should have no more problems with that.


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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:25 pm
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In simplest terms, I've always wanted a sunburst strat. Just for the color. I doubt I'll ever be in a band, may never leave the house with it. I'll dang sure play the heck out of it, for my own entertainment. It won;t be a decoration.

The new ones play as good as the old copy, straight off the rack. It has been my goal to get the copy to play as good as possible for the least amount of money. So far, I've only spent $40 on the old one. Next upgrade would have to be a satin-finished neck and they are kinda high imo. SO it's proabably as far as I can go with it. Could change pups, but it will NEVER be an authentic Fender.

I play SRV mostly, blues, brian setzer, old rock stuff. If I were to improve enough, would consider joing a middle aged washed up rock star mighta been kinda local band, but that's about it. But the stuff I like isn't really in demand around here. So mostly the strat is for my own pleasure.

And one of my kids will get it someday.

That's the story of why I want a sunburst strat. Kinda shallow, but that's it. A squier would even work fine, if I could find one that played as nicely as the display guitars I played. At $400 for hte MIM, we won;t be straining much. I can ebay off some crap to pay the difference in the squier and the MIM.

Randy


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Post subject: Re: sharp fret edges
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:30 pm
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Ronstratlover9 wrote:
The guitars don't come from the factory with sharp edges but what happens is if the guitar gets exposed to heat in storage or transport, the wood shrinks due to moisure loss. It may take some weeks for the wood to recover enogh moisture to re expand. I used to file down the fret ends in the winter when the furnace dries the humidity out of the air but then in the summer I would find that the fret ends are a bit short when the wood expands. If the fret ends are still sharp after the wood re expands you could get a guitar tech to carefully dress the sharp edges and you should have no more problems with that.


Hmmm, interesting. And reasonable. But the authentic fenders didn't seem to have that issue. I wondered if it was intentional to make less expensive and to get the buyers to consider upgrading to a smoother feeling guitar. Seems like a pretty easy fix, but just smoothing down the ends.

Does that fix make the squier a more reasonable choice? I bet I can guess what most are going to say - to still get the MIM. Better warranty, better resale, better quality, etc. More prestigious. and so on.

Thanks for that information.
Randy


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