Speaking of Niki, he just today bought a Deluxe with the SCN pups and contoured heel! I am one who also likes a maple neck! So take your time and check them all out !! No rush is there? Good Luck! My vote is the Deluxe I know it doesn't count

Give a few a try. The Deluxe would get my vote as well though.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Firstly on the hotrod 9hun is a great great price. Its a hell of a lot of guitar for that money. I paid 1150 for my 57HR and had to hunt for that denmark street wanted 1400 odd. I do however find it a little limited with the tonezone but i tend to use bridge/mid combination almost exclusively. If you want a traditional strat rhythm sound the neck pickup is the place to go. The bridge provides a great boost for solo's and loses a tincey bit of the treble that can be too much in that position. The nitro is nice, its got a deeper hue than my urethane customshop guitar of the same colour but is a lot more fragile. Those thinskin finish's were made to age early. I dont think my hotrods had more than 15 hours play in the 8/9 months i've owned it. Not because its not nice, because i dont want to damage it. The neck of that guitar is utterly divine, it also has rolled edges. The soft V is unlike any other fender soft V. You'd think Jesus had carved it.

Like Fhop said i've just sprung for a anniversary model deluxe. It has scn's the same as the vhr and the same neck as my cs guitar.

_________________
No no and no

That's interesting: your Hotrod has rolled fingerboard edges? That I did not know: useful info - especially for the OP...

Cheers - C

I'd also suggest that you try an American Special Mahogany Strat.

The "Diamondback" bucker and mahogany body with two Tex-Mex single coil pups gives you some good versatility of sounds!

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

+1 Deluxe gets my vote Good luck. If the thin C neck is a problem they make a V neck deluxe with a Honey blond finish..

_________________
I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

A little update:

Ok so after a fair bit of reading and consideration, I actually think that a good place for me to start would be a Standard '08 - especially because presumably the AVRI's are going to be made for many years to come whereas the '08 isn't. I'm absolutely gutted though as I found a place selling them for a limited time for £629 and I was going to get one yesterday (figuring at that price, I'm not going to make a loss selling it on if I felt the need). I check back today and they've sold out and are ordering some more post-price rise Strats so now the price is £739!!

What I think I'm going to do is buy an '08 Les Paul Standard as, it would seem, both Fender and Gibson have made classics with their latest models. Once I've finalised the designs for my amp with Dennis, I'll find out roughly how long the wait is gonna be - if it's longer than 3 months then I'll get an '08 Strat whilst I wait too

I figure that with '08 looking to be a desirable year, I shouldn't have any issues selling either of these guitars in future if needs be....

What do you guys think to this?

You are all over the place here. I suggest spending some time to really think things through. If you buy a new LP, you may be disappointed because it will be similiar to the Epi LP you already have. Do what you think is best, but give yourself sometime to play some guitars and think it through

_________________
Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

Yeah actually I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I think that my GAS plus the eye-popping price of that standard strat made my trigger finger a little itchy. There's no rush though, so yeah I think I need to hit some guitar shops!

Trst me mate fender are no mugs they certainly make you pay for what you get.

_________________
No no and no

i never understand how people rush to ,make a purchase. Unless you have an upcoming gig that you need an axe for, you have no reason to hurry.

My advice is always to play as many different guitars as you can. Go to as many shops. Then you'll find you keep going back to play certain ones. They narrow it down for you on their own. You will gravitate to the guitar you like best.

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

+1