next weekend is my birthday and with the approval of my wife i get to spend the money i have been saving for the past 9 months on a new strat. i already have a mim standard which i really like and i am going to keep, but i want another strat and something better. i have narrowed it down to an american standard, 57 reissue, or a 62 reissue. i played all of them this past weekend and know how i am leaning, but i really want some personal opinions from those of you that either have or have played one or all three of the guitars. what do you think?

i play all styles of music...with an emphasis on blues, country and roots based rock and roll.

thanks

Capt. Eyeball

The three strats you mentioned are all great instruments. I believe you would be very happy with any one of those. However you may want to try out an American Deluxe as well. The Deluxe is a great guitar with a bunch of tonal options. There is also a Hotrod rod version of the '57 and
'62 strats. I have never played one but I believe Nikininja has one. He may be able to provide you with some input on it. When it comes down to it you should chose the one that suits you best.

Russ

Hello Captain Eyeball,

The major differance of those 3 guitars is
'57 & '62 have nitrocellouse finishes and
the American Standard is bulletproof urethane.
Both finished are fine but bear in mind the
Nitro finish is less durable but more traditional.

Both Nikininja and myself are Hotrod owners
and we like em alot for various reasons but both
the '57 & '62 hotrods are a slight departure from
the true vintage Strat. Which is why I chose the '62.

Colors, fretboards, pickups, cases----Lots of choices
Evaluate many and see what tickles your fancy.
Don't forget Photo, when you make the purchase.

Cheers.

thanks for the replys. i will check out a deluxe before i choose. also, i like the hot rod versions of the 57 and 62 but they are about 300 more dollars...and that is beyond what i have saved at this point.

If your interested while there is still some around I just bought an American VG Strat and am extremely happy with it. It is a standard American Strat with the modeling goodies to.
I couldn't believe how the strat model they modeled is so close to the standard one. You can play the VG as your standard strat to.
After tweaking my amp using the modeled strat and the 12 string model I got a really nice 12 string sound. Like the fact that you can change tunings to. The used to be $1800 they are now $999.
Good Luck

sorry im stealing this topic for a question, do 57, 62 and 70 strats all have the same pickups? cause specs say "vintage-style pickups" on all of them.

anyway about your purchase you should also consider the neck feeling you prefer. you know the vintage strats have a 7.25 radius and vintage frets while the american standard has 9.5 and med-jumbo frets. the neck should be your main point i think. if you change your mind about the sound of the guitar you can easily change pickups while changing a neck is a $@!&*

One of my Strats is an American Standard. Love it to death. Nice pickups,great neck(for my hands),and an overall good instrument. Bottom line though, go play a bunch of them, different models, you get the picture.

_________________
The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Hi Cap'n:

I greatly enjoy the feel of vintage spec Strats. It gets you thinking about things like fret size, fingerboard radius, neck shape and pickup sound - and gets your ears and hands working. That's all excellent.

But if I could only have one Strat it would be a modern American Standard or Deluxe. Heresy, I know: but for day-in-day-out playing I find all the features I mentioned above just tiptop on the modern instrument.

I think it's a bit like cars: take the vintage Aston (as if!) out for a run weekends - but use a comfortable modern car for daily workhorse stuff.

Only you can know where your priorities lie.

But any of the ones you've named is gonna be great, so who cares? Enjoy!

Cheers - C

I agree , if I had one strat, it would be an American standard.I think its as versatle as any strat that i have had.The pickups sound great and i especially think the bridge pickup is really useable.I can roll off the tone pot to around 5-6 and it sounds almost like a humbucker.The frets give you enough room for soloing.I also have a SRV strat which I love , but its not at versitile as the standard.

any of the reissues will keep you entertained for a very long time!

_________________
Custom Shop '59 Strat with John Cruz Master Design Pickups
Vibro King
Fulltone Clyde>Deja-Vibe>TS-808>TS-9>Boss Tuner

Hate to say it but will because the OP doesnt want a hotrod. Get a deluxe, they do everything you want and more that you'll probably never use. As MrBill said the nitro finish on vintage reissue guitars is a pain to maintain. I gigged my hotrod the weekend, gave it a cursory wipe over before casing it and had heart palpitations on opening the case the next day to check it. Luckily nothing was wrong just that its still a little sticky despite being nearly a year old and collected the muck sweat and grime.

You will have no issues like that with a urethane finished guitar, their durable as a tank. I own both a deluxe and hotrod and except for a slight dull on the nitro of the hotrod theres no difference except toughness of finish. Thats what you want after working/saving hard to get your guitar. You want it to last. The standard of the deluxe and american standard is exempliary. Their modern features compliment a classic guitar perfectly.

Did i get a sale yet?
(just kidding)

Happy hunting.

_________________
No no and no

Good advice Nik, I think either one is a good choice.

_________________
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

May I suggest taking a look at a Deluxe players strat,Lots of good stuff for very little money,probably similar or less the the other you are looking at.Ash body.12" radius neck,vintage noiseless pickups with 7 way switching.Pretty sweet deal.cheers

thanks again for all of the responses. so far the comments confirm what i plan to do this weekend, which is to play many different strats before I make my choice. i have played all of the strats everyone has mentioned and the ones i am considering over the past nine months. i am going to keep an open mind. again, please continue to offer your opinions about the american standard, 57 reissue, and 62 reissue strats...and any others for that matter. thanks.

If you get the chance try a deluxe. Its differences to the standard are subtle but make a big impact overall. The pop in trem arm and locking tuners are a great addition. I dont think i'll ever be entirely happy with a screw in arm again since using the pop in.

_________________
No no and no