USA guitar companies did not start manufacturing overseas until the early '80s when Japan started making quality copies that met or exceeding American instruments. That's why you hear term like Pre-Lawsuit Les Pauls or Stratocasters. When Fender realized it could make a lower cost guitar overseas, they began making them in Japan sometime in the 80's. Prior to that neither Mexico or Japan were in the mix for those old guitars.

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

O ok cool

haha and oneeee more question what are your thought's on a 70's strat?

I once owned a brand new Antigua strat in 1979. It was a great guitar except I didn't like the 3 point micro tilt neck.

I don't own one, but I've played several; they were kind of like Levi's jeans--no two are made exactly alike, and they all have their own quirks--good or bad.

I think that quality control was the main issue, but if you're cranking out that many instruments, SOME of them were bound to be good...so, as far as "vintage" (I use that term loosely) 70s Strats, play them--you might find a good one!

...as far as tone (whatever tone you're going for--Hendrix, SRV or Tiny Tim), most of that is in your hands. I play a modified MIA '62 Reissue Stratocaster, a modified MIM Telecaster, and a dead-stock 1980 G&L F-100 (phase- and coil-tapped humbuckers)...and when I play any of the three, I sound a whole lot like myself. When I play my buddy's guitars (a newer American Standard Stratocaster, an older Epiphone semi-hollow humbucker-loaded machine, or a funky little Epiphone "Junior"), I still sound just like...me!

Each of the guitars has their own individual sonic qualities, but overall, the tone emanating outward is from my technique, picking style, vibrato, etc.

So, I wouldn't use a Dean Dimebag Darrell model* to try to sound like SRV or Hendrix, but if you get your average/good Stratocaster and start trying to learn Stevie or Jimi's technique, you might be able to get there eventually. You could be playing through SRV's personal rig and still not sound like him, if you don't have the technique down.

...remember, Hendrix played the occasional Flying V or SG as well as Strats of differing vintages and woods; SRV played a myriad of Strats, a few Danelectros and even a Gibson 335...and every time, they sounded like themselves!

*(but then again, I wouldn't use a Dimebag Darrell guitar for anything other than firewood)

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

70's strats are worth no more then new deluxe players (MIA) strats because the quality was so poor. CBS was interested in cookie cutter cheap guitars. That followed in the 80's when some fender folks bought the company back and made it what the company is today... Here's my pot shot at the CBS Strat's- Stupid Headstock Design!

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

Oops, I meant Fender Deluxe, not Players Deluxe...

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

Alright, this might sound clichéd and corny but, blues playing is really about the feeling you put into it. I also think it's important to create your own unique sound and style.

I hear too many folks who emulate SRV sound and style and that bores me (not Stevie, but the imitators). Do your thing, baby.

_________________

yea man a 21 yearold mij is what i have and i love it it kills all other strats. the previous owner put a seymour duncan in it and it screams.

Like people have already said, the main component of tone is your hands. But the same set of hands will still sound a little different depending on the rig you're playing through.

The MIM vs. MIA debate has been raging for a long time. MIA Fenders are made from better quality materials and are usually more playable than MIMs direct from the factory. However, MIMs can play very nicely with a proper set up and in my opinion there isn't a huge difference between them except for the price. Either way you get a quality guitar that will probably last for the rest of your life.

I'm not an expert on Hendrix, but the one thing I do know is that by using any Strat's middle pickup and playing through a Marshall amp you can get in the same ballpark tone-wise. Pick between the middle pickup and the bridge and you'll get a brighter sound. The one time I got to play through a Marshall stack I automatically started playing a bunch of Hendrix style licks and I didn't even know it until I listened to the recording and realized that I had actually accidentally stumbled across something of a Hendrix style tone. If I were a better guitar player and if the amp were louder, I would have been pretty close.

I know a lot more about SRV, since finding out where he got his tone was an obsession of mine for a while. It was sort of disappointing when I realized it was his hands. But there are some things you need to know to get close. First off, hold your pick upside down. Really more diagonally, so that you're picking with one of the two fatter points. It thickens up your tone and speeds up your attack. Also, pick somewhere between the middle pickup and the neck of the guitar, that will give it a warmer sound. You can pick closer to the bridge sometimes for a brighter sound.

Second, you'll need a tube amp. Marshall could work, but Fender is what Stevie mainly used. If you have a large budget, try and find a tube amp with a 15" speaker like the Vibroverbs that Stevie liked so much. Peavey makes one called a Delta Blues, but I've never actually played through one. Stevie also hooked up more than one amp at a time, and turned them all all the way up. That's not something you can do in most gig and practice situations so a medium sized amp with a 12" speaker will do for us mere mortals.

As far as effects go Stevie used an Ibanez Tubescreamer Overdrive and a Vox wah. Ibanez wants you to think that Stevie used the $200 TS-808 exclusively, but the truth is he also played through the cheaper, $100 TS-9 too. He also occasionally played through a Fuzz Face, Uni-Vibe or Octavia same as Hendrix.

He called his guitar a '59, although really only the pickups were dated '59. The body was a '63 and the neck was a '62. His pickups were overwound, which was common for pickups of that era. He also used extremely heavy strings. His normal set were .13-.58's. You won't find that readily available in most Guitar Stores. Ernie Ball makes a set of .12-.56's and that's the closest I could get. They hurt at first, but you get used to them. But I had to only use them while playing in Eb tuning and I don't play in Eb nearly as much as I thought I did. So I settled for .11's, which are the heaviest strings I can play in Standard tuning and they have a good tone. You could probably get SRV tone out of .9's if you set the amp's EQ right, so don't worry too much about strings.

Basically any guitar is good for blues, and any guitar will only be as good as the person playing it. But the better the guitar feels and sounds, the better you'll play it.

I'd recommend either the Buddy Guy or Eric Clapton signature Strats if you want something that sounds closer to a Gibson since they technically have humbuckers. The Jimmie Vaughan signature guitar sounds great. It was Tex-Mex pickups which have a brighter sound than the Texas Specials found in the SRV signature model, but they both sound really good. I'm not a huge fan of the stock pickups found in either the MIM Standard or the MIA Standard, but they aren't bad. Play a bunch of guitars to see what you like.

_________________
Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalairdmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beckslaird
Instagram: http://instagram.com/beckslaird

All I can say about 70's Fenders, is that my buddy bought a Strat brand new in 1972 (paid $220 ) and is quite happy with it 38 years later.
I myself had a '78 P-bass that was just about perfect for me, it looked, sounded, and played beautifully. I had to sell it a couple of years ago but only because I was desperate for money to pay bills, If I'd had an alternative source for cash, I'd still have that bass today. From my personal experience I can say not all 70's fenders were crap. I believe that to be a gross exaggeration.

Thanks for all your help guys

Wait...I lied I have another question even though the tone may come from your hands, a guitar helps a bit so what are your thoughts for the custom shop 69 fender and since I'm new to the custom shop could I get the custom shop to make the guitar with all the regular specs of a 69 but with a reverse headstock?