Hi Everyone,

I am thinking out my next guitar. My current is a 2009 Standard Strat. I love it and can't really think of a good reason to get another Strat other than I may want one.

I play classic rock (60's 70's and 80's stuff), blues, some country.

I am considering two options.

1. This is the one I am leaning to. A standard Telecaster. I love the sound it fits in well with the blues and country part of me.

2. A Les Paul or an SG for the rocker in me

I have considerred an HSS stratocaster, but I just don't quite like the way they look. To me a Start has to be SSS

Any suggestions? Comments. I would ideally like to get something that I would play about 30 to 40% of the time. One of the main things I like about the Telecaster idea is I would get one that matches my Strat.

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http://www.facebook.com/UCtheband
2012 American Standard Strat Charcoal Froast
2009 Standard Strat Sunburst Brown
Blues Junior Tweed NOS
2007 Line6 Spider Jam

I love my '79 SG Std. This is a good way to go, especially considering that Gibson lowered the price on them to $1200. The new ones are nice, but -- no lie -- are not as nice as my '79. Yeah, get the SG, dude.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Go with the Telecaster, I've been G.A.S.ing for one myself.

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"Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul..."

-Emily Dickinson

I agree with Nevin. Strats = single coil tones. You can get heavy enough tones from a strat with the right pedals and gear, but if you want the really heavy sound of a humbucker, go for a guitar that was built for humbuckers.

Strats are made for single coils. Would you put a strat single coil in a LP?
Its just my take on it though and i know many people are happy with their humbucker loaded strats.

I personally want to add a humbucker to my collection and am looking in the direction of Tokai/Edwards Les paul, however i am still open to lots of guitars. gona take me months to decide, and longer to get cash together!

Well I believe down the road you will wind up with one of each and will have all your tonal options covered. I would say go with the one that fits in more useful with the style of music you are playing more. You mention your thing for country so if you want that twang get the Tele now and when you can get the SG. Or if you are spending more time playing music that is calling for humbuckers go the other way.

I understand the way you guys feel that a Strat should be s-s-s but I also love the feel and comfort of both a Strat and Tele over any other guitar so I have no problem with swapping in humbuckers which I have only done with a Tele, and when you can crank out the power of a Les Paul with a guitar that feels like a feather it is great. I love what John 5 and Ritchie Kotzen, two die hard shredders are showing what you can do with a Tele. But I also own some proper humbucking axes.

Go with a tele with a humbucker or a P-90 in the neck position. It will do both extremely well, IMHO the perfect companion to a strat.

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Go for this; http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0137402321
Or this; http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0137702306

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• Fender American Series Stratocaster (Olympic white, maple)
• Gibson Flying V (dusty faded cherry)
• Fender 1969 Custom Shop Stratocaster (3-tone sunburst, maple)
• Fender Highway One Stratocaster (Honey blonde, rosewood)

Well, these are as always just my own personal opinions here but I do have to say that just because you already have "a Strat" doesn't rule out the possibility of getting another one. Personally I play mostly classic rock and blues (with a lot of oldies in there as well as originals) and right now my 4 main guitars are all Strats...and they all have a very different sound and feel from one another. My two main Strats are my '96 MIM and my '85 Squier MIJ. The '96 has a set of Duncan performers where as the '85 now has a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless...both sound really great, both play really wonderful but I do tend to use them for slightly different applications. My '96 is my "general purpose" guitar...I can usually push her for everything from a nice classic jazz-like sound to some really heavy Gibson-like ZZ Top tones. The '85 I'm using more for the bluesy stuff right now...pretty sweet. Next to those I also have a '08 Squier Standard and my "International Partscaster". Ok...still working on the sound of the '08 but the Partscaster is really for the stuff that requires more of that "traditional Strat" tone...since the '96 and '85 don't really have single coils, I use the IS for that kind of stuff.

Now that's not to say that I think there's anything wrong with a Tele either...also good guitars to say the least. Personally I'm just not a fan of Gibsons...LP, SG or otherwise. To quote the great Eric Clapton, "you can almost get a Strat to sound like a Gibson but you'll NEVER get a Gibson to sound like a Strat". Unless you have a very specific reason for getting a Gibby...or unless you're really just looking to waste a lot of bread, between the two, personally I'd go with the Tele.

Now because you were referencing these because they either fit "the blues and country" or "rocker" in you, please remember this; none of that really matters at all. -LOTS- of blues and country players use Strats...so do lots of "rockers" too! There is no single definition of which brand/model of guitar really works best for any particular genre of music. For example, there are people such as Hendrix and Clapton who are really heavily associated as playing Strats...but those guys have also used Gibsons over the years. There's no real right or wrong there. The single greatest influencing factor in regards to any of that is simply you're playing style. A very good example of this was a recent post in another thread about David Gilmour. There's always so much fuss about Gilmour using Strats (particularly the infamous Black Strat) that people just automatically assume that it's gotta be something with the guitar...but then someone posted a very good link with him doing the leads for "Comfortably Numb" on a Gretsch and ya know what? He -still- sounded like David Gilmour! LOL! Dude...seriously...when it comes to genre or any given style of music, it's your fingers, NOT the guitar.

That said, my suggestion as always would be to go out and play as many guitars as you can in your price range and see what sounds and feels best to your ears, hands and heart. If you're really that undecided about a brand/model, I'd say try them all...Jacksons, Danelectro, Gretcsh or even a few Laguna's or Squiers. As they say, "there are many cups from which to drink"....if you're really looking for something "different" you may find that one of these suits you just as well if not better. In the end, the "right" guitar will usually speak to you...you know when it's right .

Again, just my $.02,
Jim

how bout a nice Charvel? they're like 999.99, made in Fender's Corona complex, are sonically versatile, and are smooth playing. check them out.

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I'd say get a American Dlx HSS Strat, the older one with DH-1 and SCN pups. If you dont like the looks.. well... im pretty sure you'll learn to love it:D It plays fantasticly, and you can play everything with it. Get one.

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Fender American DLX Hss Strat RWOP->
Biyang OD-8->
Marshall JCM800 4211 -combo->
THE sound;)

I'd say get a American Dlx HSS Strat, the older one with DH-1 and SCN pups. If you dont like the looks.. well... im pretty sure you'll learn to love it:D It plays fantasticly, and you can play everything with it. Get one.

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Fender American DLX Hss Strat RWOP->
Biyang OD-8->
Marshall JCM800 4211 -combo->
THE sound;)

Wow. Thanks for all the sugestions.

I guess I will just go out and play a bunch of guitars, my plan anyhow and a good reason to get the wife to "stop by the guitar store on the way home from Costo". My first guitar was a Starcaster that I got to see if I could and would learn to play. It is actually not a bad guitar at all. I still have it and play it. I have modified it a bit, and maybe that would be a something to put a humbucker in to see how I like it. My second was a Ibanez RG HSH which I liked a lot, but I felt I was cheating on my wife when I played it because I kept longing for another Strat. I took it back and got my Standard Strat. I could see myself with nothing but Strats, including I guess an HSS because I do love the feel of the guitar in general and have never played anything else that just, well, felt good.

I am in no hurry, other than the standard G.A.S pains. I will take all this advice to conscience and let you guys know what I end up with.

Thanks again.

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http://www.facebook.com/UCtheband
2012 American Standard Strat Charcoal Froast
2009 Standard Strat Sunburst Brown
Blues Junior Tweed NOS
2007 Line6 Spider Jam

Last week I played an Epiphone 59 Les Paul reissue and it was the finest Les Paul I've ever played.The true Gibson Les Pauls I've played couldn't hold a candle to this Epi and the feel and finish was perfect with a beautifully bookmatched cherry sunburst top.Certainly worth checking out at 1/3 the price of a Gibson.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I would say get a Tele, but that could just be the country fan in me.

I agree with guitslinger though, if you're going for a Gibson model, get a high end epiphone. Gibsons are just way too expensive for what they're worth and epiphones aren't given enough credit in my opinion. I own an Epi SG Special, one of the cheapest models they have, and it sounds amazing for playing heavy stuff. I keep it two steps down, and when my brother ran it through his Big Muff it sounds amazing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo8ZoeeDIy0

not the best cover but you can hear the guitar pretty well.

For my two cents worth....

I have a Epiphone LP and I upgraded the pickups to SD P Rails these are humbuckers and P90's in same package you can't beat it for the sustain it delivers ... so get a good epiphone ....get a good Luthier to adjust the action dress and level the frets and ....when you can upgrade the pickups...you will get the sound and playability of the Gibson LP for less than half the price....so for the distortion and big sound of P-90's and humbuckers this is my choice over an SG.

if you are interested in some counrty twangy rifts and playing that sound or you love "The Pretenders" sound A telecaster would look good with you Strat.

I have

VG strat
LP
Variax 700 electric
Variax 700 Acoustic
and my first Guitar.... a Laguna very much like the HSS.

Strat is for the clean Gilmour stuff
LP for the Boston / Tom Shoulz stuff
the variax gutiars are for trying out new sounds gretch rockabilly and anything else banjo, sitar....12 strings stuff.
the laguna well it still plays great and will always be my first guitar.

hope this helps