Just retired from the Navy Reserve, for my present my family and friends got together and gave me $1700.00 to spend on a Fender Strat guitar (I just want guitar advice, not AMP advice and I want to spend the entire amount +/- 300 on this guitar). That is what I plane to do, I want I guitar I can grow into. I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for about 3 years, consider myself an intermediate. About 1 year ago a friend gave me an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. I like this guitar but I drifted towards learning Blues guitar and that is what I want to focus on (I would say obsessed). So I want a guitar best for that purpose. I really like the traditional blues sound of the old Starts. I want to play Classic style blues (BB King, Robert johnson etc..), SRV, Eric Clapton. LOL I guess all styles. Anyways here is my short list:

American Deluxe Strat
Vintage hot Rod 62 Strat
John Mayer Sig Strat
Eric Clapton Strat

Please comment and/or make suggestions. Other suggestions are good also. I had the opportunity to try all but the John Mayer (I hear good things about this) and they all felt good. There are so many strats out there it is a bit overwhelming for a noobie. I very much appreciate any help you all can give me. Thanks....

Mark from Texas...

Welcome to the forums.
Just my opinion here,
but I really like the Clapton Strat. It is one of the most versatile guitars out there

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

All of those are great guitars. As for the JM sig, they are great ones. Good friend of mine has had literally dozens of strats including all the ones you've mentioned, ones he's built and relic'd himself, fenders, gibbys, you name it, he's had it. His absolute favorite was a JM shoreline gold strat. That says a lot to me. But honestly, play them and feel them out. None of those are going to be a bad choice. Any way you go, it looks like you'll end up with a great guitar. Enjoy and send pics when you've chosen!

I tried about 15 strats at bizarre guitar here in Phoenix az last saturday... And the best sounding/playing/looking were the vintage ones... I tried a 74 that was listed at about $1700...

Something like this :
http://cgi.ebay.com/1975-Fender-Stratoc ... 2559b5e84c

Congrats on your retirement. You really do deserve a great guitar!

Any of those guitars listed would be a good choice. Although at $1700 you are getting into pre-owned Custom Shop territory where the quality and options really increase. And like CajunBlues suggested, you have enough dough for a vintage Strat from the 70's. I hope I'm not confusing you by adding more to the list, but my point is you have some great options. I'm sure you'll find one that speaks to you.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

One thing to consider is that there are several neck shapes and with your budget ,you can choose anyone you like.I would check out different neck profiles and radiuses.My first strat had a C profile with 9.5 radius and I thought it was great until I played a SRV which has a D profile with a 12" radius.I really wanted a Clapton,but didnt like the V profile neck.Remember , you can swap out pickups easily enough, but to me the neck is the most important part of the guitar.

my personal opinion would be the american deluxe or the '62. this is based off of the fact that i'd rather make a name for my self on a plain strat than a sig model. not to say there is anything wrong with the sig models.

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"coretta" '71 tele thinline
"domino" '97 lonestar strat
"marie" squire strat
"lexy" jag-stang
"owa" martin 000

tone=fingers; fingers=tone

Congrat's on your retirement and service; we all appreciate it very much!!! Sounds like you kinda know what you're looking for so I'd just find a great music store with a knowledgeable staff who won't put pressure on you and try as many different Strats as possible. Compare neck shapes and sizes, see what colors appeal to you, listen to pickup changes, etc...

SL-61'

For $2300, you could probably get both a pre 2010 Am Dlx AND a Clapton Strat off ebay in pretty nice shape

Thanks, man I'm too old to worry about making a name for myself (and definitely not good enough). I'm not hell bent on a sig model. I just hear good things about the EC and JM models. All the advice has been great, definitely might have to go back to the local GC and try them again (although they don't have JM). I am kind of leaning towards the Eric Clapton model, I've got nothing but positives about it and I enjoyed playing it the short time I had the opportunity. Thanks Stratlover61...

Mark

First off, congrats on your retirement, and thanks for serving our country.
I gotta go with bill948, make it a Clapton signature model. I don't think there's a better choice as far as neck, color choice, or pickups. Whatever you choose, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! It is well deserved.

I would get a used Custom Shop or the 62 RI

Gotta say out of your initial choices I'd go for the Clapton primarily then the 57hotrod not the 62 you list.

You cant really go wrong with any strat for blues. It's obvious you want a quality guitar. Now my only bone of contention with the clapton strat is that it's about as strat sounding as a Jackson King V. It's more suited to driving a amp hard than it is to some mid scooped SRV sound. I dont think it's the all rounder that some make it out to be. It's more slash than buddy holly, well suited to mayall era clapton sounds.
The deluxe is a jack of all trades guitar. Good at everything, a master of no particular sound genre. I havent tried the new ones though. They could be a entirely different prospect.

Hey congratulations on your retirement too.

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No no and no

Great advice. What do you like about the 57? not much support for the Hot Rod's, I really liked the 62 when I played it. They didn't have a 57, but I have friend on the other side of the world that loves his....


The Clapton seems to be pretty popular. I've played the C and V neck, have not played the D. Thank you all so much for your praise, I truly love the Navy and they treated me well....

Mark

Since when has being any good mattered with making a name??


Seriously though, welcome to the forum, congrats on retiring.

I would say look around, a lot. It sounds like you have a healthy budget, so you have a LOT of options.

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