Can anyone tell me if any particular fingerboard or fret size is easier to play on than the other. I've been looking at the specs of some of the strats on the fender.com website. Is this a dumb question? I would just like to get some opinions from some of the stratocaster gurus on here. I put .009's on my AVRI 57. And this may sound weird but I sorta think the .010's played better than the .009's do. I'm not a professional musician by no means but I can play. I just discovered this forum page a few days ago and I have lots of Questions. I have found that in the music stores you can't always put a lot of stock in what the salesman tells you because he is a salesman. But if theres a certain neck radius or fret sizes that make a guitar easier to play I want to know.

_________________
"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

Actually, it is all a matter of personal taste. However, the 10s vs. 9s situation you prefer is because by comparison, you have a heavily lacquered fingerboard, the smallest of frets and a 7.25" radius which means you need larger strings to get a good grip on them to bend without your fingers slipping off and so that the strings themselves don't cut out when you bend them on the higher frets. This also makes for a higher tension in general. Part and parcel of this too is that one usually can't set their action as low as they want on your model for all the above reasons. Ironically, for today's stylings, you have one of the more difficult necks to deal with. Now at the risk of contradicting myself, your model is like anything else. Meaning, once you get used to it, all the above problems won't seem as problems any more, per se.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

_________________
You dig?

Wow. You just explained alot to me and it all makes perfect sense. When I put the .009's on it it felt like the bottom 2 strings weren't even there. It was hard to play and bend the bottom strings. I put the .010's back on it and there's a huge difference. I love the guitar but I may wind up trading it for a different strat. I just dont know enough about 'em. I should have done somw research before I bought it. Its just so gorgeous I couldn't resist buying it. I bought it off of e-bay and couldn't play it before I bought it. I've got some serious considering to do. I think I need a strat with bigger frets.

_________________
"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

The key to it all is, YOU have to PLAY them FIRST!

_________________
You dig?

Dude, hone your chops on that AVRI and then you'll be able to play anything! That's a sweet guitar! I mean, the flatter radius and bigger frets aren't going to play for you, right?

I've honestly found it much easier to bend on a vintage radius, even with vintage frets. On top of that, I also noticed that it's helped my vibrato on bends much sweeter. The vintage radius provided just enough resistance to slow down my vibratos on bends so that it wasn't so fast or out of control. IMO, it's a bit too easy on flatter radiused boards.

btw, has anyone seen 22 frets on a vintage radius neck?

+1

It does seem easier to develop a nice, controlled vibrato on the 7.25R fretboards.

I don't think Fender has ever offered 22 frets in combination with that radius but I'll bet that Warmoth, USACG, and perhaps other custom shops offer one.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY