I have two acoustic guitars and have been playing for about 5 years (self-taught). I really have been wanting to get an electric guitar lately and am looking for a Stevie Ray Vaughn/BB King/Ronnie Earl/Jeff Beck sound out of the guitar. I do not know a whole lot about electric guitars and would love some help on whether or not I should buy this guitar I found on craigslist:
"Fender Stratocaster
American Deluxe Neck
LSR Roller nut
Texas Special Pickups
7 Way switching w/ Push Pull Pots, so you get telecaster sound, or a combination of strat-tele.
Also I have a Fender Hard Case.
To set up this guitar it was about $1200.00 so you will be getting a good deal for my asking price
$575.00 firm
I have too many guitars that's why I am offering this guitar for sale
This was built by a guy in Fremont, Mich. that is a pro guitar builder and repairman, I bought it from my nephew which at the time he had 16 electric guitars, which he was liquidating to buy a reissue of a 1952 telecaster that was built in 1965 it is awesome!"

Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/582925349XzCwLJ

$575 is slightly more than what I wanted to spend on my first guitar, but I also wanted to do it right the first time so I wouldnt want to buy another guitar any time soon. Please help!

Good price.

With the Texas Special pickups, it should be capable of approximating some SRV tones, depending upon your amp, pedals, and picking style. But as far as nailing the BB King or Jeff Beck vibe, I'm dubious......

For $575 though, yeah.

You could do a lot worse.

HTH

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

To me and the others replying, that is a great guitar. However, there is a reasonable chance that you will buy this and then realise that you don't like something-the strat shape, the neck, etc. You don't know these things until you've played electric for probably at least a couple of months. For example, despite the popularity of the les paul, after having tried several I know that I just don't like the les paul design. If I had gone out and spent this much on a les paul because other people like it very much, I would be a bit unhappy. I think this is something you should bear in mind. That said, you can be sure the guitar will sound great

That is, providing you have a decent amp. Unfortunately you won't get the best out of a really nice guitar like that unless you have a decent amp too-this could be another few hundred dollars at least, unless you can find one second hand. If you don't have a decent amp, a cheaper guitar wouldn't necessarily sound worse.

Make sure you try it before you buy it. And also, buying any instrument is usually a bit of a risk.

Good luck! Whatever you get, let us know

_________________
"reach for the sky and aim for the moon, for if you miss you will end up among the stars"

Zoom MS50G
72 tele dlx RI
2011 standard strat
Blackstar HT-5R
Taylor Big Baby

http://www.youtube.com/user/Almungo/videos?flow=grid&view=0

it doesnt where the body is from, unless ive missed it. could be anything, could be a body off a $100 squier. worth finding out.

i agree with the play it first thing. i brought a les paul because i thought thats what guitarists do - they have a fender, and they have a gibson. except the SG felt like a toy guitar, so i brought a LP. then about 6 months later i sold it, i just couldnt get on with it. sounded nice, but didnt feel good to my hands, wasnt comfortable. so now i just have fender electrics.

try before you buy.

It might be a great guitar but it is a Partscaster and they are very hard to put a value on. If you like it then it's a good deal but if you don't, you stand a chance of not getting your money back out of it resale, and definitely won't as a trade-in. And like the other guys have said, it takes a good amp too. A good amp will make a mediocre axe sound decent but a crappy amp wil just sound crappy period. Look for a cheaper guitar and a nice amp. You can upgrade the guitar easily but amps you need to replace to upgrade. Ok maybe a new speaker or tubes but it had to be a decent amp to begin with.

I say its a good deal. I wouldn,t think anyone would put all those good parts on a crap body. If you can go play it if you can,t your taking a chance but a reasonable one.

I suggest you look for a used mexican strat. Do you have an amp? If not, look at the Blues Jr.

Well I ended up buying the guitar. I really liked the feel of it when I picked it up. The neck has a reall good feel to it, not too thick not too thin. After putting new strings on it and playing it on a good amp it sounded great. So far I'm happy with the decision but have yet to play it that much still. Now its just time to start taking some leasons on how to jam the blues! Thanks for the input all!

Sounds like you made the right choice to me then.
One thing about amps. Lot's of people on forums will tell you that Solid State amps are crap, and tube amps are the only way to go. Dont listen to this BS. Try some out and buy what YOU like. Both types of amp can sound great if you buy a good quality one. One is not better than the other, they're just different.

Cool I think you really like it. Check out Guitarjamz.com lots of free lessons. Plus a ton of other sites like youtube. That's what I really like about my mustang amp (G-Dec's too) is I can play backing tracks and jam away. They offer a lot of flexibility when you use Fender Fuse and the Fender Fuse.com community

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Playing Devil's Advocate here. This post won't be popular. Hate mail can come all it wants.

I don't care for Texas Special pickups in a Tele and I like them even less in a Strat. I have no idea why they were ever spec'd out to be OEM in the SRV Strat as they are not what he used. What he used was a lot closer to the Fat 50s than the Texas Specials. Nevertheless if it were me I would still buy this guitar and swap out the pups. Looks like decent parts and a good price from what you can see with the smallish pix.

The beauty of buying a guitar like this is that you pay less than you would for either a new AD Strat or a new SRV Strat so you can spend a little more and get a nice amp. The amp is what makes the sound that your ears hear. A high end amp will make WAY more difference in your tone than a high end guitar will. The amp is more important than the guitar. Do not buy any Fender amp that begins with the words 'Blues' or 'Hot Rod'.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

BMW Im with you on the Texas Specials. I put them in a strat once and really didn't like them but Fat 50's I really like.

BMW-KTM: you say dont buy any Fender amp that starts with "Blues" but I've heard nothing but great things about the Blues Jr. amp...

I was desperate to get an amp immediately so I picked one up on craigslist for $50 to just get me by until I can find a good deal on a really good amp (probably a Blues Jr.). The one I picked up is a Peavey Rage-158 which I am actually pretty impressed with for what I paid.