hey buddy, i get your question and it's philosophic but i like it i asked myself the exact same question a while back when i was designing (not yet existant but i'm getting there) my definition of the perfect strat... the real truth in this is that as long as a guitar has the same body dimensions and looks as a strat, there is no denying it's a strat period!!!!! the feel is there whether it's genuine fender or not

now with mods it's a diferent story... many people don't look at that kind of stuff but i had to to really go into every detail... the truth is that everyone has what they consider their standards... for example, i prefer the 21 fret neck over the 22 fret cause of the vintage vibe and i also like the six screw trem for the same reason... i just consider a strat to be more "standard" with those details but then i like the strat sound but i need a bridge humbucker for the music i play (mostly punk and grunge)... and then estetically (although it's not so important to me like the other elements i mentioned) i always seem to fall in love with a strat with a skunk stripe on the neck !!!!

then there are things i can't stand, for example, i can't stant the s1 switching nor series parallel switches and other complex switches, nor built in effects or midi systems (i'm still trying to figure out if split coils work for me though lool cause it's basically part of the pickup selection)

we all have our standards... certain details make the diference but what matters is how the guitarrist see's what crosses the line between what is a "real" strat and what no longer is a real strat... and that's my final answer

"This is my grandfather's axe. Ten years ago I had to replace the handle. Five years ago I had to replace the head. But it's still my grandfather's axe."

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Bill

Stop poop disturbin'


(that's my job)

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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.

I'm leavin', so you can take over now.

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Bill

My strats, one MIK Fender decaled, with 3 GFS Hot Alnico SC is simply "the white strat",
the 2 Filtertron modified Squier is just "the black strat".
Who am I to argue when the Squier's headstock says, Squier Strat!
I consider a Strat based on body shape.

OK, look out everybody, here we go!

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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.

As long as body including body contours and headstock/neck have the same shape, it's a Stratocaster to me. It may not be a Fender anymore but it's a Strat.
Well, it should have a Strat bridge as well but that's just my personal preference. I'd say even with a Gibson stop tail bridge it would be a Strat to me.

Yes, I'd say body and neck make a typical Stratocaster, no matter how it is equipped.
Well, the headstock shape is a minor concern.

I always dreamed of a fairly untypical Strat, one with three mini humbuckers like in the Gibson Firebird VII. It still would be a Strat.

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

How do you like it Dennis? Did you change pots and caps too?

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...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob

Well, this looks more like a standard Strat with single coil sized HBs.
What I meant is this.
These Pickups in a Strat:

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Now that, I think, would be crossing the line! Actually, I have a hard time envisioning anything quite so garish crammed on a Strat, but maybe if I photoshopped it, I could envision your vision...

While I enjoy owning some fairly garish guitars, I don't think I could go there.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

I left the stock pots and caps in, thinking that if the guitar needed something more after the Mighty Mite pickups were in that I could revisit the project. Once I swapped the pups, though, and got that thing plugged in, I was pretty much blown away with the variety of tones I got, so I haven't done anything else to the guitar.

It's got great, quiet humbucker tones and can handle just about any genre of music that I play with it.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

11 screws.

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"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a Conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. The American mind simply has not come to a realization of the evil which has been introduced into our midst." J. Edgar Hoover

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Cheers - C

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