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Post subject: Re: Advice for a long time fan & first time buyer
Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 12:28 am
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Location: In a house....unless I'm at work....then I'm in a shop.
Hi there.

Okay, here is my nickels worth of free advice.....
A strat comes in many forms these days, but what I will tell you is that all the models and sub-models really don't make much difference, it's not what pick-ups are in it or the color or whether it's American or Mexican made, it's how it feels and plays acoustically that counts.

Tremolo's, pick-ups all can be changed later to bring the tone to what your ear crave, but all the pick-up and all the gizmos in the world will not bring to life a guitar that played like a dead piece of wet plywood.

My last guitar I bought I was looking for an American standard or maybe a SRV, but as I walked into the store they had just unboxed one of the most ridiculous paint jobs on a strat, (Tangerine sparkle), so of course I just had t, for giggles try it. It came as an S-S-H, not at all what I was looking to get mind you, but I played it for 5 minutes, every note on the board just felt alive, you could feel it in the neck and body evenly. And at 499.00 out the door, I knew I could upgrade it to what I really wanted.
The color has grown on me, and the maple neck I am okay with, The pick ups are now Fender custom shops and tremolo has been swapped out with a bell brass unit and I put in a paper and oil cap, for the better roll off.
In short, after getting a G&C case for it, I am about the same money if I had bought an American, but I have a guitar that feels alive and plays & sound amazing, and it all starts with.....How does it play acoustically and how it feels.
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Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Advice for a long time fan & first time buyer
Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 6:02 am
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If you don't have a genuine 1956 Fender Bassman, preferably in excellent condition with original tubes and caps, and a Fender Strat from the same year or earlier, also in excellent condition with original finish, then you will never sound good.

You'll need a minimum of $20,000 for a down payment and good credit.

:P

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Post subject: Re: Advice for a long time fan & first time buyer
Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 6:48 am
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Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 12:10 pm
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
I love the passion you all have for your Strats.

Couple notes / answers / thanks:
- 01GT eibach: Wouldn't dream of not getting a hard shell case! I have two toddlers, one of whom regularly "plays" on a crap classical I keep lying around, so the case will probably even need to have a lock :-)

- Jeffytune / Retroverbial: The plan is (has to be) to go to a guitar store and just play until the guitar chooses me, but the thing is, I've lusted after a natural wood, CBS-era headstock model for so long that I doubt I can be objective anymore ...

(BTW, Jeffytune, that guitar looks SICK! Like I just said, I'm so laser-focused on a specific model that I likely wouldn't have given that one a second look, but hey, if it feels good, it feels good. The mods you made on it are a little beyond my very limited expertise at the moment, but it's good to know that there's always room to tinker if the base model isn't totally right.)

Retroverbial: Thanks for the research on the amp; I'm a pretty good Googler, but I hadn't come across that info. My usage of the words 'vintage' and 'early model' probably sound silly given the amp is only about 20 years old (and not, like 30 or 40 as I'd have guessed).

- mhowell: Geez, and I thought plunking down $2,000 would make me a big shot at the guitar store :shock:


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Post subject: Re: Advice for a long time fan & first time buyer
Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 12:20 pm
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Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 9:25 pm
Posts: 1162
Location: In a house....unless I'm at work....then I'm in a shop.
I should have pointed out that when I bought it it looked like this.....

Image

Some of the mods you can see, some you can't, but what I was trying to say here is that the Strat is a guitar that lends itself to customizing, don't get hung up on the easy stuff to change out. It comes down to the neck and body, if they resonate together, then you have a winner and everything else can be changed out.
It is easier then you think it is, most of it mounts to the pick guard (Just two wires to the output jack). many times you can buy a pre-loaded pick guard, and it only needs two wires soldered.
If it is beyond your ability, then any good Luther can do it for you for a minimal cost.

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At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

But in the end, all you really want is a Club and a Spade.

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