General Music Chat

I spent the last couple days trying out all price levels of Fender strats - and they suck. They roughly feel the same no matter what level (except some custom shops) and that feel is mostly "crap".
Either I have a faulty memory, or they were a damn site better from the 70s and 80s.

My $700 PRS SE blows all but the most pricey ones out of the water.

What gives?

Mass production.

lol All mim strats suck..

Even the "made in the usa" ones are kind of crummy.

The MIJ/CIJ seem to be the most well made (imo).

Play as many as you like, some are definitely better than others.


I played an authentic custom shop 60's strat recently and it just made me want my MIJ 50's strat even more.

"There are some good ones and then there are a ton of crappy ones".

Worst is the relics and the custom shop stuff isn't worth the $.

Scott I gotta disagree, I've played several MIM strats that were very nice. If you don't like 'em that's your call, we all have our likes and dislikes.

Oh remember the black Strat David Gilmour played for years, rebuilt a dozen times? MIM...one of the very early ones. But that was the guitar he used for years and changed necks several times, tinkered with pickups, that thing went through more incarnations than David Bowie did hairdos.

I've looked around at strats for at least 15 years, and since I got my made in Korea Squier I haven't found one made anywhere that I like better, one American one at a pawn shop I intended to buy but it was gone when I got back a few days later with a down payment. Nothing else though. A friend there had a black MIJ that was really nice, and a cream colored one I repaired that was also a definite keeper, but I haven't seen much else I liked better than my el cheapo, including new ones with big $$$ signs on them.

You have to look around, just like Epiphones. I love Epis, but I have to be really picky about them. Two side by side and identical except for the paint will play and feel totally different. Same for Strats, including Squiers. I've seen quite a bit of the same with new Ibanez guitars too.

I've just about stopped looking at new, I haunt the pawn shops if I want a guitar. Well, I do that anyway...but if I'm specifically looking for a guitar I'll look there long before I'll look at new ones.

If you can stand those MIM pickups that are not much more than 2 magnets with the crap in between, more power to you..

I, personally, can't

Then again, I don't change out the pickups either, I play them pretty much stock.

My $700 PRS SE blows all but the most pricey ones out of the water.

Maybe you're spoiled? I haven't picked up a commercial Strat for some time, but every time someone brings one in I find I could live with it. Naturally they need fine tuning to get the action and the piskups set properly. Personally, I like the Mexican Strat pickups. They have more mids and more output than most of the American Strat pickups. I always hated those puky little round magnets punched into the pickup core. I used to go to the music store and get the Mexican pickups and put them in a lot of my guitars.

It just comes down to personal taste. Do I own one? No, but I gave one away to a friend that played as good as anything out there. He didn't have a Strat and I didn't need 8 of them. I have managed to live with seven of them without any problems other than the fact that I can't have two in each corner of the room anymore.

I have a 98 American standard and it is one of the best guitars I have owned. No complaints about the neck. The only problem with it is when playing a venue with dimmer lights sharing a ground with outlets I get a HORRIBLE hum. In the last 16 years that has happened at 2 places and that is out of THOUSANDS of gigs. I have a PRS McCarty the one with the rosewood neck. That and my Strat are 2 awesome guitars with completely different personalities. Kind of like a blond and brunet!

Yeah, like Epi's, you've got to pick and choose to find a decent one.

I got a second hand American made Lonestar HSS a couple years and love it - has a nice wide maple neck and sweet pickups. But I had to shop around.

My brother owns 8 strats and the one he plays most was made in Korea. You just can't tell these days.

I will say that it has become 'beginner's paradise.' One can purchase a pretty darn nice guitar for next to nothing these days. Yeah - we'd sit around nitpicking it but I can remember playing some cheap guitars that really sucked and impeded my progress as a player.

Talbot

They just all felt kind of like... They should have been 50% of the price.
The 400 dollar Mexicans felt like $200 guitars, etc.

Mind you these were official fenders. I played strat style other brands (copies) that felt more in line with their price points.

They just all felt kind of like... They should have been 50% of the price.
The 400 dollar Mexicans felt like $200 guitars, etc.

Mind you these were official fenders. I played strat style other brands (copies) that felt more in line with their price points.

It sounds like strats are not for you? You might consider trying some Gibson guitars. I am sure you will find a guitar that suits your needs being that choosing a guitar can be such a personal preference.

They just all felt kind of like... They should have been 50% of the price.
The 400 dollar Mexicans felt like $200 guitars, etc.

Mind you these were official fenders. I played strat style other brands (copies) that felt more in line with their price points.

+1 vote for same thoughts exactly.

Zip,
I have an American Special Strat. It's an $800, American made Strat, with sh*t electronics.
I installed a Callaham prewired pick guard w/ their custom made Lindy Fralin pups (approx. $400), swapped out the tuners and had a local luthier give it an amazing setup…
It is my number 1, go to guitar. I would put it up against any CS or Amer. Std.

I highly recommend Callaham Strat parts and pups. They are so versatile and the tone is amazing.

….Oh, I also swapped the saddles with Graphtec?? I think that's what they're called.
Anyway, they don't slide or move, I can throw my strat across the room and it will stay in tune...

I confess to not being a lead guitarist like the rest of you guys, though I do play some lead.

Just for discussion sake, I used to own a couple of strats but they were always so much work to play. If I were to get a Fender again it would have to be a tele. They just sound so much better on average.

But a Les Paul is so easy to play, I can't imagine having to fight a Fender again.

Why do you? Is it only for that thin tone or do you really like the way it plays better than a Les Paul?