Still havn’t found what (strat) im looking for

TINMAN82

I’ve just about come to the conclusion I’m not a “strat guy”... as a player at least. Love the tones others can get, a recent new year live recording of Philip Sayce on YouTube confirms that. For a while I thought it was the relatively narrow 42mm nut but that’s been put to rest by the 52 AVRI tele that’s currently my no. 1. Of all guitar styles I find strats to be the most unforgiving and difficult to dial in, particularly clean.

My journey so far has been:
classic player 60s- neck profile a bit thin, didn’t like the gloss polyester finish or thin sounding pickups.

american standard- liked the wider neck but modern c profile too thin in depth. Prefer a vintage taper. 

Partscaster with musikraft neck- should’ve been great on paper, lacked mojo and preferred my tele and les Paul. 

and onto several I tied in a shop today:

Am pro hss- new deep c neck still too thin. Bridge humbucker wasn’t great.

american original 50s- neck too cumbersome for a strat and the maple board too sticky. The high e kept slipping off as string spacing didn’t seem to match fretboard width.

clapton journeyman relic custom shop- better setup off the hanger than above but didn’t like the pencil thin but v shaped neck near the nut, virtually no shoulder. £3500!!

custom shop 63 nos- the best of today’s 4 by some margin. I could handle this one but tbh, at £2699 it plays and feels no better than my £1400 AVRI tele. The only real advantage is the whammy bar for the rare song I’d use it for (eg Lenny) and the availability of the neck pickup tone (that’s what I’m missing from my current stable of 335, R8 and tele). Always liked the look of strats too.

I havnt tried the American original 60s Strat and mabye should. Any other suggestions other than give up and stick to the tele and Gibson’s? 

terada

Have you climbed the highest mountain?

merlin

Try this.... 

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/118864/fender-cs-60th-anniversary-heavy-relic-strat-sorry-sale-cant-really-afford-to-keep-this-one#latest

TINMAN82

terada said:

Have you climbed the highest mountain?

That song was kinda playing in my head as I typed the post!

dallcorp

I've been thinking about putting my Ancho Poblano Strat up for sale recently........if you're a fan of a larger neck then this has a Nocaster profile.

TINMAN82

dallcorp said:

I've been thinking about putting my Ancho Poblano Strat up for sale recently........if you're a fan of a larger neck then this has a Nocaster profile.

Could be of interest. However the 50s American original felt a bit too thick for my liking, despite my usual preference for 52 tele/R8! Could’ve been poor setup on that guitar I guess. 

ICBM

Put a Strat neck pickup in the Tele, that will give you 90% of the tone for under £100.

You do not need all the types of guitar.

TINMAN82

ICBM said:

Put a Strat neck pickup in the Tele, that will give you 90% of the tone for under £100.

You do not need all the types of guitar.

I’ve no doubt that’s a good call. It’s such a good tele though and I wouldn’t mess with it. I use the current tele neck pickup a lot.

fretfinder

You could look for a used Relic with either the ‘65 C’ or ‘large C’ neck shape - they’re fatter than the usual slim Strat necks but nothing like the massive handful of a Nocaster U neck. In my experience the average CS Relic is a cut above any of the cheaper Strat models. Not everyone will agree of course...

Whitecat

The 10/56 neck is a nice size too on the side of big without being ridiculous. Give the Ed O’Brien sig a try, I think it’s the only non-Custom Shop edition to have it. If the sustainer and crazy pickups aren’t for you at least you’ll have an idea as to whether it’s worth pursuing. 

thebreeze

merlin said:

Try this.... 

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/118864/fender-cs-60th-anniversary-heavy-relic-strat-sorry-sale-cant-really-afford-to-keep-this-one#latest

Don't pass up this suggestion.  If you like a bigger neck on a Strat these are extremely well made and comfortable.  Once piece ash body is very light and resonant too.  I'm amazed no-one has snapped this up, I never see them for less than £3K.

tekbow

Ever thought of not buying a strat?

IMO EBMM and MIJ John Page make better strats than fender these days.

I've got an MIJ fender 62 RI type. But for £500 im happy to put up with the block heel modern guitar costong more than that should have.