I'm on the hunt for a cheapish strat - preferably not more than around 350 euros, though I can stretch it a bit. I've been looking at the Squier CV 50's/60's but also stumbled upon the Vintage V6 and V6 Icon series which also seem interesting (rubbish finishing aside on the Icons)
I'll be buying online in this instance (moving around crazily with work these next few weeks).
What sayeth the peanut gallery about the aforementioned instruments? Anyone have experience of both and able to do an A/B comparison?
I don't mind having to swap out wiring/pots or change a nut but would prefer to get as much of it 'right' out of the box.
All advice appreciated!
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Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
A Squier Simon Neil strat is 392 euros on Thomann. It usually gets glowing reviews, the signature element is tiny and the pups are an upgrade over the standard CV's.
get the blade.
I have owned a bunch of strats ranging from tokais, to warmoth/mighty mite, to fender (jap and USA). The blades are by far the best of the bunch imo.
Actually they should be more or less within budget, even new- I've seen some good deals on (new/new old stock) fret kings from guitar shops on ebay recently. IIRC I saw the blue label one for £315 new. Obviously I haven't seen them so don't know what condition they're in, but assuming they genuinely are "new" condition, that's going to be hard to beat. I have the p90/s/s one and it's pretty nice. Certainly for ~£300- gotoh/wilkinson trem, gotoh locking tuners, etc.
Not sure if they post outside the UK, though, that might be the slight spanner in the works.
I have a CV Tele- the tobacco burst w/rosewood one, and it's among my favorites. Plays very well, stays in tune, and it sounds great! Acoustically, it's very resonant.
I also just got a Vintage Modified 50's Strat in surf green with lipstick pickups ( Duncan designed) This is also a flawless guitar, and I love the way those lipsticks sound. The trem is curiously stiff- it takes a lot of effort to move it, ( same thing with my Affinity) Is there a way to adjust the resistance on these?
Both were appx $300 US.