Set neck Strats

[ch willie]

Why is it that set neck Strats have never caught on?

[Don]

Because they're not "really" Strats?

Seriously? Because no one like SRV played one.

[boobtube21]

I've never heard of them. Did Fender ever make one??

[Fedora]

The showmasters are the only set-neck SLO (strat like object) I can think of. I'd like to have one, not a strat but they look like nice guitars. I don't think they make them anymore.

[phantomman]

P'raps because no one with the "gravitas" of a Clapton or a Beck or a Gilmore ever played one. As proficient a guitarist as he may be, Robben Ford just don't feed the bulldog.

[curtisstetka]

It's sort of antithetical to the whole philosophy of the assembly-line guitar that Leo dreamed up.

[chuckocaster]

too foreign also. i've seen some superstat type set necks, which sell to a small market. i don't think there's anything inherently wrong with a set neck strat, but i think on top of all the aforementioned reasons, i think first and foremost is that it won't sound exactly like a strat. i'm sticking with my "guitar is built on inefficiency" motto. the quirks of the strat all lend to it's aural stamp.

[phantomman]

I played a MIK set-neck Tele about a month ago in a store. One-piece body of walnut finished in a two-tone tobacco sunburst, with a rosewood board. Had S-D pickups and all-gold bling. Nice guitar if it wasn't so bloody heavy. The sumbitch musta weighed like ten or eleven pounds!

[DanD]

Originally Posted by curtisstetka

It's sort of antithetical to the whole philosophy of the assembly-line guitar that Leo dreamed up.

+1

+ the fact that changing the neck to suit personal taste or repair a worn instrument becomes a very expensive proposition w/a set neck.

[ch willie]

Great responses. I wouldn't want a set neck Strat, but I wouldn't have a bolt on Les Paul either.

[RamiLP]

Originally Posted by ch willie

Great responses. I wouldn't want a set neck Strat, but I wouldn't have a bolt on Les Paul either.

thats the way i've always seen it, bolt on neck = strat/tele, a set neck = les paul

[Jonnda]

I like the fact that the neck angle is under my control should I need to adjust it when changing other components or simply trying to get the best action. Can't easily do that with a set neck.

[71818]

Originally Posted by ch willie

I wouldn't want a set neck Strat, but I wouldn't have a bolt on Les Paul either.

Me neither.

[phantomman]

I'm with ↑him↑.

[Erock_Germany]

In the early 1990s Fender was making a Custom Shop set neck guitar. I got my hands on one. It had a reverse headstock, 2 Lace Sensors in the bridge and Lace Sensors in the mid and neck positions. It had a toggle to switch off one of the bridge coils and a 5 way switch.

I think they never really became a huge seller is 1) price and 2) very unique sound (not bad just not Fender or a light Lester)

The one I played had a Mahogony Body, quilt maple top and actually played and felt really nice.

Now, it was neither a Les Paul nor a Strat nor something inbetween. Totally different animal in all. If I had to compare it to something it would be like an Ibanez JEM or something.

The guitar sounded nice. I am almost boud to say really nice. It was a flexible guitar and could pump out nice clean sounds more in the lines of something with P 90s and the bridge pickups really hit the front of the amp.

The sustain and overall depth of the sound was actually awesome.

To sum it up.....nice guitar. Not a Strat. Not a Lester. If you have the cash to have a bunch of guitars, this is a cool one but it would be well down my list.....

[DanD]

Originally Posted by ch willie

Great responses. I wouldn't want a set neck Strat, but I wouldn't have a bolt on Les Paul either.

+1

Funny how that works. I passed up n ESP Japan Eclipse (LP style bolt-on /twin 'buckers) semi-hollow in exc condition w/case for 4 bills. I remember in the early 90s when these were new and selling for over $1500 at the discount music houses.

I'd have to say guitarists in general are a very conservative lot. We revere the 50s designs. Even the odd shaped guitars from the 50s and 60s like Explorers, Firebirds, Vs, Jazzmasters, Jaguars, and the bolt-on Coronado never receive the same respect as the LP, 335, Strat or Tele.

Vintage prices reflect the scarcity of original late 50s Vs and Explorers but that is more from low production numbers than from popularity. Comparing vintage prices on Firebirds, Jags, and Jazzmasters as compared to LPs, 335s, Strats and Teles gives one a better idea of what we determine as players and collectors to have value.

I can't think of one new guitar design that has been produced since the LP, Strat and Tele that has anything more than a niche market share in comparison.

[NeoFauve]

Maybe, if Gibson whipped up something Strat-ish, you know, as a tribute to Jimi, speculating on what he'd be playing today if he. . .

Oh, no, wait a minute.

Nevermind.

[ch willie]

Yeah, I have to admit I'm meat and taters when it comes to guitars: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, Martin, and Rickenbacker make up my collection. As a lefty I'm limited to what is made for southpaws--I'd LOVE to have a lefty Parker Fly with a set neck.

[Nairbr]

According to the DVD "Guitar Wars" Leo Fender went for a bolt on style neck because he suspected guitarists would need to replace them every 2-3 years due to wear and Fender Dealers were going to stock replacements.

I guess guitarists had more time to sit around playing in those days