I am new to electric guitars and would like to get a Fender Stratocaster to play blues, country and classic rock, but don't want to spend a lot right now to purchase one. I found this guitar and would like to know the pros and cons of a guitar like this one. Is it over priced? Will it be hard to sell? Your thoughts are appreciated.
http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/5255012555.html
That is a bit much for a partsocaster.. Go play a bunch and see what you like don't like about a certain strats...
Thanks I have had a chance to play a few stratocasters. I like the thin neck version and like the fat 50's or the standard p,ups. Currently I play a Yamaha 112J. It is a good guitar. Just doesent sound like a fender. I think the CG rparts strat is overpriced too. Maybe worth $125-$200 depending on how it sounds and plays.
If you are looking in the lower end of the price range you really can't beat the Classic Vibe series. Used one's are in the $200 dollar range and new ones are under $400.
They compare nicely to far more expensive guitars. About the best bang for the buck out there.
+100!Originally Posted by DanD
If you are looking in the lower end of the price range you really can't beat the Classic Vibe series. Used one's are in the $200 dollar range and new ones are under $400.
They compare nicely to far more expensive guitars. About the best bang for the buck out there.
Here's the deal: any Fender or licensed by Fender or such will sound like a Fender. You want a guitar that stays in tune and is comfortable to play. Don't rule out Telecasters or other Fenders...let the sound speak to you.
I've been VERY happy with MIM and Squier Fender Strats over the years. Try and find a good guitar set-up guy - you'd be amazed at what a good setup can do for any guitar.
Jeff Healey (RIP), if you don't know him, was a legendary BLIND guitarist who played a Squier:
Considering blind people can't see, and their hearing is more in tune than us normal humans, that says something.
Save extra money for guitar lessons or a good amp; your hands and your amp will do more for your sound than virtually any guitar customization will, IMHO. any legendary player out there will sound like themselves no matter what guitar or amp they use. Take John Scofield, for example...he plays Ibanez semi-hollow body guitars, played with Miles Davis, is a Modern Jazz Legend, but toss a Telecaster at him, and he still sounds like John Scofield:
Just my pair of pennies. Follow your voice, not the marketing out there.
Last edited by NTBluesGuitar; 11-20-2015 at 09:45 PM.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
Here's John talking about his signature gear that echoes some of what I mentioned previously:
"You put in the time, you'll get the results. And there's no way to get around putting in the time."
...and he mentions Jaco Pastorius.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
Thanks for the replies. I am still shopping for a guitar. After watching some comparison videos between mia and mim guitars I will be fine with the right mim guitar. I just need to find it.
I am looking at a american stratocaster and a 97-98 mim tex mex stratocaster. A few hundred $ difference in price. Which of the two will be more versatile musically, hold its value, be easier to resell, etc.? Thanks!
http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/5298637705.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/5333157103.html
In general, US made guitars will hold their value a tad better.
and they are usually better crafted too, but the mexicans are awesome too.
buy whatever you really like and can afford.
Oh and stick around. Don't forget to post pics of the one you choose.
I found a 91 American Stratocaster that looks like the Stratocaster in the header at the top of the page and i bought it. Yep i bought it. Played it through a Fender Deluxe vm last night and liked the fuller richer tone but noticed that the highs are muted compared to my yamaha 112j which is pretty bright sounding. The Stratocaster really brings out the tube sounds in the amp. Love it. Maybe i should have gotten a stratocaster with a maple fret board? Well its mine now I will get familiar with it and figure it out. I noticed that the tone nobs don't seem to have much effect on the tone and the lower tone nob has a detent in the middle of its range. Turning it to either side of the detent seems to have no effect on the tone. Is this normal? Thanks for the comments.
You see, the fretboard wood matters VERY little to a stratocaster's tone.
About the fretboard: Electric guitars don't work acoustically. The pickups create a magnetic field which captures the string vibration and sends it as a signal to the amp.
So, the wood in an electric guitar doesn't really "resonate" into the amp. It does matter a little, as string vibration may vary according to the density of the wood that holds the nut and bridge. So, a maple neck is a maple neck, and the fretboard won't matter much to the treble in your guitar.
That said, what kind of pickups do you have on the strat? A U.S. Strat sounding dark is a bit odd. Is it a SSS strat? Three single coil pups?
Which mods did the previous owner do to it, to your knowledge? You should have a tech take a look at those pots and make sure you check the amp settings before you compare the Fender to the Yamaha.
Last edited by S. Cane; 12-03-2015 at 07:09 AM.
I didn't think most standard strats had a detent in the tone pots...... could be the circuit has been modified, or you have some "other " version...... like a clapton strat or something?
Example - the clapton strat has an active circuit, and mid boost - bottom pot has a detent If I recall and boosts/cuts mid, while center pot acts more like a tone pot for the most part
someone can correct me - I may have that backwards -
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
A '91 American Standard Strat will have a TBX tone control with a detent at 5. 0-5 is a normal tone pot. 5-10 is supposed to increase highs and bass (though it's passive), if I recall. It should make a difference. It might've been modified or disabled.
The rosewood fretboard won't affect tone as much as you'd expect. The wood of the body and neck will have an effect, even through the amp, but not just because it's alder or maple or whatever. Every piece of wood is different.
Other factors like electronics, strings and setup have a greater effect. Maybe it has worn strings on it. Maybe they're nickel and you'd prefer nickel plated steel.
Don is wise!
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
Nah! Just experienced- kinda in a bad way. Among way too many other guitars, I bought a 1988 Strat Plus, 1993 and 1996 American Standard Strats and a 1995 American Standard Tele- all new, in my tone quest!
Thanks Don. The guitar is strung with 9's of an unknown origin which according to the literature that accompanied the guitar was what was installed at the factory. The PO included a set of diAdario tens. They may be nickle plated I will look when I return home tonight. Now that you mention it my Yamaha 112j has a rosewood fretboard and it is very bright sounding. I suppose I will forget about any concerns with the fret board. The body is made from one solid piece of what looks like alder. It has no glue up lines in it. I played it this morning and felt the bright tones were not as muted as I first thought upon first playing it last night. I am pretty sure this is the tone I was hoping to find with the purchase of this guitar. I will have to keep exploring amp and guitar settings. Besides the difference in tone between the Yam and the Strat i think the Fender pickups are much more sensitive to vibration. I need to be much gentler when picking the Strat strings than I did with the Yam strings. I needed to pick the Yam strings a little harder to get better tone and volume out of he instrument. While playing the guitar this morning on the clean channel I did adjust the middle tone control and was able to detect a very slight change in tone out from the guitar, but not enough change to say that the tone control is making a noticeable effect to justify having a tone control pot on the guitar and the lower tone control seemed to have no effect on the tone. Maybe your onto something when you say it may be defective or disabled. I may have it checked out. In contrast the Yamaha tone control is very effective at changing the guitar tone. I will post some pic's of the guitar tonight.
If the pickups are overly sensitive you can lower them. Also, you can EQ the guitar a bit by leaving the treble or bass end of the pickup closer or further from the strings than the other end.
It is SSS and looks exactly like the strat in the above header. I was told the guitar is completely stock. I am considering have it checked out and setup I need to find a reputable luthier in my area and go from their.
After some research i learned learned what the two tone controls do on this particular guitar. The middle tone knob controls the neck pickup. It does noticably effect the tone and the lower tone control knob is a pan between the middle pickup and the bridge pickup. It could still be a TBX, but i think it is a pan control? The middle and bridge pickups do each sound different and when panning between them a tone change is noticed It just seems like an unusual way to effect the tone. Curious to know why Fender did not have the tone knob effect all of the pickups?
If it's stock wiring, it's not a pan control. The bridge and middle pickup are on the same tone/TBX control. Touch the pole pieces with a screwdriver tip to see which pickup is activated and how its sound is affected by the controls.
The original Strats had only tone controls for the neck and middle pickup- none on the bridge. The Broadcaster (original version of the Telecaster) had no tone control at all!
Thanks Don that's interesting. I will have a look at it.
Still no pics hmmmm...
I suppose that's part of the fun. I will try and get a few pics up tonight.
Pics are mandatory
Sorry it took so long to get a pic posted, but here is the USA Standard Stratocaster along with the FBDRI amp I bought today. Both instruments sound great.
Last edited by Trav-ler; 12-14-2015 at 04:37 AM.
Nice!
Those look great together!
Thanks! They sound pretty good too. I'm having fun with them.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
