Strats
 

OK at 43, I am tired of acoustic strumming and I think I'd like the ease and the sustain of a fender stratocaster and amp.

My fingers hurt and even new strings don't satisfy the old '70s Yamaha acoustic.

For 2008 and later I don't need a MIA, as MIM will do fine (made in America vs Made in Mexico). If I was 14 it would be a no brain'er, I'd get a Squire and starter amp, but I'm not 14.

I don't really go for hummbucker sound and I don't think I'm Jimmy Page. I'm between a used MIM and a road worn series (single coil pickups). I picked up a couple of MIMs to play and an '82 MIA, but haven't found a road worn series to try.

Anyone have a road worn series? If so, what is your preference?

I'm planning on a trip to Sweetwater to play one of theirs, but that won't be till July.

I've had both MIA & MIM and my favorite by far, is my JV Strat. Never tried the road worn series, but can't imagine I would like it as much as the JV. My band days are long gone so an old Fender amp does me fine!

I had an unaltered '87 American Standard Strat a few years ago that sounded nice, clean and dry. It sounded great thru the Roland JC120 I had; very Mark Knopfler, Making Movies-ish. The action was lower than my Les Paul, so it liked very light strings. It played very easy. The neck was thinner and had the odd option of a Rosewood fingerboard. I'd have rather have had a maple fingerboard, but that's more of a personal preference. The Rosewood had some grain, and of course a maple board would be totally smooth.

I hadn't known about the road worn series until you mentioned it, Doug. Seems like that's just cosmetic stuff. Nitrocellulose paint, yellow-tinted lacquer on the neck, Scotchbrite scuff marks on the body and fingerboard...Close your eyes, rip a scale, and it sounds like any Stratocaster.

I was thinking the same thing. Wouldn't it be better to just wear one out yourself? That is half the fun, right?
My Strat actually isn't a Strat at all but a Peavey Raptor with Fender pots, pickups and a five way. I love the feel of my "Strat" but I couldn't deal with the Jed Clampet sound so I put all the Fender goodies in it.

Over-wound Tex Mex pick ups and jumbo medium frets are what I believe are the main differences, though most I picked last weekend were medium jumbo frets.

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If you can, check out the Fenders made in the Philippines. (Squire)
Strangely good. They play really well, (and seem to be better than the mexi and korean versions)

I've heard the Squire uses lower quality hardware??? Price is crazy low.

Thanks for the JV tip. I think I'll want to play one of those too before making the decision.

classic vibe squier gets KILLER reviews. I played a CV tele that was excellent. I am a crap player but I like to gear shop. My favorite strat was a MIJ 62 reissue. I had a MIA after that that was dead. Go play. Have fun. Check out pawnshops.
Larry

Yep... Squire uses lesser hardware, but like i said, the versions built in the Phillipines (at least as of about 6 months ago) play really well.

If you don't mind some "meh" finish on the bridge, they're a good value.

Now, if you're really getting serious.....
Nashguitars

I recently bought one of the '63 Teles. Holy crap.

Wow, Nash. That is interesting. I wonder if the Road Worn series is trying to cash in on the Nash story???

From the website

Odd little story: I was in my friendly local guitar shop, playing all of the Strats he had in inventory (he's the #1 Fender seller in AZ that isn't Guitar Center). I was having a hard time deciding which I liked enough to plunk down the $500-1500 as I was trying everything from MIMs to Deluxes. I finally asked the owner what HE thought was the best-playing Strat in the shop was.

He pointed at an ignored Squier Bullet Strat (one of several) sitting in the corner with a $129 price tag and said "If you don't believe me, play it and see". He was 100% right. The pickups were meh and I didn't like the HSS layout but it played like butter. The other Squiers didn't play nearly as nice...someone must've had an "off" day when that one was assembled. It played better than my Parker MaxxFly that cost 15x the price. I plunked down the money and ran. Don't pass up the opportunity to try out a Squier...they may be inconsistent but every one is a potential gem.

So far I have replaced the crappy tuners with Sperzels, the bridge with a Wilkinson 2-post trem, and have been through 3 different loaded pickguards in search of "my" tone. My latest pickguard is one I built up from scratch, so I'm getting that experience as well. Even after all of this I still have less money in it than a MIM and it still plays better than any other Strat I've laid hands on.

AR-15s and Strats are like Barbie dolls for grown men. :D

Get an MIM and put Vintage Noiseless pickups in it. Then go get it setup correctly. Locking tuners help quite a bit with the trem too.

I was told at one time by a Fender employee that there really is no such thing as a MIA strat except for the uber buck Custom Shop stuff. All the MIA stuff is made in Mexico and then assembled in Corona.

Seems you have to know what years the quality went up. I've heard MIM's made in 2008 and above are the ones to look for.

Doug, dont buy a Nash "relic". They just look stupid.

Being as youre in the US, US Strats are easy to come buy and cheap. The Mex stuff is generally very good and well priced. Really the biggest consideration is the config. I prefer vintage spec with their silly neck radius and trad arr angement of vintage bridge and three single coils- but a more modern strat with a flatter board and maybe a HB in the bridge is a good guitar

Ive owned many strats, and my favourite, which goes out to work every weekend is a 1991 Jap 62 reissue. Late 80s, early 90s JPN, cant go wrong (depending on condition ofcourse).

Strats can be a minefield, but being as theyre all Partsocasters, nothing is unfixable. Just find one you like and buy it....

BTW- the USA Eric Johnson sig model is a very very good strat, good as Custom Shop without the price tag.

Stuart,

Thanks, another version EJ to try out. The wife bought a garden shed in May so I have some time to kill before it's paid for. The plan is to try as many as I can and save up enough so I don't need to charge it.

You say it works every weekend. Are you in band, playing bars, events?

Any Youtube clips?

Just in church on Sundays Doug. ;)

THere is a million variants of the strat now at all price points- I cant keep up. The MIM stuff is generally really good, the USA gits are good (law of diminishing returns). Id just go to the local big box guitar shop, play a wallful and buy the one you like. Which may not be the most expensive either.

Then theres amps, a whole other question.

I guess that means no band. :rolleyes:

And an excellent question!! What amp are you looking at Doug? What type of music are you interesting in/planning to play?

Tube amp New vs Used, this is more of an unknown right now.

I was looking at a used Marshall 5w Class5 combo for $250, or one of the Fender reverbs.

Maybe I don't need all of that for just playing around the house,
Fender Excelsior?

5W of tube amp is very loud unless it has some sort of attenuator or master volume. I have a 15W Univalve and it is waaay too loud for "around the house".

Check out the Jet City PicoValve. I've never played one, but it looks like fun for the money. Plus you can swap tubes, which I find is actually fun. I also have a Roland MicroCube and am impressed with how much fun it is for goofing around.

A lot of it depends on what you intend to play. I wouldn't get an Orange Tiny Terror for country music, for instance or a Fender Champ to crank out some Tool. :)