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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
 Posted - 06/26/2006 : 22:44:37
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I am starting to seriously consider getting one, and wondered if any of the participants here had any input on their experience with them.
-- significant difference(s) between Standard and American Standard?
-- worthwhile pickup and/or hardware upgrades?
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 00:05:40
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I bought one a few years back and must have tried at least 30 different starts before I settled on one. What surpised me most was how different they were. Even between different guitars of the same series there was more difference than I expected so my first advise would be to don't buy online. You could easily get a lemon.
I like the finish of the highway 1 strats but for the most part I found them to be of considerably lower quality than the American Standard. Generally I found the Mexican Standard as good quality as the highway1 while the American standard was a step above the other two.
I also tried 70s and 80s strats and was really disappointed by the 70s models. Heavy beasts with chunky necks. I can't believe the prices I see some of them fetch.
I ended up with an American Standard from 94. Not the best of the lot but it is decent enough and it didn't break my budget. I didn't try any custom shop strats though and I'm sure Goran will say that's the one you need  |
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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 07:31:51
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Well, Custom shop strats are very , very good in all aspects, but you have to pay a lot for the pleasure to own one. I think CS strats are the best ever produced by Fender.
For a much lesser cost you can get a Highway1 strat, swap the pickups and there you are!!! But try as many different ones as possible, as Bossarea points out. American Standards are very good too of course, but you have to pay a little more for them, they have the same neck as Highway 1 by the way, wide frets, I like that.
MIM Classics are good strats too, the same pickups as on the Highway, you can get much better for a low cost if you buy second hand pups.
So my advice is, if money is no problem go for a Custom Shop or if money is a problem (as for most of us buying vintage Boss pedals) go for Classic or Highway. Consider the extra money for a Standard, they have pickups that are better than the two others.
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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 08:15:20
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Oh, Fenders and Squiers made in Japan are very good too, not too expensive. Pickups not always as good as the US-made.
Tokai strats from the 70�s and early 80�s are extremely good but could be a little expensive these days.
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ronster
Gold Member
Australia
645 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 15:48:20
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Hi Stahlhart, whats the interest in strats? What do you play at the moment?
Also Goran, what do you think of the 60th anniversary strats? I tried one the other day and loved it. I especially love the limited edition case they come in! Stahlhart, you might what to try one of these too!
Cya
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Dingus
Silver Member
USA
472 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 15:50:47
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I just wanted to chime in on this because I recently went through the same dilemna when I was looking for a telecaster.
For reference I have a Fender American Stratocaster, and love it.
But when it came time to get the Telecaster I went with a MIM one that someone locally had for sale.
I knew I didn't want to spend too much money on one, because I didnt have a lot of money to spend at the time. So what I knew was that the bottom of the barrel is a
Squier Affinity Series Telecaster - $170
I knew I didn't want this, I had played with some at Guitar Center and the neck just felt awful.
I played with the american ones, and they felt great and all, but were so pricey.
So I ended up getting a Standard Telecaster from 1994 that plays beautifully and sounds great. The previous owner swapped out the bridge pickup with a hotter one, and added a push-pull knob for the tone to make it bassier. It sounds great, although I'll probably end up swapping out the neck pickup for a hotter one to match the bridge one.
And for $200 it was right in my price range, I couldn't find an american tele in good condition for less than $500.
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 19:47:16
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Thanks very much for all of the feedback on this...
In a perfect world, I'd go for either the Custom Shop or American option -- I could probably afford to, but at this point I still don't think that my chops justify it, given that I had been away from playing for many years up until recently, and am quite rusty. I was thinking that one of the "middle of the road" Strats might be a decent instrument to get back into shape on -- I currently have an old cheap Les Paul copy that has been sitting in storage for all of those years, not being used, and the neck is in pretty bad shape, action too high in some spots, buzzing frets in others, and I really don't think it's worth investing a setup in.
I've always been more comfortable with "Gibson" style guitars, but would like to become proficient both here and on a "Fender" style also, and thought that this might be a way to get there, something in better shape for practicing but not overkill for my abilities.
And lately I've become quite enamored with the heavy Strat blues tone -- was listing to some live Robin Trower music over the weekend, and just realizing how much I love that sort of tone -- almost, but not quite as glassy and clear as SRV, perhaps a little more midrangey and closer to late 60s Terry Kath, or Jimi Hendrix.
I'm fairly certain that an MIM Strat is probably not going to do this off the shelf, that it will probably require a pickup upgrade at the very least -- but I'd like to do some experimentation with that through my Ampeg (and probably either the BD-2 or the OD-3) to see if I could accomplish creating tone like that.
I could (and probably would) go the Custom Shop or American Standard route down the road once I feel that my playing could at least partially justify a truly professional-grade instrument. The $400-600 price range was what I wanted to stay in for the time being.
I'm not familiar with Highway1 -- is that another Fender line or a copy? Any links?
Thanks again for the help here; I really appreciate it... 
edit: found the Highway One... that just might work, you know... will probably be either this or the MIM Standard; I'll make that decision once I've tried some of them out in person...
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Edited by - stahlhart on 06/27/2006 20:15:48 |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 20:16:51
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i have never really played anything else...i have a squier tele with some pickup upgrades(see dingus telecaster thread)and a old jap squier strat with the clapton mods,i also have a '89 american standard which i have to say is a great guitar no mods except some locking tuners ala mr jeff beck(another hero of mine)boss area has a good point your probaly better off checking out as many as you can..ie.. music shops,local ads etc..as there can be vast changes in
tone between different eras ......i also let a '62 slip through my fingers about 15 years ago... by the time i got the cash together the guy decided to keep it.......win some...lose some.. there are some great pickups on the market now for upgrades i put vintage noiseless in the squier strat....
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2006 : 21:30:35
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What are the "Clapton Mods"?
I'm keeping track of this stuff now. I've already learned in the past couple of days that Eric Johnson wires the two tone controls to the neck and bridge pickups instead of the neck and middle.
/I'll bet that that's at least 80% of the way to his tone
//but the remaining 20% of the trip must be Hell
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2006 : 03:34:11
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| the clapton mods are a circuit board with a 9volt battery which gives you a mid boost when activated by the bottom tone control on the strat,there is a lot of gain on tap with this system up to 25db according to fender...all i know is straight into a good valve amp it sounds class but the downside is i have problems if i want to use my distortion or overdrive pedals i think this is a problem with active guitars they are too powerful for commpressors,overdrives..etc but into my old marshall superbass and 2x12..its my favourite sound but far to loud for gigging i even have valve converters to bring the output down to 30 watts...!!the strange thing is my chorus,delays,phaser etc don't seem to be affected by the active pickups....the eric johnson strat looks very tasty thats a great price,by the time it gets to ireland it would be at least double that....he is some amazing player i have a couple of his albums here they a fairly hard to get here now... unless you search the net.. |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2006 : 15:52:13
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In reading up on the Highway One guitars, a common complaint about them appears to be in regards to the finish quality, that they tend to scratch/chip easily. Does anyone who has one have anything to add to this...?
It almost suggests to me that the satin blond finish might be the route to take, as it's essentially the same color underneath the finish as above it. But I've never been particularly abusive towards any instruments I've ever owned.
They don't offer them in black -- I'm guessing that they don't want any of the colors to overlap the MIM Standard choices.
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2006 : 19:35:16
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| strats and teles look better when their battered looking...!!gibsons need careful looking after except for les paul juniors which need a good kicking to look their best....!!! |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2006 : 22:49:45
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quote:
Originally posted by FRANZONI
strats and teles look better when their battered looking...!!gibsons need careful looking after except for les paul juniors which need a good kicking to look their best....!!!
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0150080800
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2006 : 19:56:42
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| legend has it that rorys fender was the first strat in ireland...........never seen him play anything else electric... |
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Topic |
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Fender Stratocaster?
