Educate me on Stratocasters

Mark Wein said:
The other problem is that I never really know what I think of an instrument until it's plugged into my rig and/or used on a gig.
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Indeed!

Mark Wein said:
I worked for a Fender dealer for 8 years and ended up doing Warmoth or custom builds the entire time that I could have gotten any instrument from them for cost. The Fender instrument I actually felt strongly enough to buy is a Squier CV telecaster. It really comes down to playing lots of guitars and listening to the one that says "take me home".
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What is it with those CV's? They seem to just be great. I switched out the pickups to Bill Lawrence models and holy shit is the thing playable and sounding great. How was I paid back for all this work and such a fine guitar?

My 14 year old daughter swiped the piece from me and I have not seen it since!

Classic_Vibe_tele_00.jpg
 
Scott_Abene said:
My 14 year old daughter swiped the piece from me and I have not seen it since!

Classic_Vibe_tele_00.jpg
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The CV Squiers would be excellent for a girl or a youngster -- I find the neck a big cramped for my preference, but like everything else about them. I've toyed with the idea of getting the BSB tele model and swapping the neck for an MIA or MIM neck. Would that fit?
 
Scott_Abene said:
Indeed!



What is it with those CV's? They seem to just be great. I switched out the pickups to Bill Lawrence models and holy shit is the thing playable and sounding great. How was I paid back for all this work and such a fine guitar?

My 14 year old daughter swiped the piece from me and I have not seen it since!

Classic_Vibe_tele_00.jpg
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They are just simple decent guitars. I have a pine bodied version and its a good little guitar. If I wanted to gig it it would need new pickups though.
 
telecaster911 said:
Just find one that you bond with irregardless of model.
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Scott_Abene said:
I would pick the one that plays the best.
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jelloman said:
Set a budget and play every instrument you can find in it...buy the one that works best without worrying about which model it is or where it was built...
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All of the above are the correct answer. Only thing I would add is to not give a monkey's about what name is on the headstock. There are plenty of copies out there that are fantastic guitars and will be better than a Fender. Ask Mark about his Tokai for one example.
 
I'm not a big Strat fan. The only ones that would interest me, would be a hardtail one (out there, but not that common - although the Robert Cray model is still available), or a of the CBS era "last gasp" The Strat" or Walnut Strat. They're a little different, and kind of cool in an offbeat way:

Fender The Strat
Fender-Strat-80.gif


1981 Fender Walnut Strat
Fender%20walnut%20stratocaster%201981%2013.jpg
 
I've yet to meet a strat I liked. So many have made killer music with them but every time I pick one up, I hate it.
Trem
Strings too close to the body
Third pickup in the way
Wiggly necks held on with wood screws from Ace Hardware.
Ick.
 
Mark Wein said:
It really comes down to playing lots of guitars and listening to the one that says "take me home".
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THIS!!!! It's almost like going out to buy a car. I tried out probably 150-200 different guitars before pulling the trigger on my Strat. One thing that helped me immensely was being able to have wallfulls of different instruments to try out in 90% of the stores I went into. Another thing that helped out was that I got into one of those 12 month 0% interest deals from the credit company GC was using at the time. With cash & credit, I figured I could afford 1100 plus bucks. Not too shabby, and it worked out great for me. Paid it off in 7 months, and never looked back.
 
Elias Graves said:
I've yet to meet a strat I liked. So many have made killer music with them but every time I pick one up, I hate it.
Trem
Strings too close to the body
Third pickup in the way
Wiggly necks held on with wood screws from Ace Hardware.
Ick.
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this and more.I just don't like 'em.
 
I had a free morning on a recent trip to California and went into a GC to kill some time. I tried out a few diferent guitars, but it was a used Deluxe Player's Strat with Vintage Noiseless pickups that knocked me out. I have had to wait for it to clear waivers, but it should be here in a couple of weeks. Can't wait. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I love it.
 
Mark Wein said:
They are just simple decent guitars. I have a pine bodied version and its a good little guitar. If I wanted to gig it it would need new pickups though.
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So I went back and played the Fender Classic 50's Tele with the chunky neck today, just to, you know, try it on for size. :wink: I noticed that I was having trouble barring near the headstock so I tried a Squier CV 50's Tele and the thinner neck created no problems.

Wow, that extra playing time saved me potentially $400 bucks! The Fender pickups sounded better, but the CV neck worked for my hands while still sounding pretty good. I also tried a Cabronita Tele, which sounded great through a clean Fender Deluxe RI, but nasty when pushed.

I see a CV BSB in the near future. I can always put in my Bare Knuckles Tele pickups if needed.
 
Tig said:
So I went back and played the Fender Classic 50's Tele with the chunky neck today, just to, you know, try it on for size. :wink: I noticed that I was having trouble barring near the headstock so I tried a Squier CV 50's Tele and the thinner neck created no problems.

Wow, that extra playing time saved me potentially $400 bucks! The Fender pickups sounded better, but the CV neck worked for my hands while still sounding pretty good. I also tried a Cabronita Tele, which sounded great through a clean Fender Deluxe RI, but nasty when pushed.

I see a CV BSB in the near future. I can always put in my Bare Knuckles Tele pickups if needed.
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Nasty when pushed? Which pickups does that one use?
 
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