What is it about strats?

[Kostas]

... From twang...to metal...to warm jazzy tones....they're all in there!!

You can do all that with a tele too.

Kluson tuners suck.
Little bent-metal bridge saddles suck.
The original, famous "vintage" bridge is too wide and/or the neck's too narrow, so the string fall off the edges.
The whammy won't stay in tune.
There's no tone control for the shrieky bridge pickup.
The original, famous "vintage" neck is way too curved-radius so you can't bend strings.
The original, famous vintage frets are way too small, like a ukulele.
The top control knob scrapes the skin off my little finger when I'm highly-stimulated.

I agree, but you're talking about vintage strats. We are in 2008, you can skip all these things, I did it for my Warmoth strat. You don't even need to buy a Fender if you want a strat. The strat, unlike the Gibsons, is an instrument you can modify A LOT! "Swimming pool" routing + pickguard means almost a new guitar. A new pickguard gives a new look to the guitar and every combination of strat, tele, lipstick, (mini) humbucker, P90 is availiable on the strat. It won't sound like a Les Paul just it has humbuckers, but with new pickups and those mega switches you can get many sounds. A guitarist on the budget, or someone who does not have the space/money for many guitars, he can have a strat and a few pre-wired pickguards.

Besides this, the classic strat sound (with single coils) is highly recognizable and unique. Both the strat & tele have a unique sound. These guitars if are fitted with single coils and 25.5 scale will have the original sound despite the use of different woods.

I have my Warmoth rear routed strat and it's my favorite guitar since the summer that I finished the project, although two teles and a Les Paul are the next projects. I don't think there is a guitar with a bad sound, how we use the guitars matters. I always liked both the Fender & Gibson sound. Different worlds but both beautiful.

 

[g2]

... From twang...to metal...to warm jazzy tones....they're all in there!!

You can do all that with a tele too.

Yes, I agree with you about the twang and jazz but metal??? Id have to disagree...but of course the umbrella of metal covers a lot of ground these days.

You could play any style of music on any guitar and make it work for you most likely...but, when you put guitars side  by side, the Strat is the most versatile IMO.

 

[Kostas]

I think the tele bridge pickup is more versatile than the strat bridge pickup, and more suitable for hard rock & classic metal. Fender though never had stability with their production line, so many different versions of pickups or woods or neck specs etc...

 

[felixrrr]

"I don't like the sound of fender single coils (actually I don't like single coils much full stop), and don't like the style even more."

Yeah, it's wonder they ever let Hendrix/Beck/Clapton/Gilmour/SRV/et. al. make records playing shite guitars like that....

I never said they were "shite". i said - "i dont like them"

 

[willyk]

The strat was designed by a radio repair man 50somethin' years ago. I reckon he did a pretty good job. If there is something you don't like, pickups, neck radius, bridge whatever you can change it pretty easily. The planet has changed a lot since the 50s but the strat is still around because it is able to be morphed into so many personalities. Just think of Leo's original as a benchmark, then build your own interpretation. If you hate the look, feel or icon status then build something else.

 

[Shmoopie]

i can't get a good sound out of my strat.
and that good strat sound i'm looking for, isn't the sound im looking for?
what, how is that possible? 
Oh year, im a dual humbucker, warm wood, plexi, hard rock heavy metal kind of guy.
Why can't i just get a custom warmoth strat to meet all those needs?
rather have a lester, the strat seams bulky (wide, long, hold laughs), and thin when sitting, im use to an acoustic, or a lester.
one thing that i do like about the strat is it burns nice and hot.

 

[Rick]

There are basically three solid body guitars and all other guitars are derivatives.
The telecaster
The stratocaster
The Les Paul
What is about them?  They had the mojo.
End of story. :rock-on:

 

[felixrrr]

There are basically three solid body guitars and all other guitars are derivatives.
The telecaster
The stratocaster
The Les Paul
What is about them?  They had the mojo.
End of story. :rock-on:

Some have fallen very very far from the tree.

 

[Rick]

"Some have fallen very very far from the tree."

What do you mean by that?

 

[neilium]

There are basically three solid body guitars and all other guitars are derivatives.
The telecaster
The stratocaster
The Les Paul
What is about them?  They had the mojo.
End of story. :rock-on:

...not quite:

Lloyd Loar, Bigsby, Richenbacher (pre WWII, authentically German spelling) and K & F (Kaufmann and Fender) all made solid body electrics prior to the big three. Danelectro produced all manner of unique, mojo-laden designs that had only passing resemblances to Fenders and Gibsons (really, where would we be without the Bellzouki?)

Also, I would argue that (for better or worse) the locking-trem equipped superstrat is enough removed from the classic electrics to earn a place of it's own. A whole arsenal of new techniques have come about as a result of the Floyd Rose. Remember what I said about the collective rock unconcsious. There's a whole generation of people younger than me for whom divebombs and squeals have always been a part of rock and roll.

 

[rahimiiii]

I don't know why... I love the sexy body contour (assuming it's an original Fender body and not those blocky mighty mite knock off) and its versatility. Ok some may hate the strat sound but with a pickup change the sound will change. I also like how there are many parts available for strats that aren't available for other guitar. Or maybe cause the first guitar I ever played is a strat style (it's a squirer affinity...)

 

[felixrrr]

"Some have fallen very very far from the tree."

What do you mean by that?

As in *IF* there is only 3 solid bodies and the rest are derivatives then some of the derivatives have changed from the original 3 an extreme amount.

 

[rightintheface]

There's a whole generation of people younger than me for whom divebombs and squeals have always been a part of rock and roll.

they weren't?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?  :icon_tongue: :icon_tongue: :icon_tongue:

"Some have fallen very very far from the tree."

What do you mean by that?

As in *IF* there is only 3 solid bodies and the rest are derivatives then some of the derivatives have changed from the original 3 an extreme amount.

eg: explorers, v's, warriors. the list would be largish. pretty much that involves the adjective "radical".

 

[rockdude326]

The Strat, because in this case we are talking about the Strat, is no more and no less capable than any other guitar - unless you're talking about the shiteee "metal" guitars that are coming out now, equipped with the most sterile sounding, toneless active pickups imaginable...but that's a different story....

The Strat hasn't made anyone's sound.  Just like no guitar has ever made a horrible player play well.  All the legendary players Jack had listed and countless others used the Strat simply as a medium, and with their own style, preferences, technique, etc etc etc... made their own sound and their own signature.  So, regardless of what you may think of the Stratocaster, just as many players have become legendary playing the Les Paul, the Telecaster...and many, many more have completely sucked playing these same guitars with the same cookie cutter amplifiers, pedal boards, tone controls, etc.

Hence, the wonders of being in the golden age of Warmoth.  We don't necessarily need to confine our definitions to these prototypes, because we can build axes way more custom and way more badass.  ccasion14:

 

[llama]

When I was younger I always avoided strats - everybody played them. When I was in my early 40s I did buy one - a new 1989 US in red and I loved it - I still have it. When I played my first telecaster about 4 years ago I liked that even better and I now have three.

 

[Cane]

This is starting to sound like I like Blondes more than Brunettes , or redheads are wild.
I'm so glad we all have different tastes or we would all be in love with the same model of guitar and woman.
And the same sound that guitar makes and the same sound she makes.

I personally like all LP's and a blonde with a loud pinch harmonic.

 

[haduken]

If we must think for the sub users that they made their own sound and their own signature.




_________________
Rapid Prototyping

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

Les Paul is like eating a big fat steak. Tough when well done ( Overdriven ) and Tender when rare ( Clean )

Strats are like creamy mushroom pasta. Silky and earthy, but you can add a bit of chunky meat to it ( Overdriven ) and creamy and precise ( Clean )

Depends what you like. I'm a bit of both!



And then theres dbw who likes LP's but is Vegetarian. Maybe a LP is the Vegetarian tofu.  :laughing7:

 

[neuftone]

I guess I'm just bored of the sheer ubiquitousness of strats.  There are lots of annoying little quirks about the 1950s design, just like there is with the tele, and the LP...one of the major reasons I like building my own guitars, with improved parts, more intuitive electronics (that second tone control...is that really worthwhile?), et cetera.  I'm not into the "Leo Fender/Adolf Rickenbacker/etc got it right on his first attempt" school of thought, there are plenty of things that in hindsight we would probably change if it weren't for the fact that our heroes used that exact design so it MUST be right.  But the one thing I still love about strats is the 2/4 tone, the quack, that chimey percussiveness.  To me, for funk and clean tones, they have a unique sound that you can't get out of a tele or LP.  I used to be an LP guy, but lately I find that it is my LEAST versatile guitar.  Anyway, they all have their place.  My desert island guitar is still something with P90s on it, though.  That's about the ideal compromise for me.

But hey, its just preferences, they're like you-know-whats...we all have them.

 

[dbw]

neuftone is right... I've been playing a lot of RHCP songs lately and it just doesn't sound right on the LP.  The coil tap on my HH strat works though.