The Gretsch Pages: Discussions: Other Guitars: Something I have not done in a long time

Something I have not done in a long time

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- Rated: 212 ↑
Oct 19, 2008 3:22 p.m. Proteus:

Many of my favorite guitarists have been Strat slingers.

Somehow, though I like the look and the scale length, few of my favorite guitars are Strats.

To me, a major focus of the instrument is the clichéd two & four positions - the sounds Strats and nothing else will make. They've been overused, but they're distinctive tone colors with a valid place in the palette. I know they're just part of the versatility of the guitar, but I likem in their place.

I've had a Strat of some sort since the early 80s, and I like them when I play them, but I've only used a Strat on two gigs in all that time. For about ten years, though, I used a guitar with very Stratty tones (along with a panoply of other famous tones).

Can't explain why I don't Strat more.
- Rated: 35 ↑
Oct 19, 2008 6:19 p.m. crowbone:

I Love the Strat, but after missing out on a '56 for $1000 when I was a kid, I stayed a Tele man for many years.

It was seeing Richard Thompson live playing his '58 Strat that made me get the GAS for it bigtime.

I had it for years and it sounded great. Everything a Strat should sound like. An American Standard in silver with that hint of green underneath, it was as pretty sounding as it was to look at.

I drifted back towards Teles though, probably for the beauty of their simplicity at the same time I was drifting towards Gretsches for their complexities.

The Strat went unplayed, and I just traded it over this past summer for the New Jet. No regrets though, and I can always go out and get a Strat.
- Rated: 49 ↑
Oct 19, 2008 9:48 p.m. Ric12string:

I have a Strat and I don't think that I could do without it. I think that the Strat has to be one of the more versatile guitars ever made. And, I love the feel of it. Perhaps it is the fingerboard radius on it, but I can bend strings on it much easier than any other guitar which I own.

I think that Mark Knopfler is another one whose use of the Strat I have always admired. (Although his may have actually been a Schecter!)
- Rated: 25 ↑
Oct 20, 2008 6:55 a.m. billydlight:

to answer a few questions: I am a rosewood guy. Maple necks feel a little sticky to me, especially back then, when I was younger. So the original maple was taken off and I sold it to Reba MacIntyres guitar player when I was on the road. He gave me more than I payed for the whole guitar. The neck that is on there now is of unknown origin but it had a grphite nut and Sperzels on it when I got it from a buddy of mine.

The Blackstar amp is Killer, and nice because it sounds nothing like my Standel. I use both amps on a lot of gigs with an A/B box. If you are looking for an AC30 go with the BlackStar sounds better costs less, more well made, IMHO.

Regarding "Stratty" middle tones, y'know I never play the in between sounds, they don't cut the way I want them to. I like the individual pickups ala 3 way switch. Guess I'm just old school
- Rated: 66 ↑
Oct 20, 2008 7:11 a.m. Walter Broes:

BillyDLight said: Regarding "Stratty" middle tones, y'know I never play the in between sounds, they don't cut the way I want them to. I like the individual pickups ala 3 way switch. Guess I'm just old school
same here. I prefer maple necks on Fenders though.
- Rated: 21 ↑
Oct 20, 2008 11:32 a.m. GentlBen:

I currently own 5 Strats and a Tele and have not gigged with any of them since I switched to solo gigs a few years ago. I still think that it is hard to buy a more versatile guitar for the money.
- Rated: 42 ↑
Oct 20, 2008 11:50 a.m. seadevil:

I've got a parts strat that is literally the only one I've ever liked. I replaced every piece of hardware on it and recontoured the Warmoth fatback neck to a soft "V" at the first fret. I still prefer Teles.
- Rated: 4 ↑
Oct 21, 2008 6:06 p.m. mad dog:

Strats are the strangest guitars. Took me about 20 years to bond completely with my beat up oldie. The struggles were tonal. It wasn't 'til I started playing fine tube amps that the tide turned. All of a sudden, the strat made perfect sense. I'd be lost without it. It's so right in so many ways.
- Rated: 23 ↑
Oct 22, 2008 2:34 a.m. Shuggie101:

My first electric was a '74 Strat and I kept it from 1980 until 1987 when I replaced it with my 1963. Until about 4 years ago it was probably the guitar I used most, but after I bought my Blackguard spec Tele it has spent more time hanging on the wall.

Two problems really. The first is that the veneer board is pretty much worn out. It should be about 2.5mm to 3mm, but it's down to 0.5mm in places. Consequently the neck's really skinny and it makes my hand hurt when I play it for too long. I'm planning to have the board replaced - bugger originality!

The other problem is that when I play it, I always lapse into the same old bluesy SRV inspired stuff that it handles so well. Since I've been trying to expand my repertoire in recent times, the Strat seems to hinder rather than help.

But Strats were my first love and I'm still crazy about them.
- Rated: 12 ↑
Oct 22, 2008 3:38 p.m. Chonny:

This thread reminds me why I prefer Teles.

Every time I play a Strat, STRAIGHT to the 2 and 4 positions.
- Rated: 14 ↑
Oct 22, 2008 7:10 p.m. MarkW:

I went through a phase "I have to get a Strat" and spent a year and played every one I could get my hands on. I came close with some model that had a push switch that did something on one of the knobs, but when I got home and played my Gretsch I couldn't remember.

Hey...got to admit...I am a semi or hollow body guy and I am not comfortable wit solids. Usually it is the other way around.

Wenzel-Love Los Lonely Boys!
- Rated: 27 ↑
Oct 23, 2008 9:49 a.m. audiodrome:

What's the story with the early '80s Made In Japan Vintage Reissue Strats vs. the Made In USA "Fullerton" Vintage Reissue Strats? I always thought the USA ones were THE ones to get and that the Japanese models, intended for the Japanese market only, were what eventually became the Squier Strat.
- Rated: 19 ↑
Oct 23, 2008 10:01 a.m. The Shetland:

speaking of the 2 and 4 positions I had a Nashville Tele and really loved the middle pickup, defintely gave off a Stratty vibe...plus the Tele spank...

not to wander off topic too much, but anyone have a Lone Star strat, or any other H/S/S model. I've been thinking about a Strat for a while, but have a slight aversion to single coils...maybe it's a phobia...
- Rated: 21 ↑
Oct 23, 2008 11:10 a.m. GentlBen:

I have a Tele with a humbucker neck, Strat middle and Tele bridge.
- Rated: 13 ↑
Oct 23, 2008 11:17 a.m. Catdaddy1967:

Wrong way around, audiodrome. Fender initially got a factory in Japan to produce a budget range of guitars to compete with the cheap copies being produced. Plus, it would help them get a foothold in the Japanese market. They used the 'Squier' name. The Japanese vintage reissues came after that - presumably once they saw how well the Squier range was doing.

At that time in the US, Fender were going all over the place with the Strat design, and if I remember rightly, it was only after a management buyout from CBS that the US vintage range came out.
- Rated: 13 ↑
Oct 23, 2008 11:29 a.m. Catdaddy1967:

Shetland said: I've been thinking about a Strat for a while, but have a slight aversion to single coils...maybe it's a phobia...
Why not do what I did? Get a US Strat and sling some humbuckers front and rear. (The bodies are already routed out for full size humbuckers - at least they are on my Strats...) You could always get single pickup sized humbuckers like a HotRails or something as well...
- Rated: 25 ↑
Oct 23, 2008 2:47 p.m. billydlight:

A Strat with two of these might be super cool P-Rails Humbucker that Splits to a P-90 or a single coil blade pickup
- Rated: 13 ↑
Oct 24, 2008 5:32 p.m. Catdaddy1967:

Just to derail away from pickups for a moment, I thought I'd A/B my main Strat and my DuoJet acoustically. My Strat is every bit as loud as my Jet (but brighter), which really surprised me.

My Jet has 11s on it (as opposed to the 10s on my Strat), and the actions on the two guitars are about the same.

Has anyone else found the same?