The Problem I Have With With Strats
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- Опубликовано: 3 янв 2024
- Today I ask the question "does a #stratocaster make you sound like you, or does it make you sound like someone playing a #strat?"
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The only problem I had with strats is that once I'd played one, I didn't really want anything else.
I've been a Strat fan for many years. From my experience it's the most versatile electric guitar out there, able to lend itself to numerous genres.
That's right, just experiment with different Strat pickups and string gauges. But I will add Strats are made in factories, whereas Tele's are made in Heaven. Amen.😜
@@thehonestguitarist6543 Haha! I love Teles, too.
@@david_matheny they're inseparable! And I'm a Strat guy, of course.
Starting playing in '72 with SG''s & Les Paul's...got me very used to having room for keeping my hand/ palm across the bridge - palm muting etc.
I guess that made my transition to tele's smooth, whereas shifting to strats; l could not adjust to my difficulty with constantly bumping the volume knob, turning it off .....
Just my experience..but l do really love tele's !!!
Additionally l also recently got bit hard by the single p90 Gibson SG. Unbound neck feels like a tele and that pickup really Growls - Huge...or tones down very sweet.
Less is more....Love it !
I love strats. I think you can sound however you want with whatever you want. All the different modellers and pedals available in these days makes the possibilities endless.
On another note happy new year, looking forward to many more beer o clocks.
the most comfortable guitar design ever - but never play mine, prefer having my ribs bruised by a tele
Biggest problem that I have with Strats is that I don't have one.
Lolz
My biggest problem is that l do have a strat 🤣
Much more pleased with my tele's
I've found the mid-scooped sound of the strat is something you don't get from any other guitar. If you get one with a humbucker in the bridge position, you can pass for a Les Paul, but I've never played a Les Paul that could pass for a strat.
A Strat style guitar is a valid part of any collection and provides a sound that it is hard to replicate on other styles of guitar. It is also arguable that an HSS configured strat is one of the most versatile guitars out there but everyone is of course entitled to pay their money and take their choice. Interesting upload John and enjoyable content as always.
Won’t hear a word against Strats , maybe the Jet is just not a great copy .
A Strat has a huge pallete of sounds. I use one all the time. The only limitation for me is you need to neutralise the tremolo system for non standard tunings. I bought a hard tail Bullet Squier to cater for this and it also serves as a spare for gigs.
I have mine set to down bends only. Other tunings are now fine.
that stat sound is the reason I like mine. It makes me soud better tha I am
I have always loved Strats. Over many decades I have tried most guitars but always come back to Strats. I find them versatile, comfortable , and I always want to pick up to play.
I am inspired by Strat players from Hendrix and Gilmour to Beck and Blug and always feel at home with a Strat in my hands!
I've been playing Strats since the late 70's, and their my go-to guitar. But they are not perfect guitars, not by any means. The way the top Volume control gets in the way of your fingers, and the way the switch is angled in such a way that it is easily flipped accidentally are a couple of design problems. At this point, I'm more drawn to my Tele, largely because they do not have the issues I mentioned. And this frees me up to play better with less worry. A Telecaster is all an electric guitar needs to be.
I love strats. I have other types of guitars, but to me the strats are the most comfortable ones.
Anyway, I think you can kind of make any guitar sound any way you want it to.
Loved the solo at the end. Great job John.
The performance at the end seems to support Glen Fricker's argument that its the amp and speaker/IR combination that has more effect on the sound than the guitar -except with the strat which was quite different.
I do seem to be playing strat-esque guitars more these days but usually with at least on humbucker on them (i'm also not really a fan of the position 2 & 4 sounds). It's an interesting question, and I don't know if there's an easy answer.
What a sweet dog
I'm not sure I'm fully understanding this? Yes a strat always sounds like a strat in the same way a saxophone always sounds like a saxophone. If you want to sound like someone playing a saxophone best not to actually play a strat. Gilmour used a les Paul on ABITW solo but sounded like Gilmour even though he wasn't using his usual strat because he was using 'Gilmour notes and phrasing'. To me you playing a strat sounds exactly like you playing a strat but still you. Sorry if I've completely missed the point you were trying to make.
Yes, I'm a Strat player and just assumed that the ABITW solo was Gilmour's Strat.
I was very surprised decades later to learn it was actually a Les Paul DI into the desk.
@@sophiemilton5939even more surprising is that Hendrix used a telecaster on Hey Joe and Purple Haze solos - still sounds like Hendrix when he plays it live on a strat. Just like Gilmour sounds like Gilmour when he plays ABITW solo on a strat... And to be honest John sounds, at least to me, like John when playing the strat.
IMO The Fender Strat ( original ) is the best electric guitar ever produced! especially the early ones.
The bridge pup on Strats can sound very thin, like that one. But you don't love HSS either John do you, like the Sire S7 you had? Beautiful solo you played there BTW
John, thanks for the video - excellent as always.
I notice that in the Strat solo you’re playing on the bridge pickup. I recently put a base plate on mine and it has changed everything. Something to consider?
Cheers mate!
Dan
John, how about Rory Gallagher and countless other greats? Cheers.
Horses for courses. I love Strats but I'd never want one to be the only guitar that I played.
Their biggest strength is also their biggest weakness- they sound like strats. That can be useful at times when you want that sound but i tend to record with my tele, lp,335,prs etc much more. The strat is the one I pick up when i want a quick unplugged noodle though
Uh, nope. There are too many S styles that sound nothing alike. Silver Sky vs SRV. Not a chance. Suhr vs Fender. Not even a chance. Sire vs Classic Vibe. Big no.
So bright. So strong. So strat. I've had a US strat plus since about 88 new. Steel neck rollers quick pinch tuners. It is the most pitch perfect ax I ever played. I just can't want anything else.
Once you go Tele, you don't go back!
Agreed. Since I got a decent Tele, my Strats are rarely played.
Much as I love my Sire H7, if the proverbial fire occurred I'm grabbing my Strat. The neck just fits my hands and the maple fingerboard suits my fingers and playing style. I have a 10-way switch which adds some interesting tones but I could happily run it on the wonderful neck pickup 90% of the time, and chuck on a soft overdrive and/or a graphic equaliser and you can fill in the warm mids quite readily.
Good video, John. I'm a long time watcher of your channel. Very informative. I've owned four (4) Strats over the years and I still have two (2) of them. One is a MiM 2008 that is just impeccable and a 2019 Ultra. Before that, I had a bone stock American Strat that I sold after less than a year and my first was one - a 2000 American Standard that I heavily modified with Seymour Duncan rail pickups and an LR Baggs acoustic bridge (for those songs where I played acoustic parts). I sold my first Strat (stupidly) to fund another purchase, and of course, I didn't get any of my $$ for upgrades out of it. It was my #1 for over a decade until I convinced myself I was a PRS only player. I played a PRS core CU 22 and Singlecut for a few years before landing on playing Gibson Les Pauls as my #1.
So why did a switch from Strat to PRS to Gibson? Well, in the beginning, it was about affordability. The Strat was $500 "used" at a local shop, and it was only a few months old, so I knew that it hadn't been used much. I played it every day, every gig, and it was my ONLY electric guitar for years. That said, I was in classic rock, blues, and country cover bands that wanted to hear me play as close to the original as possible. I took on the persona of the typical PRS player; you know, nose in the air, etc... when I joined a couple other bands, but I soon found I didn't really get much personality out of them.
My first (real/good) guitar was a Les Paul, so I yearned to go back. I bought a Les Paul and after going through a few, I finally landed on the ones I have a few years ago. It's hard to believe that it was 5 years ago that Gibson changed hands and the new 2019's where announced! I got a 50's Standard and really, that's been my workhorse ever since. I'm still playing covers, but I found my way of doing things in a Les Paul. You'll catch me playing a Strat, Tele, 335, SG; but I will always gravitate back to my 50's Standard or Slash signature Gibson guitars. After messing with the right mix of pedals (I use a Kemper Stage 99.99% of the time now), amp settings (also the Kemper), and volume/tone controls, I can go from crisp cleans to devastating distortion and everywhere in between. I could do the same for my Strat, and believe me, I love the Ultra I have; but I put more time into playing and less time into crafting tones as much as possible.
I've got a 20 ish year old sunburst Stat usa. I ♥️ it best in my 15 or so guitars, but how you feel is how you feel, it's a bit like tea or coffee etc. Cheers 🍻 take care ..thanks happy new year
Strange that the Strat sounds so different from the Tele. In my experience the Tele bridge has a touch more output but it's still very trebly. With modern amps you can make up for this with tone and gain settings. I've tried all the classic guitars over a 50 year period but nothing beats a Strat for comfort and versatility.
You could rewire a strat so the tone-control actually works on the bridge-PU..
@@hansemannluchter643 My 2013 USA Strat comes like that with a no-load tone pot'.
Excellent episode. Very informative about the instrument but also how one evaluates how an particular instrument can compliment [or not] an individual's style and preferred tonal palette. Tasty solo. The strat style seemed dialed towards the single-coil tones, rather trebley compared to the others. Strats do offer a distinctive, but very versatile range of tones, but I think any good guitar does. Keep up the good work and love the Dougal cameos! He's a digger! It's all in the paws, er, hands.
I couldn't tell the difference between the first three guitars but the Strat was more distinctive. Very nice playing and good video.
That is one sweet solo!
I think that if you changed your amp/eq settings you could get it to like your T types or however you like. Happy new year John.
"Vive la difference" perfect pronunciation, and he says I think that's French. Hope that arm is getting better.
Great vid John….. I have the JS400 which has the HSS pick-up configuration, which I find suits me perfectly for my more “rock” style ….. just a note regarding the Knofler sound…..I find my PRS with coil tap on the middle setting gives me a great Knofler sound ….. keep the vids coming John 👍🏼
I dig Strats, my only qualm with them is I find myself hitting the damn volume knob or the selector switch even while strumming a little harder. It’s also probably because I’m just more used to the Gibson layout though. They do sound very nice though and I do own a few myself.
Agreed. The volume knob is just too near the bridge, shame as I like them, had 3 sold them all!
Hi John, I kind of agree with you here but then if you think about Hendrix it puts something else into the equation. Maybe there's something in it, a guitarist friend took the pickups out of his Strat and put them back upside down if that makes sense he figured when Hendrix played his low E would be where everyone else's high E is. We never saw Hendrix with a lefty Strat maybe it was because it didn't sound quite the same.
You should try the Free-Way 10-way PU-selector switch..
The upper bank contains the missing parallel combinations (neck + bridge) and (neck + middle + bridge) together with three 'in series' combinations..
I would say that you are indeed a fan of the humbucker..which is your sound..although the strat has its place in the hierarchy...I have an hss strat that is very versatile and a joy to play but then again I dig all of my guitars...
swapped pups ,added shielding and lost track of how much the changes cost me but I have just installed a new neck and a loaded TV Jones pickguard and now it is quiet and clear and better in every way. I never want another Strat with single coils again. Strats sound great if no one else is playing. What a headache. Tried bigger strings also and that's not the answer.
When i started to play the guitar in the 80th i had no plan at all and bought a tele style guitar with a humbucker and a single coil and dreamt of that position 2 and 4 sound of a strat. It took me years to find out, that I just had the wrong guitar for the sound I wanted to achive and it took me another two decades until I finally bought myself a strat and I am really happy now to be able to play this typical sound I searched for so long.
Beautifull solo / guitar demo at the end. They're all Awsome but the strat really is the one that stands out. The only issue I have with mine is I think regular pickups may be better. I have the Gold lace sensors. They were popular at the time but I've heard many people diss them. I can't overstate the the importance of Fender Bullet end strings. At least on my US Plus they hold there tune on the bridge perfectly.
In the beginning I wanted a Strat because all my heroes played them, but recently and mostly due to your Fazley demo, and the fact there was a half year waiting list, I purchased a Vintage T style, now I have 6 T types all Vintage or Fret King. Sincerely since I have never regretted this 😊🎸
I'm at the cheap end of the budget guitar market. HB tele, LP and their 335 models are all great but should I try a strat from Thomann?
If youre on a budget try Jet like the one John did there are other models in the Jet range. Also Sire or Harley Benton are options.
Strats all day long for me. Humbuckers blow out the input of every amp I own and I don't know what to do with them. For my money, the lower output the strat pickups are, the better! That is why some Squires sound amazing! Strat users that sound like themselves using a strat - Jimi Hendrix - Alan Murphy - Ritchie Blackmore - Lowell George - Hank Marvin - Nile Rodgers - Dave Gilmour etc etc etc. If your strat sounds thin I would suggest that is more a problem with your amp.
What amps do you like to use?
BluGuitar Amp1 Mercury Edition
Marshall and Fenders with a ton of headroom. I also have a Boogie Mk5 which has a great clean channel, again with loads of headroom.@@chrisnedbalek2866
Wanted to get a strat for years but always ended up getting another Gibson. Thought they generally sounded thin etc. Finally decided to get a tele and found it to be an excellent guitar. Then I bought a hardtail strat thinking it would have a more solid sound and again it turned out to be another great guitar.
Saw a American Pro 2 strat on sale ( with a trem which I didn't really want ) and bought that. Ended up decking the bridge after much experimentation and I'm very happy with it. Though I turned the selector switch around to give bit more room for my hand.
Somehow some way I developed a thing for Strats from a very young age, and it absolutely had to be red with a white pick guard. TLDR I have one just like that but we have a love-hate relationship.
By some weird twist of fate a set neck hard tail double humbucker "metal" guitar came into my possession, which springboarded me onto Ibanezes etc.
I still want to be able to operate my Strat, but that poor guitar doesn't see much of the light of day.
On the other hand I do like their built-in reverb.
Reverb .... Tremelo springs?
People have been wedging a chunk of foam under them ever since the introduction of the Fuzz Box in '65.
The string vibrations excite the springs and whilst you do not hear it clean and dry, compression or gain can elevate it into a Problem, much as the Metal players often need to mute the strings between nut and tuners.
@@sophiemilton5939 The foam trick is great, but I actually *like* that airiness that the springs have on the tone. 😅
I know what you mean. I have three Strats currently, but bought and sold a lot more over the years. I liked the idea of playing a Strat, but could never get the tones I wanted from them, especially crunch and lead tones.
I get your point. I mainly played a strat for years. After I moved away from the strat I've never been able to go back.
i would say (as a guitar player) that the strat is the swiss army knife of guitars. you can tweak it and customize it to do ANYTHING one would do with an electric guitar. it's been proven many times that they sustain longer than all the others, for some reason. out of 7 guitars, i don't own one though. reason is, i think to get the best tones from a strat, you gotta wrassle with it. i also think that most of us players couldn't tell the difference between guitars on a recording, if they were played EXACTLY the same way, one after the other, through the same amp/speaker/mic with no changes.
I find the Tele has quite a distinct sound of its own; a Strat is more of a generic electric guitar sound. Perhaps that's because so many session guitarists as well as household name guitarists like Eric Clapton have used them, though, while the Tele is associated with a certain type of country guitarist (notably James Burton, but also Albert Lee and Jerry Donahue). I've noticed that quite a few guitarists who started out using other things have moved to Strats: Eric Clapton (originally used Les Pauls and SGs), Richard Thompson (from a Les Paul with P90s), Albert Lee (his current guitars are Music Man with a Strat-like pickup config and definitely sounds more like a Strat than a Tele). One guitarist who played Strats whose sound definitely isn't the "generic Strat sound" is Phillip Donnelly, who is best known nowadays for his work with John Prine and Nanci Griffith. Very fluid sound, not twangy at all.
I have one of Phil’s guitars. It’s a Danvel Nashville Tele built by Derrick Nelson (all black just like his U2 guitars). There is video of Phil playing it on here. I’m very lucky.
Interesting take. My biggest problem with Strats is the single coil pickups in general, especially the bridge. The neck/middle combination is great for the Hendrix or funk styles, but overall I do find them thin sounding and not particularly responsive. My "strat" is a cheap Ibanez Gio in HSS configuration, which I find is more versatile than the classic configuration.
BTW glad to see that Fazley Tele back in action!
When Leo Fender decided to carve a huge chunk of wood out of the back of the early Strats, he balanced that against not just a tremolo bar, but a tremolo block of brass. Most strat copies use a cheap and thin zinc replacement. I have a Squier 2004 Indonesian Affinity Strat, with a Guitar Fetish brass tremolo block (hard-tailed, however) , and yes it restores much of the original tone of a 1954 Strat. That block could even be twice its width, and the sound would improve.
Hello John.
the only strat style I like Is my Pacifica/ I Think the humbucker in the bridge makes a difference.
Thanks for the video.
Hi John, I am a confirmed strat man. I mostly use position 4 (neck and middle, neck pup fairly close to the strings, middle pup pretty close to the pickguard), it's a sound I love. I built a HSS strat over Christmas with the alnico 2 humbucker completely outside of the tone circuit, the signal is just going straight to the volume pot. The guitar is a phenomenal success, I hope your subscribers try this method. Happy New Year to you and all your subscribers. Graham.
Cheers mate 👍
Happy New year 😁
I do like a strat however I think the blank canvas thing is now the preserve of PRS and I think that's why some players don't like those?
Someone wasn't trying too hard to get anything other than a weedy sound out of that S-type.
It's OK not to like them but disappointing to see one misrepresented.
I agree I went down on that same road starting out as an Strat lover and today not so much.
I still like the design a beautiful guitar if not the most beautiful still but that is it.
Frankly, I like the footage of your dog! Was he digging to find some fossilized guitars there in that dirt? 😂
I have had a love/hate relationship with them. Nothing beats that clean neck pup tone, but in order to get a good bridge pup distorted tone you really need an amp that drives them hard. They need an extra push on their backside to get them over the wall and out of that jangle territory. I found some black bobbin duosonic pups with lower output. Thinner sounding, but clean, bright and precise. Paired with an amp that can drive them results in a monstrous yet razor sharp tone that cuts through. I really have rediscovered them. Though the the picking hand layout area sucks, I'm willing to stick with them because of the tone.
I never liked playing Strats, then I started changing them to humbuckers. Now I have 4 Strat type guitars, 2 are HH, 1 is HHH, and 1 is HSS. That's the only way I can play them. Having a single coil in the bridge of a Strat is just an exercise in thin sounding guitar tones. I even used hi output single coils from Bill Lawrence and another commercial brand of "hot" single coils(can't remember which ones) and still was never happy with the sound. Humbuckers are the way to go on a Strat.
I can't get on with the bridge on mine, going to try a fourth spring. Also, the volume knob is in completely the wrong place. You can tell Leo Fender didn't play.
I'm with you m8
I've never heard that 'blank pallette' tagline for Strats in the 40 odd years I've been playing . . . I wouldn't buy that for a minute. The guitar itself (before you add FX, pedals etc. etc.) has some very beautiful and distinctive sounds from the 5 positions but it will never give you the middle position on a Les Paul, the bridge on a 335, a Rickenbacker jangle etc. etc. That said, I have a Japanese made Strat from Roland (1981) and a nice MIM I bought a few years ago and I love them for what they are, used them on many recordings. Got my eye on a Rosewood neck American Pro II right now - it has 2 push/pull positions where you can combine bridge and neck, which is quite chimey, or run all 3 pick-ups at once . . . anyway, vive la difference and a Happy Musical New Year to you, Sir and all who sail in this good ship J.R. Guitarist!
I bought my first Strat in '76 and absolutely hated it. The neck was just too thin. Love a Tele, though. These days, I have a G&L that plays like butter and has all the Strat tones and more. I'll still always be a Les Paul first player, though.
I love Strats. And Teles. And LPs. And Hollow bodies. And acoustics. So I have one of each. Thank goodness I don’t have to pick just one to love. I could never be monogamous.
The problem I have with strats is not the way they look, play or sound but that bloody volume knob position. Once I bought a custom scratch plate with the volume moved nearer the switch I now like them. There is a guy who lives in the same city I do that makes them fully customised for about £15.
A Strat can be a blank slate if you mod it, just the pickup options alone can sound quite different. Had a Squier Strat once, modded the pickups and switching. Recently, my Lead II 'Player Series' Strat pickups lost their lustre even after modding, and after swearing I wouldn't I went back to PRS. I couldn't resist the deal of a new pretty teal PRS SE Swamp Ash Special HSH (20% sale and $100 gift card). With it's AS-01 single it does some Strat tones pretty well. I admit the 85/15S humbuckers sound awesome too.
What are those problems?
I like John because he just sounds like he's telling the truth as he knows it and no BS. I AM a Strat guy, but it has a strong personality and it's not for everyone. I like Pauls, Teles, 335s, and others, too. Strats will always be in my rack.
Not a strat fan either, I have a jet telecaster that I'm very happy with.
Got the LP and the PRS but mixed up the Tele and the Strat...Ah well!
All of those example sounded pretty much the same to me. The last one could have been the same guitar with a different pickup selected. Which leads me to believe you sound like you no matter what instrument you play. It's mostly an internal bias really.
I like the layout of a Strat. The volume knob is in the perfect place to be out of the way, yet accessable for volume swells. It's nearly impossible to pull them off on a Les Paul type layout. It's too far away from your picking hand.
I haven't played my strat in a while though actually. I built my own guitar, and it works really well for what I do at the moment. I put alumitone pickups in it, and can get pretty much whatever sound I need, without the annoying hum that comes with a single coil. I made sure to put the volume knob where I need it, and it functions pretty well. Plus it will never be mistaken for any other guitar. visually anyway.
As a final note, it seems to me that back in the '70;s when everybody was playing Les Pauls, people said the same thing. Everyone sounds the same.
It was probably just a lot of the same influences more than the guitar though.
In 1983 I bought a tokai TST50 Stratocaster, one of the best guitars ever. It is better than most fender ones I have played and owned. The stratocaster is the most versatile guitar I play, I cannot get on with Les Pauls or 335's, but a Gretsch 6120 or Stratocaster does me. The Stratocaster is a swiss army knife with strings on.
"The Problem I Have With With Strats."...I haven't got enough of them!!🤣🤣..sorry-couldn't help ot-nice playing though-very tasteful.
At one time I was looking for a Strat or Strat style guitar
I seriously considered a Godin Progression
I wound up going in a different direction.
I found what I wanted from a Strat from my Mustang
Yeah, they aren’t identical, but it was close enough for my purposes
But nothing against Strats, I like them, and who knows, I might get one some day
But I think gear wise I will be more likely to get another bass or amp.
I love playing Pink Floyd stuff but I always play it on a telecaster. Can't get on with the strat.
It’s the same with every guitar John, it’s what you do with them . Robbie Blunt & Big Log is your classic Strat yet Ritchies solos on Made In Japan ( and the rest ) used the same instrument.and sound completely different. In the original recording of Albatross, Peter Green did of course use a Strat. The most versatile guitar out there imho...
I am lucky enough to have 3 Strats:
a 76 natural hardtail - distinctly spanky ala Robert Cray,
a CS 63 - proper Clapton tones thick creamy mid neck lead tones and, most recently
a pro model 1107 with samarium cobalt pups (probably the easiest Strat I’ve ever played). (Still trying to pay this one off! )
All distinct, maybe more to the player, yet all definitely Strats and Stratty!
Fancy a jam/shoot out …. Budget v Vintage v CS?
Uli Roth and a strat is pure sonic heaven. My problem with them is the volume control gets in my way.
I agree, I have owned a number of S-style guitars including a killer G&L Strat but I have sold everyone of them. Don't get the same feeling I get with a PRS-style guitar.
Change the wiring, swap 2 cables and the sound is there ! Modern wiring sucks !
Strats are touted as being incredibly versatile but for me they're a tad underpowered unless there's a humbucker in the bridge.
I was playing guitar 20 years before I bought a Strat. Any time I had with them (a few minutes here and there) they always felt weird to me. Sort of slippery and flat topped. I decided I really should buy one after playing two decades and in the 9 years or so I’ve had it I use it only sporadically. After a while it feels good but as soon as I pick up a Les Paul, Tele or SG I feel far more comfortable.
I think it’s because I haven’t made the effort with it to be honest. If I used it more I think I would get more comfortable with it.
Whilst everyone says they’re so versatile, I find myself on the neck pickup 90% of the time. Sort of the opposite of the Gibson’s where I live on the bridge pickup.
I'm trying to place your accent... Guessing somewhere between Consett and Darlington?
Originally from Middlesbrough. Currently in Redcar :)
Chris Rea caught me out the same back in the day
Well, I have tried two Strats over the years. The foist one sounded like shite. The second one was pink. Both of them lefties. I guess it's all in the fingers.
I have 3 strats but I prefer teles. I actually play Les Pauls mostly
A lot of successful rock / blues strat players change the bridge pickup for something with a lot more power and beef, knopfler, Gilmour, Edge, Blackmore.and many more, it transforms the strat into a great guitar.
A lot of them use stacked humbuckers. personally I put a tappable hot rail in it.
💖
That quaky Strat is absolutely lovely, turn the volume up! I have always owned Strats and LP's, an HSS Strat is basically a do-all guitar. LP's are great for distortion/high gain.
A friends MIJ Fender Tele is one of the most uncomfortable guitars I’ve ever played, digs in everywhere, my Strat copies are far more comfortable with their contoured bodies, having said that my Chapman Tele is a dream again a contoured body makes a comfortable guitar!
I think the Strat offers the most tonal possibilities to express your own unique character...maybe it exposes some players. I find 90 % of Les Paul users use it to get that thick , mid heavy sound or do the Slash creamy front pick up thing. Whatever gear you are using, ultimately you should do all you can within your own capabilities to develop your own sound. Think of the guitar legends we all look up too , you only need to hear a couple of bars to know who you are listening to. To achieve that with so much music and so many styles already out there , I think it becomes a harder task as time goes on , and no matter what guitar you favour , to be seen as a truly a great guitarist you must be uniquely you!
People tend to think they can tell what guitar they are hearing on a recording, but thats bs . Ive fooled my friends with a V guitar with emgs into saying how awesome my new strat sounded. Similar pickups and amp skills can mimic any sound.
Not a strat guy - never have been - never truly will be.. The volume knob drives me nuts.. Going master vol/tone improves matters, though.. I like the sounds, although I think I prefer G style guitars, to play.. some guitars I just prefer when other people play them..
Paul Kossoff you knew regardless of a Les Paul or a Strat
I own a few Mate. I’m not in love with any of them but, for the love of Pete can’t seem to sell them😳😂🤪
i'm sure all those solo's were played on a Martin D-18
I disagree with the blank canvas idea. A. strat is a box of watercolours, if you want a painting analogy. While a Les Paul is painting in oil. I have a PRS that is a blank to do whatever I will with, but that whatever usually turns out to be leaving it in its case while I play my guitars with character. The point of a Strat is Those Sounds
Don't get me wrong I love Strats - but a Tele with Humbckers is my choice.
I think the Strat is probably Leo Fender's pinnacle piece of ergonomic and artful design - volume knob position aside. (The PTB circuit on his G&L guitars is also fantastic. )
If you had played the solo on the neck pickup it would have sounded like the others.
Bridge & Middle is my least favourite position - yuk. Neck & Middle is better. Good if youre not having to fight too much with other instruments.
I love Strats but Im mostly a Tele player.
If you do volume-swells, that knob is in just the right position..
Just can’t get on with the “cluck” of strats. I ‘ve tried, but no. Much prefer a tele. 😎