Fender Stratocaster

[chad]

IF you have a Fender Stratocaster tell me what you think about it. Does it sound good? Feel good? Tell me what you think. I was planing to get one that had a sunburst body with a rosewood or ash fretboard, like this one:
http://www.fender.com/products/prod_images/guitars/0134600332_md.jpg

Give and overal rating like a 5* 4* 3* 2* 1*

[Paranoid]

I would like to know too, I'm thinking about getting one.

[zachfrazier]

i got one for xmas and its dark grey wit black pickguard and they are great. the body feels good and comfortable neck made out of high quality wood, but for your strings get super bullet. Just trust me. but the strat is my all time favorite guitar and my cousin has a gibson les paul and my strat kicks its butt :D

6 out of 5

[tx95pony50]

Hey Chad-This is Chad-
Strats are great-good tone and easy to work on-not too high-dollar either. I've only had one complaint about any of mine-and is shared by others I've talked with- the darn volume knob is right there where it's easy to turn down by accident. Overall though- I'ts a great axe and I'm sure you'll end up owning dozens of Strats over the years.
Rock till you puke dude

[NapoLoso]

I own two strats and i love them both.
One is a Mexican made fat strat and
the other one is an American made
fat strat. Both sound really nice,
i love everything about them. The only
difference at least to me, is that the mexican
strat's fret board is a little bit fat or thicker
and the American made's fret is thinner and
for me it's a little easier to move up and down
the board.

[Blewbyou]

I own an American Strat and would rate it a 5 on your scale low fast action sweet tone I may be looking for another down the road. But for now on an acoustic kick and don't play much electric

[Matt]

I own also one, not a original fender, but an imitate. in cause i've just begin playing the guitar, i've never played another one, but i like my "axe" :D i think it sounds very good, but i still nee a distortion so it would sound better ;)

[chad]

So an American one is better than a Mexican one?

[zachfrazier]

no its just if you have fatter fingers or if you have small hands

[chad]

no its just if you have fatter fingers or if you have small hands

Which one is for small hands? Mexican or american?

[NapoLoso]

Which one is for small hands? Mexican or american?

I would say for smaller hands get an American strat,
cause at least for me, i noticed that American strat's fretboard
isnt as wide i dont know if other members would agree,
as soon as i grabbed the american one i noticed the differnce

[chad]

ok thanks . I'll probably get an american

[NapoLoso]

ok thanks . I'll probably get an american

Or you could go to the store and try many different ones
and get the one that you feel most comfortable with since
you're gonna be spending a lot of time with it and it's
always a plus playing something you're comfortable with as
it will make your experience more enjoyable :)

[garygarrett1]

I have a mexican strat sunburst and I love it, although I do have to admit that I am not of the skill level to truly put it through it's paces.

Get either the mexican or the american (which ever is in your price range).

[sdazul]

I have owned both american / mex and a japanese strat.

visited both places they made them , Ensenada , and Corona ca.

they are the exact same .... in fact saw some of the same guys putting them together.

I have settled over the years on a mex strat...sounds great , feels great and looks Bitchin too.

not a heavy strat...

amazing tone and sustain from my les paul...just depends on the sound you want out of your guitar.

I prefer the strat...but love it when i can get the LP studio going...and my LP studio is a teal color looks awesome.

[Chris From Paris]

Well I've got some electric and acoustics guitars and I've "customized" a Fender Stratocater Made In Mexico, with new 57'62' Fender pickups and it sound GREAT for a little money;)

[Doug]

I have a Strat Gold 50th and also a 40th anniversary. To tell you the truth if you are on a budget or just starting find something cheap. I bought an old Harmony electric MIJ on eBay 2 years ago for like $50 and still play it all the time.

I wanted to get a Tele but didn't want to put up big bucks for a Fender so I ordered a Jay Turser for like $150 and am anxiously waiting for it to be shipped.

My main player though is my 50th Strat my wife bought me for x-mas last year.

If you have the cash and know you are going to persue guitar go for a fender. But if just starting there are several inexspensive strat knockoffs out there that are just as nice as Fender without kicking you in the wallet.

[rjet43]

i have a mexican stat. not to bad i say a 3.5 but i also have a gibson and an epi. les paul and i think both of those kick butt! just remember that every guitar has its own sound so it really depends on what music you like I.E. thats why you see players on stage change guitars so many times, different sounds!:) :) :)

[samuraisam]

IF you have a Fender Stratocaster tell me what you think about it. Does it sound good? Feel good? Tell me what you think. I was planing to get one that had a sunburst body with a rosewood or ash fretboard, like this one:

Give and overal rating like a 5* 4* 3* 2* 1*

I have a Mexican Stratocaster FMT SSS (full maple top, tri-single-coil) and love it. The pickups are mounted directly to the body and I notice it has a deeper sound than my Standard-wielding friends' Strats. If you can pick up every single different version of a strat you can find and go with the one you fall in love with. They're strats--so they'll all sound great--pick the one you love most.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/330606342_de0613732c.jpg

-Sam

[mybeercansempty]

i have a black 50th aniversery mexi strat and all i can say is that it kicks ass.
i dont see the point in getting an american strat because there exactly the same. the only difference being the price. i paid 350 pounds for mine, thats bout $650, the american strats started at 500 pounds thats about $900. Theres no way that i would pay $250 extra for a guitar just because its made in the states. strats rock and are really good for punk and all sorts of rock. The only down side to them is the location of the pickup selector as i keep on hitting it and knocking it on to the middle pickup but im sure in time i will get used to it, any hows i should spend less time typing on here and spend more time putting the practice in, adios

[zachfrazier]

well Im 14 and i have a mexican. But im 5 9 so i got big hands so i guess get the american if you got tiny hands

[ES335]

there are different neck shapes available on strats and you should do some research on them to see which you like. i have a '93 strat plus that i just love. the neck on this one is a little thinner and faster than say a vintage strat. it also was the first model to have the fender lace pickups which are fantastic pickups. last year i built a "strat" with warmoth neck and body, and assorted fender factory parts, it has seymour duncan, antiquity, surfer pickups with a custom bridge pickup, i painted it ice blue metallic and put a maple/maple neck with a fair amount of fender amber dye on it because i wanted it to have that warm, honey gold neck. my intent was to build a clone of a '65 strat in tone and appearance. my son played it through my '65 fender bandmaster amp and instantly fell in love with that classic sound. he went out and bought the same pick ups for one of his strats. i have a couple of gibsons too and i love all of them because they all have a different sound and a different feel. but you CANT go wrong with a strat in my opinion. they may be the most versatile guitar ever produced plus they are economical and simple in design.

[markerdown]

MIM strats are for smaller hands is a lot of horse hockey. Strats come in numerous neck shapes and fretboard diameters. MIM, AM strats along with CIJ and MIJ strats including squiers all come in such a variety of neck shapes, pup configs and fretboard diameters, the best places to check out all the models is on line at one of the big store and surf the strat pages. If you have a GC or Smash or any music store close by you, go play some. You will find that they all don't feel the same, even though thay may be the same model. Personally, I have 7 strats ranging from a HSS squier to Am vins and AM deluxes with scn pups. Neck shapes from soft V to modern C to vintage D. I've also assembled a few frankenstrats. It's always best to drive one before you buy it and if it's new, don't be afraid to tell the sales person to bring another so you can compare. Just my .02...................markerdown

[Leigh]

I would say for smaller hands get an American strat,
cause at least for me, i noticed that American strat's fretboard
isnt as wide i dont know if other members would agree,
as soon as i grabbed the american one i noticed the differnce

Surely American Starts aree more expensive than Mexicans because they are made of different wood and pick-ups etc :confused:

Thats what the guy told me in the Music shop anyways.

[nella]

I love my strat. I am a beginner but spent a long time in a Guitar Center looking at American and Mexican Strats and comparing them. You can also look at specs of every new Fender guitar at www.fender.com. After looking at it I think David Taub is right in reccomending the Mexican Strat for beginners. The price difference is significant and I found an almost new Mexican strat with upgrades and a hard case on my local craigslist for a very good price.

[Carl "Lightning" Spackler]

I bought a 2006 American Deluxe Fender Strat (sunburst) yesterday from Guitar Trader. It will be here Monday. I'll let you know.

[james]

put some pics up if u can

[Carl "Lightning" Spackler]

I will do that.

[Carl "Lightning" Spackler]

Here's a pic of the new Strat:

http://www.freewebs.com/nednederlander/guitarpictures.htm

[Carl "Lightning" Spackler]

The American Strat is just about everything you could want and more, including the USA stamp, but I've consistently heard that playability and quality is not significantly different from the Mexican Fender Strat. So if your on a budget, play a few and buy the one you like. Remember also that there is a C neck and a V neck so make sure you play a few to find your fit. If you've got the money for a Fender American Deluxe, you might consider a Gibson Les Paul Studio which is my personal favorite, having incredible sustain and a lot of bang for the buck. Although I think the average discounted price has recently increased from about $1000 to around $1200.00. Good Luck!

[chad]

i ordered this
http://www.guitartrader.com/itm_img/EGFNJ4-STDSTSBR-f.jpg

it should come friday the 23 or monday 27 something like that

[Carl "Lightning" Spackler]

Sweet! Congratulations.

[bethnalgreen]

Surely American Starts aree more expensive than Mexicans because they are made of different wood and pick-ups etc :confused:

Thats what the guy told me in the Music shop anyways.

Some of the parts may be of a slightly higher quality (e.g. pickups, machine heads ?) but there are other forces at work here.

The labour in Mexico is obviously cheaper which will affect the retail price. Also, from a marketing point of view, Fender know that the USA badge has a value and they will therefore add a premium for this.

The question to ask yourself is ........ are the benefits of the USA model worth paying double the price of a Mexican version ?

[Blewbyou]

bethnalgreen,
Makes a very strong and valid point I own an American strat and am now looking at a Mexican Strat. I can always upgrade the pu's if need be

[chad]

I got it yesterday and i love it.

its awesome:cool:

[zachfrazier]

this is my guitar exept the color is dark grey not black

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0133100306

[jeromekayla]

yo Blewbyou is the american strat any good, and how much did it cost

[Blewbyou]

I love the American strat. The action is wery low and fast and the tone is creamy almost melt in your mouth tasty like. I think it was $1300

[ez-one]

I have an American Deluxe Strat, and they are fine guitars, the AMerican made ones are way better than the Made in Mex ones. THe electronics are better the frets are detailed and dressed better, the quality of the woods used are better. The old made in Japan ones are better quality than the Mex ones also. For comfort they are light weight compaired to a LP the coutured upper body makes them fit well againest your body. I like the American Deluxe models because of the S-1 switching that switchs the pickup wirring from searil to parialle (pardon my spelling) so you get a kind of HB like sound. Also the new noiseless pups are really well done and have great tone and vol.

[123_Rizz_uk]

I bought a Mexican strat, why? well the guy told me they are not that different in sound yes the wood is grade 1 on the american strat it has better electronics and higher build quality and he said they do sound better but he said the mex strat is a lovely guitar then he played it, and it sounded awesome, I would have wasted my money on a American strat because im not a very good player, I dont think its worth recommending a MIA strat to a novice player. But a really good player will naturally want a MIA strat. I could have afforded the £650 MIA strat but would it have made me sound any better ? I doubt it.

[ez-one]

I have an American Deluxe with maple fretboard and its by far the best guitar I have ever owned. On a 1 to 5, I would give it at least a 5, great guitar, stays in tune. very verisitaly.

[drudge]

i got a mexican strat from musicanfriend for like $300. its my favorite guitar. right from musiciansfriend, out of the box i was able to play it. i dont know if someone had previosuly bought it and set it up or if it comes from the factory like that. either way its very good right away.

the fretboard is maple and is very fast. it came with fender bullet strings and those werent bad at all, i liked them. i think they were .09s. i use DRs now, still .09s.

as far as pick-ups go; i can't tell you much about them. they sound great. i can easily get a good blues sound from that axe.

pretty decent weight too, not heavy at all. i've had it for less than a year now, but the finish on it is still fine and i've whacked it, banged it, dropped it several times already.

really good guitars.

[Hendrix]

I have a 60th anniversary american strat.. its beautiful. The neck feels amazing, well atleast to me cause i went from a squier to an american. The pickups are great, the middle's overwound for that nice crisp sound. The body is alder and the neck appears to be maple, with a rosewood fretboard.

It sounds good too, but it could be MUCH better since i'm literally playing on an amp that my guitar is worth 38 times more than. (I actually did the math)

Id definately recommend it to someone. 5

[ez-one]

also strats come with different types and styles of necks, mine has the modern C, some are thinnner some are wider, so you should be able to find one thats comfortable for you.

[mauiblues]

I have a mex strat that I bought at guitar center and all I can say is that I will have it forever. It's awesome! You can feel the quality in the mex and american Strats. Stay of away from the Squiers series. I lined up all the guitars around me at the store and went through all the different models and choose the fender mex with the humbucker pick-up at the bridge. Know what kind of music you like to play and go from there, I like rock and blues. When you put that one guitar in you hands you have "this is the one" feeling

take your time and choose wisely and drop some money on the one you want.

[123_Rizz_uk]

I have used a mexican Standard strat and HSS strat both for a week, and they are really nice to play, I now own a korean, Lite Ash strat and its better than both mexican strats, the neck is better, the pickups are Seymour Duncans, American 2 point tremalo, the build quality is better but its the neck that is so much better (smoother easier to move around) and its 22 frets. But the mex and korean strats are really good especially considering the price over the American built strats. I dont see the mex or korean as fake strats, some people do I think.

[Roach]

One other option you may want to look into is G&L guitars (by Leo ), i just picked up a legacy tribute and i cant even to begin to express how great of an instrument it is for the price.

[marshallTSL]

Here's my thoughts on my USA 70's strat, a reissue.

It simply does not play as fast as my Gibson SG supreme, possibly because the action should be adjusted which will be done soon, but also because it had a laquared neck, that slows things down a bit, but looks ow soo good.

I was worried there would be alot of feedback from single coil pick ups, i havn't had any issues yet, keep in mind i play at loud house volumes not club volumes

Through my marhsall TSL half stack, i feel i get a very genuine hendrix sound, possessing that brightness that my gibson lacks. Through a fender blues deluxe it has a much nicer clean sound than the gibson, and when i play something like clapton's wonderful tonight, man, it just has such a nice bit it acutally stings. a little cleaner and a little more crisp than the gibson humbuckers.

now, one might look at this and think, obviously the strat is a better match for those to artits as they played 70's strats, well yes, but to my knowledge most of the chilli peppers stuff, john plays on a 70's strat but the gibson sounds more authentic to me, i like that richer, darker, tone, and the ease of playing a little faster as the action on my sg is pretty amazing.

i'm really not sure what gage strings are on it, although they feel like 10's, they are much harder to bend the g and d string than my sg.

I know amazing tuners are more of a luxury and maybee not that important but my guild starfire has a set of grovers on it that are amazingly smooth, easy to turn and persise. the tuners on this strat, meh, not that nice. they hold the tone but feel choppy when tuning and are more difficult to nail the exact pitch.

last comment

This may sound stupid, but when i play my sg standing up, the head is so heavy it falls to the ground if i don't have my hand supporting it. the strat sits really nice and confortable, and i can take my hands off no prob.

i'm gonna restring with 10's and get the action checked by my pros at the 12th fret in toronto who are amazing if you guys need anyone good in the T. and i'll report back if anything changes

[ez-one]

I have an American Deluxe Strat and there is no comparision to the MIM ones, I also agree with David for a beginner or someone fiarly new the mexican strats are a great deal for the proce and what you get, ALso the G&L Tribute line are also great guitars in that price range, but when you move up to the American Deluxe strats, the pick ups, fret work, etc is a step above the rest, they feel different play different, I would have never thought that it would be that different, but once I got one it was amazimg how much nicer they are.

[bobthecow]

but to my knowledge most of the chilli peppers stuff, john plays on a 70's strat but the gibson sounds more authentic to me, i like that richer, darker, tone, and the ease of playing a little faster as the action on my sg is pretty amazing.

John Frusciante plays on '62 strats, '62 Jags, and '65 tele's. Hillel Slovak, the original Chili Peppers guitarist, played on 70's strats.

[pulja_91]

ill just say 5, i wanna get it myself its a great guitar,and im a frusciante so thats one more reason to get it ;)