Stratocasters: Why You Gotta Be Like That?

la szum

la szum

Goatlord
Messages
11,068
So, in trying to broaden my musical horizons I have been wielding a Stratocaster around the house. Haven't
bludgeoned anyone just yet, but I am getting bludgeoned to death. I have come to the realization that
true Strats (SSS, small radius, 4 or 5 springs on a vintage trem) are total motherfuckers to play.

They don't give up the goods easy, that's for sure. Everything just feels harder on them compared to say
any of my Gibson or PRS guitars. They make you earn your dinner, that's for sure!
 
la szum said:
So, in trying to broaden my musical horizons I have been wielding a Stratocaster around the house. Haven't
bludgeoned anyone just yet, but I am getting bludgeoned to death. I have come to the realization that
true Strats (SSS, small radius, 4 or 5 springs on a vintage trem) are total motherf***rs to play.

They don't give up the goods easy, that's for sure. Everything just feels harder on them compared to say
any of my Gibson or PRS guitars. They make you earn your dinner, that's for sure!
Click to expand...
As a long time PRS player, I find that digging into a strat is really rewarding.

I have a modern S type, so it may not be quite the same, but it really does love digging in, where is the PRS … not so much. More finesse required.
 
Never liked 7.5 radius. All my guitars are either Fenders, or partscasters with Warmoth necks. All 25.5" scale.

Try going down a gauge in strings or tune down a half step. also if the saddles are high, that will make it feel stiff. A small shim in the back of the neck pocket will let you bring the saddles down if they're high.

Strats and Teles, I love 'em!!!!

I had a Les Paul Studio for a while, and with 10-46 on the Lester and 9-42 on the Strat, they felt similar.
 
la szum said:
So, in trying to broaden my musical horizons I have been wielding a Stratocaster around the house. Haven't
bludgeoned anyone just yet, but I am getting bludgeoned to death. I have come to the realization that
true Strats (SSS, small radius, 4 or 5 springs on a vintage trem) are total motherf***rs to play.

They don't give up the goods easy, that's for sure. Everything just feels harder on them compared to say
any of my Gibson or PRS guitars. They make you earn your dinner, that's for sure!
Click to expand...

I like that. I like to fight a guitar a little bit. I have some shredders too that almost play themselves, but if I am playing rock and roll man I wanna earn every note.
 
They can be like that, but they can also be near effortless to play with a great setup. Generally you’ll deal with a little fret buzz on hard picking to get that on a vintage style Strat, but not enough to be that noticeable when amplified.

Or, you can set them up with high action and no fret buzz and fight them if that’s your thing. A few months ago I set mine up that way. I thought I liked it and it was fine at home, then I took it to two gigs. It went back to the way it was before in short order. I did not play that guitar well live when I had to fight it. Others do though.

D
 
I think the fact that modern guitar players like to ignore the fact that the 1980s fixed a lot of issues with Strats (12" or compound radius, Floyd and Floyd variants, HSS available, low-noise singles, etc.) is more telling about how Fender advertises than about the quality/playability of Strats.

The classic Strat tones are easily available without having to go to war with a 7.25" radius and crap two-piece 6 point trem.
 
I much prefer my Charvel DK22 Promod
get so much for the price, in fact the only thing missing would have been Stainless Steel Frets

1669161327610.png
 
eaeolian said:
I think the fact that modern guitar players like to ignore the fact that the 1980s fixed a lot of issues with Strats (12" or compound radius, Floyd and Floyd variants, HSS available, low-noise singles, etc.) is more telling about how Fender advertises than about the quality/playability of Strats.

The classic Strat tones are easily available without having to go to war with a 7.25" radius and crap two-piece 6 point trem.
Click to expand...

It's not ignoring any "fact". Whether any of those things are improvements or "fixes" is 100% subjective. And very dependent on what styles of music you're playing.
 
la szum said:
So, in trying to broaden my musical horizons I have been wielding a Stratocaster around the house. Haven't
bludgeoned anyone just yet, but I am getting bludgeoned to death. I have come to the realization that
true Strats (SSS, small radius, 4 or 5 springs on a vintage trem) are total motherf***rs to play.

They don't give up the goods easy, that's for sure. Everything just feels harder on them compared to say
any of my Gibson or PRS guitars. They make you earn your dinner, that's for sure!
Click to expand...
My first clarinet was hard to play, but then I got good enough for the folks to buy me a pro version I got even better. My attitude? Screw any instrument that makes it hard to do what you want. Imo, it's just not necessary. There's enough things about playing guitar that are difficult to learn & master, that the instrument itself shouldn't be an extra impediment.

If I wanna work for something, I'll play legato licks with a clean preset. :ROFLMAO:
 
Last edited:
I play on original ones quite a bit too but I go back to mine.
FF6377C4-D98F-478E-8EA8-62C122292DE5.jpeg

0412A0A3-2D33-4B9B-8455-A9577BB85B7E.jpeg

I regularly play vintage ( for work) . That's £50K of Strats there.
Most players known for playing vintage strats have had them modified to taller frets and flatter radius.
 
Last edited:
TSJMajesty said:
My first clarinet was hard to play, but then I got good enough for the folks to buy me a pro version I got even better. My attitude? Screw any instrument that makes it hard to do what you want. Imo, it's just not necessary. There's enough things about playing guitar that are difficult to learn & master, that the instrument itself shouldn't be an extra impediment.

If I wanna work for something, I'll play legato licks with a clean preset.
Click to expand...
Yep. I grew up on 7.25", so the first Charvel I played was a revelation.
Eagle said:
I love strats but I just made one with 16” radius and Jescar ss57110 . Everything else is 100% vintage speck.
View attachment 2681
View attachment 2682
Two actually.
Click to expand...
The Mary Kay is awesome. Actually, they're both pretty awesome, although you'll never get me to un-hate that bridge. :bag
 
Eagle said:
I play on original ones quite a bit too but I go back to mine.View attachment 2686
View attachment 2687
I regularly play vintage ( for work) . That's £50K of Strats there.
Most players known for playing vintage strats have had them modified to taller frets and flatter radius.
Click to expand...

Wow, is that top one a '58? Wasn't that the year they transitioned to the 3-tone burst but still had the single ply pickguard?
 
Eagle said:
I love strats but I just made one with 16” radius and Jescar ss57110 . Everything else is 100% vintage speck.
View attachment 2681
View attachment 2682
Two actually.
Click to expand...

Please feel very, very free to make a thread detailing that #0001 Strat look-alike!!! I think if were to ever commission a serious clone build, I’d have you make me a reproduction of that Strat.

323988E4-1F64-4FA4-82CA-6F632BA8D44F.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

itchyfingers
NGD - Silver Sky
2 3
Replies
41
Views
2K
Achilles
Achilles
Back
Top