The Strat Thread

[DrewJD82]

YES! :lol:

is that all the nut, or the entire trem? thats amazing!

I used to dab the tip of a pen of SuperLube right over the tops of the strings on the breakpoint of the saddles, then depress the bar and get the oil to surround the string at that contact point, but I haven't bothered in a while. As long as the nut and string tree are clear or debris and lubed up, considering the nut is cut properly, you're generally good to go. Only 3 springs in there, too. I actually thought there were four until I just checked.

Doesn't hurt to have some of this around, I also use it on trem posts on Floyd's-

https://a.co/d/7whsanh

 

[dean701]

I used to dab the tip of a pen of SuperLube right over the tops of the strings on the breakpoint of the saddles, then depress the bar and get the oil to surround the string at that contact point, but I haven't bothered in a while. As long as the nut and string tree are clear or debris and lubed up, considering the nut is cut properly, you're generally good to go. Only 3 springs in there, too. I actually thought there were four until I just checked.

Doesn't hurt to have some of this around, I also use it on trem posts on Floyd's-

https://a.co/d/7whsanh

Thx. I've been using Ben's nut sauce for eons but the price has gone insane. I'll try the superlube.

 

[DrewJD82]

A little clean tone noodling, I got lost on this preset for quite a while today, it's the 'Studio Cleans' preset in the AxeFX.

 

[Alonious_Monk]

A quick low light shot.

Never played a trem bridge before, or a maple board. Been an SG player first and foremost. But damn, the tonal options are incredible, and that neck is so damn easy to play.

Made in Indonesia (I see online that is an issue for some, but mine is flawless), Candy Cola finish. Absolutely gorgeous.

 

[2112]

2025 was definitely the year of the Strat shaped object for me. These two currently rule the roost of my "real" strats.

1977 with Suhr ML pickups & stainless steel frets. It's heavy and beat up but it sounds and plays great.

2025 Ultra Luxe Vintage
I really like the combination of modern specs (locking tuners, compound radius fretboard, SS frets, HSS config) and the lightly aged nitro. It held up really well on tour too.

 

[FuzzyAce]

2025 was definitely the year of the Strat shaped object for me. These two currently rule the roost of my "real" strats.

1977 with Suhr ML pickups & stainless steel frets. It's heavy and beat up but it sounds and plays great.

View attachment 57052

2025 Ultra Luxe Vintage
I really like the combination of modern specs (locking tuners, compound radius fretboard, SS frets, HSS config) and the lightly aged nitro. It held up really well on tour too.

View attachment 57054

That Fiesta red is ,.

 

[HotRats]

Stratocaster are beautiful, timeless and in the right hands sound incredible.

Owned only one Stratocaster, between 2001 and 2013.

Was an American Standard bought new. Didn't like the pickups at all and replaced them with a pre wired set of voodoo "something" . Trem was blocked flat.

I used this guitar a lot both live and for recording but I never really bonded with her.

There was nothing wrong and I really love a good start sound but it's not my instrument, nor my sound.

At some point in my musicians life I've decided that I don't care about sounding like the original if I'm playing a cover.

Sold the guitar and never looked back.

 

[Jasco]

One of my current favorite strats...

 

[Chocol8]

One of my current favorite strats...
View attachment 57072

That's a great looking guitar (and love the amps as well!!) but I think someone forgot to install the frets!

Also, what does the mini toggle do?

 

[Jasco]

That's a great looking guitar (and love the amps as well!!) but I think someone forgot to install the frets!

Also, what does the mini toggle do?

Mini toggle does nothing at the moment. Originally it had a fourth pickup (piezo under-the-bridge) and it would toggle between that, standard pickups, or both for imitation acoustic sounds. It was also originally fretted. When the neck went bad I decided to set it up as a fretless.

 

[DrewJD82]

I'd use the switch to activate the autotune I'd need to play a fretless neck!!! That's badass!

 

[DrewJD82]

Man, it's pretty crazy how the Strat has diverted my playing as much as it has; when I got the parts for the Gilmour Strat I was still only writing/playing metal and I only put that thing together for the nostalgia/novelty, I wasn't even intending on playing anything but Floyd/Gilmour stuff with it. I had a Classic 50's Strat right before I put it together and that thing sucked, I still had an overall negative outlook on Strats in the context of me playing them.

But that Strat played and felt great immediately and despite having zero interest in going for those classic/stereotypical Strat tones, I've pretty much been doing nothing but that since. I do think it's a better ground to develop your own sound on, opposed to the modern metal stuff which is so damn dependent on the rest of the band/mix. It's certainly a lot more expressive, though I've yet to really land on the kind of music I want to make with them.

 

[djd100]

December 66 road warrior (tuned for slide in this pic)...

 

[djd100]

76 Hardtail...

 

[EOengineer]

2007 1954 FSR Thin Skin reissue and a 2011 AVRI 1962 reissue. I don’t play Strats much anymore but when I do, these guys see all the action.

 

[StarF666]

76 Hardtail...

Hardtail

 

[Dez]

I think I'm going to buy an ash body soon (January or February) and apply a hand rubbed sienna burst finish - with nitro to top it. I’ll post pics here and I’ll take a bunch of the process.

 

[Chocol8]

I think I'm going to buy an ash body soon (January or February) and apply a hand rubbed sienna burst finish - with nitro to top it. I’ll post pics here and I’ll take a bunch of the process.

Feel free to send it my way when you are done with it!

 

[ragingplatypi]

My #1 for the past 20 years.

 

[Stratzrus]

I don't see a thread dedicated to the (imo) greatest guitar design. Here's my 2018 Elite Stratocaster with a Seymour Duncan Pegasus in the bridge. It's got a 9.5"-14" compound radius fretboard, a C-D shaped neck profile, and a lot of mojo:

View attachment 56839

My real Strat ...

View attachment 57006

I've been playing Strats since 1968 or so but my favorites necks of all the Strats I've ever owned are from the Elite series. It has the compound radius neck Dez described but also has an ebony board. I bought one and put it on my Fender Pawn Shop Offset Special. It's a great guitar that tonally falls in somewhere between a Fender and a Gibson. I liked the neck so much I put the Telecaster version on my '93 MIJ '52 Reissue Tele as well.

But my favorite Strat of all time is the American Deluxe HSS QMT Stratocaster. I picked up "Amber" over a decade ago and immediate fell in love.

The S-1 switching system with the neck position chosen and the button in gives me the best Jazz guitar tone I've ever gotten out of a Strat and the Hot SCN pickups, exclusive to this guitar and distinctly different than the original SCNs that came with the 50th Anniversary American Deluxe Stratocaster, are my favorite Fender single coils for gain tones.

For some reason I prefer quilt on a maple top Strat more than flame probably due to my expectation built up over the years that flames look right on a Les Paul more than a Strat. Silly I know.

It's been my #1 Strat since I bought it. I didn't ever want to be without one so when I saw a tobacco burst with a bookmatched quilt top for sale at a terrific price I had to get it as a backup.

My "Ride or Die" guitars.