OffsetGuitars.com

There seems to be decent amount of people here that hate the Strat, so I thought I would make this appreciation thread. Post your Strats!

Before I found offsets, I was convinced that the Strat was the best guitar ever made. Sure, in the 50's garb it might not be that great for modern music, but the Strat is basically a modular guitar, you can make it exactly how you want. You can get them cheap, you can get parts everywhere. And I still think the Strat is the most comfy guitars to play. If the Strat had an offset trem, it would be perfect.

Yeah, Strats can look generic and boring (black or red with white guards), but they can also be the classiest guitars ever (Sonic Blue with tort guard)

i made a thread once about hating them, it was a gem

I love mine, my first electric. New pickguard and a SD JB later and it's still my favorite to this day.

I'm really really digging the GFS Mean 90 I put in the bridge of my Strat. It is basically the perfect pickup for a Strat.

I don't hate the Strat... I hate the Tele

Nah, I can't really hate either because they can be great guitars. I just never found them to sound or feel right for my style, they were always a little off somehow. I'm sure I'm not the only one on the boards who feels like this.

Nice Jag, BTW.

I love my Strat. I find it to be the most comfortable guitar to play that I have had. We will see how that changes when I finish my Jazzmaster build!!!

crazyzeke wrote:I don't hate the Strat... I hate the Tele

Nah, I can't really hate either because they can be great guitars. I just never found them to sound or feel right for my style, they were always a little off somehow. I'm sure I'm not the only one on the boards who feels like this.

Nice Jag, BTW.

Tele needs a forearm contour and I would like it. But then it looks goofy.

I've played two incredible Stratocasters...one was late 70s, and the other AVRI...both sunburst, both great...

I understand why some people like Strats, and I have one, but for me it's a guitar I noodle around on when I'm lazy. It's not a guitar I'd ever play out with. (I don't just mean because mine's a Squire, either; I don't think I'd play out with a Fender Strat either.) It does sound very generic to me, and it looks it too.

It's very easy to play, though; easier to play than my JM. You can put light strings on it and get really low action with no buzz. The trem works well, and it's a very comfortable guitar to hold. I get it. But it has no real personality.

The Strat is like the Toyota Camry of guitars. It gets you where you want to go, in comfort if not in style.

My souped-up CIJ 57 Strat:



I like strats.

spacecadet wrote:I understand why some people like Strats, and I have one, but for me it's a guitar I noodle around on when I'm lazy. It's not a guitar I'd ever play out with. (I don't just mean because mine's a Squire, either; I don't think I'd play out with a Fender Strat either.) It does sound very generic to me, and it looks it too.

It's very easy to play, though; easier to play than my JM. You can put light strings on it and get really low action with no buzz. The trem works well, and it's a very comfortable guitar to hold. I get it. But it has no real personality.

The Strat is like the Toyota Camry of guitars. It gets you where you want to go, in comfort if not in style.

I would say it is like the Honda Civic of guitars. They can be boring and reliable. There are lots of parts out there, and they can be cheap and ugly. But when they are done right, they are nice looking and be great.

This is great looking

I'm completely smitten by this look:



Of all the guitars I've played I really have a hard time making a strat sound good.

And now, playing a Strat would be more Indie than playing an offset. Cheap to get, modable.. I bet you if SY came about now they would have an arsenal of pawn shop Strats.

I'm on a quest for a strat right now... this doesn't help.

I recently fixed up my Strat, and it is my current fave.
I found a 1990 Gun Metal Blue body on ebay, because back when I started playing, I got this magazine, which continues make me think, 20 years later. The main guitar Marr features is a Gun Metal Blue Strat.

The neck is some kind of vintage spec All Parts. My friend finished it and made a bone nut for it.
Lollar Blackface pickups. Love these.
Rewired with CTS pots, switchcraft jack with:
1. Neck and Middle Volume
2. Bridge Volume (I also added a Lindy Fralin Baseplate to the Bridge PU)
3. Master Tone with .22 Paper and Oil cap



One thing I love about the Stratocaster is that it is what you make of it. A Strat can be the cheesiest "hard rock café/Blueshämmer" guitar, or you can think of it as the Ron Asheton/Wayne Kramer/Johnny Marr/Buddy Holly/Robert Quine/Richard Lloyd/Alex Chilton circa Radio City awesome machine. Obviously, I prefer the latter mentality.