A Strat is born...

[jhale667]

Cool vid showing how a Strat is fabricated at the Fender factory from start to finish....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mnyl...layer_embedded

[Seshmeister]

I'd like to see that side by side with a Les Paul and then an explanation about why they are twice as expensive.

[jhale667]

I'd like to see that side by side with a Les Paul and then an explanation about why they are twice as expensive.

The Discovery Channel did a tour of the Gibson plant for one of their "how'd they build that" shows a few years back... you gotta figure it's a more labor-intensive process with the glued-in neck and the laminate top, etc. - but still, they ARE a bit steep in price...

[chefcraig]

I'd like to see that side by side with a Les Paul and then an explanation about why they are twice as expensive.

The Discovery Channel did a tour of the Gibson plant for one of their "how'd they build that" shows a few years back... you gotta figure it's a more labor-intensive process with the glued-in neck and the laminate top, etc. - but still, they ARE a bit steep in price...

Some Assembly Required: Gibson Guitars

[Seshmeister]

It bugs me because I've always wanted one but not as a main guitar and it seems too much. My pal recently bought a new US Strat which over here was $1500 and a new Les Paul standard which was about $2500.

Anecdotal and subjective but for me the Strat was way nicer to play.

[jhale667]

When I was a kid I was given a choice between a Strat or a Les Paul (Custom) once I'd proven to my mom that I was serious about playing... because I was an EVH/Rhoads freak and wanted something with a trem, I took the Strat...in hindsight probably should've taken the LP...


I still kinda want one, but no way am I dropping $3K or more for something I'll still end up changing the pickups and hardware on.

[ZahZoo]

I've been gassing over these two Agiles from Rondo music...

$439.00



$425.00

[Nitro Express]

A Les Paul has binding. A more sophisticated finish. A glued in neck and tilted head stock. An arched top. They are a lot more work to make than a Strat. The wood in them is more expensive too. Plus you are paying for the name too.

[Nitro Express]

We have seen how a Strat is born. This is how a Strat dies.

[Diamondjimi]

. - but still, they ARE a bit steep in price...

Yup, but once you find the one that speaks to you. It's worth every penny...

[Seshmeister]

No trem and awkward to reach high notes it could never be my main guitar.

[Diamondjimi]

No trem and awkward to reach high notes it could never be my main guitar.

I used a Floyd's a lot back in the day. Still do occasionally. But my main guitar for many years was a Gibson Flying V.
Once I got my LP, it's been my main beast for the last 7 years. I can't escape it's tone. (Duncan JB- bridge- Gibson 485 paf -neck)

[Seshmeister]

A V has never appealed to me because of the awkwardness of playing sitting down. That said I try to force myself to practice standing up most of the time these days as it really makes a huge difference.

[Seshmeister]

I know what you mean about tone though over the last year I've been using an Ibanez thing that was nowhere near as nice to play as my handmade custom thing I'd been playing for 20 years just because it sounded so good with the Dimarzio's I had put in it.

[ashstralia]

i had a 1960 flametop reissue for a while... there's just something about them i don't like.

there's nothing about strats i don't like.

[Nitro Express]

You pretty much gravitate to what you like naturally. I had a wonderful, great sounding Les Paul Custom and it's a guitar I still wish I had but it would not be my main guitar. I'm a Strat guy. If I play a Gibson it's an SG. If I'm in a big music store and get to play around all day, I will end up with a Strat.

I think the Strat for me is like a comfortable pair of blue jeans that get better the more they wear and break in. You don't have to worry about breaking the headstock off and you leave them laying around. They are versatile and comfortable.

[Nitro Express]

A V has never appealed to me because of the awkwardness of playing sitting down. That said I try to force myself to practice standing up most of the time these days as it really makes a huge difference.

Actually playing sitting down will make you lazy. If you are in a band practice like you are on stage. You actually play different standing up than you do sitting down.

[Nitro Express]

I used to shop at a mom and pop music store that was a Heritage dealer. Great guitars. I think they are nicer than the Gibsons and they are made in the old Gibson plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan by former Gibson employees.

[Nitro Express]

i had a 1960 flametop reissue for a while... there's just something about them i don't like.

there's nothing about strats i don't like.

Big 70's headstock with a bullet truss rod. 9" radius with a nice thick U shaped neck. What kind of Strat do you like? I played a 50's reissue with the V shaped neck. Man. It felt totally foreign.

[ashstralia]

absolute all time faves are 62 re-issues. the 70's ones were a bit meh, and i saw some crap ones in the early to mid nineties. since about 98 on they seem pretty good again.

i've only played one proper old one; a 64 mint that a mate's dad owns. very very nice, but you're aware that you're holding something that's worth a LOT of money.

[Diamondjimi]

absolute all time faves are 62 re-issues.

I have a Fender '62 reissue Sunburst. I love it. Sustain for days. I totally lucked out with the Mojo this guitar has.
It takes an amazing amount of abuse sometimes and performs like a champ. A Strat can take 10 times the abuse a Les Paul can...

[jhale667]

The coolest thing about a Strat IMO is the bolt-on neck...way easier to swap parts (even on a rear-loaded one) overall and to tweak out to your liking... if you find after a few years you're not that into the neck on your Gibson...

Out of the two traditional Strats I built my favorite is the 1-piece Ash bodied one...1-piece bodies rule...

[ELVIS]

I swap bodies and necks quite a bit and the results are like totally new guitars with cool sounds to explore...

[Seshmeister]

But still that brain remains...

[ELVIS]

At least mine's not pickled...

[Nitro Express]

I have a Fender '62 reissue Sunburst. I love it. Sustain for days. I totally lucked out with the Mojo this guitar has.
It takes an amazing amount of abuse sometimes and performs like a champ. A Strat can take 10 times the abuse a Les Paul can...

My 72 Reissue sustains great. I haven't done a thing to it. It came perfect. Very low action too. I've had bolt on necks that sustain better than glued in ones. Fenders can be fabulous sounding guitars if you get a good one.

[ELVIS]

I have 62, 72 and 67 reissues...

I prefer the American Standard from any year over them...

Of course, mine are all lefty and always seem to be of better quality than the right handed Am. Standard...

[Hardrock69]

Sesh, V's are not that bad to play sitting down. What you do is let the upper wing rest on top of your right thigh, so the lower wing sort of goes underneath it.

But then, I have had a Gibson V as my main guitar since 1978 (minus 3 years in the mid-80s), so I worked that problem out long ago.

[ashstralia]

^^^ alright if you're 9 feet tall.

[ELVIS]

I've been gassing over these two Agiles from Rondo music...

$439.00



$425.00

I have six Agiles...

You cannot go wrong with them...

Way better than Epiphone and with a few upgrades, better than Gibson's basic store crap...

[ELVIS]

And I have the one with the cheap floyd...

Good guitar, but the cheap floyd is just that...cheap...

Haven't got around to upgrading yet...

[Dan]

^^^ alright if you're 9 feet tall.

He's Almost That Height.

[jhale667]

I saw a cool as shit Allparts Strat body at NAMM that got me thinking about another non-Floyded 3 SC build...it was a 2-tone burst with a satin finish rather than the usual super-high gloss clear topcoat. It'd be perfect for a relic job, but it only comes in Alder...not my fave wood tone-wise, but it sure is purty!

[sadaist]

The Discovery Channel did a tour of the Gibson plant for one of their "how'd they build that" shows a few years back... you gotta figure it's a more labor-intensive process with the glued-in neck and the laminate top, etc. - but still, they ARE a bit steep in price...

I watched that. Pretty cool. The Fender factory is very close to where I live. Would LOVE to work there. I'm sure there are some basic things I could start off as I learned. But I'm sure a billion applications are received every year.

[jhale667]

I watched that. Pretty cool. The Fender factory is very close to where I live. Would LOVE to work there. I'm sure there are some basic things I could start off as I learned. But I'm sure a billion applications are received every year.

I'm sure they get tons. A guitar blogger friend of mine (who's a pretty awesome classical player in her own right) works at the main FMIC office in Scottsdale ...seems like a dream gig either way.

[Matt White]

1968 Reissue Strat.....I think I got it brand new in 1996

Put the Yngwie pickups in the bridge & Neck............

Have to get back around to putting the original pickup covers back on 'em though! LMAO

[jhale667]

Here's my two traditional Strat mutts...built the Sunburst one in 2001 with Warmoth parts, built the Purple one in 2004 from a body I found in a pawnshop in Van Nuys and a Warmoth neck. They both sport the same Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickup combo (Solo, '54, and Blues models) and Fender America Vintage bridges. They both sound killer, but the Purple one SLAYS the Sunburst one sound-wise - it's a 1-piece Ash body as opposed to the Sunburst's 3-piece Mahogany/Flamed Maple drop-top. Though I always order necks to the same specs contour and nut-width-wise, the Sunburst's neck shape is a little fatter and not quite as comfortable as my other necks, might swap it out for another one someday...At some point I wanna put FU Strat Big Blocks on the bridges.




For some reason my BB camera hates pearloid pickguards...it's almost impossible to take a picture of 'em that doesn't come out at least slightly blurry...weird.

[ashstralia]

i'm about to rebuild my mid 80's japanese 62 reissue...

all new dimarzio pots switch etc. with a protrack and a pair of area 61's.

photo's soon

[jhale667]

A guy asked me to build one for him a couple of weeks ago...figuring I'd be a nice guy I quoted him a price roughly $200 over what the parts would cost me and he balked...what, like I'm supposed to do it for FREE??

[ashstralia]

you gotta get at least 30 bucks an hour, j.