Fender Strat - Right One For Me Upgr.[UPDATE: Found Strat]

I say this to alot of people that plan upgrades on an axe they haven't bought yet.
Try it out for a while before planning upgrades, you may be perfectly happy with it just the way it is.
If you want crunch look for something with Humbuckers.
Go to the guitar shop and plan on being there for a while. Try out every guitar that catches your eye. Don't limit yourself to Strats.
You will have a guitar that will really wants to go home with you and you will become quick friends.

Whether it's a $60 or $6000 guitar you'll know the right one when it's in your hands. I personally own 3 squiers and have felt no need to change out anything on them, they just sound damn good. Now, I also spent a good deal of time picking them out. Played identical models and they didn't sound the same. Be willing to spend more TIME than Money to find the right guitar. I don't care if it's a Fender, a Gibson or any other brand, no 2 guitars sound exactly the same, even when they are the same brand and model and set up identically. My wife thinks I'm nuts but I swear they have a soul and when you find one who's soul resonates with yours you'll know.

I just picked up a 50th anniversary American Deluxe Strat for $1200 from MF. So far i'm more than happy :lol:

I'm definetly going to get a strat, they just look so cool!

Is it possible to mix pickups...like have seymour duncans and humbuckers?....Is the sound really all that different by just changing the pickups...?

Will I lose the fender (sound) from changing pickups...I really just don't understand about the electronics. I have a yamaha cg111s and it's awesome, a breedlove ad25sm and it too is awesome!...I got them from recommendations. I'm sure that you "pro's" can give me a rough sketch on what would be the best buy :)

You guys probably have a variety of strats.

Jet.

Does the 50th edition come with custom made pickups or is just a regular strat with 3 50 dollar pickups and they charge 1200 because of the "50th" signature?

changing pickups will definatley change your sound. HB's will give you a "fatter" warmer sound, different fender single coils will give you different sound. Why go for a strat if you want to change the sound though?

I really like the look of the strats compared to gibsons..I know this sounds a bit odd...but I want the best of both worlds looks and sound. :)

I found this article on strats " http://www.stratcollector.com/newsdesk/archives/000145.html "

on how to purchase one, I guess I'll have to try them out.

I only know to narrow it down to this ...

1. Maple fretboard (light colored)

2. Should be the Moonlight blue to light blue or even a red color. (i know some models) only come in some colors.

Can I still have the "Fender Sound" if I just change 1 pickup for a fatter sound? Or do electrics work by combining the 3 pickups as one ? (doubt this)

Here is the one I just bought (at Guitar Center) American Deluxe Strat with S-1 switch. Mine is 2 tone burst with a (sweet) maple neck, chrome hardware (I happen to like chrome, so for me it's a feature!), locking tuners, and is strap lock ready.

The S-1 switch will give you some crunch, in ANY position! You would NOT and should NOT change the pups in this one.

Be willing to spend more TIME than Money to find the right guitar. I don't care if it's a Fender, a Gibson or any other brand, no 2 guitars sound exactly the same, even when they are the same brand and model and set up identically. My wife thinks I'm nuts but I swear they have a soul and when you find one who's soul resonates with yours you'll know.
I could not have said it better myself.

From the stores I went back and forth to, I decided that the Guitar Center allot further away from me had the 2 top candidates. I went back with my friend that is an absolutely amazing guitar player and sat down with both guitars. We played them on the Fender HRD (cause I have a HRD) and some Matchless amp :P :roll: and we both agreed that this one particular guitar (that I now own) was the best one. I must have tried at least 20 different strats with 6 of them being in the same modal as the one I bought.

Does this mean this guitar is right for you? Maybe, you never know until you try them all.

I ended up getting-

American Deluxe Strat
Case – I thing it goes for @ $160
3 pairs of strings - $15 ….(Fender Super Bullet 10s, though next I'm putting on 11s)
New 3“ Strap - $40

Grand total = $1,000 and that's with tax!!!

Don't be afraid to talk people down on the offer BUT!, don't get greedy!

Good Luck and have fun!

Wow...musicians friend has it going for 1159..which guitar center did you go to...I live in santa barbara, ca. and their is on in Oxnard!

Sorry, Jet. I live on the East Coast, Southern New England area.

I had to go to North Attleboro, Massachusetts to get my guitar.

Go Sox!!! :D

Belive me, I'm definitly a strat guy, I just love te way they feel in my hands and how they sound soo good in my ears; but when your gonna be spending 1000+ dollars on something just because it looks cool to you, I have a reccomendation: spend 80 bucks on a Squier bullet(it looks the same!), and give the other 920 bucks to me! If you want to make a good buy, don't buy a guitar because it looks good, buy it because it feels the best in your hands and sounds the best in your ears, not because your eyes think its pretty. Play every guitar in the store that in your price range(yes, including Gibsons), and pick the best one. If none in the store fell exactly right, don't buy it. I'm just giving some advice that I've learned after spending countless hours in guitar stores, playing every guitar I can get my hands on, from jacksons to jazzboxes, I've learned that beautly is sometimes only skin deep. 8)

Now, on to the Strat pickup talk! You said you like System of a down, so I'd recommened putting a SD Hot Rails or other humbucker pickup in the bridge, for that hot metal sound. Remember, Gibsons and others also have humbuckers, so they will give you that sound. I think a Sum 42 guitarist uses a Gibson, and the Blink 182 dude has a humbucker. So does Simple Plan, etc.

Happy buying! :)

Does the 50th edition come with custom made pickups or is just a regular strat with 3 50 dollar pickups and they charge 1200 because of the "50th" signature?

3 new Samarium Cobalt Noiseless™ pickups, and the Fender® S-1 switching system.

i can't believe how quiet they are. so for me at least it does not seem to be hype. I'm playing mine thru a 66 BassMan with 2-12" jensons and not any hum like i was used to hearing with my buddys 88 strat. these new pickups are probably going to be standard on the high end american models if not all of the american models soon.

Ok...I finally decided on which fender stratocaster i'm going to get.

http://www.music123.com/Fender-Standard-Stratocaster-i44631.music

It's going to be a standard stratocaster made in "mexico" I'm hoping for a maple (light colored) fret board and the Blue Engave color shown in the picture. They are going for about $350.

I'm going to then get some pickups (I dont know which) seymour duncan humbuckers (most likely). Anyone have any recommendations on where I can find information on what pickups at what place change what?...My neighbor should know...but I want to be a little more informed.

So it's going to be..

$360 Standard Strat
$150-200 In pickups
$40 on maybe some new tuners (Schaller Locking Tuners) and
Silver Lace Sensor (?at bridge)
5 tighter tremolo springs (?)
replaced the bridge saddles with GraphTech Ferraglides (?)

I have no clew what the last 3 upgrades will do and if they are even good upgrades. I read in a review that someone did this type of upgrade - anyone agree?

So what do you think?

Jet. :)

I'd leave any upgrades until I'd had the guitar for a couple of weeks and learnt what it lacked.

I don't think that a tuner upgrade is worthwhile unless the originals slip out of tune all the time or you intend to use the vibrato a lot, in which case you'll be best going for locking tuners. Which brings me to the springs. Adding springs is useless unless you are going to use heavier strings (to counteract the extra pressure that they will put on the vibrato).