Strat Dilemma

If you can find them, you might want to try out a G&L Legacy.

If you can find them, you might want to try out a G&L Legacy.

Wholeheartedly agree! I have an '82 G&L S500 -- very much in the Strat lineage. Though not the most expensive, it is probably one of the best guitars I will ever own. Sound, playability, engineering, quality -- it has it all. The floating trem is rock-steady, the pups --even though single coil -- are punchy and tonally right-on. It's a Strat that's better than a Strat -- and a real Leo Fender design as well. I think Leo finished and refined a lot of his guitar designs at G&L.

The G&L Tribute Legacy is an Asian version, but a good Strat nonetheless. The only negative I know of is that the fret edges may need a bit of filing and shaping to get rid of the sharpies -- a common issue across guitar lines these days. Even my Taylor T5 has this issue.

If you can find them, you might want to try out a G&L Legacy.

Agreed. I have two, an ASAT and an Invader, and they're my #1 & #2. After buying the ASAT, the local shop I got it from stopped carrying G&L guitars. I literally drove a hundred miles to buy my Invader after I decided to get a Legacy or Invader to take over from my '94 Strat.

Sheesh, if she has a couple of thousand bucks she can buy any guitar.

I think it is easy to see that OWA is on a very limited budget. That's why she asked about Squier.

Nothing wrong with Squiers at all. I own one and it is a great playing and great sounding guitar. It does not have the high end hardware my Fenders have, but it is surprisingly good, especially for the price.

This Strat comes in white (maybe not exactly Artic White).

Squier Standard Strat

Another Squier that is getting lots of attention from even experienced players is the Squier 51. This is a darn good guitar. And a bargain too.

Squier 51

I plan on picking up one of the Squier 51s myself. :wink:

Sheesh, if she has a couple of thousand bucks she can buy any guitar.

I think it is easy to see that OWA is on a very limited budget. That's why she asked about Squier.

Nothing wrong with Squiers at all. I own one and it is a great playing and great sounding guitar. It does not have the high end hardware my Fenders have, but it is surprisingly good, especially for the price.

This Strat comes in white (maybe not exactly Artic White).

Squier Standard Strat

Another Squier that is getting lots of attention from even experienced players is the Squier 51. This is a darn good guitar. And a bargain too.

Squier 51

I plan on picking up one of the Squier 51s myself. :wink:

Just checked the prices. Wow, they've gone up in the last couple of years. But there are two solutions: The first is to buy used -- one thing G&Ls don't do is hold value. Many are absolute "pre-owned" bargains because most kids don't know they are the real thing. The other possibility is G&L's Tribute line that generally streets for under $500 -- same models, but made in Asia.

On Squiers: If OWA is really a heavy trem user, Wes, a Squier will have have tuning problems.

Saw one at GC for $93 USD on my way out the door today! Glad I was late for an appointment!!

On Squiers: If OWA is really a heavy trem user, Wes, a Squier will have have tuning problems.

If she can find one with a licensed Floyd Rose and a locking nut or locking tuners it will not go out of tune no matter how hard she beats on it.

This should get the job done for a reanable price. GC will sell it cheaper if you ask for a discount.

On Squiers: If OWA is really a heavy trem user, Wes, a Squier will have have tuning problems.

If she can find one with a licensed Floyd Rose and a locking nut or locking tuners it will not go out of tune no matter how hard she beats on it.

This should get the job done for a reanable price. GC will sell it cheaper if you ask for a discount.

The Schecter is nice, but it will not sound like a Strat. If that doesn't matter, then go for it.

I think it was Arjen who pointed out that low cost FR trem systems are not durable. Given the one that came on my daughters Jackson, I have to agree. How good are those on Fenders?

the trem on my fender is out of tune the moment i put pressure on it. but one thing that helps at least for me is trem springs. i tightened the screws in the trem cavity to pull the bridge flush with the body. then i added 2 more trem springs for alot of extra tension. this makes it much easier to put strings on, btw. i did this on my ibanez too, and it seems like this adds some stability. when i do use the trem arm, which is rare, but basically make the arm point away from the neck and push it down gently, creating a subtle vibrato that won't put it out of tune.

The Schecter is nice, but it will not sound like a Strat. If that doesn't matter, then go for it.

I think it was Arjen who pointed out that low cost FR trem systems are not durable. Given the one that came on my daughters Jackson, I have to agree. How good are those on Fenders?

As long as you dive bomb only with it then it will hold up. It won't take pitching it sharp without stripping the threads that set the intonation. I replaced mine with a OFR. I was under the impression OWA played metal, single coils just won't cut it. Besides the Schecter comes with a push pull switch to split the coils down to singles.

the trem on my fender is out of tune the moment i put pressure on it. but one thing that helps at least for me is trem springs. i tightened the screws in the trem cavity to pull the bridge flush with the body. then i added 2 more trem springs for alot of extra tension. this makes it much easier to put strings on, btw. i did this on my ibanez too, and it seems like this adds some stability. when i do use the trem arm, which is rare, but basically make the arm point away from the neck and push it down gently, creating a subtle vibrato that won't put it out of tune.

You are setting your trem up the way Leo originally designed it -- for down bending only. This is probably the best way to set up the original synchronous trem. This also should increase sustain a bit and eliminate trem gargle. In recent years, it's been popular to "float" synchronous trems -- even Fender ships this way now. However, it is pretty iffy unless fine tuned by detailed filing and shaping of the six bridge screw, and of course giving a lot of attention to the nut and string trees. The higher-end version Fender trem (dual knife-edge) was designed from the beginning to float, and works much better than the original in this mode. But it costs more $$$.

yeah, my strat came from GC with the bridge floating. The Ibanez too. i hate it. If i want a bridge that floats, i'll get a floyd or a bigsby or something that does it muuuuch better than fender's trem. i figure if i want to bend up in pitch, that's what my fingers are for, right?

Holy replies. Good info though.

I'm not set on Fender or Squier. Unlike Epiphone and Gibson, there isn't a huge price different between the two, only a couple hundred dollars. Though I do like the vintage white Squier Strat. As for the Squier 51.............it looks like a Strat and a Tele had a baby.

I know single coils wouldn't handle metal, but they'd handle grunge rock right? And I always thought depressing the whammy bar lowers the pitch, not raises it.

I like the schector Sid posted too.

you can pull on the whammy to raise it, assuming the bridge is floating, or has room to go back to raise the pitch.

you can make a single coil do metal if you want. i was playing my strat through the numetal setting on my vox amp, and it sounded pretty metally. it got wicked noisy though.

i have a Squier 51. it's wonderful. the pickups are eh, but the humbucker can be split into a single coil. the neck single coil is nice, very warm. gotta be careful though, the 51s are VERY hit or miss. I tried about 10-15of them at my GC in various colors, and really only 3 of them met my standards. i bought one of them. the neck is silky smooth. i might replace the pickups one day, but a major overall on my ibanez is gonna be first (new humbuckers hehehe).

I was too lazy to go to the other room and get my LP for some AC/DC, so I did it on my Strat. Didn't sound too bad at all. I'm sure it's not optimal, but what do I know.