My name's Sam, and I'm a 2-year student of the acoustic guitar returning to the forum after a hiatus, and am looking to buy my first electric. I have been borrowing my cousin's squier strat (standard series), and have found it enjoyable, although the hum sometimes gets on my nerves.
The guitarists who most consistently inspire me are Keith Richards, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, and David Gilmour. I know that these guys are most associated with the telecaster, les paul, stratocaster, and stratocaster respectively. I know that I need not necessarily buy one of these guitars, but I figured they were good places to start. I've tried playing a (high end) telecaster in the store, and found the body shape somewhat uncomfortable, and couldn't manage to tame the twangy sound. Since I play a lot sitting down I think that might be a deal breaker. I like the body shapes and looks of both the lp and strat, so I'm considering both strongly, but I don't anticipate playing too much on the heavy side of things, so I figure a strat would fit my needs better. That said, I'm not sure if the annoyance of the single coil hum is a function of the cheap guitar and amp I'm currently using or a characteristic of the strat itself, and I do relish the kind of tone Allman could pump out of his lp. The "Fat Strat" line, from what I've read, is a strat with 2 single coil and 1 humbucker, perhaps serving as a compromise between the strat and lp, but I'm somewhat skeptical.
Anyone have experience with Fat Strats? I'd love to hear any information on their advantages/disadvantages with respect to either strats or lps. Any recommendations either way would be much appreciated, as would other less ubiquitous guitars in the sub-$1000 range that would be good fits.
~Sam
~Sam
if the price is right and you like it then i say "go for it".
as to the hum, you could always crack her open and check the wireing and add some shielding.
#4491....
I don't believe the humming is inherent of all low end guitars. I had a Strat pack that was $300 new with an amp and it didn't buzz or hum.
A decent $400+ strat (Fender even) either in the HH, HSS or SSS pup config would give you a very nice guitar and room for an inexpensive EPI LP as well or a decent amp and stay at your budge price.
From there you'll start to learn more about a guitars presence and give you a feel for what your next purchase might be.
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
I think a Fender Standard Strat is a good choice for starting out. Go play it out in the store before you shell out the money. The store person should hopefully answer all your questions and will tell you tricks to cut of the hum, if any.
Good Luck buying. Don't forget to post pics once you get that strat. :wink:
Rahul
I like the Fat Strat. It's very versatile, you can get a wide range of tones from it. I find the single coils pick up some noise, but I'm playing in a noisy environment, and they're not shielded.
IMHO having a humbucker on it increases its versatility, unless of course you don't like humbuckers
