Posted on 05/04/2007 4:13:21 PM PDT by Bean Counter
My wife made a mistake. For my birthday in February, she bought me a calendar from the Fender Custom Shop. I hung it on the wall directly behind my desk, right in my range of vision, and I have been gazing longingly ever since at beautiful guitars. My longing stayed within reason until I turned the page to April, and saw the Engraved Thinline Telecaster in flame maple. The clumsy copy below the calendar proper says "both nice to look at and a dream to play."
"A dream to play" has been ringing in my head ever since, the way a phrase from ad copy will do. And two weeks ago, I drove to the nearest Guitar Center and sat down and started playing electric guitars for the first time in 30 years.
Beautiful Telecaster notwithstanding, I played only Stratocasters on that first visit. I have always been a Strat man. Here is a picture of a very nice one, from the current Fender website.
MY PARENTS BOUGHT ME MY FIRST STRATOCASTER when I was in junior high school, in about 1961. Those of you who know the marque will share my chagrin that I do not still have that model, now known as a "vintage" Stratocaster, and much desired. It had belonged to a country western musician, whose big belt buckles had torn up the sunburst finish on the back. I got a Fender Concert Amp with it, and instantly became a popular guy with the two other serious guitar players in my school, Roger Johnson and Bob Cohen. They used to invite me to play with them, mainly so they could use my amp, which was bigger and better than the ones they had.
**SCHNIPP**
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Good advice. I’m definitely keeping the old neck! I’ll try the change simply because the original neck is a bit difficult to play because its so small. But if the change creates a bad tone change I’ll go back to the original neck and adjust my playoing style. Thanks!
I once had a friend with one of those. IIRC Gibson put it out as a recording instrument. All the switches with those knobs can be confusing. But it’s a sweet sounding bass.
I know what you mean about heavy instruments. My Peavey seems to have it’s own gravity.
Sounds like a match made in Rock 'n' Roll Heaven.
Of course we also play some classical stuff -- just to be fair!
You may think this isn't a heated political war, but just wait until the Les Paul fans get here ...
Yes, that’s the custom Koa T5 I’m trying to convince my wife I need to survive. Can you tell me if the T5 sounds good unamplified?
It sounds wonderful. It’s got absolutely perfect tone. The single only caveat is that it’s not at all a loud guitar. If you’ve ever played a Taylor or Martin, you know how you can get that booming sound that you imagine would just fill a decent auditorium with the right acoustics? Well, you’re not going to get that from the T5. It’s loud enough for most situations (i.e., if you’re playing at home or in a particularly intimate situation), but if you go busking, as I sometimes do, it’s not going to be your guitar. Of course, it’s probably unwise to go busking with a $3,000 guitar in the first place.
Add Prince to that list. I used to badmouth Tele’s until I saw him play stuff like “Let’s Go Crazy” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” on his Tele and just smoke.
Someone (an engineer, perhaps?) once said that Gilmour could take a $20 guitar and make it sound like a Stradivarius. Great tone and timing.
It wasn't the venue, but the 30 watt amps that limited the sound. Heck, without monitors, the Beatles themselves couldn't hear what they were playing. One of the main reasons they quit touring.
I’m a Strat man from way back. HAve a 1956 vintage reissue I bought in 1987 w/ Tweed case.
Yep.
Had a Les Paul once. I absolutely hated it.
Got rid of it first chance I could.
I don’t think so. They used VOX with a 250 watt amplifiers. They had microphones in front of them and there were dozens of speakers in the venue. The volume was huge, but the screamers louder.
Before I joined the Navy I had a Japanese Strat and a standard MIM Telecaster. Both plugged into a late 80s-early 90s Fender Dual Showman 100 watt head (all tube) with a matching 2 X 12" cabinet.
When I joined the Navy, I let an old buddy of mine hold on to my gear. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost touch with him so I have had to face the sad realization that it is unlikely I will ever see this gear again.
Now my gear consists of a Gibson Les Paul Classic (in Honeyburst, natch) and a cherry-red Epiphone ES-335. I also have a cheap (but very nice) Samick solidbody that I take to the boat when I go to sea. My amplifier is a British-made 50 watt Marshall Dual Super Lead (again, all tube) powering a Marshall JCM800 4 X 12" cabinet.
I just re-enlisted in the Navy and earned myself a nice, little bonus. Needless to say, I am currently suffering a severe case of G.A.S.!!! I love my Les Paul but I really miss my Telecaster. And I really miss my Stratocaster! What to buy? Should I buy one of each?
I also need a new practice amp. My cheap little Marshall CDR died on me and my half-stack is simply too loud for my apartment. 50 watts of Marshall tubes will blow away most 100 watters. The tone is thunderous! Even at the lowest volume setting possible, those four 12" Celestion speakers just seep through the floor and walls and into my neighbors' apartments. After the police visited me on two seperate occasions and told me to turn it down (thankfully they left without ticketing me) I have decided that playing this amp in my living room is an eviction notice waiting to happen. I have no desire to ever sell my Marshall DSL but I need something smaller for playing at home. I'm leaning towards a 15-watt Vox Valvetronic. They've gotten good reviews at Musician's Friend and I can buy one brand new for under $200.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxQ9aTmcLoo
Duane Eddy - Rebel Rouser
My old band - two Les Pauls through Marshalls. I'm on the right with my 2005 Slash signature LP, my best friend is on the left with the real purty 2003 1958 reissue.
Best bang-for-buck strat out there is the Mexican-made Jimmie Vaughan signature strat. I just sold one for $450. They have all the same hardware as the Fender Custom Shop guitars, but the bodies and necks are made in Mexico.
Check out www.benfordguitars.com. Steve is a great guy, and he'll build you one to your specs for less than a Mexican Strat or Tele would cost.
I've read that on more guitar forums than I can name.
I think the JV Strat is more popular than Jimmie Vaughan himself. I've been looking at this model in sunburst. I really like the vintage look. I'm also considering an American-made Highway One Strat for a little higher price, but I'm really leaning towards the JV.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.