Stratocaster

The American Spectator ^ | 5/4/2007 | Lawrence Henry

[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**

[sushiman]

VG Strat: Combines Fender guitar know-how with Roland technology for a versatile and innovative guitar. You no longer need to choose between a virtual guitar and a real guitar. The Fender VG Stratocaster is both everything you'd expect from a Fender Strat, and a whole lot more! Lurking beneath its classic Strat exterior are 37 sounds based on Strat, Tele, humbucker Strat and acoustic, as well as 5 tunings, but the aesthetic and cosmetic of the Strat remains intact. Even better, the VG Stratocaster delivers level, balanced tone and volume across all these remarkable functions, so that you won't need to continually readjust amp settings with each change in guitar sound. No unique hardware necessary to use the VG Strat guitar: no special 13-pin or USB cables, no power supply or input box. It plugs in and plays like any electric guitar. All you'll notice visually are 2 additional knobs on the VG Strat's pickguard, plus a small LED and an inconspicuous Roland® GK bridge pickup. The 2 additional knobs are a Mode Control knob and a Tuning Function knob. The Mode Control Knob between a Virtual version of the Ash bodied Strat (for use of the tuning function), a virtual Telecaster, virtual 2-humbucker Strat, and an assortment of 5 acoustics, from Dreadnought to Resonator. The 5-way blade switch switches you between sounds in the modeling modes just like on a regular guitar. Tune function rotary control lets you choose between Normal regular tuning, Drop D, Open G, DADGAD, Baritone/Low B, and 12 string. The tuning function does not work in Normal mode when circuit is bypassed. Tuning function is also relative if you tune down to E flat, all of these tunings will transpose down a half step. Since guitarists don't have to turn a single tuning key, a major benefit of all these instant tuning changes is that the string tension remains the same and the guitar itself feels the same. Fender's VG Stratocaster is the result of a 10-year research and design partnership between Fender and music technology pioneer Roland Corporation. The VG's development followed a commitment to "The Complex Art of Keeping It Simple." Developers spent time and great effort working out intricate details so that you can just plug in and play. Their goal: a balance of usability and tech the more functionality added to an instrument, the more complex it becomes. Fender kept it pared down so it could really be used in a live setting. They stayed with Fender sounds Strat®, Tele®, Humbucking pickups and acoustics. No unique hardware is necessary to use the VG Strat guitar: no special 13-pin or USB cables, no power supply or input box. It plugs in and plays like any electric guitar, and no phonebook sized manual is necessary it is built for 5 minute mastery, and is easy to use and understand. The VG Stratocaster is an American Series Strat featuring the classic sleek, contoured body shape, 3 American Series single-coil pickups with five-position switching, a maple neck with a maple or rosewood fingerboard, a synchronized tremolo bridge, a 3-ply parchment pickguard and chrome hardware,

[DAC22]

Bought A real purty Pearl white with gold hardware Carvin about 15 years back. Still can’t play it, but I can dream!

[Bigh4u2]

"Wow, been out of the mix too long!"

Yeah. WAY out! LOL!

1969 Fender Telecaster 'Thinline'..


They've been around for quite a while.

[Cymbaline]

Musicians call it "GAS" (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). You can never have just one! Gotta keep getting more. This one has a neat finish, this one has a rosewood fretboard, this one has maple, this one has these kind of pickups, etc, etc.

I know, I'm afflicted with a terminal case of GAS myself.

[lucyblue]

ping

[whatexit]

Roland’s VG technology is pretty amazing. I have a VG-8 (S1) that I play from a Nitefly w/GK2.

[Cymbaline]

I recently heard a David Gilmour interview and I believe he said he has a Strat with the serial number 00001 (something like that - - it was the first one).

It's 0001, and it's actually not the first one made, although it was definitely in the model's 1st year. It probably was a one-off custom model for a specific customer. It's got an opaque blonde finish, gold anodozed pickguard and gold hardware.

He played it at the special all-star concert they held for the 60th anniversary of the Stratocaster. Definitely sounds great!

[whatexit]

If I had a dollar for every time my wife asked me, “why do you need another guitar?”, I’d probably have ...another guitar!

[Bigh4u2]

Oh man. That’s the guitar body color I want! Tobacco Burst.

:0(

I just got rid of a Roland GR33 and GK-3 and GK-2a Pickups.

Very nice guitar though, if I ever get another Synth.

[Mr. Mojo]

Telecaster/.357 wheeler/Telecaster/.357

I hear ya. Simplicity and performance.

Found a vid the other day of Telemaster Jerry Donahue. (jammin' begins at the 2:00 mark). Makes it look easy.

[Bigh4u2]

Ooops.

Just noticed the red ‘outline’.

Sunburst. Not Tobacco burst which is what I want.

[Cymbaline]

It’s easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission, you know! ;-)

[Mr. Jeeves]

I also have a Taylor T5, which I HIGHLY recommend.

Me too. ;)

[Yardstick]

I can remember getting the Carvin catalog in the mail and drooling over it. I used to own a Carvin X60 tube amp that was just great, especially for recording. Some amps make you play around a lot with mic placement to get them to sound right, but the Carvin sounded good no matter how you mic’d it. It’s like it was eager to please.

[Bigh4u2]

“It’s easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission, you know! ;-)”

And helps if you have a Guitar Center charge card too.

:0)

[Cymbaline]

Amen. I’m a big Carvin freak too. I plan on getting a Legacy amp soon.

[whatexit]

hmm, it’s actually the neck on the jazz that I like about it (not the 5-string). It’s a width seems to suit me a little better.

I’ve ended up learning to play a bunch of instruments over the years (keys, guitar, bass, drums, alto and tenor sax) - I’m kind of obsessed ;)

Hard to go wrong with Brubeck.

[ByDesign]

Les Paul man here, nothing sets the hairs on my neck on end like a vintage LP through a Plexi Marshall, at 11. (Nigel rules) Ever since I heard the dual LP attack of Thin Lizzy I was hooked.

Don’t own one, but debating it. I used to have a Japanese copy that was almost completely rebuilt and fit my hands like a glove, but stupidly gave it away. I played for over 20 years hung it up, and picked it up again two years ago - funny how fast it comes back to you.

Right now I have a cheapo LP Jr. that will be donated as it has a horrible neck for me, a decent Epiphone dreadnaught acoustic that I love...and a Ibanez RG series, black, with trem, that I fell in love with and was on sale at GuitarShowcase. I’ve never been an Ibanez fan, or a fan of the “shredder” body style and neck, but this guitar has a fast, loose neck that I enjoy the heck out of, and it sounds nice and ballsy, almost in LP range. I don’t do trem so i put on the 3rd spring and yanked the bar off, and I’m happy. :)

The one thing I am LOVING is the wonder of guitar amp modeling - back when I started I got a 10w Peavy Decade amp that was okay, but sooooo transitor-y. Now I have a GuitarPort on my laptop that can get so many sounds with earphones or through my stereo, it’s a blast. I also tinker with GarageBand on my Mac, and there’s some okay amp models in there too.

Add in the wealth of guitar tabs out there, and amazing programs like GuitarPro that play the song and shows you what the fingering is...my god, it’s no wonder there’s 12 year olds in the store playing Metallica note for note!

And, finally...digital tuners. Can’t live without one now. Damn. All those years I trained myself to use a tuning fork or if I were lucky a piano...

[Cymbaline]

Been there, done that!

[TopDog2]

I have a ‘73 Telecaster. Not for sale... :-)