I played one at my local music shop, and it was awesome! I loved it, but I only played it for around 20 minutes or so. If anyone on guitartricks owns one (which i'm pretty sure someone does) please tell me how they are in the long run. I am thinking about getting the 3-tone sunburst model with the maple fretboard because that is by far my favorite.

I bought my Strat in 7th grade. Im a senior in college now and it is the only guitar I have ever owned. Still play it every day.

The strat is a beautifull and dependable axe. I have a custom one from the CA custom Shop. But .... I must say... If you are used to playing any other guitar, be aware of the very close proximity of the volume control knob and the strings. It is very easy to slide the side of your palm along the knob while strumming and drop your volume. Can be very embarrassing--especially if you were in the middle of show-boating to that hottie in front of the band. An easy fix is to open up the faceplate and swap positions of the treble POT and volume POT. A drop in treble is not as noticable as a drop in volume. That's just one tele-man's opinion.

I thought that was just my problem. Hitting the volume knob is really annoying though.

I play a Fender Mustang, and the floating bridge and massive stretch to the volume knob does make it quite... different to play than a strat. :rolleyes: To sum it up, I agree.

How would you guys compare it to... say a.... Gibson Les Paul Studio?

Oh god.. here comes the fender/gibson battle once again...

I have a 1984 American Strat. It's still ticking, and it's taken quite a licking over the years. Has a maple neck also. I don't know if comparing a 24 yr. old Strat to a new one is any help, as Fender has come out with so many different models, I get a headache from looking at a Fender brochure. Still, I think pretty much anything made by Fender will be of good, if not great, quality. I do wonder about the $399 Strats I've seen on sale though.