Originally Posted by: LordathestringsI keep telling people to audition gear with their eyes closed, and their mind and ears open. No one on this earth can hear a name tag.
Well said!
I've played hundreds of Strats over the years. There is no guarantee any given "vintage" Strat from '58 to '79 will be a good instrument. The quality varies so much it's always amazed me.
I remember playing three late 50s model that supposedly had the same wood, components, etc. and they were very different sounding, playing machines. Same for some '72s, '77s and '79s. Some were OK, some total turkeys, some wonderful.
My red Strat I use in most lessons is a '79 with an A neck (small profile, 9" radius) and alder body. But I changed the 3 bolt "neck tilt" to a 4 bolt (much more sturdy), and replaced the old rusted vibrato block with a newer StewMac "authentic replacement". That all changed the tone very little, if at all.
Then I rewired it with HS-3s & 500K pots. As well as had jumbo frets put on it. Now, that stuff changed the tone a bit! But, more to my liking.
One time this authentic guitar collector-dealer saw me playing my '79. He said he had a '79 I "had to play to believe!". He said he'd sell it to me at a fair price since I loved '79s so much. I agreed to try it out. After all I was kind of excited if I could get another one like mine for a permanent backup! But, to my dismay it was a total piece of crap! :( It really sounded terrible, the neck was a maple cap and clunky. It was totally non-resonant and like half the neck was dead spots. Just weird!
Over the years I've had 3 Squires as backups. As long as I liked the feel of the neck, and the basic acoustic sound of the guitar was decent (no dead spots) I just put in HS-3s or HS-2s and it was perfectly acceptable. I've found I prefer rosewood fingerboards and alder bodies more than maple caps and ash when I bought those for backups. Each was bought for under $200, used over the years while regularly gigging and was perfect for the job.
If I had to replace my red Strat I wouldn't buy a new Strat at all. I think I'd look for an old used one. Probably 70s with the right neck and body for my hands and ears. Then replace all the parts just like I did before!
Many guitarist friends and colleagues of mine with vintage instruments typically use another, cheaper (and non-vintage) instrument as their personal favorite. It seems like a lot of people like to have a vintage machine, but once that box is checked ... it's time to find a machine you actually love and use on a regular basis. :)
