Strat appreciation thread

AgAuthority said:
88’ American Strat, just body and bridge are left from the original guitar. Had lots of different pickup configurations but come back to a single bridge pickup most often as I prefer simple—currently a Super Distortion. Warmoth Boatneck neck replaced original when hand pain with smaller necks became a problem.

Marshall JCM800 2204 on a 1969 Marshall 4x12 with some Weber 30 watt Greenbacks.
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I'm assuming that's your living room rig? ;)

I love the colour
 
Had this banging around for a long time, been together apart couple different times. Probably been in a box neckless for 15+ years. Don’t know what pickups those are, vaguely remember them being a vintage set of Kinman SCN. Finally ordered a neck during the pandemic and showed up recently but dragging my feet assembling it. Neck is a Warmoth 59’ profile.

Body is a Fender Robert Cray model
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I used to have a blueburst g&l legacy. It was an excellent guitar but I was so used to 'normal' tone controls I had to rewire the treble and bass knobs to standard strat wiring cause my brain couldn't cope with it at a gig.
 
No floyds? Too bad!

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This is an American deluxe from 2006, bought new and it was my first electric guitar after a couple years of playing only acoustic.

It’s always played well but I was never been super impressed by the sound, so it didn’t get a lot of play over the years. Eventually I sat down and googled the pickups it had (fender SCN noiseless) and it seemed people thought they were dull, flat, lifeless, which is kind of how I felt about it. It now has a set of Seymour Duncan SSL1’s and what a breath of fresh air, excellent sound now. I went with a fresh pickguard and new electronics as I also never used the overly-complicated S1 switching setup it had.

The floyd appeared when I got to my wits end with tuning stability. It had the two-point tremolo with the blocky square saddles, which are not only ugly but also uncomfortable with the sharp edges. It has locking tuners and the nut was filed and lubricated but it just wouldn’t stay in tune for very long. So I said, fuck it I’m going way overboard and adding a floyd. And damn if it isn’t my most stable guitar now. It can sit for ages though temperature changes and still be in tune. More stable than any of my hardtail guitars. I only use it for light vibrato and flutters but it’s turning stability turned me on to floyds and now half my guitars have one.
 
mnemonic said:
No floyds? Too bad!

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This is an American deluxe from 2006, bought new and it was my first electric guitar after a couple years of playing only acoustic.

It’s always played well but I was never been super impressed by the sound, so it didn’t get a lot of play over the years. Eventually I sat down and googled the pickups it had (fender SCN noiseless) and it seemed people thought they were dull, flat, lifeless, which is kind of how I felt about it. It now has a set of Seymour Duncan SSL1’s and what a breath of fresh air, excellent sound now. I went with a fresh pickguard and new electronics as I also never used the overly-complicated S1 switching setup it had.

The floyd appeared when I got to my wits end with tuning stability. It had the two-point tremolo with the blocky square saddles, which are not only ugly but also uncomfortable with the sharp edges. It has locking tuners and the nut was filed and lubricated but it just wouldn’t stay in tune for very long. So I said, fuck it I’m going way overboard and adding a floyd. And damn if it isn’t my most stable guitar now. It can sit for ages though temperature changes and still be in tune. More stable than any of my hardtail guitars. I only use it for light vibrato and flutters but it’s turning stability turned me on to floyds and now half my guitars have one.
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That’s one pretty Strat! I know it’s a minor detail, but I actually really, really dig the brass flathead screws you have for the jack plate!

edit: just noticed the screws are on the pickguard too! It’s the little things that can really class up a guitar without standing out. I might have to get some screws like that next time I order from McMaster Carr
 
Bricksnbeatles said:
That’s one pretty Strat! I know it’s a minor detail, but I actually really, really dig the brass flathead screws you have for the jack plate!

edit: just noticed the screws are on the pickguard too! It’s the little things that can really class up a guitar without standing out. I might have to get some screws like that next time I order from McMaster Carr
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thanks, I think flat head just generally look a bit nicer than Phillips, and I love how brass looks as it ages. And I figured that color would work well with the body color.
 
mnemonic said:
thanks, I think flat head just generally look a bit nicer than Phillips, and I love how brass looks as it ages. And I figured that color would work well with the body color.
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The brass flat heads look great. I hadn't even noticed them at first.
 
I'm a big Strat fan myself! I've got about 50 of them!


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Here's mine : 2007 Vintage Hot Rod '57.

I'm not a fan of Stratocasters (even though a lot of my guitar heroes play one) and I don't like candy apple red guitars. But this one spoke to me from the first time I plugged it and it quickly became my #1. It just sounds great.

I changed a few things. Swapped the cheap 1 ply pickguard for a sturdier 3 ply. And I got fed up with the saddles cutting into my hand so I put Graph tech ones. No complaints.

I know some people hate them, but I really like the SCN noiseless pickups, especially the neck pickup. I wasn't the biggest fan of the DiMarzio ToneZone at first, but never found a replacement I liked more.
 

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This is my '96 USA Lone Star Strat, my main and favourite guitar. DiMarzio pickups: Deactivator-X humbucker, Cruiser in the neck and Fast Track 1 in the middle. I enjoy the rail pickups, bridge and neck are pretty hot but they are versatile too.

According to "that other thread", this is a redneck Strat. 😂 I can live with that 😉

She's pictured here at a gig last week with my Plethora X5, Atomic Amplifire (my amp alternative) Jet Revelation ambient reverb 😍, with a Nobleman (yellow) and LGSM providing the drive.
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I’ve owned a variety of cheap and expensive (USA deluxe) strats but I settled on this late 80s Peavey Predator I got for 200 dollars. New pickguard and tone emporium 50s pickups and she’s a beaut.


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Daaaaaaammmmmnnnn that's nice. More details please @spi and more pics definitely more pics

Is that a black suede levys strap too? They're my favourite.
 
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SillyOctpuss said:
Daaaaaaammmmmnnnn that's nice. More details please @spi and more pics definitely more pics

Is that a black suede levys strap too? They're my favourite.
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This is a partscaster: EJ Tropical Turquoise body paired with an AO 60's neck. SD Antiquity Surfer pickups and Callaham bridge.
You're correct on the strap!

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