Could be that much, or way under, matters not to me.

I know this is totally personal and dependant on taste, etc, but would love to hear people's thoughts. I'm thinking Suhr Pro.

I don't have the biggest hands in the world, so I can't take big necks. I play blues, RF jazz/blues, alt country stuff, rock/soul Eddie Hinton/Derek Trucks/Allmans/some rock now and then/John Cleary/Bonnie Raitt/Landreth/John Hiatt (his stuff with Landreth) that bluesy swampy jazzy world.

I grew up on Les Pauls (and currently have that totally taken care of with my new, much loved Edwards ELP 130 se something or other, amazing guitar) but have mostly played strats and teles the last 20 years. Love strats for everything except the high action up top. I like the Suhrs I've played, but don't want anything too sterile. But i'm also REALLY tired of guitars w/iffy intonation and therefor that's got me thinking Suhr Pro w/feiten/plecked etc.

I've had a Meloncon strat which was absolutely wonderful, just moved on for curiosity about the Suhr Pro. I'm hoping I don't live to regret that move. Ah well, I could always go back. Anything among the current/recent or even older fenders I should look at, seeing as how they have something to do with the whole strat thing?

I think my dream guitar is a nice big sounding thing along the lines of Scott Henderson/Oz Noy/Tommy Castro if that's not too eclectic a bunch for you. But with perfect (ok, great) intonation and easy to play. Not asking tooo much, right??

It's weird I find myself wanting the modern comforts/conveniences of a Suhr - great intonation and easy playing mostly, but I don't want a sterile strat. I like the sound of a great old, gnarly strat that's been set up really well and goes KLANG through a big ol' bassman. I am perhaps wanting it all in one guitar... and I need to go play a Suhr. Now....

Thanks!! Any and all opinions welcome and appreciated.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Soundhound,

I'm partial to my Gibsons as well, growing up on them. But I do own a strat. Personally speaking, I would just sit down in a bunch of music stores and find the one that speaks to you. I think thats the best way to buy a guitar. However its not realistic as most of us have jobs and other important things. I would go look at Suhr, Nash, American Fenders.

Used Grosh retro-classic.

Well I would say you should buy mine (shamesless plug), but I don't think you would like the action and neck from your post.

Have you tried the EJ strat? If you like the neck (which is definately an "if" since it is on the bigger side of things), I think you might like the EJ. Necks are pretty subjective, so see if you can play one to try it. As far as the vintage mojo, EJ has been playing his mainly instead of his vintage pieces and says they sound just as good and play better. Might be worth a shot..

D

+1 For the EJ Strat...

EJ Strat=best strat ever. Well, in my opinion anyway.

I really like my Nash. Having said that, I think you really just have to play them and see what one speaks to you.

The EJ Strat is wonderful although has a pretty big neck.

I am quite partial to Suhr's. Definitely try one of those out, too. I haven't played a Suhr Pro but a friend of mine has and he said it's as nice as my Suhr Custom Classic.

Yeah, you're going to regret selling the Melancon.

But, there are some other choice options.

If you can find an early 80's U.S. 57 Vintage Re-Issue Strat, then I'd DEFINATELY check one out.

Also, you could "roll your own", with Warmouth, WD, Allparts, USACG, etc.

The EJ Strats can be really nice. But, I do find them to be kinda "modern" sounding. More like a Suhr or Anderson. Also, the first ones seemed really consistent. But now, every one I pick up is either too heavy, or just not quite right. And I know that they're supposed to be under a certain weight and all. But......play at least 5 or 10 of them, if you're going that route.
Don't get me wrong. They are consistently good. But, I guess I'm spoiled. My green Strat is sooo nice, that most every other one pales by comparison.

And the Baja Teles I've seen are really nice. So, the Strat version would be equally nice, I would think. Maybe others here will chime in with more experienced assessments.

Some of the best "Vintage Fenders" (Strats and Teles) I've seen, are Tokais and Fernandes'.

Any way you go, it's going to be fun getting there! Rock On, Rock Soldier.

+1 on ej and +1 on roll your own, in my opinion ive played..well many a strat as many of us have, ive come to the conclusion that most (not all strats) will more than likely have one or more thing that you dont like about it...lets say, nice action, but with a sorry small C shaped neck, to me theyre boring no matter how the action feels on the neck, i definately prefer the feel of a V (i have very small hands) yet i play faster and more accurate on a bigger neck, to each his own ofcourse. i cant wait to "roll my own" because i can build it and use the parts that i want to use to use and when its completed i believe it should be left at that, instead of crapping out money on an expensive guitar only to find things you dont like, putting your own axe together can be very rewarding to fit your needs better than a standard axe at the shops can..

however there is always the ej strat, personally theres not much i would do to this guitar.(if you get one make sure to play the hell out of it, some play better than others ive learnt by messing with several at a time and other peoples opinions of the guitar.

man good luck, lots of options tho (maybe too many)

The Suhr's are great guitars. If I was in the market for a new strat style axe it IS what I would get. The Eric Johnson strat is probably the best new Fender I've played but I don't dig 'signatures' (or relics). Just not my thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Gibsonguru:I would just sit down in a bunch of music stores and find the one that speaks to you. I think thats the best way to buy a guitar.

I think this as solid as any advice that you'll receive.

When I went on my "magic strat" quest a few years back, I had a couple of thousand bucks ready to parlay for "the one". Ater playing 50-60 of them over the course of several months (MIA, custom shop, you name it), it really wigged me out that the best fit I found was a used MIM. In fact, it made me so uncomfortable that I decided to go have a killer BBQ lunch. After that, I went back and had another go at the Mexican strat, and what the heck, I gave the vendor $267.12 for the instrument, case and tax, out the door. The ceramic pickups sucked, so I installed Harmonic Designs. Otherwise, it's a magic strat. Since then, I've traded my MIA '57 RI strat for an Ovation mandolin, and my early 80's MIJ strat is now an electric high-strung guitar. Anyway, the MIM strat is the one I'll be grabbing at tonight's show.

I've owned and have parted ways with Tom Anderson and G&L guitars. The craftsmanship was exceptional, but for whatever reasons, I found them to not be "stratty" enough for my tastes and needs. Sounds like an elitist copout sort of thing to say, except that my experience totally supports it to this point... the only Telecaster or Stratocaster that seems to work for me always has a "Fender" logo on the headstock. I just have to play a bunch of them before ponying up.

I might not have mentioned that I'm partial to rosewood boards, so that rules out the EJ for me unfortunately. If I have time this weekend, my search will begin. Hopefully first a Suhr Pro, then off to some place to try a billion strats. New American Standards, a John Mayer, Vintage Hot Rod etc...

Will report back to camp after first encounter with the enemy...

Okay did a little reconnaisance today. Didn't have a ton of time with any of these strats, but enough to get some kind of impression.

John Mayer Strat. Played two at GC, the setup wasn't great on either of them, and it was a Saturday so there were shredders everywhere, but I liked them. Played nicely, the necks felt good, and sounded nice and full. Two thumbs up.

New American Standard. Played a few of these and they ran a fairly wide range from kind of dumpy to very nice. Getting a pick of the litterof these would probably do the job just fine.

Went to a better guitar store before heading to GC and played three strats. Loved all of them. It'll probably come down to $$ and type of strat...

Grosh Retro Classic. Reeeeealllllly nice strat. Sort of bridged the difference between an old strat and newer type. Great sound, great feel.

Nash, S-63 model maybe? If I were looking for a great old strat but didn't want to search forever, I would buy one of these in a heartbeat. THAT's a strat, as I think of them anyway. It goes KLANG, but the neck isn't a minefield, quite the opposite.

Suhr Pro S1. Wow. Played really easily, sounded punchy and full. I've been getting very persnickity about intonation recently and this felt like it answered that need. I'm not sure I love the idea of the humbucker in the bridge, but I could learn to love it.

So. Nash for tradional, Grosh for blend of old and new, Suhr for perfection, with maybe a little loss of tradition.

Just a bunch of good options. I feel like I could find a Suhr in the color I want and be very happy playing everything from SRV to Scott Henderson. If I were rich I'd get a Suhr and a Nash.

Forgot about the Mayer. Good guitar. Plus, it has the most EXCELLENT gig bag! I've been GASSING for the "In Case" gig bag, like that one. The PUs were maybe the only weak point for me. But, that wouldn't stop me. I know that re-adjusting the PU heights can really bring out some different tones and response.

Nice stuff!

The Classic Player Strat is the one I was thinking of, earlier.

http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0141100372

I haven't personally tried one yet. But, I did try a couple of the Teles. And they were really nice.

You might want to check out Carvins custom shop. You can get a really nice customized guitar for under 1000. I haven't played them, but i thought i am considering one as my next guitar.