Does a Stratocaster get better with age?
I give this a conditional yes. What's the condition?
The condition is that if the guitar was played regularly, even if the guitar wasn't maintained 100% properly all the time, then yes, it will age well. Otherwise, no.
I dragged out my old 1989 Squier II Stratocaster (my first guitar that I still own, bought new in 1990) and played it. The pickups and electronics are all original. The tuners and bridge trem block however are not, for the reason both started crumbling apart. The tuners had plastic buttons and started disintegrating, so they were replaced with exact-fit metal ones, and the trem block that was some kind of zinc alloy that literally crumbled apart, so that was also fitted with an exact-fit replacement. Both of these items were donated from a Squier Bullet HH I bought that just happened to have parts that were identical in size and fit to the '89 (and I was obviously very happy about that).
What gives an old guitar its character is the neck and pickups more than anything else. Older guitars that were used regularly have necks that are worn in and pickups that have had their magnetism altered over the years from regular play. When you pick up a guitar that's been well-played, you feel it and hear it...
...and that vintage well-played sound and feel is obviously not limited to just Fender and Gibson. If an electric was made well (as my Squier Strat was) and played well, then yes, the guitar will age well.
But being this article about Strats in particular, let's talk about that.
Any vintage Fender Stratocaster I see that has a selling point of "barely played" or "closet guitar" (meaning bought, played a handful of times and put in a closet for 50 years before being found again) is a guitar I know for a fact will play and sound like total crap.
Even though vintage Strats of that ilk are taken apart very carefully and restored so that everything works properly, the guitar is basically no different than a brand new Classic Series '60s Stratocaster. Actually, correction, there is one major difference. The vintage Strat has a price tag that's 2000% higher or greater (not an exaggeration) over the Classic Series.
Starting at around the late 2000s, guitar crafting reached the point where every single tiny little detail of the old vintage Strats can now be recreated in a new instrument. If you want a Strat that's absolutely identical to what was sold brand new in the '60s, you can buy it right now. And yes, it will be exactly the same as the vintage, top to bottom, inside and out. Just call up the Fender Custom Shop and order one. Or buy a Classic Series. It's that simple.
Given that's true, it puzzles me why anyone other that a guitar collector would want a barely-played real vintage. As a musician's instrument, an unplayed vintage is a total waste of money. Nothing is worn in on the guitar and as an unplayed instrument, it has no distinctive tonal character because it's unused.
This is, incidentally, why so many old Squier Strats don't have a proper sound and feel to them. There are untold thousands of those guitars that were bought, played maybe for a few months, neglected and then promptly forgotten. None of those guitars ever got the chance to be played well.
My 26-year-old Strat has been played and worn in. I have been the only owner of it. The rust on the pickup pole pieces is real. The chips and scratches in the body are real. The super-twangy sound of the pickups is real. Did it sound that way when I first got it? Heck no. It happened over time.
Basically, what I'm saying is that the guitar itself doesn't just sprout character on its own. It's the player that imbues a guitar with character. If your Strat, be it by Fender or Squier, has a feel and sound that you like, getting the guitar to have character is simple. Keep playing it. The neck will change over time, as will the sound of the pickups. It will happen.
I don't play my old Squier Strat much these days, mainly for the reason I want it to last. However, I still break her out once every few months just to keep the guitar working right. She needs some of the electronics cleaned, but other than that, she's still a really good player and sounds better than ever.
Vintage guitar of the week #7 - 1966 Fender Stratocaster
There's just something about a red Strat that makes you really want it.
A rela-deal '66 Strat is not cheap. In fact, it's the price of a new car. I'm not kidding...
...but that doesn't take away the desire to own it.
I don't have to tell you what a Strat from the mid-1960s sounds like, because you already know. Strats were used a whole lot to create some of rock's greatest hits of that era, so you know the sound of this guitar. And if you can afford it, then hey, go buy the thing.
Now if you can't afford that Strat (which wouldn't surprise me) but do really like the look, there are fortunately some cheaper new options.
Now before listing off those cheaper options, Candy Apple Red, commonly abbreviated as just CAR, is a great Strat color when the neck has a rosewood fretboard. I've seen CAR Strats with the maple board, and it just doesn't work. CAR is a metallic finish, and when put against a maple board, the look isn't really that good. But with the rosewood board, oh yes, totally works.
Oh, and here's a funny one: Fender currently (at the time I write this) does not offer an American Standard Strat in the CAR + rosewood style. In fact, they currently do not offer any red finish for a USA Strat at all. Weird, huh?
Anyway, here are the choices for a CAR Strat with rosewood board, from least-to-most expensive:
(Note: For each link below, all colors are shown, but you'll see the red in the listings.)
This is the only Strat from Squier in this color combo that has a mostly-traditional layout. It has a modern two-point bridge and 22-fret neck (like the American Standard,) but with the big headstock on it and modern sealed tuners.
Squier Vintage Modified Surf Stratocaster
This is a non-traditional layout. The pick guard is pearloid and the pickups are lipstick style. However, that's nothing a loaded Strat pick guard can't fix quick, and then you've got the old-style layout back.
If I were in the market for a CAR + rosewood Strat, this is the one I would buy personally. It has the old-style 21-fret neck and 6-screw vintage-style bridge. The only thing I don't like are the sealed tuners (I prefer the slotted vintage style,) but that's nothing that can't be fixed up quick with a replacement set.
Fender Classic Series '60s Stratocaster
With the exception that the headstock is slightly smaller, this guitar is almost identical to the real-deal '66 Strat. Everything is there from stem to stern, including the 7.25-inch fingerboard radius, tall/skinny frets and truss rod adjustment at the heel, just like the '66.
Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster
I know what you're thinking. "That's the same guitar as the Classic Series." No, it's not. The major differences between the Classic Series and the Classic Player is that the Player has a 12-inch fingerboard radius and a 2-point bridge instead of the vintage 6-screw. While it's really easy to think they're both the same (especially considering the names are so similar,) believe me, the Player is a totally different animal
Which would I get if I wanted one?
The Mexico Standard, as said above. I would have to swap out the sealed tuners for the vintage slotted style, and maybe a swap out of the tuners from bent steel to block, but that's pretty much it. That's the CAR + rosewood Strat I'd be most happy with, because the Standard is a very predictable, very easy player where once it's set up right, it provides many years of playing enjoyment - if the guitar is properly taken care of, of course. :)
Would I get an American Standard if Fender offered a CAR + rosewood version? No, I wouldn't, and for basically only one reason. The bridge. USA Standard Strats have the 2-point bridge and I prefer the older 6-screw style, which the Mexico Standard has.
Cheap guitar of the week #23 - Peavey Predator Plus EXP
Cheap guitar with a Floyd-Rose tremolo? The Predator Plus EXP delivers.
As far as I can tell, the Peavey Predator Plus EXP is one of the cheapest guitars you can get that has a real-deal FR trem system on it. And yes, it is an actual Floyd-Rose Licensed double-locking tremolo system. "Licensed" means it's the cheaper version of it, of course, but that's to be expected given the guitar's price. If it were a Floyd-Rose Original system, the price of the guitar would be probably more than doubled.
Several color choices are available, which includes Metallic Topaz and Transparent Purple. Plain black is also available.
A good introduction to the FR trem system without breaking the bank
At best, the Predator Plus EXP is a "fair" guitar. Not bad, but not great either. It's just your average solid-body electric - but with the FR trem on it. And that's the guitar's biggest selling point.
Remember, for a "true" FR trem, it has to be double-locking, meaning locked at the bridge and the nut. This Peavey has that.
While true there are other cheap guitars with the FR Licensed trem system, few (if any) can match the low price of the Peavey. The guitar is well south of $300, and as long as you know how to set up a guitar, know how to set up the FR system properly and understand that the FR is Licensed and not the more expensive Original model, the Predator Plus EXP is a good rocker.
Just don't expect it to be like a $1,500+ Ibanez, because it's not.
Thicker strings do not make a bigger guitar sound
If you play thick strings for sound and not for comfort, you've got it all wrong.
On the solid-body electric, there's this belief that you absolutely must use thick strings in order to make a "big" sound, with big meaning "fuller". Sorry, but that's not happening.
I play my Jazzmaster with an 8-38 set, which is the second thinnest string set you can get (the thinnest is 7 gauge, if you can even find them). The 8-38 is what's generally known as extra super light. Alternatively, if you just search for 8-38 guitar strings, you find them that way too.
I won't be playing 8-38 full time and will go back to 9-42, however I bought and installed an 8-38 set to prove a point. Thin strings don't mean a thin sound on a solid-body electric.
Note that I said solid-body electric. Where you really hear the difference with thick strings is on semi-hollow and hollow body guitars. Slap on a set of 12s and yes, you will hear that extra-ringy, extra-bongy style string vibration come through. Great for jazz music.
However, for solid-body electrics, the thickness really doesn't do a damned thing for the sound. Want proof? Jimi Hendrix and Tony Iommi. Both players get "huge" sound, and both use very, very thin strings.
How do players with thin strings get the big sound? Easy answer. It's how the strings are plucked. Namely, the pick you use.
I've said this just recently but will say it again. Many players use picks that are way too thick and bang strings way too hard, causing all sorts of fret buzz and the strings going out-of-tune constantly.
Some believe the solution to fret buzz and strings that waver in tuning too much on hard pick strikes is to use thick strings. That won't help. It is better to use lighter strings and switch to a flexible pick or at least one with a pointy tip on it.
Then the belief goes into total fantasy land territory by stating thicker strings make for a bigger sound. On the solid-body, no. Never has and never will.
Switch to a "clacky" medium pick, which is basically any celluloid, and lo and behold, the strings actually ring out better without the need to strike them with the fury of the fist of an angry god.
Seriously, it works. Try lighter strings and picks that flex more.
Vintage guitar of the week #6 - 1974 Fender Telecaster
Being I've been talking about Telecasters recently, I figured it was time to feature a vintage example of one.
Let's talk about the real-deal '74 Telecaster.
I picked this specific guitar because you can find one as a "Blackie" Tele. The Eric Clapton "Blackie" Strat is basically a black Strat with white pickguard and maple neck/fretboard. That Strat has a signature version as well as an American Standard version and a Mexico version. Squier has nothing that qualifies as a Blackie Strat. While true this Affinity is close to the mark, it has a large '70s style headstock and not the smaller style that's required for the Blackie look.
When it comes to a Blackie style Telecaster however, there is a Squier that almost exactly hits the mark, that being the Affinity model. The only thing it doesn't have is the vintage style 3-saddle "ashtray" bridge. Squier does offer that specific bridge on the Classic Vibe '50s and the Classic Vibe Thinline, but not the Affinity.
In Fender flavors, while true you can get a black Tele with maple fingerboard/neck in Fender USA or Fender Mexico flavor, neither has the ashtray bridge.
"That Fender Mexico version looks really close to the '74 vintage"
Correct. Arguably, the best Blackie-look Telecaster right now is the Mexico version, mainly because it has the same Fender "transition" logo on the headstock that the '74 does.
There are basically only three things you need to match the look of the '74. A set of vintage-style slotted tuners, an ashtray 3-saddle bridge and brass saddles. That's it. And yes, you will spend more on the saddles than for the bridge itself. Funny, but true.
Does the new Tele play like the '74 does?
No.
The '74 has a sound and feel that a new Tele won't. The pickups in the '74 are 41 years old and the neck has a decidedly different shape. Probably a "U" shape compared to "Modern C" that you would get on a new one.
What neck shape and sound you prefer is up to you. I personally could get along with either a new Tele or the old '74.
Does Fender make a '70s "plain" reissue Telecaster?
No. Or not currently at the time I write this.
There are currently three new '70s style Telecasters that Fender makes, none of which are a standard-style Telecaster. The '72 Custom, '72 Deluxe and '72 Thinline. Yes, Fender has a thing for 1972 with their reissue Telecasters right now. I've no idea why, but they do. The Custom does come in black, but has a totally non-standard electronics layout, hence why it's "custom".
If you want a standard Tele in black that has that true '70s look, the Mexico model with the modifications I noted above is the only way to do it.
Could you do these same modifications on a Squier Affinity? Maybe, but it would take some effort. It's probably true the Fender tuners will not fit the pegboard holes on the Squier, and the screw pattern will also be different for the bridge. In other words, drilling will be required.
It should be noted however that on its own, the Affinity Tele is just fine as-is. The same can be said for the Mexico Tele.
Also bear in mind there are a lot of Tele players who simply do not like the ashtray bridge, which is why the "flat" bridge is on modern Teles to begin with. I personally have no problem with the ashtray bridge, but you might because the edges do stick up away from the body. If you feel that might bother you, head to a guitar store and try a Tele with the ashtray bridge first, whether Fender or Squier flavor. They're easy to spot, and you'll know very quickly whether one bothers you when playing or not.