Posted on 05/04/2007 4:13:21 PM PDT by Bean Counter
My wife made a mistake. For my birthday in February, she bought me a calendar from the Fender Custom Shop. I hung it on the wall directly behind my desk, right in my range of vision, and I have been gazing longingly ever since at beautiful guitars. My longing stayed within reason until I turned the page to April, and saw the Engraved Thinline Telecaster in flame maple. The clumsy copy below the calendar proper says "both nice to look at and a dream to play."
"A dream to play" has been ringing in my head ever since, the way a phrase from ad copy will do. And two weeks ago, I drove to the nearest Guitar Center and sat down and started playing electric guitars for the first time in 30 years.
Beautiful Telecaster notwithstanding, I played only Stratocasters on that first visit. I have always been a Strat man. Here is a picture of a very nice one, from the current Fender website.
MY PARENTS BOUGHT ME MY FIRST STRATOCASTER when I was in junior high school, in about 1961. Those of you who know the marque will share my chagrin that I do not still have that model, now known as a "vintage" Stratocaster, and much desired. It had belonged to a country western musician, whose big belt buckles had torn up the sunburst finish on the back. I got a Fender Concert Amp with it, and instantly became a popular guy with the two other serious guitar players in my school, Roger Johnson and Bob Cohen. They used to invite me to play with them, mainly so they could use my amp, which was bigger and better than the ones they had.
**SCHNIPP**
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Enjoy...
Grass is greener. Always wanted a Telecaster but have a Strat instead. Oh well. It’s still great.
I own 6 Strats. They’re all imports with 3 of the Mexican. An Tex-Mex HH Rosewood, a Noiseless SSS Player’s with Rosewood, a Lite Ash with SSS Seymour Duncans and Birdseye Maple Neck, a Standard SSS with maple neck in Midnight Wine, a Squier that I built with the Mexican pickups, and another Squier with a heavier body and maple neck awaiting a rebuild.
Have my eye on an American or two. When I’ve got about $1100 plus tax to spend on each of them.
ping
Ended up with a Strat. Tried every last one the music shop had. Must have been 50 of them hanging on display. This one is very, very hot. Most of them were kind of dull sounding.
My husband is a guitar addict.
Our bedroom is literally full of guitars, you trip over them on the way to the bathroom. He is a big fan of the Strat - doesn't care for the Telecaster. Has a 61 Strat and a new one that actually plays better. He could blow all the windows out of the house and make the dogs howl with the Fender CyberTwin amp he's got, though he's usually more restrained.
But he also plays classical guitar and bluegrass . . . and he's really rather good. We play trios with my daughter on violin (I play the harpsichord).
He doesn't say a word about my horse or my dogs (or my harpsichord, which is a devil to maintain), so I don't complain about the guitars!
“Engraved Thinline Telecaster...”
“Beautiful Telecaster notwithstanding, I played only Stratocasters on that first visit. I have always been a Strat man. Here is a picture of a very nice one, from the current Fender website.”
Can anyone post the pics?
Purty Tele
FUN!
I agree....but.....get rid of those calendars. I have some of hot rods and I really want to get back into them again. Calendars do something to you.....dangerous things.
Red with black pick-guard. Action is so nice I press my Palm Pilot screen harder than the neck. And it’s a Mexican one.
Gibson SG is next on the list, if ever. Don’t have much time to play around, unfortunately.
I’m a Gibson crack-ho myself, but I likes me a Tele and Strat too. And a 335 or 355 or two or fifty.
Even recently grabbed a 12-string Strat but it sounds like crap due to the stock cheesy pickups. I knew that going in though, and it’s not a problem because I wind my own pickups...MWA-HA-HA...
am not a musician - but a music lover. This was a great article about American ingenuity and creativity (Fender and Les Paul).
I am always AMAZED at these freeper guitar posts. There are always hundreds of posts to these. I wasn’t away freepers love guitars so much. I love it, cuz I love guitars too!
Have an acoustic, but gearing to buy my first electric. Thinking, Gibson SG, Les Paul, Stat. Eventually I know I’ll get all three.
You'll understand why in just a few seconds!
That is beautiful.... I think I’m in love....
I like the Strat just fine. Nicely made guitars, especially the American jobs. I’ve owned two, as well as a Tele.
But as my screen name implies, I’m totally and hopelessly in love with Rickenbackers. Nothing sounds like them, nothing looks like them and they bring with them the cache of John Lennon, Roger McGuinn, Paul Weller and countless other Really Cool Guys.
I also have a Taylor T5, which I HIGHLY recommend.
The Taylor T5 is #1 on my wish list.
If you like the Strat feel, pick up a G&L Legacy next time you get a chance. It’s become my absolute fav guitar. you know that headstock ring? Try this one out...
I have the best of both worlds - I own a Gibson strat. Yep, they made models Q400 & Q4000 in the ‘80’s. Even though it has a bolt-on neck, it’s one of the finest guitars (made in the US of A, of course) I’ve ever seen.
Here's an example of Johns little black guitar with flatwounds.
I play with Fender Flatwounds .11, yeah. Quite nice.
Some find it unwieldy. At first, perhaps. But after a while it feels natural.
Some find it ugly/archaic. It's beautiful.
My dream: to own a '53 Tele.
The problem: they sell for around $60,000 - $75,000
Oh, boy, that’s nice. That’s the custom Koa, right? I’ve got the custom maple in red. I play it probably more than the Ricks, which sometimes gives me pause, as I’ve been into the Ricks for so long and I almost feel like I’m cheating.
Ricks are very underrated. I'd love to get a old 360F (Fullbody).
Need to get me one of them to go with my:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0253900540
Good luck with that! I’ve got a 1989 330/6 mapleglo, a 1994 360/6 jetglo and a 2004 330/12 blueboy. I got the first two off of ebay and the last one from Southpaw Guitars in Houston. Being a lefty turns out to be a good thing - Lefty Ricks are few and far between enough that I haven’t depleted my kids’ college funds buying them :)
I still have my 1969 Univox copy of a Gibson ES335. It looks exactly like Lucille. My son had it at his apartment for awhile and a couple of friends (music schoolers) tried to buy it from him. Thankfully, his better sense prevailed.
Personally, I never liked solid bodies too much.
I recently heard a David Gilmour interview and I believe he said he has a Strat with the serial number 00001 (something like that - - it was the first one). Gilmour says that the Strat is simply the best guitar ever made for people who play electric guitar. David apparently has a nice guitar collection (surprise, surprise).
I’ve been a Strat lover for years. I still want to get a Les Paul, though.
Such a classic shape. Every curve just perfect.
I’ve had Strats — an American one, a Japanese one, and very good clone called a Tokai. I love ‘em and will probably own one again. But for right now all I’ve got is a crazy mid 60s Kent semi-hollow that I found at a pawnshop and a very good but very beat up 12-string acoustic. It has a solid spruce top and rosewood sides, a simple Martin style headstock, but no identifying labels or markings other than a little sticker that says “handmade in Israel”. I don’t know of any Israeli guitarmakers so it’s kind of a mystery.
I love FR....
I have a strat and a Gibson Les Paul. The Les Paul is a dream to play. The scale length is shorter so it is easier to reach all the different frets on jazz chords. And chords just sound better on the LP.
If you are an acoustic player looking to get into playing electric, I would recommend a Les Paul. It has a feel that is much closer to an acoustic, so the transition is quicker.
Gibson Les Pauls are my favorites. I’m settling for the Epiphone version for now.
Always liked the looks of these, but at $1000+ I wound up with a cheap knock-off. That I still can't play. < |:(~
I’ve heard good things about those, but never picked one up.
I mainly play Parkers, but lately been having a blast with a Jetking, of all things!
No Gibsons (unless ya count an ancient Kalamazoo), and my only Fender is a bass. Go figure!
I am curious why you have so many mexican strats, particularly why you have the squires? How do you use them?
Me, I play bass, and leads. Totally different axes altogether!
Love my American Strat, but my Warmoth strat copy actually plays better. I also have a 1961 Fender Dou-Sonic that I am changing to a standard Strat neck. The pickups on that thing are incredible (must be the age). I also have 4 other guitars.
Several amps but the pick of the litter is a 1978 Fender Twin Reverb. 100 watts and sounds like God. Scares the neighbors.
(Note: That is not the original tremelo bar on that guitar.)
Rickenbacker 360F (looks like one from the early 60s)
Shaped a little like a Gibson Byrdland. ....but not quite. And with the classic Rickenbacker tone, of course.
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