Are you a Strat hater?

[Shine]

I have to agree with some of Paul's points here. I would add that the bridge is pretty fiddly, and I prefer control access from the back ala Contemporary Strats or Gib**ns.

Having said that, some of my faves, such as Rory G, Tommy B, Hank M, etc (OK, I'm dating myself here) are Strat maestros.

 

[DougMen]

Leo didn't get everything perfect the first time, so that's why he and Freddie Tavares (local Hawaii legend!) designed the Strat, and 66 years later, it's still the most popular guitar in history, and herstory! IMO, it's about as close to perfect as you can get.

 

[IronSchef]

Strats are pretty dang iconic - hard to really "hate" on them (even the video guy admits he really loves Strats despite all the "flaws")

I DO find that the middle pickup is more troublesome than the pickup selector switch location -- I rarely clip the switch by accident, but I am constantly having to alter where I want to pick so as not to hit that middle pickup

 

[Chubbles]

I like Gibsons as well. The TOM bridges are even more of a pain. At least on a strat, each string height can be adjusted.

 

[DougMen]

Strats are pretty dang iconic - hard to really "hate" on them (even the video guy admits he really loves Strats despite all the "flaws")

I DO find that the middle pickup is more troublesome than the pickup selector switch location -- I rarely clip the switch by accident, but I am constantly having to alter where I want to pick so as not to hit that middle pickup

You're picking too far down. I usually pick between the neck and middle pickups, and I anchor my pinky on the pickguard on the treble side of the middle pickup while playing solos. The pickguards on all my Strats are actually stained from my finger laying there, lol. You can see the discoloration on this pic of my Am Pro Strat, right next to the mounting screw on the treble side of the middle pickup.

 

[RoyalWe]

I will admit I am no friend of the strat. The knobs are positioned in such a way that I always hit them with my hand, I don’t like the output jack, and all around I think they look bland. They sound cool, though, when other people play them.

 

[DougMen]

I will admit I am no friend of the strat. The knobs are positioned in such a way that I always hit them with my hand, I don’t like the output jack, and all around I think they look bland. They sound cool, though, when other people play them.

Why is your hand way down there? If you're picking way down by the bridge, the sound is way too thin and bright. Pick closer to the neck, where you should, and it sounds a million times better. And the jack is one of the best things about a Strat. I can sit on my bed and not have the plug on the cable in the way, like it is on an edge mounted jack, unless it's a right angle one. I wish all guitars had a top mounted jack like that.

 

[DougMen]

I have to agree with some of Paul's points here. I would add that the bridge is pretty fiddly, and I prefer control access from the back ala Contemporary Strats or Gib**ns.

Having said that, some of my faves, such as Rory G, Tommy B, Hank M, etc (OK, I'm dating myself here) are Strat maestros.

You can say Gibson here! It's not a dirty word.

 

[SheelBeel]

There were times I was into strats and other times I was into the tele in my earliest years.

Then I split pretty evenly between Fender style and Gibson style.

And for over a decade and a half I used only humbuckers and preferred set necks.

Recently I have gone back to single coils and I have a strat and I love it. But this time, I have an equal interest in keyboards and synths.

 

[Toddcaster64]

I have never had a problem with the knob placement; in fact, I think it’s better than a lot of other guitars and I like their proximity as far as making easy adjustments. But even if I didn’t, its just part of the quiver - I out and out dislike many aspects of the Les Paul but gotta have one of those as well.

There is one thing, though, about the Strat that for me is beyond discussion - looks. The Strat is timeless, and whether intentional or not, it’s the closest a guitar can get to the female body. It’s still sexy as F.

 

[DougMen]

I have never had a problem with the knob placement; in fact, I think it’s better than a lot of other guitars and I like their proximity as far as making easy adjustments. But even if I didn’t, its just part of the quiver - I out and out dislike many aspects of the Les Paul but gotta have one of those as well.

There is one thing, though, about the Strat that for me is beyond discussion - looks. The Strat is timeless, and whether intentional or not, it’s the closest a guitar can get to the female body. It’s still sexy as F.

It seems to draw women to it too. Of all the amazing young female electric players that I follow on Instagram, the vast majority of them play Strats.

 

[Poor Richard]

Back in the day I played a Strat exclusively. Then I quit electric for about a decade. When I went back to electric, naturally I got another Strat. I immediately noticed that I was digging into the neck pickup when I played. I don’t ever remember doing this before, but I guess my style of playing changed while in acoustic land. Anyway, I got a Tele and the problem was solved.

 

[Beagle]

Why is your hand way down there? If you're picking way down by the bridge, the sound is way too thin and bright. Pick closer to the neck, where you should, and it sounds a million times better.

You know, I've been picking down by the bridge for almost 50 years now without any problems, but I'm happy to know where I've been going wrong all this time..

Or

There are several other ways to grill a cat Mr McDonald.

 

[brians]

This video pissed me off a lot.
I watched it a few weeks back
This is just a video for the sake of making a video.

Most iconic guitar design ever and he has to make a click bait video on what he hates about it.
Ridiculous really.

I've watched his channel a lot, and he's an accomplished player, why do a video like this?

The words Strat and Hate don't belong in the same sentence, and if you do hate the Strat then keep it to yourself or be happy to get bashed.

Same applies to people on this forum.
Why are they here then?

I don't like pointy guitars but I don't go to their forums and bash them.

There's a big difference in saying I would have preferred this to be that way or similar, but hating one of the most successful guitar designs and played by the most successful guitarists ever, is just Bull****.

There, I feel better now.

 

[Beagle]

This video pissed me off a lot.
I watched it a few weeks back
This is just a video for the sake of making a video.

Most iconic guitar design ever and he has to make a click bait video on what he hates about it.
Ridiculous really.

I've watched his channel a lot, and he's an accomplished player, why do a video like this?

The words Strat and Hate don't belong in the same sentence, and if you do hate the Strat then keep it to yourself or be happy to get bashed.

Same applies to people on this forum.
Why are they here then?

I don't like pointy guitars but I don't go to their forums and bash them.

There's a big difference in saying I would have preferred this to be that way or similar, but hating one of the most successful guitar designs and played by the most successful guitarists ever, is just Bull****.

There, I feel better now.

I must admit that I turned the video off after he hit the switch. That's not the guitar's problem. Like telling the judge "I only hit the pedestrian because Ford put the brake pedal in the wrong place"

 

[DougMen]

[Qbeagle, post: 977875, member: 12616"]You know, I've been picking down by the bridge for almost 50 years now without any problems, but I'm happy to know where I've been going wrong all this time..

Or

There are several other ways to grill a cat Mr McDonald. [/QUOTE]
I'm glad it works for you, and I wish I could make it work for me too. But, whenever I play close to the bridge, or use the bridge pickup, it sounds too thin and shrill to me. I prefer playing on the neck pickup and playing closer to the neck for that round woody SRV tone. I see my heroes like Jimi, Jeff, and Joe can use the bridge pickup and play close to the bridge with no problem. But, if I set my amp to sound good then, when I switch to the neck pickup, it sounds too bassy and muddy. I guess I'm just not as good or as versatile a player as you and they are.
I know I tend to talk in absolutes to make my point, which is stupid, and one of my many faults that I'm working on to contain. I'm a work in progress, and the progress is going very slowly, lol.

 

[brians]

I must admit that I turned the video off after he hit the switch. That's not the guitar's problem. Like telling the judge "I only hit the pedestrian because Ford put the brake pedal in the wrong place"

Agreed, if you can't play the thing, then use something else but he opened his mouth to change feet and made an idiot of himself.

 

[Beagle]

[Qbeagle, post: 977875, member: 12616"]You know, I've been picking down by the bridge for almost 50 years now without any problems, but I'm happy to know where I've been going wrong all this time..

Or

There are several other ways to grill a cat Mr McDonald.

I'm glad it works for you, and I wish I could make it work for me too. But, whenever I play close to the bridge, or use the bridge pickup, it sounds too thin and shrill to me. I prefer playing on the neck pickup and playing closer to the neck for that round woody SRV tone. I see my heroes like Jimi, Jeff, and Joe can use the bridge pickup and play close to the bridge with no problem. But, if I set my amp to sound good then, when I switch to the neck pickup, it sounds too bassy and muddy. I guess I'm just not as good or as versatile a player as you and they are.
I know I tend to talk in absolutes to make my point, which is stupid, and one of my many faults that I'm working on to contain. I'm a work in progress, and the progress is going very slowly, lol.[/QUOTE]

You need to set your pickups properly, then they won't sound thin or muddy, forget measurements use your ears. Then you pick in different areas to get different tones, even using the same pickup.

 

[DougMen]

I'm glad it works for you, and I wish I could make it work for me too. But, whenever I play close to the bridge, or use the bridge pickup, it sounds too thin and shrill to me. I prefer playing on the neck pickup and playing closer to the neck for that round woody SRV tone. I see my heroes like Jimi, Jeff, and Joe can use the bridge pickup and play close to the bridge with no problem. But, if I set my amp to sound good then, when I switch to the neck pickup, it sounds too bassy and muddy. I guess I'm just not as good or as versatile a player as you and they are.
I know I tend to talk in absolutes to make my point, which is stupid, and one of my many faults that I'm working on to contain. I'm a work in progress, and the progress is going very slowly, lol.

You need to set your pickups properly, then they won't sound thin or muddy, forget measurements use your ears. Then you pick in different areas to get different tones, even using the same pickup.[/QUOTE]
I set my neck pickup for the tone I like from it, since I use it 90% of the time, and then I set the other two in relation to it, for the best quack tones in the 2 and 4 positions. So, I really have no wiggle room there. But, thanks for the advice. I set everything by ear. I never measure anything, and I never have.

 

[Robbmonster]

Like others, I think the Strat is darn near perfect.

Sure, the knob placement might be a BIT inconvenient SOMETIMES, but try doing pinky swells on an LP. Sure, the strumming hand may flick the switch, but just change where you strum. You MUST adapt to the instrument, as it is a static thing and will not adapt to you.

The only major problem I have with my own Strats is I can rarely get the pickups as low as I would like, but there are easy enough ways around that.

But if anyone around here truly HATES Strats (minor quibbles and imperfections aside), I'd love to hear them put forth a legitimate argument