excellent guide to buying a strat (gilmour)

Thanks, that article was a great find. Looks like there is a lot of good info on that site. I used to have a '79 (CBS) Strat. I loved the tone and feel of that guitar, but I had to tune it way to often. The neck was a little skewed and just couldn't be fixed. I sold it, but I really miss the smooth, creamy sound of that guitar. I've been entertaining the idea of picking up another Strat. This article is dead on. More money doesn't always mean better guitar. I have an old Carlos acoustic that I picked up at a flea market years ago for a hundred bucks, and it's one of the best sounding acoustics I've ever played. I've played quite a few "identical" guitars that can't hold a candle to this one. Every once in a while cheaper guitars get built right, you just have to look real hard...or get lucky.

actually, the best way to get the strat you really want, is to build it from scratch.

you can dictate every single thing that you want, and usually do it for much less than the 'on the wall' price.
including custom paint, custom scale lengths, choice of wood, choice of electronics, the whole thing.

gonzo said:

actually, the best way to get the strat you really want, is to build it from scratch.

you can dictate every single thing that you want, and usually do it for much less than the 'on the wall' price.
including custom paint, custom scale lengths, choice of wood, choice of electronics, the whole thing.

Click to expand...

I wish I could build a guitar for less than what I could buy a comparable one. Maybe if you bought all the different elements already made and assembled it, but building from scratch is really not easy, especially when you're starting. Heck I've probably got almost 3 grand in tools alone. You are right though that you can get exactly what you want, which is part of the reason I started doing it, plus it's addicting. Oh and super satisfying to play a guitar that you made yourself.