Ultimate Strat Shootout! Vintage holy grails versus affordable new Strats
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Guitarist Aynsley Lister plus Guitarist Magazine reviewers Richard Barrett and Neville Martin put a bevy of 'Holy Grail' vintage Stratocasters from the 50s, 60s and 70s up against straight-out-of-the-box Strats from Fender's 2024 range. Which will come out on top for tone?
Dude. Two hours of dudes playing beautifully on Strats and talking about Strats is one of the best ways I can think of to spend two hours. ❤Without being able to have one of my Strats in my own hands, of course!!!
The moment they got the '56 maple neck out, I realised that Fender got it very right in the beginning. That guitar is sublime!!
I'm ADD, but this podcast held my attention. Thank you for, "less showmanship" and for more relevant, content, sticking to the music, playing, giving us genuine sound clips; by demonstrating the different Stratocasters in your own styles. In addition, you gave very insightful comments on the Vintage, CS Re-issues and the modern 70th Anniversary Stratocasters; from the Player to the Ultra Stratocaster. When you brought out the vintage '60s purple sparkle Stratocaster, I was hoping you would also bring out the modern, 70th Anniversary (HSS ) Ultra Stratocaster in the flip, flop Amethyst ,nitro finish. An HSS model, but SSS interchangeable. I own a few vintage Strats, but was uncertain about 70th Anniversary models and, what to use for some light gigging. This podcast has helped me make a decision; thank you.
After watching this I came to the same conclusion, the daphne blue '61 and the lake placid '70 were my favorites out the bunch. That '61 sounded incredible. I would have liked to see an American Vintage 61 strat in the comparison though, just to see how close it actually comes to that blue strat. If it's anywhere in the same ball park, I would think that would be a no brainer purchase, but I was surprised how well the Vintera hung in there. Still had a bit of that body, but much much more articulate. My thought's anyway.
Richard is outstanding. So tasteful and can play anything. Always a joy to hear him play any guitar.
What an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Thank you gentlemen.
Excellent show! Everyone did well discussing the different aspects of each Strat. Well done. I quite enjoyed this ! Thank you all
I'm sorry, but you guys make the best videos. Monster players, humble, relatable, beautiful playing, and always interesting. More, please.
What does this series of genuine compliments start with an apology?
Those guys have been talking about a Strat for more than 2 hours never being boring and always informative and very please to hear. My hat is off.
I love these! ES-335 next please?
Let's get the 1st thing out of the way: this was a great & very enjoyable watch. I'm a leftie & have a 3TS 2001 USA Standard strat that I adore. I was jealous seeing all these.
Thing is, though, be real, a Mexican or even American repro was never in with a shout. Would you guys ever do another video of ONLY none-vintage Strats, maybe by price, to give the players & vinteras a chance? Maybe something like Mexican standard, player I, player II, Vintera I, Vintera II, US Standard, US pro I, US pro II, US ultra, & US vintage I & II? Looking at prices, half are below £1000, & the rest are below £2000. That would give us another 2hrs of glorious noodling & drooling.
What an awesome video. Love this series. You guys are talented, knowledgeable and so welcoming.
Saw Ainsley play at Cambridge. Man what a player. Tone for days that boy!
the way mr richard barret play the tones is so good
Yeah. He did some stuff that I had to back up and play a couple more times and then bookmarked to learn his licks. ❤
Every guitar has a different sound and feel. I absolutely love the old vintage strats and I have to say that Leo got it right from the beginning. I have played several newer guitars that sound very close to the older ones and feel similar as well. I have my perfect strat, but it has taken me many replacement parts and it has been through 5 sets of pickups. It is an Fender American channel bound strat. I finally had a set of pickups made that I specd out and they sound fantastic. I done all the work on it as I do all my guitars, however if I had paid a tech to do it all I probably could've bought an original vintage strat cheaper. Lol. My point is that if you are willing to learn and do the work yourself, you can turn almost any strat into a great guitar.
These are the most interesting and engaging videos--it's always great to be invited to the Tone Lounge--thanks! Guitars-wise, I think that the Player Strat sounded the most "Stratty" to me. Aynsley said it sounds "plinky", but that's what I want in a Strat, so it seems fitting. Either way, nice work, Fender!
My kinda episode…thanks gentlemen ! 🎸🇺🇸🇬🇧🇮🇳👍
I would love a Tele episode ❤
Great playing all 4 of you!!!
I can hear the differences. I appreciate the range of years and prices. A very fair representation! Love and agree with almost each comment offered. Thanks so much!✌️❤️
Thanks for the nice comments everyone. It’s difficult to get the nuances we hear in the room come over on video. But it seems to a good degree they did. My red Strat won whatever they said.
🎸🎸🎸
And Richard and Aynsley are great players.
It's the difference between an instrument build for life with passion and a toy made in a lot of series they are not perfect fromm all of them but they are so much fun to play you get inspiration great video i love it !
There wasn’t a “bad” sounding guitar here. It would come down to in-the-hand feel for me. And, being honest, the look if I actually had to choose😊. Luckily I don’t need to choose. I have a Strat that ticks the boxes. It’s done it for me onstage, and I’ve heard it played onstage including really big concert and festival gigs, so it’s proven. It has realtime wear, the patina of years of use, so it looks cool. Does it matter what year it was made?
I just instantly loved the sound of the 56 maple sunburst strat, as I say, instantly. I just love that inside, behind the upper front teeth, clung of it,... it's just a deep reaction; and I just realised that I've been playing a 57 reissue for 30 years, so I'm probably just reacting to the familiar. Having said that, my strat has the white EMG's, but still I hear a similarity. The thing is, when I bought the guitar, I tried it and bought it without plugging in, which seems crazy to me now, but perhaps I thought I would be changing the pickups anyway, seeing it was second hand with the EMG's already installed, and maybe I thought it would be swapped out quickly by me, but having used it for so long, I never got round to changing 😊the pickups, and it sounds great to this day! Maybe the active pickups are transparent , and reproduce the natural sound of the guitar well enough anyway. I'm not averse to different strat sounds, and quite liked the Vinterra 2 as well, but that fifties strat sound is just so pretty to my ear. If I wanted a thicker or smoother sound for driving tones, I could always use a humbucker instrument, but could only get that clear pure toot from the fifties strat.
This video helped me decide to charge endless guitar testing in my stores, by the time spent in store and also by percentage of instrument price. We have huge number of guitar "scientist" who never buys, just waisting our time.
As you guys are from a business, you should also promote an idea, not just to report how many physical shops are closing,...
Every year, the pickup pole pieces changed in the stager of the (D-G). The reason they sound different in the 2-4 position is the fact the in modern strats 70s to now is the middle pickup is not reversed wound. In proper pickups you can not move the pole pieces as the wire is against them and moving them will kill them in most cases. On plastic modern pickups you can rearrange the poles because the pole are isolated in a plastic case.
When Jamie played the 56 the contest was over. Pair this with a Marshall stack and you’re good.
I absolutely loved watching you guys play and having so much fun over beautiful guitars!
The funniest thing is that you ended up with 3 different shades of blue, and all 3 were stellar examples... 😅
Jokes aside, I think choosing between the 3 it would be a nightmare for me... and of course, money is not a problem when we are talking on this level of guitar!
A 1961 refin will cost as much(sometimes less) than a 1969/1970 custom colour /maple cap like this one. And 1964s are around the same price as well ...
Btw Aynsley is such a spectacular player!
Great video, great playing, and some great Strats! I want all of them.
the sound of the unplugged guitars is very revealing
Not so much if it's electric the tone comes from the pickups & your finger / amp.
@@utubehound69 oh not again!
Richard Barrett is KOOL
I have 3 different pickguards loaded, so i can change tones from 57 to 60s to 70s just by switching out the loaded pickguards. Its the main reason i love the strat.
I have a nearly exactly identical CS Strat to Neville.. all the way down to the specs. Except the pickups. Mine has the Ancho Poblano Josefina set. It’s a lifetime guitar. I got my 62’ aged nitro pickguard from crazyparts, just in case that’s where his came from.
I noticed all the modern ones have the trem bar in and the vintage ones don’t (except the red one for a little bit toward the end). It seems like the trem system is an afterthought for vintage strats.
It’s amazing how the Strat is still so iconic inspite of the trem system being mostly unused until the 80s/90s?
The 70s look soooo viby and they both sounded epic epic epic, the earlier blue one was the sultans of swing sound for me, and it seems to be well suited for funk, the sunburst had more lowend and the blue 70s with OD just smeered away into heavy dirty grime of heaven
It varies so heavily from guitar to guitar, even if they're from the same year. I bought my favorite Custom Shop Strat at Chicago Music Exchange, I played a dozen of them and one stood out head and shoulders above the rest (a '61 Journeyman). It was much more pronounced acoustically, and just cut through the mix in a way the others didn't when plugged in. But really they were all a little different from one another. Differences from guitar to guitar are even more pronounced IMO with Les Pauls.
That said, love the video!
I'd love to see this done for Teles, ES models (maybe include 345/355s and P90 models too?) and SGs. Would be cool to see a version with Fender amps across the Tweed/Brown/Black range and the various modern models (Hot Rod Deluxe, Blues Jr. etc.) too.
I'd have gone with the Daphne Blue from the options, mainly because it sounds similar to my own 63. Nev's CS gets second place, although obviously it is a bit different once you can feel the neck, hear them in the room etc.
Moral of the story appears to be that if you can play you can make any guitar sound great.
Exactly. Most players would benefit from more playing and less obsessing about gear
Cork sniffing at its finest and I absolutely love it 😍
These guys are so unrelatable..... this feels like a home owners association meeting.
I have a couple USA strats and a couple MIJ and I just did a comparison today, the MIJ same pickups same everything, sounded like completely guitars. Felt the same, sounded completely different. The USA was Ultra and an old standard. The Ultra neck, made me realize I much prefer vintage soft V chunky, and do not like the modern D compound radius and wider nut of the Ultra, and the noiseless I knew would be different, while good in certain situations, I preferred the vintage tone. The standard C and vintage style pickups stock, is one that everyone can find something to like. I had a AM Pro II and hated the electronics. Its not worth the money IMO. I think the best value are the JV Modified 60’s but the 50’s is versatile HSS. USA had the best quality wood and hardware, the MIJ is softer maple and basswood which I dont mind. I just think the JV Modified 60’s is a fantastic bang for the buck. If you treat it well, the wood is softer, treat it well and they are great gigging guitars. But if the Ultra had a standard C or D neck 9.5 radius, that would be the one for me. Especially in studio. The noiseless can sound fantastic with some tweaking. That neck though… Too modern.. For me.
Nice! I like this sort of comparisons and talking of guitars. However, I do miss timelines... :(
I’m looking at buying a custom shop, not sure which one, must have 9.5 rosewood board, journeyman relic and clay dots but not sure what year reissue, 61? Any thoughts anyone….. cheers 🤙🏻
Yup...blue 61 all day long!!!!
The £599 Sunburst Player to me sounded very Claptonish if that’s a word lol
Great demos, comparisons, and analysis guys!
Those 2+ hours flew by. Neville's fiesta red strat gets the win! ☝🏆🥇The Daphne blue strat is a very close 2nd with Aynsley's 70's strats in 3rd place. The MIM Vintera II was the darkhorse. The Player strat was a stinker!
The brown '70s strat sounded the best
I loved this video, but the more I watch this type of video (shootouts), specially when paring vintage and modern iterations of specific guitars are completely pointless, but to entertain. That being said, please do more lol.
I had an Ultra in that colour. I sold it after three weeks. I preferred the Mexican Standard it was going to replace.
Have played for 30 years, i play better with cheap guitars, then no expectations just a tool. Have had a vintage 1955 goldtop and 1963 strtocaster, they took the place of the music and became my attention, i like to be free, my tone is not the best of the best, but i play like myself and can express emotions. My main rig is a J&D strat and a Gretsch amp from the 60ies(15" inch speaker) Rangemaster and OD1+wah, thats it.
This guy gets it.
The in-between tones on that Player Strat are pretty great. Especially for the price. Have they gone back to rosewood on the newer ones now?
Edit: the Player II is rosewood.
Should have thrown caution to the wind and voted on the best component of each guitar, removed them and at the end built the ultimate strat then burned it.
If we can bill you for that we might consider it! 😂
Aynsley and the cork sniffers!!! Just kidding. Great video by all.
Great episode what are the wooden Panels hanging up ?
Acoustic treatment to improve the room sonically (it’s a bit of a bare box otherwise!)
The v-mod 2 pickups are so sterile to me. I had them in my fender build and swapped them out for a second hand set of USA standard 2005 which have much more chewy-ness and warmth. Kept all the wiring, pots etc from the v-mod 2 though so I still have the flexibility with adding the neck into the bridge.
All i learned from this vid is i need that sonic blue old strat.
One thing I’ve noticed between the older vs newer debate is the fact that pickups have become ridiculous in the amount of different versions. Like a Stratocaster with Texas Specials and one with 61 era winding. I feel like the pickups have more to do with the sound and quality of the guitar more than anything. The whole over wound thing is over hyped. Leo Fender got it right in the 50s then into the early 60s he got it right then as well. In my opinion a Stratocaster sounds so much better with under wound pickup’s more than an over wound pickup does any day. Like I said earlier Texas Special pickups sound harsh next to a Stratocaster with period correct wound pickups
The point about the treble not piercing so much and stays sweet is very true about alot of vintage bridge PUs...i made the same experience for example with my 63 Jazzmaster the treble PU is cuttig tru very nice but stays enjoyable, would have been interesting to get to know with gauge of strings where on these strats, and by the way love these videos ❤
From memory, the vast majority felt like they were strung with 10-46. I think Aynsley uses an 11-52 set tuned to Eb. The 56 had quite a low action and may have benefited from a new set. Hope this is of some use 👍🏻
@@richardbarrettguitar1228 hell yeah, thank you so much, fantastic job there
Interesting show. We know how they all sound play blues but what about other styles?
Yes - exactly! I want to hear some chords.
No other styles needed, just the blues needed with a Strat 🙏
“Fruity”, oh matron!! 🎸
The only things I would criticize is some of the descriptions. What did “character” mean in this context? It was said a lot but there was never an added explanation of what it meant. Secondly too much 2 and 4 position focus. It seems like that’s become THE strat tone at expense of all the other great tones. And finally, presenters seemed afraid of the growl and attack of the ‘56 strat.
To me, character directly relates to frequency response. For example, the bridge pickup of the early 60s guitars seemed a little fuller, as opposed to louder. Having said that, the 56 was a lot more delicate and ‘polite’ in the room, and I personally prefer a little more weight… I can remember commenting that the 56 didn’t seem to typify what many may regard as classic ‘Strat’ tone these days -with particular reference to the inbetween pickup selections. However, I agree that these tones are not necessarily what the Strat is all about - I tend to choose bridge or neck on my own Strats!
@@richardbarrettguitar1228 Great responses, thank you! I guess what I heard in the audio regarding the 56 was different than your in-room experience. I guess because I wanted 50s strats to be as awesome as I dream.
It comes down to feel...like the neck, and mostly the pickups. Theres not as much soecial voodoo as everyone would like to have you think. If someone handed you a custom shop strat thats replicating something from the 50s or 60s, but these guys THOUGHT it was the real deal genuine article, theyd subconsciously play with more soul, and think its of more value. Amd if you handed them a really clean 57 strat, and told them it was a 2012 custom shop version of an original, theyd likely play it, say its great.say it slunds good, feels good, plays good etc, but they woukdnt be wowed as theyd think its a newer guitar, with not very much thats special about it, that anyone can access, and the brain would say "this is good.its great,its fine but its not special...its not THE thing"
Excellent vídeo!
Which amp are they using?
Orange OR30
Thanks
Funny enough the rationale behind the LPB '70 Strat as a more affordable price point on a vintage Strat and "real world" winner based on that, is actually not true. In the market of vintage guitars, an all original custom color 1970 Strat will sell for as much, possibly more, than a refin 1961, and truth be told the refin on that 61 doesn't look all that wonderful, however, it sounds great. You'd be in the mid teens of thousands of dollars for both those guitars. I'd say crowning a Strat, even for fun, it's a hard sell to go with the 70 over the 61. The 61, as they said, is pretty quintessential. Of course it's all in good fun and Ainsley with his guitar was sitting right there. A fun exercise nonetheless!
@@brandonkennedy9974 this was interesting to us, too, as - hand on heart, we hadn’t quite reckoned with the premium commanded by custom colours on 70s Strats when we made those ad hoc price comparisons. Sound wise however all we can add is that the 1970 Strat had just so much character and snarl that it deserved the (just for fun) win and, custom colours aside, the point deserves to be made that these guitars, even as prices rise on early 70s Strats, deserve more serious consideration as classics. That ‘61 was a delight though, too!
The 56 ❤
I stole a pair of San Francisco jail socks once too, lol
Where the pickup height the same on all the guitars?
I don't know how you really assess these when you know in advance which guitar is which.
It's the player , not the guitar! Every good guitarplayer knows this... 😅
What drive pedal is being used by Richard?
J Rockett Calibre 45
I could watch British men talk about guitars all day.
Richard, was that _Life in the Fast Lane?_
no! absolutely not!
dude, you can't say that! because of copyright it was "live on the slow plane".
okay cool! all good move along warner.
Obviously a good Guitarist that good would be married. Guitarists fall in love easily and the woman they fall for can hardly resist.
the 50's was unbeatable. this was a massive waste of two hours.
90% of a guitars sound comes from its pickups, that is lowballing too.
If someone gets famous with a cheap guitar, loads will want that same cheap guitar. It’s all a load of cork sniffing bullshit.
How many ummms mate come on ha ha , Aynsley is the dogs
Pretentious? Moi?
The argument that one is 2000 and the other is 10× the price is irrelevant. Us guitar players are gullable and gaslighted easily. The only reason the real 60s is worth 10x Is because rich baby boomers keep paying mortgage prices for them. They made them that expensive. People need to realize those original strats sold for roughly 2000 and less in today's money back in the 60s. So the fact you need to pay 5-10k for one made exactly like it from custom shop is highway robbery. All because rich people made it impossible for young normal people to afford. There is no reason a new guitar for 2k can not be as good. About time, we stand up and say something. No 18- 25 year Olds are playing this top shelf of guitar lol
That daphne blue strat is what i need in my life. The sound is inspiring
I have an early 2000 custom shop time machine series daphine blue 61 strat. When i bought it i was fortunate enough to choose between 3 of them all the same guitars except the colors. My best guitar purchase by far. A wonderful instrument. It just had a touch more balance and clarity to the sound than the others. It won.
Ps. It was my least favorite color at the time , but has faded more towards surf green over the years.
@@derosa504 that's a nice experience! I usually gravitate more towards strats with maple boards but that one spoke to me
@@Professional.Bro.777 i didnt want to make my original comment post too long, but the one that started it all.(my love of fender guitars) was a newspaper ad purchase of a black 1971 stratocaster with a maple neck. It was worthless at the time. Even pre internet, 70's era stratocasters were frowned upon due to the late 70s quality controll. Its still my #1 shes been re fretted 3 times. A Meaty sounding stratocaster. A definite characteristic also displayed by the 2 large headstock strats in this video. Thanks for showing.
My 2 favs; the ‘56 and ‘61, by far.
Want to add a few other comments:
Great playing all around. It was a pleasure to hear jamming from such accomplished musicians on these instruments.I loved the commentary and expertise of the panel.
Not many comments on maple vs rosewood necks - it seems to me the maple necks have a brighter tone compared to the darker tone of the rosewood. But maybe the neck has no effect and it is other elements of the guitar.
For me, as good as the newer instruments sound, the older instruments have a character that makes me feel "ahhh that's the sound" when I hear them. Unfortunately, out of my price range.
Perfect show guys 👌
Strats!? I’m in! Ainsley Lister to boot! Whooo hoo!
56 was MUCH the best spanky, honky quintessential Strat! Others were pale, tame immitations. All great guitars, because they're Strats though.
I think there is one commonality, which will unfortunately cost you money. When you touch and play a custom shop or an older guitar, you can typically tell someone loved and worked with it. Much like a child who has had a great upbringing, it just shows through. My son's players that we recently bought has an exceptional ring, which is the foundation for mods, which we are doing now. I'm getting to show him all these value and tonal comparisons. Great video.
Concerning the 70th Anniversary Strat V-Mods it sounds like the J Rocket is still on. I prefer the sound of the ‘61 but the ‘70 is the way to go for just about anything.
Good things cost money, would leave it at that! Daphne Blue’s sound was mind boggling. How much does it cost please? …. I just got the Ultra Strat for now.
The neck heel is a solution looking for a problem.
What a fantastic shoot-out! Stunning and tasteful playing, as I've come to expect from Guitarist. I've just realised I've watched 25 mins and it's only covered the first two Strats! I'm loving every minute of it. I think my evening's viewing is sorted out! 😎
At about 23:10 that's what I was hearing: the new guitar sounds like it has lower action than the old daphne blue one, that may be giving it the plinkyness that is being described (definitely sounds like so). The old one sounds like it has higher action, especially on the low E. I wonder if string action got measured, because it is crucial for not only playability but for tone too 9I learned it the hard way). edit: 51:40 The Player Strat probably has 9s, that's why it sounds thinner or clinky would have been nice to have them all with 10's and adjusted to the same action and pickup height - though I knnow this would be impossible since these guitars all belong to different people.
He said they all have the same set up.
No difference. It’s all in your mind people. And i own 50k worth of guitars.
Interesting 😂❤
You can’t have played enough or owned enough. Try over 100k and you’ll start to hear and feel they’re all different 😊
@@djt6546 Bullshit. I’ve been playing for 40 years, was a session musician in NYC, played in various Jazz and Rock bands, taught guitar for 20 of those years, and played hundreds of vintage guitars on top of what i own. I can give you four identical 1964 strats and you wouldnt be able to tell me which one was the old one. People fail my test 100% of the time.
@@CapoKabarEveryone is different. We all hear and feel different things. Sometimes the same but often different. Try not to deal in absolutes. You have your history and experiences just like everyone else has theirs. Personally I can’t remember the last time I picked up 3 identical guitars and did NOT find a preference. Sometimes it can be just feel, especially in the neck, sometimes it’s tone. 2 weeks ago I got a new guitar that I preferred both the neck/feel and the tone compared with two other identical guitars. But here’s the thing, you could have played the same guitars and told me there’s no difference, you personally can’t feel or hear a difference or you simply preferred one of the other two guitars to myself. It’s all so subjective. But I think price and age have little to do with a personal preference in tone and feel. Take each guitar on its own merits and what one person feels a connection with might not work for another. The joy and frustration of a love for stringed instruments 😊
@@djt6546 Thats not the point idiot. Dont debate if you cant stay on topic. Does a vintage guitar sound different from a repro or new guitar? Answer: No. Do people buy them because they wanna look cool? Yes.
the ultra strat sounded the best
Very very nice video and comparison!!! Amazing playing from you guys , congrats!!! And amazing taste of music as well, for me the Vintera 2, 60, stands really well compare with the others, with another that have the price to much higher, what do you guys though??
You should do a trowser leg turnup shootout.
50s turnups are best obvs
@@guitarist obvs
brilliant ha ha ha
Might be the best youtube guitar comment ever! Literally laughed out loud!
'Tomato, tomahto', really...I wouldn't toss any of them into the wood chipper. hehehehe. What I would like to say is that this has to be one of the best discussions I've seen on the Tube in a long, long time. Intelligent, informed and respectful. Well done, good sirs... well done indeed.
You can’t have a quality Strat shoot out without a Shijie custom, a Suhr or Anderson
@@ShijieUK agree they’re wonderful guitars and they obviously take inspiration from Strats but they’re not Strats - only Fender makes those, hence the selection
IMHO the Vintera sounds great. The player series is easily the worst of the lot-thin, no depth, no character, very plinky, kind of shocking really-a Yamaha would be a much better investment. The vintage ones all sound completely different from each other, which points to the variability, but they all sound darker and less balanced. All of them however do all sound like what they are-best suited to 50s-60s music.
2:00:43 You have no idea how much I appreciate you saying this and not trivializing the finances of the average person. Things are so hard for so many of us right now, on either side of the pond and so many “gear related”channels/videos fail in that respect. ❤. I know it’s ok to want the stuff but there seems to be an eternal “money is no object” vibe to so many channels and some of it is frankly a little gross.
Most if not all the guitars sounded compressed. Was wondering if this was a post compression put in.
Love the look and sound of the 70's LPB strat.... absolutely beautiful. Can't stand the 70's headstock shape though :)
Wish I could noodle as well as these guys....
I really liked the 75
This was such an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. Thanks to you all for the great sounds throughout. Always loved Aynsley’s playing, but Richard really is a wonderful, wonderful player too. I think the lesson for me is that in the hands of a top guitarist, any good Strat sounds fantastic. Thanks again!