SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
For a birthday present to myself, I bought an '18 Fender "Monterey" Strat. I really wanted to get one of these when they were released, but couldn't justify the cash at the time. They've climbed in value quite a bit since released, but I found one listed in Texas for a very reasonable price. I guess a collector sold off some stuff, and this is in "as new" or very un-played condition. It looks like it has never been played. Most of the case candy is still in sealed bags. It doesn't have the matching strap I've seen in some of listings or archives. It seems that was reserved for certain levels of what you'd spend as the most common version of this guitar only had a gig bag. Mine came with a TSA flight case. I've seen some with the late sixties style Fender case.
First impression is that the pickups seem very bright. I'm not used to that in a neck or middle pickup. My other Strats have very ballsy sounding neck and middle pickups. Then the "In-between" settings at 2 and 4 seem dark compared to the pickups by themselves. I wish the neck had a bit more heft, but is not uncomfortable. I hope that I can darken the Pao Ferro fingerboard with some oil. It's a bit dry from being a case queen, and very light colored. It does sound and play nice. Currently, it is set up so that you can pull up on the whammy bar. I'm going to leave that alone for now to see if I like it. I'll definitely need to do something about the set screws sticking up so high from the saddles.
I plugged it into my DST U84 for about an hour last night, and played it through my '63 Bandmaster Wednesday night when I picked it up at the bass player's house. Shipped it there because his wife works from home, and could sign for it.
Some gratuitous photos.
First impression is that the pickups seem very bright. I'm not used to that in a neck or middle pickup. My other Strats have very ballsy sounding neck and middle pickups. Then the "In-between" settings at 2 and 4 seem dark compared to the pickups by themselves. I wish the neck had a bit more heft, but is not uncomfortable. I hope that I can darken the Pao Ferro fingerboard with some oil. It's a bit dry from being a case queen, and very light colored. It does sound and play nice. Currently, it is set up so that you can pull up on the whammy bar. I'm going to leave that alone for now to see if I like it. I'll definitely need to do something about the set screws sticking up so high from the saddles.
I plugged it into my DST U84 for about an hour last night, and played it through my '63 Bandmaster Wednesday night when I picked it up at the bass player's house. Shipped it there because his wife works from home, and could sign for it.
Some gratuitous photos.
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