Stratafied
Active Member
Is it fender , or some other ?
You’re favorite S style manufacturer.
- Thread starter Stratafied
- Start date
Seamus OReally
Well-Known Member
Warmoth.
GrumpySquatch
Well-Known Member
Yep. Outstanding US made wood bits with more variations than the Fender custom shop at much better prices.
Last edited:
I wonder how many pieces Warmoth bodies are... I think Fender CS uses just 1-2 piece bodies and most American production bodies are probably 3 pieces.
Most of mine are 2 piece book matched tops with a 1 piece body underneath.
GrumpySquatch
Well-Known Member
I have a one piece. Many Warmoth are two. Have a look: https://warmoth.com/guitar-bodies/vintage-strat
Did you have to stop once that couch could no longer showcase another?
Well that neck in the front row is now a completed project. Guess I’ll have to use the living room next time.Did you have to stop once that couch could no longer showcase another?
Amp Mad Scientist
Ambassador of Heresy
I think the key here is the wood that the body or neck is made of...
Poplar, Ash, Maple being essentially dead woods as far as sustain, overtones and harmonics...
(the electronics having nothing to do with this)
I would go as far as mahogany or koa wood, black walnut etc... just for the sound quality.
I would also try to eliminate as much of the hollow spaces under the pickguard....
Fender has made a few guitars with better woods, but not so common or so often..
The view has been for some "wood doesn't matter..."
but from experience I find this vastly mistaken.
My kid had a Squire Strat for awhile. And I played an American Fender Strat that belonged to one of the guitars players on worship team. As far as owning. Bought an MIM Strat a few years ago. First and only Strat I’ve owned. So I guess by default…. My favorite. Ash body. Maple neck and fret board.
GrumpySquatch
Well-Known Member
Make that yourself? I had a go at that too. Held in place by magnets.Well that neck in the front row is now a completed project. Guess I’ll have to use the living room next time.
No, I buy ebony and Purple Heart TRCs and pup rings from a guy on Reverb, Guildford Guitars. He even makes switch tips. There are 3 Purple Heart fretboard guitars in my Warmoth family pic. Each have PH pup ring and TRCs. 2 have PH switch tips.
Col Mustard
Ambassador of Perseverance
Have to say Fender, with Warmoth a close (read that very close) runner up.
...although I don't own a Strat. I play a MIM Tele and a Warmoth Fretless Jazz Bass
these days. I had to sell all my oldest and most valuable instruments in 2019
for medical reasons not my own.
I was a Fender guy for my whole career.
I played my old '66 Fender J-Bass for literally decades. Never really looked at any other basses.
"Why go out for a hamburger when you've got steak at home?" --Paul Newman
I'd handle other basses, and plunk around on them a bit, without paying much attention.
Really, my one Fender bass was all I needed. I'm sure I made hundreds of dollars playing it
from 1972 to 2019. That one instrument had more sustain than any other bass or any other
guitar I'd ever played. It would still be sustaining when applause died down at the end of
a song. Really a great instrument. I paid a hundred dollars for it in 1972.
I sold it for a bit more when I had to.
I don't think body wood matters much. Neither did Ol' Leo.
He bought what was cheap, but still met his requirements. Ash or Alder...
And those old Fender guitars sound awesome. Everyone knows that.
He never thought there was any virtue in one piece bodies either. He'd say,
"Glue 'em up, saw 'em out, sand 'em down, paint 'em if the seams show,
screw 'em together, string 'em up and ship 'em out."
The number of pieces makes no difference to tone IMHO whether it's a
Gibson or a Fender.
Tone is in the fingers and the electronics IMHO...
Wood is not like, magnetic.
...although I don't own a Strat. I play a MIM Tele and a Warmoth Fretless Jazz Bass
these days. I had to sell all my oldest and most valuable instruments in 2019
for medical reasons not my own.
I was a Fender guy for my whole career.
I played my old '66 Fender J-Bass for literally decades. Never really looked at any other basses.
"Why go out for a hamburger when you've got steak at home?" --Paul Newman
I'd handle other basses, and plunk around on them a bit, without paying much attention.
Really, my one Fender bass was all I needed. I'm sure I made hundreds of dollars playing it
from 1972 to 2019. That one instrument had more sustain than any other bass or any other
guitar I'd ever played. It would still be sustaining when applause died down at the end of
a song. Really a great instrument. I paid a hundred dollars for it in 1972.
I sold it for a bit more when I had to.
I don't think body wood matters much. Neither did Ol' Leo.
He bought what was cheap, but still met his requirements. Ash or Alder...
And those old Fender guitars sound awesome. Everyone knows that.
He never thought there was any virtue in one piece bodies either. He'd say,
"Glue 'em up, saw 'em out, sand 'em down, paint 'em if the seams show,
screw 'em together, string 'em up and ship 'em out."
The number of pieces makes no difference to tone IMHO whether it's a
Gibson or a Fender.
Tone is in the fingers and the electronics IMHO...
Wood is not like, magnetic.
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
Strat style guitar manufacturers like Fender, PRS, Suhr, Tom Anderson, Tyler, ESP, Music Man, Charvel, Ibanez, Kiesel, Whitfill, all make some very nice versions of the iconic Stratocaster. IMO, the best bang for the buck for a high quality Strat are those made by G&L… still homegrown in Fullerton, Crazyfornia!
eclecticsynergy
Ambassador of Electric Synergy
John Suhr made me a Strat back in '80 before he started his own company, and I still consider it special, one of the best.
Do I like it better than the James Tyler? Very hard to say - the Tyler feels more refined, yet has some serious mojo.
The Suhr is an SSS with Floyd and the Tyler is SSH with a Wilks trem. Two rather different creatures.
Both are consistently excellent manufacturers and I wouldn't hesitate to blind buy an instrument from either.
You won't encounter a dead-sounding or lifeless-feeling guitar from Suhr or Tyler.
That said, my favorite Strat by far is a '63 Fender. It's just magic - a soulful tone monster.
In terms of buying a brand new Strat today, though, if it were a Fender I'd want to play it first.
(Full disclosure, I'd probably feel that way about buying a brand new Gibson, too.)
I do think boutique builders tend to be a lot more careful about selecting good wood, especially when it comes to necks.
I also believe quality control is better among boutique brands, and not simply because of high prices / high expectations.
It's because when your name is on the headstock, you're going to be careful that no dogs ever make it out the door.
Do I like it better than the James Tyler? Very hard to say - the Tyler feels more refined, yet has some serious mojo.
The Suhr is an SSS with Floyd and the Tyler is SSH with a Wilks trem. Two rather different creatures.
Both are consistently excellent manufacturers and I wouldn't hesitate to blind buy an instrument from either.
You won't encounter a dead-sounding or lifeless-feeling guitar from Suhr or Tyler.
That said, my favorite Strat by far is a '63 Fender. It's just magic - a soulful tone monster.
In terms of buying a brand new Strat today, though, if it were a Fender I'd want to play it first.
(Full disclosure, I'd probably feel that way about buying a brand new Gibson, too.)
I do think boutique builders tend to be a lot more careful about selecting good wood, especially when it comes to necks.
I also believe quality control is better among boutique brands, and not simply because of high prices / high expectations.
It's because when your name is on the headstock, you're going to be careful that no dogs ever make it out the door.
