Here Today... Gone To Hell!

I'm looking for my first electric, and I'm leaning towards a Strat, but I was wondering if it's still possible to get that GN'R tone with a Strat.

You'll never be able to get the exact same tone without the exact same equipment.  Strats can give you a nice, dirty bluesy rock sound, but it's not the same as a Les Paul.

Of course, with the right amp and software, you can get it pretty close, but I think it's a relative scale.   The casual listener probably wouldn't be able to tell too much of a difference, but a guitar player probably could.

Thanks. I'll still probaby get a Strat as (apparently) they're more versatile, and two of my favourite ever guitarists (Gilmour & Hendrix) were Strat men.

Cool.  I have a '57 replica strat (Japanese) and I like it plenty.  I love the tone on it.  Of course Gilmour's and Hendrix's guitar playing is totally classic...

If you want a fatass modern rock sound without comprising it for the Voodoo Chile sound and the Pink Floyd stuff, you need to replace the neck single coil with a splitable humbucker (Seymour Duncan, Bill Lawrence) or just buy a so called "Fat Strat" and play around with the switching a bit (9-way instead of 5-way or something like that).

Fender guitars tend to be unforgiveable, but if you're a beginner, that only makes you a better player. You hear all the mistakes, but you hear all the little details too. The Stratocaster is more versatile and easier to handle, maintain, modify and repair than any other guitar - go for it.

Thanks very much. While I'm here I'll just ask a couple more questions (don't ask, don't learn).

1) Is it worth getting the american standard rather than the mexican? People seem to be very divided on this. Oh and don't think I'm just a wannabe newbie looking to get famous or something. I've been playing various musical instruments since I was 8, and money is not really an object when it comse to buying a guitar (obv I'm not going for a ?1000+ Gibson just yet, but you get what I mean).

2) Is it easy to change one of the pick-ups to a humbucker at a later stage, or do you have to go for the fat strat straight away (it's inevitable that I will buy a Les Paul at some point as well as my Strat).

Yes, because at the moment the quality is fantastic. I recently bought a 2004 Stratocaster from Mexico and it's one of the best guitars I've ever had (and I've played a lot, incl. several Strats). Even Squier (Standart, not Bullet or Affinity) are very good at the moment. They Squier Standart Strat and the Squier Telecaster Custom are by a mile the best budget guitars around nowadays. But then again...stick with the mexican since it's a Fender (warranty, re-sale value) and the parts are a bit better.

As for the differences Mexico/US strat: Mexico has a 3 or 5-piece body, US has a 2 or 3-piece body (talking standart, not custom shop). The necks are the same, both made in USA. The saddles and the finish are better on the US model. The tuners suck on both. (If you wanna change: Schaller locking tuners) Mexican models have ceramic magnet pickups, the US models have Alnico Single Coils. Both get the job done. If you want real good strat pickups, you'd have to get Fender Texas Specials (SRV, Gilmour, Knopfler) or Kinman Woodstocks (Hendrix) anyway.


If you want to buy a Les Paul anyway one day, but also want a Strat now, then get a real Stratocaster - that means one with 3 single coils, not a "fat" one.

You can change the bidge pickup for a humbucker in single coil format until you have your Les Paul. But you don't have to. With a good adjustment and a decent distorsion/overdrive, this might not even be neccesary. Use a wah to boost the mids, get a fuzz box...many ways lead to Rome.

The changing of pickups is quite easy. If you're unsure about it, just consult a music store near you. But any experienced guitarist should also be able to this.

slash plays 14 years with a strat...  :hihi:

Both men have also consistently used Gibson guitars including Les Paul's and Flying V's etc... I've seen Hendrix use his strat the most but still seen him use the Les Paul many times.  You will find that Hendrix used what he needed for the tones he needed on each song.  You can't get humbucker tones from a single coil strat.  Have you considered a Strat with a single humbucker too?  Would help to get those meatier tones....

Okay thanks for all your help. I got my Strat yesterday actually. FSR chrome red, made in mexico (should have been ?369 but got it for ?305). The scratch plate is in not so great condition and there's some bad fret buzz, but hopefully my guitar teacher will be able to adjust the action and the problem will be gone.

Now I can start saving for my Gibson...