Fender Strat ?

[AUMM]

so ive never played an electric guitar but ive been playing acoustic for about a year now, everyone recommended i get a made in Mexico Fender strat, however a friend of mine who's been playing for like 20 years or so told me to stay away from Mexican made ones and go for a Fender strat made in America. theres quite a bit of a price difference in the two. anyone have experience with both? how much of a difference is there in quality/sound??

 

[mpitts]

If you are just starting out, a Mexican Strat will be just fine. Use it to learn and determine whether you want to continue with electrics.

American Strats are much more expensive, but they definitely play nicer than a Mexican Strat (I have owned and played both).

 

[ThePresence]

If IRC the mexican models dont have the quality woods of the US ones. But I'm really not sure, all my electrics are Gibsons.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
If IRC the mexican models dont have the quality woods of the US ones. But I'm really not sure, all my electrics are Gibsons.

fvcker





<---- epi les paul w/gibson hardware

 

[xyion]

American strats are made of higher quality materials and generally better feeling than its mexican made counterpart. I'm all for going to a guitar store and buying what you like to play. Sit down, pull some guitars, play them and buy your favorite. My friends LOVE strats, but I liked a gibsons tone better. Its personal preferance.

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: ThePresence
If IRC the mexican models dont have the quality woods of the US ones. But I'm really not sure, all my electrics are Gibsons.

fvcker





<---- epi les paul w/gibson hardware

<----1977 Solid Mohagony Gibson SG Limited.

 

[Phuz]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
If IRC the mexican models dont have the quality woods of the US ones. But I'm really not sure, all my electrics are Gibsons.

You're right, but Mexican Strats (Mexistrats) aren't even comparable to American Strats. I'd take a Japanese Strat before a Mexican one.

 

[Phuz]

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: ThePresence
If IRC the mexican models dont have the quality woods of the US ones. But I'm really not sure, all my electrics are Gibsons.

fvcker





<---- epi les paul w/gibson hardware

<----1977 Solid Mohagony Gibson SG Limited.

SG's babe! I'll never look at another guitar the same again.

Text

That's mine... except, its an Epiphone.
Its identical. They called it a "vintage remake".. and i've got Grover Tunners on it.
I'm going to put some Gibson P90's in it later.

 

[AUMM]

Originally posted by: xyion
American strats are made of higher quality materials and generally better feeling than its mexican made counterpart. I'm all for going to a guitar store and buying what you like to play. Sit down, pull some guitars, play them and buy your favorite. My friends LOVE strats, but I liked a gibsons tone better. Its personal preferance.

hmmm, how much of a noticable difference is there in sound between the two? ive never played an electric before so i dont know how useful it would be to try em out. also, is there any Gibson you'd recommend in the ~$400 price range?

 

[KEV1N]

As a beginner, you will not notice a difference between an American made Strat and a Mexican made strat, nor a Mexican made strat and a Chinese-made Squier strat, for that matter.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Originally posted by: KEV1N
As a beginner, you will not notice a difference between an American made Strat and a Mexican made strat, nor a Mexican made strat and a Chinese-made Squier strat, for that matter.

Yep. You won't notice any difference until you start hardcore playing it and such

 

[xyion]

Originally posted by: AUMM

Originally posted by: xyion
American strats are made of higher quality materials and generally better feeling than its mexican made counterpart. I'm all for going to a guitar store and buying what you like to play. Sit down, pull some guitars, play them and buy your favorite. My friends LOVE strats, but I liked a gibsons tone better. Its personal preferance.

hmmm, how much of a noticable difference is there in sound between the two? ive never played an electric before so i dont know how useful it would be to try em out. also, is there any Gibson you'd recommend in the ~$400 price range?

GIbson for $400? Good luck! You oculd get an epiphone for that price if you want. Are you proficiant playing a guitar? If not, take a friend that is, go to a music store, and play away. Most stores let you try guitars out before you buy them. Word to the wise though, dont plug the guitar into an amazing amp if you arent going to play out of one (like a marshall). Just find a guitar YOU like, using peoples advice as a guide, not an end all.

 

[Phuz]

Word to the wise though, dont plug the guitar into an amazing amp if you arent going to play out of one (like a marshall).

Best advice in the thread. They plugged me into a 4x12.. it was all over..

 

[MoobyTheGoldenCalf]

Definitely get the American. Mexican ones are cheap crap. I've got a 1994 (40th anniversary) American Strat and it just feels and plays beautiful. Friend of mine had a mex model and it didn't even compare. Think Kia vs. Lexus....

 

[xyion]

Originally posted by: Phuz

Word to the wise though, dont plug the guitar into an amazing amp if you arent going to play out of one (like a marshall).

Best advice in the thread. They plugged me into a 4x12.. it was all over..

Yea, the guy at the store plugged the POS i was testing into a Marshall stack and it sounded awesome. Then my friend plugged it into a Crate 30W (which I use for the moment) and it sounded like death. Needless to say I didnt buy it.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Phuz

Originally posted by: ThePresence

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: ThePresence
If IRC the mexican models dont have the quality woods of the US ones. But I'm really not sure, all my electrics are Gibsons.

fvcker





<---- epi les paul w/gibson hardware

<----1977 Solid Mohagony Gibson SG Limited.

SG's babe! I'll never look at another guitar the same again.

Text

That's mine... except, its an Epiphone.
Its identical. They called it a "vintage remake".. and i've got Grover Tunners on it.
I'm going to put some Gibson P90's in it later.

Epi Les Paul

 

[AUMM]

ok, how is this guitar? comparable to Fender strat??

Text


EDIT: also, how do i know if this one Text is made in mexico or america?

 

[xyion]

Originally posted by: AUMM
ok, how is this guitar? comparable to Fender strat??

Text

Sort of. Epi Les pauls are the mexican strats of gibson. I agree wholeheartedly that they can sound as good if not better than a Gibson, however those are the higher end ones that go for $600+ with modifications made usually. I personally do not have an Epi LP so I cannot comment on how they actually sound (ask silverpig) but this is what I've heard.

Gibsons and Strats are inherently different though. A Gibson is a blues guitar with fatter tone, a strat is more of a rock guitar. So it depends on what type of music you play as well. This doesnt mean that you cant play ALL types of music on any guitar.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: AUMM
ok, how is this guitar? comparable to Fender strat??

Text

See one post up


That's the same guitar I have. I found the epiphone pickups to be muddy, so I bought some gibson pickups and mmm she sounds nice now. Make SURE you look at the guitar in person as the quality of wood in the top varies greatly. I've seen a lot of Epis that look like horse ass. I got extremely lucky with mine. I helped out at the music store one xmas season so they managed to get me a really nice one. What's more, the wood Gibson was using for their tops was pretty bad looking that year (and the previous 2 or 3 from what they said), so my $649 cdn Epiphone LP heritage cherry sunburst looked much nicer than the $3495 cdn Gibson LP Standard Plus heritage cherry sunburst, and after my pickup mod, sounded identical. So what if the headstock looks a little different?

 

[xyion]

I was seconds away from buying an Epi Les Paul Goth. Then I played it, and I'm glad I did. It was muddy sounding, and honestly was put together like a POS. It might have just been the one I was playing. I went with a lesser known brand in Schecter. I got the Devil Tribal Archtop, and it is the best guitar I've ever played including a Gibson LP Studio. Here is a pic. It sounds 3x as sweet as it looks, and the action is second to none. My friend wants to steal it. I got Seymour Duncan humbuckers instead of the duncan designed ones so the tone is awesome even coming out of a 30W crate solid state. I plugged it into a Mesa/Boogie and nearly creamed myself. And to think I never would have gotten it if I didnt play it.

 

[AUMM]

Originally posted by: xyion
I was seconds away from buying an Epi Les Paul Goth. Then I played it, and I'm glad I did. It was muddy sounding, and honestly was put together like a POS. It might have just been the one I was playing. I went with a lesser known brand in Schecter. I got the Devil Tribal Archtop, and it is the best guitar I've ever played including a Gibson LP Studio. Here is a pic. It sounds 3x as sweet as it looks, and the action is second to none. My friend wants to steal it. I got Seymour Duncan humbuckers instead of the duncan designed ones so the tone is awesome even coming out of a 30W crate solid state. I plugged it into a Mesa/Boogie and nearly creamed myself. And to think I never would have gotten it if I didnt play it.

wow that looks sweet, how much did it run you??

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: xyion

Originally posted by: AUMM
ok, how is this guitar? comparable to Fender strat??

Text

Sort of. Epi Les pauls are the mexican strats of gibson. I agree wholeheartedly that they can sound as good if not better than a Gibson, however those are the higher end ones that go for $600+ with modifications made usually. I personally do not have an Epi LP so I cannot comment on how they actually sound (ask silverpig) but this is what I've heard.

Gibsons and Strats are inherently different though. A Gibson is a blues guitar with fatter tone, a strat is more of a rock guitar. So it depends on what type of music you play as well. This doesnt mean that you cant play ALL types of music on any guitar.

Yeah, they CAN be great guitars. They were made for a long time in the same factory as the Gibsons, but then Epiphone got moved to Korea(?) and the quality dropped a lot. In the past years though they've gotten much better, but their quality is very inconsistent. I saw one Epi in a music store I was delivering to that was oh so gorgeous I couldn't believe it. It had one of the most beautiful flamed tops I have ever seen. I could have sworn it was a custom shop Gibson. However, it was sitting right beside another Epi that looked like it was made of cardboard.

Once you find a good Epiphone, then you may want to change the pickups out. They're not horrible at all, so you definitely don't have to do it right away, but it's something you should consider doing later for sure. I found the stock pickups to be flat and muddy, so I put in a Gibson 490R and 498T and found them to be much hotter and to have a lot more bite. The only thing I still want to do to it is to have the tuners replaced, but I'm mostly just lazy there.

 

[xyion]

Originally posted by: AUMM

Originally posted by: xyion
I was seconds away from buying an Epi Les Paul Goth. Then I played it, and I'm glad I did. It was muddy sounding, and honestly was put together like a POS. It might have just been the one I was playing. I went with a lesser known brand in Schecter. I got the Devil Tribal Archtop, and it is the best guitar I've ever played including a Gibson LP Studio. Here is a pic. It sounds 3x as sweet as it looks, and the action is second to none. My friend wants to steal it. I got Seymour Duncan humbuckers instead of the duncan designed ones so the tone is awesome even coming out of a 30W crate solid state. I plugged it into a Mesa/Boogie and nearly creamed myself. And to think I never would have gotten it if I didnt play it.

wow that looks sweet, how much did it run you??

$600 no shipping. Got the pickups from a friend.

 

[Phuz]

Hmmm...I don't think the Strat/Squier = Gibson/Epiphone. Epiphone is still in house, whereas Squier is not. I'm not going to find any solid Mahoganey Squires out there. Actually, I'm almost certain that the neck on my SG is a gibson neck, handed down to Epi due to a small defect.

Another thing... A Strat is more of a blues guitar than most Gibsons. The double humbuckers that come in most Gibson's are for a really fat, rich sound. A nicely toned SG can sound down right EVIL. ACDC, Zeppelin (Les Paul)... etc. Not the blues tone that you can get out of a pair of single coils. This is coming from a person who plays almost only blues, and I went with an SG. My last guitar was a Strat.

The biggest issue I've found on most Epi's is the Tunning Pegs. TERRIBLE. Otherwise, good wood.. decent pickups, although they're REALLY worth chaning out if you get serious or play through a quality amp.


edit: Opps, didn't realize that Epi's weren't in-house anymore... my bad.

And I agree, the biggest problem seems to be consitency between them. Some good, some bad.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: xyion
I was seconds away from buying an Epi Les Paul Goth. Then I played it, and I'm glad I did. It was muddy sounding, and honestly was put together like a POS. It might have just been the one I was playing. I went with a lesser known brand in Schecter. I got the Devil Tribal Archtop, and it is the best guitar I've ever played including a Gibson LP Studio. Here is a pic. It sounds 3x as sweet as it looks, and the action is second to none. My friend wants to steal it. I got Seymour Duncan humbuckers instead of the duncan designed ones so the tone is awesome even coming out of a 30W crate solid state. I plugged it into a Mesa/Boogie and nearly creamed myself. And to think I never would have gotten it if I didnt play it.

Eh, I'm not much of a gothic fan, but yeah, I've never seen an Epi gothic that I liked. I can definitely believe what you said about it sounding muddy though. I bought an Epi LP Joe Perry clone and they had the same pickups as would be used in the Epi Gothic. I didn't like the sound much at all, so I brought it back after a month and got the one I have now. The pickups gibson uses in their gothics are super hot though. Crazy.


But yeah, that's a sweet looking guitar