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Hi, I'm on the lookout for a new strat and could do with some advice.
I play mostly early shadows stuff and at the moment I use an early Jap strat with Texas specials through a Magicstomp, 10 band equaliser, reverb and AC15, and this gives a good sound.
The problem I have is when trying a guitar at a shop they all sound pretty good but it's difficult to know what the sound will be like through my own setup. I've looked at the elite strats but not keen on the notch in the fretboard for the truss rod adjustment, it might be practical but I don't like it, and I'm not sure about the noiseless pickups in the elite and professional range. Maybe Fender American 50's or 60's ?
Any advice welcome.
Dave

What don't you like about the one you've already got?

I do like it but it's a bit battered, I'm just about to sell a Gibson which I rarely use so I might as well use the money for a strat which I would use a lot.
Dave

Well the recently introduced American Pro has been getting rave reviews, and I have a friend with a Deluxe which he absolutely loves. He says the current Noiseless pickups are streets ahead of the previous versions.

My own particular favourite is the Classic Series, mine's a 60s to which I've fitted a set of Fender 57/62 pickups but there's also a Classic Player with a few more modern features such as a flatter neck profile and 2-point instead of 6-point bridge. This comes with the 69 pickups so you probably wouldn't have to change them.

Hi Dave,

beside a mk signature and a 50th anniv strat from '04 I have a mim 50's classic player, in fiesta red ofcourse, and fitted a set of Texas specials to it, albeit the cheapest of the bunch, for the most shad stuff it sounds closest to what I think is the right sound, play it through a line 6 dm4 looperstation with full reverb and tape echo at 50% at 140 bpm and I'm happy, as long as you can get used to the 7.25 rad it would be the choice for me,

good luck on your decision,

Frans

Like Steve, I also went the Classic Series way. I chose a Fiesta Red 50's model with maple neck and retrofitted gold hardware and 57/62 pickups.
It does the business for me.
Cheers,
JB

Hmmm... I really liked my American Vintage model but I got tempted into buying a Masterbuilt Custom Shop Strat. An absolutely beautiful guitar, fantastic build, played really well, sounded absolutely great and I really tried to convince myself that I preferred it to my American Vintage. After a while, I finally realised that I was kidding myself, sold the Masterbuilt and went back to playing my original American Vintage Strat.

Can I lob in a naive thought here? My impression from the many Shadows club meetings I've attended over the years is that all strats can be made to give an authentic Shads sound in the hands of someone with a Marvin-like playing style. I would worry less about how it sounds in the shop and consider more how the whole instrument feels to you. If it feels like it's part of you, you're probably onto a winner. If not, try another one.

Sensible advice Iain. Probably, the neck is the most important feature as they come in many shapes and sizes. Having said that, if you are concentrating on the early sound then the pickups may play a part. In my opinion the early Strat 'bark' is key, as heard on numbers like 'Gonzales', 'Frightened City' etc. My personal preference - CS54s.

Good luck.

Even pickups are less important than how you play the guitar. I remember David Martin demonstrating how to get a Gonzales type of sound and it was all in his plectrum action!