What do you guys think is the "BEST" CURRENT and/or RECENT Strat made?
By this I mean 10-30 years from now what do you think will be the more sought after Strat of the Recent years?
Not worrying about what type of music its used for or cost, I left this question very GENERAL for a reason. I just want to know what everyones personal "FAVORITE" RECENT Strat is.
I have 2 current personal favs... my Van Zandt and my Duncan. Both MIJ and as good as it gets.
shoganai ne
Production, Custom Shop, or other manufacturer?
Some folks have been drooling over the Eric Johnson...wait, that didn't sound right. They've been lust...er, craving, uh, wanting, uh. They like the Joh...no.
The Eric Johnson model strat has been discussed quite a bit here.
For regular production and value, I've been pretty happy with my 50th Am. Series. I don't think it's got a chance in hell of collectability, but it's a nice instrument.
Recently, I've been knocked out by the CIJ stuff made for the Japanese market.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Best Strat made--that's easy, mine! It's a CS Teambuilt '55 Relic--but seriously, the CS guitars will be in demand 10-30 years down the road, maybe Teambuilt and special colors more than standard production. So far, early Cunetto era Relics are doing well. I'm really not so sure about any signature line guitars, except CS ones (is the EJ a CS?)
My FMT MiM went up in value. it was 349.00 new and I sold it for 550.00.
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The Eric Johnson is a good guitar I've played 2 of them one was really nice but the other one had really brittle sounding pickups, it sounded alot didfferent then the other one i played, but no it isn't a custom shop it is just a regular sigature series. It's the most expensive Signature Series guitar Fender offers right now, without being a CS. I LOVE THE NECK its pretty close to the SRV neck.
My vote goes to the Jimi Hendrix Signature Series guitar that fender offered a couple years ago, NOT THE VODOO SERIES... The signature series strat was the one with the ReverseHeadstock and body basically if you are right handed you got a left handed guitar. That guitar was probably one of the better playing strats that I've ever got my hands on and as far as being sought after it will definatly be a collector down the road as they are pretty hard to get ahold of right now.
Clearly the Tom Delonge strat will be a highly prized instrument in the future.
(That future, of course, is the one where the human race is enslaved by giant robotic beavers with laser beam eyes)
s'all goof.
Used Tom Delongs are already selling for a few hundred or more than they did, new.
Clearly the Tom Delonge strat will be a highly prized instrument in the future.
(That future, of course, is the one where the human race is enslaved by giant robotic beavers with laser beam eyes)
"If you're cool, you don't know nothin' about it. It just is...or you ain't." - Keith Richards
60's Closet Classic in Daphne blue. (not that I am biased) :)
'56 Time Machine Strat is the second best guitar Fender make.
(the 'best' guitar Fender make is the Nocaster :) )
Last edited by Camoradi; 05-28-2005 at 01:37 AM. Reason: spelling, aagain
the 50th Ann American Series Strat is a pretty sweeeeeeeet guitar, also.
Imanidiot.
I think custom shop "one-offs" or "limited editions" will be whats gonna rake in the cash years from now. From a playing standpoint I like a strat that sings and stays in tune in general as well as during light trem use. I also prefer this kind of tunning stability without having to have a locking nut,trem or tuners.
Tough... judging from all the points of sale I visit on a daily basis from shops to classifieds to forums to boutique luthiers and consultants who find and sell guitars for the serious collector, I'd have to say the jury is still out on para 2 of your question.
It might be better determined when the next guitar superhero surfaces and we see what is slung across his/her shoulders. However, I strongly suspect the days of a Clapton and a Hendrix and a Knopfler influencing the guitar buying and collecting habits of millions and millions of players worldwide are over.
You say don't talk about music. I can't divorce the music from the guitar, sorry. So... music itself has changed, it is much more diffuse, and believe it or not, Tom Delonge is hardly on the Richter scale in terms of guitar playing. (Bad analogy that, he made be loud but what I mean is he has nowhere near the global clout as exercised by, say, Hendrix when he picked up a Strat in '68. That was 37 years ago. Collectors wanting Tom Delonges 35 years from now? A few maybe. Will people still want '68 Strats 35 years from now? In a word, yup.)
I particularly look at Australian, Asian, UK and US sources - Japan is virtually a separate issue with unique market forces at work - and to me it seems quite clear that prices and popularity of Strats post 1979 continue to see-saw to no discernible pattern.
The only thing vis a vis Fenders I have noticed has already been mentioned on this thread. The CS 51 Nocaster TS stands tall as Fender's No.1 current product, Cunetto or no Vince Cunetto. That reputation is more than adequately reflected in secondhand prices on those rare occasions that owners let one go!
There is no equivalent in Strat circles. What's more, I'd argue, there never has been - unless it's a real Blackie or a Brownie or whatever with star, and thereby music, associations.
Just my (3,000 and) .02 cents worth. Enjoy your playing. Meanwhile, I'm hanging onto the '68 and not trading it to buy 10 used Tom Delonges - or Ritchie Blackmores or Yngwie Malmsteens or the Custom Shop signature model for the guy at the hamburger store who swears he's Buddy Holly.
Okay, once again I'm on my own. I purely love my American Deluxe. Granted, I gutted it (just wasn't knocked out by the SCN's) and went all Kinman, but the neck is the best playing I've owned. I do concede it ain't likely to become a collectable. My 62, however, will certainly be worth more 30years from now.
_____________________
Shut up and play yer guitar - Frank Zappa
I don't know, when the number of "limited editions" is unlimited, as they are at both Fender and Gibson, they just become another "better than average" guitar.Originally Posted by RedRain
Anybody want to buy a Cabbage Patch Doll? It's mint with tags.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
HARRYCAT:I never said don't talk about music, I said NOT WORRYING ABOUT MUSIC STYLES OR GUITAR COST......
I also don't think the CS 'one offs', or 'limited editions', will outperform the rest in terms of value. The limited edition is 'limited' in one key way. It is usually made for a niche market that Fender make enthusiasts pay through the nose for, and does not necessarily have wide appeal outside a small band of followers. Small appeal equals small bidding wars in the future. Unless it represents the ultimate version of any one style of guitar (perhaps like the CS'54?), it will be sidelined. Look at antique furniture. People/collectors want 'typical' Shaker made chairs, not the unique carvings of the 'troublesome' uncle in the woodworking Shaker family. If you see what mean. Likewise with true 'one off's', as in Masterbuilt to a customers spec. Unless it is 'artist' based, so gaining a fan following, any 'one off' will still need to find a new owner that also appreciates the particular unique attributes of the guitar that has been built. Like hot rods, unless it has a public history, how many people like exactly the same combinations of furry dice and chrome enough to create an investment market?
scott lentz guitars
Out of all the guitars I've ever played, 17 years ago I bought a USA Strat Plus (the one with wilkinson bits and gold lace sensors). That guitar played fantastic and still does today. I use it still as my main guitar plugged into my Twin. 17 years on and it sounds fantastic. Anyone else like the strat plus?
Here it is.......................
and again..........
and here's me playing it..................
'57 or '62 RI, depending on your fretboard of choice.
Overall. YMMV, as always.
Master of Disaster on the Stratocaster
Custom shop Eric Clapton signature (latest version with the Vintage Noiseless PUPs).
To quote Izzy from Miami Vice "Comfort, quality and style....and at prices you can afford!"
eliot323
I just got my EJ Strat yesterday (#00094) and though it's ridiculous to review a guitar after a few hours of play at home, this thing friggin kills!
After it gets a decent workout for real I'm sure I'll have something to say about it.
Been following this thread with great interest...
Glad to hear the FJ Strat arrived... let us know more soonest. Meanwhile, sorry for "music" misunderstanding, and "amen" to the mention of Scott Lentz.
So, to try to answer the original question, I've been playing my Strats a lot lately and listening to other good players use my Strats through a variety of "standard" tube amps and standard, er, not so tube.
We've been looking at and listening to:
1. 1968 MIA large headstock, four-bolter, maple neck, r/w fretboard, alder body, stock grey-bobbin pickups.
2. 1998 MIA 57RI, maple neck/fretboard, alder body, stock 57RI pickups.
3. 2003 CIJ 62RI, maple neck, r/w fretboard, alder body, stock Texas Special pickups.
4. 2004 MIA 50th Aniversary American Series, maple neck/fretboard, one-piece ash body, stock CS 54RI pickups
A reasonable cross-section? Hope you agree. If, and bear with me here, IF we take the all-original 68 as a yardstick then the question is which of the other three comes closest and is therefore likely to be in demand nearly 40 years from now the way the '68 is today, right?
OK. Bottom line: The 50th Anniversary.
Why? Because of its heft, its sound, its playability, its tuning and trem stability and one other key factor - cojones.
Make no mistake, I could also sing the praises of the other two. They're great guitars and I liked both of 'em so much I bought 'em BUT... if the house was on fire and I had 30 seconds to escape with my one Strat for the future (assuming the 68 was beyond rescue) I'd take the 50th Anniversary American Series, not the DeLuxe noiseless anniversary or the CS Masterbuilt anniversary, the bog-standard MIA American Strat for 2004. Phew, sorry to be so long-winded but you did ask, no? Great question...
Two words: maple-ash. :yay
Early CS guitars with the artist pallette are such good guitars, I'm sure they will be VERY expensive at some point.
What color did ya get?
I am waiting on a blonde.
2 more, rosewood - alder!.Two words: maple-ash
:hee And thus the world goes 'round.
Like Rainman... only not as well adjusted
I have a 2 tone sunburst. The only thing that I forsee happening with this guitar is it getting played everywhere for all situations and it getting a coat or three of shielding paint.
Cool ! Any pics?
As for shielding I have heard the Callham shield works.
quote from his site
Callaham Full Aluminum Pickguard Shield
These are made from 0.014 thick 6061-T6 aluminum just like what was used on the early 60's strats. We have made them more versatile by incorporating both the 50's 8-hole pattern and the early 60's 11-hole pattern. It is designed to work with almost anybody's traditional strat® guard, with slightly larger holes for clearance. This shield is far superior to foil by allowing you to tighten pots and switches firmly without fear of breaking through a thin foil. You will no longer need ground straps from pot to pot thus eliminating a potential ground loop and unwanted noise.
Callaham Site
I'll get some pictures up this week.
I ordered the shielding paint from Stewmac this morning so hopefully that will do the job.
My vote is for the "Relic" Strats especially the Cunetto years, and the 50th Anniversary Masterbuilt '54s.
I don't think the " Artist signature" models, which thousands are made year after year will be sought after.
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