even an entry level instrument can bring joy

[pcake]

since i met ariex in 1998, he's always said he disliked strats, and he had some viable sounding reasons. that being said, a couple of his guitar heroes have played them, including ritchie blackmore, and last week, and after we watched a bunch of old deep purple videos, he decided to try a cheap strat with a trem. we had some credit at sam ash (long story), and after i pointed out that one of my broncos uses an affinity strat pickup, i ordered a squier affinity strat in olympic white with maple board and trem, which he said was his preference.

well, after disliking strats for 4 decades, the guitar arrived yesterday. after sorting out a couple things, he started playing it, and playing it, and playing it. we're in a condo, so at dinner time, i reminded him to turn down or unplug. he hung it on the wall, then went and got it, and he played it unplugged till bedtime.

he's totally happy with it. there are some adjustments to make, new strings and straplocks to be added to it, possibly a setup, although it arrived pretty well set up. maybe shielding. but we expected those things.

he's got a glow and excitement i haven't seen from him with a new instrument since 2000. maybe it's because it's so different from what he usually plays (gibson les paul, jackson flying V, jackson warrior, lawsuit ibanez artist), so it's not just a guitar - it's an adventure!

 

[bholder]

I've always been a bit afraid of strats, intimidated by them, too many variables, "too much freedom". But I just got a demo Sire S7 Vintage and have fallen in love with it - couldn't put it down even with stock strings on it, put on a set of my current favorites (Rev. Willy's Mexican Lottery .007s) and it's even more "can't put it down"-erer. Really loving it so far. Gave me a new riff / song this morning, wasn't even awake, this just came tumbling out of my fingers... (sorry for the gratuitous tune spammage)

 

[bholder]

(OK so a Sire S7 v isn't really an "entry level instrument", but it's a helluva bang for the buck - Sire has a rep for that, yeah, but they've outdone themselves here...)

 

[Micha84]

My very first guitar, a squier strat I bought new around 95ish, has the best neck I ever played on a guitar up to this day. That is, if some frets weren't outright dead. It is also the most lifeless sounding guitar I have ever played.

 

[bholder]

yeah, early Squier strats were why I stayed away from Squier...

edit... to complete the thought - I probably stayed away too long, long after they fixed the initial quality issues. though I'd still tend towards other brands (mostly because Sire, fwiw)

 

[pcake]

(OK so a Sire S7 v isn't really an "entry level instrument", but it's a helluva bang for the buck - Sire has a rep for that, yeah, but they've outdone themselves here...)

the Sire S7 Vintage isn't exactly entry level - it costs 2 1/2 times what we paid for ariex's new strat - it also costs more than the higher end squier CV line.

still, i always love hearing about and hearing people's instruments that the really love. thanks for sharing it with us!

i mostly played acoustic guitar, so strats never really came up. that being said, i own 2 bronco basses and a squier mini precision, which are the bottom of the squier bass line. the newer bronco has the stock pickup, which surprsingly sounds great through my mesa/phil jones C2 rig, and ariex made a tort pickguard for it. the mini P needed a lot of work, and it now has a fender pure vintage pickup in it. sounds great!

all three definitely bring me joy!

 

[bholder]

Yeah I was connecting on the strat vibe more than the beginner instrument thing, sorry. Though a Sire, if you can stretch for it, makes a hell of a first instrument! But yeah, the S7 in particular isn't entry level, they have a much cheaper S3 now, but even that's more than the cheapest Squier. But yeah the S7 certainly qualifies on the "brings me joy" criteria!

 

[mexicanyella]

Several years ago one of my bandmates gave me a Squier Bullet Special. This is a hardtail strat-shaped Guitar with a single bridge HB and a volume knob. Laminated body.

I loved it immediately. It is bright, zingy, detailed and sustainy. Its tuning is dead stable even with the crappy stock tuners, which I have yet to upgrade because they just work.

I tweaked it a little, lowering the pickup a lot to sweeten its clean tones a bit and experimenting with string gauges. And that humble little thing just flat works. For me it has been a total guitar GAS-killer.

 

[Taborius]

That's a great realization to make. Tastes change. When I decided to pick up guitar, the only thing I knew was that I did not want a strat. Every band I played in, they all had them and I wanted something different. Tried out a bunch of different options and settled on a PRS SE, before I bought it, I picked up a good looking walnut strat. Played one note and cursed audibly. Then the strat came home with me. I have since evolved into really liking thinline necks and the feel of Schecters and Ibanezes by example, but man, the way that strat just and still feels is something special. Glad Ariex found a guitar they are so happy with!

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

For me, Jimi's white Strat is the coolest musical instrument, ever.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

My 1st Strat and the only 1, I still own is a FSR MIM no pick guard 60th Anniversary 1 of 250.
Sat on the store wall for years. I bought it added Rose Pickups blacked out all the knobs tips upgraded the pots.
To this day when any of my friends lay hands on that sucker they try buying it off of me. It had mojo before the upgrades once upgraded that AXE became out of this world. More than a Squire but if I remember I bought it new for $450.00 I would not part ways with that sucker for nobody.
similar to this one sold on Reverb is how it looked for I modded it.
2006 Fender Stratocaster No Pickguard FSR Limited Edition 60th Diamond Anniversary Guitar - Black | Reverb

 

[ThudThudThud]

I'd mentioned on the 'Guitarists' thread here that I once bought a $99 Affinity floor model that was a "one in a million" Squier Strat. I did change the tuners, and the pickguard, but nothing else.
I have a nice Player Stratocaster now (which has a working tone control for the bridge pickup!), but it's not that Strat (which was a fire victim).
Sometimes there's just a sprinkling of magic in the metal and wood.

 

[Lucas Carioli]

Yeah, strats are great! It always was my favorite guitar. It can be smooth or raspy if you want it, just like a Jazz Bass. My very first instrument was a 1998 MIM Stat wich stayed with me for 14 years.

 

[Lucas Carioli]

And i have to admit, the today Squiers are really great. They improved a lot since the 90's.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

I also have Squire CV 60's Thin-line Tele, in Dark Mahogany another excellent find. The neck may be a little narrow for some. But I thru in some HOT Rose Pickups & 4 way switch and hot damn another keeper. The only Tele I own and also gets there is now its a Squire treatment lol. The CV line of basses and guitars are a great value a great platform to mod from. I hope that's still the case today.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

The only thing I don't like about Strats is that they can be a PITA to set up properly. The magnetic drag from 3x alnico pickups can cause fret buzz and all kinds of other issues if the action+pickup height isn't inside a very narrow sweetspot. This won't be an issue at all with the ceramic bar magnets used in Affinity Strats though (but to be honest I massively prefer the TONE of alnicos in Strats).

 

[Lo-E]

It’s remarkable how good inexpensive instruments have become. Thanks to CNC machines it’s almost impossible to buy a bad guitar now.

Okay, okay…. there are still some pretty terrible guitars but you really have to shop at the very bottom of the barrel to find them now. For the most part, any inexpensive guitar or bass, given a good setup, can get you through a gig, sound pretty good and be enjoyable to play.

Regarding Strats, it’s been a long time since I played much guitar (started on bass in my teens, dabbled on guitar during my 30s, got reasonably good, returned to bass almost exclusively) but when I was playing guitar in bands I was pretty much a Les Paul and Telecaster guy. I loved how Strats sounded and I played them for certain things but the control layout always felt weird to me. Everything seemed like it was in the wrong place all the time. As a result, if I knew I was going to be using a Strat on a gig I’d play the Strat exclusively for a few days to get my hands used to it. Les Pauls and Teles never needed any adjustment period; they just fell into my hands like they belonged there.

…and to loop back around to cheap guitars, one of the best Strats I ever played was a friend’s early 90s Korean Squier (Samick) Strat. That thing was way better than it had any right to be. Comfortable and resonant and the stock hardware and electronics were perfectly good. Price can be a pretty good rough indication of quality but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

 

[Snibborwocky]

I'm not much of a guitar player. I like noodling around on my Strat when time permits. I found that I'm pretty comfortable with them more than any other style of guitars. Case and point - During the pandemic lockdown in 2020 I decided to buy an Ibanez Jem and as beautiful as they are, that thing intimidated me and made me realize I was WAY outside my comfort zone playing one. Maybe it was the locking trem, sharp pointy body, HSH pickup configuration... I dunno, but I tried for weeks and weeks to get comfortable with it and just couldn't. I ended up selling the Jem and went back to my pretty basic Strat comfort zone ever since.

 

[Pings Bass]

Viva strats, and viva cheap, fun instruments!

My only strat ever is a Squier mini. It's wild how good it is for the money. I can't do much on such a tiny fret board, but it has that classic strat sound and look.

 

[MrClassicMetal]

since i met ariex in 1998, he's always said he disliked strats, and he had some viable sounding reasons. that being said, a couple of his guitar heroes have played them, including ritchie blackmore, and last week, and after we watched a bunch of old deep purple videos, he decided to try a cheap strat with a trem. we had some credit at sam ash (long story), and after i pointed out that one of my broncos uses an affinity strat pickup, i ordered a squier affinity strat in olympic white with maple board and trem, which he said was his preference.

well, after disliking strats for 4 decades, the guitar arrived yesterday. after sorting out a couple things, he started playing it, and playing it, and playing it. we're in a condo, so at dinner time, i reminded him to turn down or unplug. he hung it on the wall, then went and got it, and he played it unplugged till bedtime.

he's totally happy with it. there are some adjustments to make, new strings and straplocks to be added to it, possibly a setup, although it arrived pretty well set up. maybe shielding. but we expected those things.

he's got a glow and excitement i haven't seen from him with a new instrument since 2000. maybe it's because it's so different from what he usually plays (gibson les paul, jackson flying V, jackson warrior, lawsuit ibanez artist), so it's not just a guitar - it's an adventure!

That's how it starts! First the dislike, then the love, and finally the obsession! I gazed into my crystal ball....

And this is what I saw in Ariex' future...