Fender Stratocaster (Revisited)

 

Here was a topic I covered back in 2006, when my blog was on Myspace.  The earlier blog entries such as that one didn’t make the transition to Blogger, so I’ll redo it. 

Just this last Tuesday, I took my Gibson SG to the guitar shop in Falls Church, Virginia, Action Music, for a setup (restring, intonation, etc.) and saw they had various Stratocasters and a Twin Reverb amp.  A week or so before, I’d visited Fox Music – within walking distance, down Lee Highway, of Action Music – and saw they also had several Stratocasters – brand new (!) – as well as a Twin Reverb.  

Before I go on about Stratocasters, I’ll comment briefly on the Twin Reverb.  I’m a Marshall guy, with a 2554 Jubilee 25/50 watt combo (1x12”) and a Dual Reverb (4100) 100 watt head, 1960AV 4x12” cabinet half stack.  I love the rich, full distortion sound.   But for an amp with “reverb” in its name, the Dual Reverb (JCM900) has an extremely weak reverb sound, practically nonexistent.  A few years ago I tried out the Fender amp at Guitar Center, out of pure curiosity, and the reverb was incredible.  If there’s an amp that makes a clean sound good, it’s that one.  They started out at 85 watts, Fender boosted it to 130 watts, and then dropped it back down to 85.  If I ever wind up with another $1000 to spare, I might well buy one.  Not today.

To make matters even more interesting, marginally so, I put off finishing up the blog until after I’d done what I had to on Friday, which included a trip to Fairfax County’s courthouse.  I swung by the Fairfax location of Guitar Center, now re-opened, as it’s listed as the only Northern Virginia authorized Rickenbacker dealer.  Sure enough, high up in the rafters is a 4003 bass, and off to the side is a used Ritchie Blackmore signature Stratocaster: white, black pickups, scalloped rosewood fretboard and large headstock – for $949.  Of all the signature models, his is my favorite.  But I prefer my own Stratocaster, modified over the years (2000 to present) to my own specifications.

History.   Up until the 1930s, there were no electric guitars, only acoustic.  In the ‘30s, pickups – the electromagnetic device which captures the strings’ sound so they can be amplified - were invented, and slapped on acoustic guitars.  However, two men, Les Paul and Leo Fender, realized that a guitar with pickups doesn’t need an acoustic chamber and can, in fact, be simply a solid plank of wood.  Les Paul developed his own model, brought it to Gibson, but they laughed at him.  Leo Fender, oddly enough not a musician himself, developed the Telecaster (originally called the Broadcaster) and his invention, the first solid body electric guitar, introduced in 1948, was a hit.  Gibson realized their mistake and brought back Les Paul, who gave them the guitar which bears his name, in 1952.  In 1954, Fender upped the game with an improved model, the Stratocaster.

Initially the Stratocaster had three single coil pickups, a tremelo/vibrato bar, and was available in two color sunburst with a maple neck (to my eyes, a pale yellow).  By the late 50s, solid colors (e.g. black) became available; in 1959 the rosewood (dark brown) fretboard was introduced.   By 1965, Fender was in bad health and sold his company to CBS, the TV network.  That company enlarged the headstock, a design which lasted from 1966 to 1981.  Since then the standard headstock has been small, with various reissue models available.  The Strat also became available with double coil pickups (aka humbuckers), which are usually associated with Gibsons. 

Single vs. Double Coil.  Single coil pickups are thinner, more of a twangier sound, whereas double coil pickups have a thicker, meatier sound.  However, overdriven sufficiently, even an otherwise insubstantial single coil bridge pickup will sound almost as nasty as a humbucker.  Jimmy Page likes to remind people that the classic sunburst Les Paul he’s so often associated with, wasn’t on his agenda until Led Zeppelin II, and the first Led Zeppelin album, including “Dazed and Confused”, was recorded on the Telecaster he was using in the Yardbirds. 

Famous Players.   Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, Robin Trower, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Dave Murray, Don Felder, Uli Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen, among many others.  Hendrix took right handed Stratocasters, flipped them over, and played them left handed (although there were lefthanded Stratocasters by then). 

Vs. Telecaster.  I never liked the Telecaster and have never even played one.  The lack of an upper horn, the headstock shape, etc., it still looks like Leo’s first practice attempt at a solid body electric guitar, which is what it was. 

Vs. Gibson.  As noted below, most of my guitars are Gibsons, which is Fender’s main US competitor.  Fender can and does put double coils on Strats, and Gibson has its own single coil pickup, the P90, which went on Les Pauls before the humbucker came out, and continues to feature on Specials and Juniors.  I like both companies’ guitars, and see no reason why anyone’s collection has to be exclusively Fenders or Gibsons absent budget constraints or an arbitrary preference.   

My Strats.  By now I’ve had several of my own.  I have 5 guitars: 4 Gibsons (Firebird, Explorer, SG, and Les Paul) and one Strat.  I’m not inclined to acquire more than one of any model, but rather pick what I consider the best version of that model, and the Stratocaster is yet another example.  So my progression was as follows…

1.         Applause Stratocaster Copy.  In September 1985, following my brother’s cue, I started learning to play guitar: first song I learned was “Saints & Sinners”, by Whitesnake.  And almost immediately I fixated on the Stratocaster.  But US made versions were expensive, and I had only just learned to play.  So I worked at the Visa Section of the US Embassy in Paris over Christmas holiday 1985-86 – under the guidance of a French guy, Bernard, who turned me onto Hawkwind - and in January 1986 I bought this.  Cherry sunburst with a maple neck.  Not great sounding, and the only “Strat” I ever had with a maple neck, but I was happy for awhile.

** Copies.  I may as well address this issue here.  The Stratocaster may well be the most copied guitar in the world.  In addition to faithful copies like my Applause, companies such as Ibanez, Jackson, and even Gibson have produced Strat-shaped guitars by the thousands.  Our own first guitar was an Ibanez Roadstar II, black with three single coil pickups.  I’d just as soon have a real Stratocaster, even if it was made in Mexico and not ‘Merica (California).  As Fender’s quality control went up and down over the years, some feel that there are many copies which exceed Fender’s quality.  Maybe, maybe not.  That being the case, I’ve never owned a Squier, which is Fender’s budget brand. 

2.         Fender Stratocaster (made in Japan).  By fall 1986 I was at college, University of Maryland, College Park.  My parents agreed to buy me this for Christmas 1986.  It was a Fender Stratocaster, made in Japan, black, rosewood fretboard, small headstock with standard logo.  It had a locking tremelo.  I liked it, and considered it a major improvement over the copy.  Eventually, though, I wanted a US made model.

3.         Fender Stratocaster, ’62 Vintage Reissue (made in the US).  I gave my Jap Strat and my Strat copy to my guitar teacher, Joel, who sold them for me, in June 1990.  I used the money to buy this, a US-made reissue model:  black, rosewood fretboard, three single coil pickups, small headstock with “spaghetti” (pre-CBS) logo.  Very nice, much better than the Jap Strat.  I made no modifications to this.  By January 1990 I had purchased my first Marshall, the 1x12” tube combo, 2554 Jubilee edition, so I had a nice combination – in addition to the Gibson SG ’62 reissue I’d bought in May 1989. 

4.         Fender Stratocaster, Fat Strat Deluxe (made in Mexico).  My current model.  By summer 1999 I’d fallen in love with the larger, CBS-style headstock, and saw this at the Ozzfest:  black, black pickguard, humbucker in the bridge position, rosewood fretboard, and the large headstock.  By January 2000 I succeeded in trading in my Vintage Reissue model for this – at Guitar Center in Seven Corners - and have been happy ever since.  I replaced the stock humbucker with a DiMarzio Tone Zone zebra coil (one black, one, white), replaced the stock tuners with locking tuners – just pull the string through and it catches, and stays in tune better than stock tuner – and the standard Fender tremelo with a Super Vee Blade Runner.  Pepper Keenan, in DOWN, can be seen playing what looks like one in the live video, “Diary of a Mad Band”.   Humbuckers on a Strat?  Yep, some of us like it that way, especially through a Marshall….

Aesthetics

I suppose aesthetics is officially defined as “the philosophy of beauty”, in my book it’s more along the line of “what I consider attractive, regardless of function or practicality”.   The particular application is regard to items which I think have some inherent beauty, at least in my own subjective opinion.

Guns.  I managed to acquire a Springfield Armory Saint, which is a very recent issue of the ever-popular AR15.  The AR15 is the civilian, semi-automatic version of the US military’s famous M16.   Over the years, since its introduction in the early 60’s in our controversial war in Vietnam, the military’s version has undergone several different models.

The original M16 was full auto and had a triangular handguard, that plastic thing in between the magazine (thing which carries all the ammo) and the end of the rifle.  The M16 had various problems, one of which was that the military couldn’t leave Stoner’s original design alone, and these problems were mostly fixed in the first change, the M16A1.   This model still had a triangular handguard.  Both fired full automatic, meaning automatic so long as the trigger is held.  It had a semi-automatic mode  as well.

Eventually the Army realized that soldiers were wasting ammo firing full auto and changed the gun to fire three round bursts.  This was the M16A2.  This model has a cylindrical handguard. 

Eventually they shortened it and gave it a pistol grip under the handguard, and named this the M16A4. 

Back in the early 90s I purchased an AR15, which I later sold.  This one looked exactly like an M16A2, with a 20” barrel and cylindrical handguard.   My Saint has a 16” barrel and a newfangled handguard which actually looks pretty cool.

The “aesthetic” angle comes in here, insofar as I consider both the M16/M16A1 attractive, as I do the M16A2 and the Saint.  One thing I can’t stand is this:  many current AR15s have a weird handguard that looks like it belongs on Playstation or XBOX.  Not sure where they came up with that, but Springfield fixed that problem.  All of these guns fire exactly the same, the aesthetics making no practical difference.   But I can leave my Saint out in the open and love the way it looks, without even firing it.

Mausers.  These are the most famous bolt-actions.   The original Gewehr 98, introduced in time for the Germans to get nasty against the Chinese in the Boxer Rebellion, then serving as the standard rifle of the Imperial German Army during WWI, is relatively long and has a straight bolt.  It’s an attractive gun.   The carbine I felt looks too short.   In 1935 the Germans split the difference between the two with the Kar98K, which served as the main infantry weapon of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS during WWII.   In addition to being shorter than the Gewehr 98 and longer than the carbine, it has a turned down bolt.  I purchased one in the 90s and still have it.  That’s another gun I could simply look at and admire without even shooting, though the picture above is a Gewehr 98. 

I also love the look of the Russian PPSh submachinegun with its wood stock, drum magazine and square holed barrel shroud.  These faced the Nazis in WWII but then faced us in Korea when the Chinese and North Koreans used them.  According to my cousin, my uncle tried using one – during his service in 1950-53 (not with a M*A*S*H unit!) - until he attracted friendly fire from neighboring US units.  Oops. 

Cars.   Recently I posted pictures of the ’71-74 AMC Javelin.  That’s the nicest looking AMC there is.  The ’68-70 Dodge Charger is another non-GM looker.  But for all around best looks, Pontiac gets it done.  The ’88-92 Firebird Formula, the ’67-68 Firebird 400, and many of the ’70-81 Formulas and Trans Ams, especially with the ’73-78 simpler pattern Screaming Chicken, are my favorites.   The best would be a ’74 Trans Am SD455 in dark blue with the hood bird.  Dream on.   Again, not all these cars are necessarily fast – a 305-equipped Formula looks just as nice, though isn’t nearly as fast, as its 350-equipped brother, and after 1975 with the introduction of emissions and catalytic converters killing the power, the later second generation Firebirds are slower than their beauty would indicate.   These 70s Firebirds, usually the Trans Ams, also have aluminum dashes.   If I ever get around to restoring my ’76 Esprit, I’ll see about upgrading the dash, as it has the faux-wood dash which was standard on non-Trans Ams. 

Oh, and Rally II wheels are by far my favorite, well over the honeycomb wheels I can’t stand.

Guitars.  I have the good fortune to have collected several guitars:  4 Gibsons (SG, Les Paul, Explorer and Firebird V) and a Stratocaster.  With the exception of the Les Paul, which is in Black Cherry Pearl, the rest of the guitars are in black, or as Gibson calls it, “ebony”.   All of them have rosewood fretboards, including the Stratocaster – I can’t stand maple.  I switched out the Explorer’s white pickguard for a mirror pickguard, and the Firebird’s white pickguard for a black one with the Firebird on it.  I kept the black pickguards on the SG, LP and Stratocaster.  The Stratocaster has the large, ’68-82 headstock typical of ‘70s Stratocasters – Robin Trower and Ritchie Blackmore are most often seen with those.   The SG is a 2013 Standard in ebony, the ’13 Standards being very popular as they are almost identical to the ‘61/62 reissue models.  In fact, I traded my ’89 ’62 Reissue in cherry for the current one, and while cherry was tolerable, ebony is MUCH better.   

Aesthetically I like the smaller pickguard and don’t like the ’67-70 larger one which surrounds the pickups.   Also, whether it’s on a Strat or a Les Paul, I am NOT a fan of sunburst finishes, least of all tobacco or cherry.  Finally, I love the Les Paul script on the headstock, which ruled out a Custom with its inlaid diamond. 

None of these preferences have anything to do with how well the guitar plays or sounds, and the wrong color, pickguard, or a maple neck won’t compromise anyone’s ability to extract heavenly tones with the right amp.   

But some things are nice to look at too, and I keep my guitars out on stands.  They certainly sound nice – either through the Marshall 1x12” Jubilee combo I bought new in 1990, or through the condo-neighbor-annoying half stack (Marshall 100 watt 4100 Dual Reverb through 4x12” 1960AV).

Gibson Explorer

In March 1990, the spring and final semester of my senior year at University of Maryland, I had spring break, and nowhere to go.  Out of curiosity and boredom, I went to Chuck Levin’s music store in Wheaton, THE go-to place for guitars in the Northern Virginia/Suburban Maryland/Washington Metropolitan area.  There I saw, and immediately fell in love with, an ebony (aka “black”) Gibson Explorer ’76 reissue (as shown above). 

I loved the headstock, the color, and the white pickguard.  Of course, like 99% of Gibsons, it had a rosewood fretboard (I can’t stand maple – thank God Fender makes Strats with rosewood fretboards!). I just had to have it.  Sure enough, two months later, I had the guitar.  Oddly, despite being a big Metallica fan, James Hetfield’s choice wasn’t much of an influence.  Back then he was playing contemporary models without a pickguard.  For me, the contrast of the pickguard, i.e. the reissue model, was what drew me to it.

However, Hetfield did influence my decision, in 1992, to replace the stock “Dirty Fingers” open coil pickups with EMG-81 active pickups, for a warmer, thicker, though somewhat less raspier sound.  It takes a 9 volt battery, which only rarely needs to be replaced.  More recently, around 2004, I replaced the white pickguard with a mirror pickguard, so now it’s truly unique. 

Origins.  In the late 50s, Gibson found that its Les Paul models were not selling well – ironic considering how valuable original ’58-60 Les Pauls are nowadays, with even the reissue models being damn expensive, and Lenny Kravitz complaining about the cost of vintage models.  Gibson’s reaction was to introduce 3 new models: the SG, the Explorer, and the Flying V; by now the consensus is the Moderne was never actually released.  The SG and Flying V survived, while the Explorer died off fairly early.  It’s not hard to imagine how this outlandishly styled guitar was too far ahead of its time for 1958.  The first handful of guitars had a bizarre split headstock (which Dean now uses for its guitars, see Dimebag Darrell) and very soon the “banana” shaped one took over.  The original models were also in Korina wood.  By 1976, the public was ready for the Explorer, and Gibson reissued it.  Later, they reissued the reissue, so to speak, adding ebony (black), cherry, and white to the mix, though the original Korina (natural) finish is currently offered. 

Players. 

Eric Clapton briefly played an Explorer, in the early 70s, although he cut off the end to be more rounded – it did not improve the looks, though he apparently felt it was easier to play that way.  I’ve never had a problem playing it in its original shape.  This was a brief transition phase between his Gibson era, when he played an  ES335 and an SG (famously painted by The Fool) with Cream, and a Les Paul with The Yardbirds and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and his solo era when he eventually settled upon the Fender Stratocaster he’s so often associated with. 

In the mid-70s, Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd often played an Explorer, as well as a Firebird.  He can be seen playing the Explorer in the “Freebird” movie.  His unique Explorer Affectation is to draw the guitar strap over the front of the guitar, whereas everyone else – myself included – keeps it behind the guitar.

Rickey Medlocke, of Blackfoot – and now back with Lynyrd Skynyrd (he was originally with the band before they became famous) is also an Explorer enthusiast. 

Since the late 70s, Matthias Jabs of the Scorpions, taking over (by force?) from prior guitarist Uli Roth, also plays an Explorer, with stripes on the body.  He still plays them, though now he prefers a custom-made 90% model (scaled down to 90% the size of a regular Explorer). 

The Edge, the guitarist for U2, has been seen playing Explorers more recently.  He’s about the least impressive guitarist to pick it up.  I really hate his jingle-jangle guitar sound, which could easily be replicated on a Telecaster or just a cheap guitar. 

Gary Moore is most often associated with the Les Paul, including Peter Green’s with the reversed neck pickup.  But at the 2003 Monsters of Rock show, half his set is played on a white ’76 Explorer reissue.

The new Australian band, Airbourne, is pretty much an AC/DC tribute band, for all intents and purposes.  Joel O’Keefe and David Roads both play Explorers.

In terms of being both closely associated with the guitar, and being prominent in his use of it and his overall publicity, James Hetfield of Metallica is probably the top Explorer player.  He started out playing Flying V’s in Metallica’s early days, switching to a standard (non-reissue) Explorer on the Ride The Lightning tour (including the August 1985 Donington show).  He replaced the Gibson pickups with EMG-81s, and ended up having ESP make him a series of Explorers in various colors and varieties.  I still see him playing Explorer-style guitars, though he’s taken a recent preference for Les Paul variants.  Despite his long-time preference for Explorers, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play the reissue model.

Whether it has the original PAF humbuckers, the Dirty Fingers humbuckers, or EMGs, the styling and pickups combine to make this guitar stunning in appearance and sound, perfect for rock and metal.