strat advice

[fibredrive]

hi all;

am thinking of finally getting meself a strat. saw a couple of new jap made strats at guitar77 today and quite liked it. but i know pretty much next to nothing abt strats so any advice you guys can give me will be much appreciated. as in what to look out for etc. and whether jap strats are good for the money. i dun mind exploring more possibilities. my budget is below 1.5k is best. thks all.

cheers

 

[Cloudsky]

yeah I got a jap strat for 550 bucks(2nd hand 1986 model) at guitar77 and it plays like a dream. :wink:

 

[fibredrive]

wah onli $550?? wish i could find a deal like that. sighz.

 

[subversion]

if it's within your means, give the 3 main strat types a go: mex/ jap/ US. decide according to what you like to hear & how good it feels. i am of the opinion that no one make is better than the other, it's a matter of personal preferance. 8)

PS: the only US strat going for $1.5K/ less is the Fender Highway1 series, unless you scout for used models...

 

[fibredrive]

are the jap strats also classed accordingly as highway 1 etc? and why is it that the back plate which joins the neck and the body does not have the fender words engraved on it like the US ones? is this normal? thks!

 

[subversion]

the jap models are mainly in a single category, there's no entry-level offerings so to speak. some fender models (regarldless of the country of origin) have no engravings on the neck-body plate. eg: the US Highway1 models are devoid of such markings, while the American Series do sport them. Standard Mex models also do not have the marking but the Classic series (also mex) do.