Re: great tone

On Oct 2, 10:23 am, "Stephen Cowell" <scow...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"J.P." <jpas...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

...

Jimmy Vaughn strat is not all that bad either...but no matter what
comparisons you can come up with my SRV strat is an awesome guitar.I
bought it at Strait Music in Austin and it was setup perfect right out
of the box. Maybe I got a good one - who cares. And those pups sound
great! Any stronger pups on a strat suck ass .

Big secret... they all are good, the new american Strats
are the best ever. I just bought a used '06, pristine, prev
owner put RioGrandes in it, it is one sweet guitar. I did
*not* pay a premium for an Artist package... what is
it, like $600 extra to have a Cray, Johnson, SRV Strat?
They all have the same 'hand-rolled neck', plays like a
dream... and pickups are the most-often changed part
of a guitar (after the strings, of course).

Another thing... if it's "perfect, right out of the box"
then you probably play .010's. My new/used Strat had
.010's on it, probably why it felt so good and natural.
Most have .009's, IIRC... one problem I have in trying
out new guitars.

Most are plonked although every once in a blue moon
one will come across with some good amp stuff. So how am I to know who
you are?

By reading what he says and seeing the wisdom, same
as anyone else here. When someone is telling you not
to spend big money, pay attention... they're not selling
something, so you can actually believe them.

And putting down the best guitar I have owned in no way to
win me over...fuck a whole load of Squier strats.

I never saw him diss your guitar... but I get his message,
it's not the first time it's been posted here, and it always
resonates with old timers (read: folks better than you on
guitar). The sound is coming from your fingers, and if
you learn to make the good sounds using a piece of shit
cigar-box diddley-bow it will carry over to a more
expensive instrument. Your musical life should be a series
of more expensive instruments, there is no benefit to
starting on a professional instrument, and if you run
through a bunch of effects, what pickups you have don't
matter so much. More experienced players use less
effects and spend more time on nuance and dynamics.

So he's not calling you a dumbass for buying an SRV...
but I might be. Just how bad is your playing? You had
intimated that your chops are lacking... what is it about
a $1800 guitar that helps you more than a $900 or a
$450 guitar would? How effective would $900 worth
of lessons be? Another thing... showing up with one
of those things ('SRV' emblazoned on the guard), you'd
better be able to sling some guitar... it's the most easily
(ridiculously) identifiable model in Fender's line. If
there are some initials on my guitar, they will be *mine*.
Now, I understand that you had money to burn, and
this is a very cool guitar... but it has things like gold
hardware that I'd steer a newbie away from, anyway.
And I'm sure that you play it more, because it's the
guitar you wanted, and if that's your budget then
you can afford it. But it's pointless to lust after one
of these more expensive models when the same
utility can be had for half the money and you're not
swell with cash.

You can complain about Squier Strats, but those guitars
are two orders of magnitude better than the crap we got
as kids... try to play Whole Lotta Love on a Teisco
sometime, without getting blood on the carpet! Try
bending a full step with Black Diamond bronze strings,
strung to pitch! I admit I won't go back... but I paid
my dues to the shitty guitar God, and perhaps that's
part of where I'm coming from... I remember peers
with new Fender (the '60's, too!) equipment, and I'm
playing a Teisco no-badge through a RatShak amp...
yes, it had tubes, and yes, I thought it sucked anyway.

I, myself, have recently spent un-Godly amounts of
money on guitars... but I would never pay the
premium for an endorser guitar, even though I'm a
big SRV/EJ fan. I guess I regard all Strats as Jimi-
endorsed... good enough for me.
__
Steve
.

wwJHd

Jimmy would still be rockin'. Thanks Steve! Well said.

.

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