Alright - since I re-read Rip Glitter's reviews for like the fiftieth time today, I thought I'd review my own guitars Harmony Central style. Hopefully, this will also trigger Anders to do someting similar, so I'm not left holding the bag here. Starting with my trusty
Customized Squier Stratocaster.
I bought this one in Molde in 1993 or 1994 after having played mostly Ibanez Roadstars and a Washburn of some kind. Contrary to what Anders believes, I did not buy this for the snazzy color. Rather, this one felt exactly right and sounded real good compared to the other guitars I tried. Can't remember how much I payed for it, though. Of course; I was heavily influenced by a certain Yngwie J. Malmsteen when I purchased this - and I still am to this day, some 14 years later. Consequently, I replaced the stock Fender pickups with DiMarzio HS-3's, for a more authentic 80's Yngwie sound.
Features: 6
This is a Stratocaster, so you know what you're getting feature-wise. 21 frets, classic tremolo, five-way switch for three single-coil pick-ups, bolt-on neck, volume and tone knobs - nothing fancy. The fact that there is no string lock or Floyd Rose-style whammy bar pretty much means that you can only use the bar sparingly for lowering the pitch - pretty much at your own peril unless you really enjoy re-tuning your guitar for every other whammy dive. The tuning stability can be significantly enhanced if you spring for a brass nut, but there's no way you'll be able to pull off any Vai-isms with this type of guitar. The fact that you've only got 21 frets available is kind of limiting, and soon you'll find yourself transposing notes or using lots of harmonics to achieve the tonal range you quite frankly need. Although Yngwie seems to do pretty well..
Sound: 8
This guitar is extremely versatile, and you can pull off everything from a really clean sound via country and blues to overdriven neoclassical rock/metal. The DiMarzio HS-3 pickups provide higher output and more hum cancelling than the stock single-coils, but that's really not noticeable unless you crank the gain. The bridge pick-up gives you the classic "I'll See The Light Tonight" sound, while the neck pickup is great for warmer types of soloing. I've played this one through many different amps ranging from Peavey Bandits, various Marshalls, Line6 Spider, Roland Chorus and even a Mesa/Boogie Nomad, and I've never had a problem conjuring up the classic Yngwie sound, while being able to pull off a decent Mark Knopfler or Ritchie Blacmore impression with only minor amp adjustments. In a live setting I've played everything from DDE (I was in a cover band and had to play requests, so SHUTTIE), Led Zeppelin and Dire Straits to Megadeth, a it's not as well although it's not as well suited for high-gain metal. However, if you want to get an authentic Dire Straits, Bon Jovi, Europe or Yngwie sound, this is the ticket.
Action, Fit & Finish: 6
The neck is a comfortable "C" profile, which allows for a comfortable grip during chords and bends, while still being flat enough for speedy runs and arpeggios. The action is higher than average, which is great for acoustic sound and for chord sustain, but limits legato runs, makes it harder to eliminate unwamted noise during string skipping and sweeping, and pretty much shuts the door on Michael Romeo-style tapping. As possibly evident from the images, I've caught all kinds of crap for the color scheme, but the fine folks at Fender have done an extremely good job with the paint - not a hint of wear or fading after some 14 years. Way impressive.
Reliability/Durability: 10
It's a tank! Great tuning stability (as long as you stay away from the whammy bar), the neck is extremely temperature resistant, and the hardware has the same response now as when I bought it. The fact that I hardly used a spare and that I've broken a grand total of three strings on this one speaks volumes. Still, the neck has been quite worn down by countless hours of playing - especially the frets. You can almost make out the A harmonic minor shapes all across the neck from the fretwear. Which is why it's semi-retired.
Overall Rating: 8
EDIT: The only guitar with more prominent natural harmonics than this I've played is the Fender YJM Stratocaster. Even unplugged, the NH's on the Squier are really prominent. Surely the high action is partly responsible
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6 comments:
Actually, the color looks kinda cool on the pictures. And, you're right; the body is in extremely good condition, especially considering the playing hours (which you can see on the frets/ fretboard).
And iconic guitar design, and the neck shape is of the more masculine ones in your collection... ;-)
It has the typical 25" scale length (I think you missed that in your review?) and strung with girly gauge strings. I borrowed this guitar for some months, and the two things I remember best about is 1) my bends waaaaay too far with those 008 strings and 2) those skinny strings aren’t meant for us finger style players. The high E eats nails for lunch!
(I guess the last comment takes away all my cred in the "girly strings" and "masculine neck shape" jokes...)
Yeah; good call. I missed that in my review. Also the fact that I use either 008's or 009's (mostly the latter, actually).
It does look cool, doesn't it? But as you say; the frets and fretboard are really worn down - you can even see that clearly without zooming in on the neck area. Many, many, many hours with a metronome + gigs, band practice and whatnot.
Plus, I bet this makes you wanna do some reviews of your own, not to mention buy that PRS McCarty.
I bet this makes you wanna do some reviews of your own
Naaw. There is no point, as all my guitars go to 11... :-)
Seriously, maybe later when you've done a few more to set the standard.
One more question: Did you do the pu replacement yourself?
One more question: Did you do the pu replacement yourself?
Hell no. For all I know, it's simple, but I subscribe to the Randy Rhoads (you bet your ass SIGNATURE Randy Rhoads - monster Rip Glitter reference) philosophy that working on your own guitar removes a little bit of the inherent magic from your instrument. ;-)
Well, anything that is easily reversible is OK with me. But I guess there is a lot/ some welding involved when installing PUs. No plug'n'play there yet...
Well, anything that is easily reversible is OK with me.
For me, that is limited to changing strings, tightening up the whammy and adjusting intonation.
And mind you - you ned to be a freakin' aviation mechanic to change the strings on the Jem
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