help selecting a jazz oriented stratocaster?

[TedBPhx]

Strats are great because they are so easy to mod. Buy a used Ameican Standard and make it what you need. I currently have the Fender 57/62 pickups in mine. Low output. I think they measured 4.1 to 4.6k. Not reverse wound so I lined the cavity with copper foil and used a star ground to kill the noise. Thinking of switching the caps from .022 to .047 for more mids.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

No, your eyes do not deceive you, my little friends. It is a Fender Pawn Shop Series Offset Special.

Semi hollow with humbucking pup (yes, they look like Jazzmasters) and a Jazzmaster tremolo. Sweet! If you wear a tuxedo I think you can pull this one off:

[Longways to Go]

No, your eyes do not deceive you, my little friends. It is a Fender Pawn Shop Series Offset Special.

Semi hollow with humbucking pup (yes, they look like Jazzmasters) and a Jazzmaster tremolo. Sweet! If you wear a tuxedo I think you can pull this one off:

um . . . a bit much tuxedo & cotton candy for me! LOL

[mispeltyoof]

A crinoline in pink velvet more appropriate ��

[rsclosson]

I put one of these on my strat puts the pickups into humbucker territory:

Villex passive rotary booster

(no financial interest or endorsement)

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

A crinoline in pink velvet more appropriate ��

Trust me. If you play a shell pink guitar, you will need to beat the women off with a stick.

I would seriously consider the Offset Special if it had a rosewood fretboard. Okay, I'd get the 'burst, but I'm a married man!!

[Bach5G]

I've been pursuing the Jazz Strat for a long time now, mainly because I love how Strats play and feel. I did the Jazz Strat wiring mod, had a humbucker in the neck, and experimented with all kinds of pickups from Lace to local custom winds. Tried a variety of strings and string gauges. What is currently working for me is an MIM Strat I bought off some kid who needed $ money for school. I have DiMarzio Area 58s in it (61 in neck). The neck (rosewood) needed some fret levelling and crowning but is now fine. It's nice and light. Very easy to play. It's a 3-colour sunburst and I put a black pg on it. Looks great.

IMO, a big part of getting a good jazz tone is your pick (and right hand technique) is important - I use some heavy Dunlop jazz tone 205s and 207s, together with hybrid picking. Then your amp settings. And, if course, your playing. Do you sound jazzy?

My Sadowsky J Hall and Kirn Tele tend to stay in safe in their cases, while my Strat stays on a cheap guitar stand, in my living room, and plugged into my amp, so I can grab it and play whenever the urge hits me.

[Bach5G]

[rmpmcdermott]

Check out the Eric Johnson Strat. Vintage-style but with a 12" radius and modern appointments. Best Strat I've ever played. And remember, you don't need to get a hardtail. It's very easy to block the trem. So I wouldn't let that deter you.

Eric Johnson Stratocaster® Maple | Fender Electric Guitars

[Frethack]

I gave up on the trem the second year I owned mine. Block it and stay in tune unless you plan on doing dives to spice it up a little. It is one comfortable guitar isnt it. I can play mine in almost any position without much worry.

You will never begin to your journey toward a jazzocaster unless you buy one and quit fretting(get it?). The options are almost limitless from there and you could always buy another. Its not like you are only allowed to have one guitar.

[John A.]

I have the two-point knife-edge style whammy, with four springs and a very small amount of float. Honestly, it stays in tune better than any guitar I've owned, unless I really dive bomb. I've found that binding at the nut and string trees are the cause of more tuning problems than anything at the bridge end. A little graphite takes care of that though. I would never block mine -- to me, a Strat without a whammy isn't really a Strat. But, obviously, not everyone feels this way.

John

[Longways to Go]

thanks all you guys for all the great advice!
I've been doing a quite a lot of local shopping -- but I haven't found "it" yet.
So many choices -- and yes the best sounding ones are $$$$$$$
the Strat market is overwhelming!

I put my Ibanez AFJ85 out on CL in hopes of grabbing up a nice trade . . . we'll see if anything happens.
I did find a couple of OK possibilities at a local Pawn shop, but they both have banana necks & I'm not sure if they'd straighten out properly or not . . . so for now I'm still on the hunt & doing my research

[Robertkoa]

Strats - check out the EJ Model - I usually find Strats too thin - preferring to get the 'thin ' with a parallel switch on a more resonant guitar. I have zero use for trems - my Strat type guitar has been blocked ( trem ) since 2006 lol.

I like the resonance from the trem cavity , though.

Anyway the EJ models are a little deeper darker 12" radius is way better for me and I have liked the ones I played.

A mahogany set neck Strat or Tele with a stoptail would be better...
string thru body seemed to always increase string tension to me .

Jack Zucher said the same thing ( and he knows a lot about guitars just cause he has played so many and has good ears.)

I saw a Music Man with a stoptail just a picture - so if you are getting into medium high price try one ..

Seems like an H- S H 25.5 will still get thin but get fat too..

But try the Rosewood EJ - they are naturally dark and fun to play unplugged a little more beef acoustically .

I will try to find a pic of that Stoptail I saw - the strings will feel more elastic than string thru.



But surprisingly

[Hammertone]

I'd recommend a hardtail "Big Apple" Strat. Dead easy to put one together with quality parts, pickup, bridge saddles, neck size, profile and frets that you want. Or you could just buy this one from me...