Fender Stratocaster

**Boston Joe** · 10-02-2016, 11:40 PM

Interesting. I've never played a scalloped fretboard. I'd imagine you'd need a VERY light touch not to go sharp all the time.

**Vic155** · 10-03-2016, 01:02 AM

It's actually not too bad.. I do have a light touch but you don't need a heavy hand for sure. Feels odd at first. I got it out of interest, the only scalloped fretboard I own and at just under £100 ($133) new I couldnt pass it up.

**Boston Joe** · 10-03-2016, 07:15 AM

How do you find the sound? I like to hear some wood in the tone. Do you think that the string not having any contact with the fretboard changes the tone?

**Vic155** · 10-03-2016, 07:35 AM

I cannot say at the moment Joe as the guitar came without pickups installed. I will probably buy a pearloid pickguard prewired with pickups for it.

**rob taft** · 10-03-2016, 03:01 PM

The red strat in my post (#49) above is actually a Yngwie Malmsteen model. I took off the scalloped board because while I have a light touch it just felt too different. I fitted it with a True Temperament neck made by TT Texas and Warmoth and I couldn't tell any difference in tone. The TT neck was maple with and ebony board. The OEM neck was maple with a rosewood board.

**Vic155** · 10-03-2016, 03:51 PM

It sure does feel different; it's an interesting challenge I guess. That ebony board on your red strat does look soo nice. I like ebony boards - oooh please no more GAS!

**Boston Joe** · 10-03-2016, 04:46 PM

I've never been one for maple fretboards, really. I like rosewood on Fenders. Just feels better and sounds better to me. Never heard a Fender with ebony. Could be interesting.

**Hatim** · 10-04-2016, 05:50 AM

"I've never been one for maple fretboards, really. I like rosewood on Fenders".
Yeah, the rosewood gives you that first 'plop' end then the sound, which is very jazzy.

10 years ago I decided to buy a real strat and ended up with a very expensive custom shop '56 strat.
I have never regret it. Best investment ever. I always go back to this strat, even I have a great tele and Gibson 125.
For popmusic it is no question which guitar I take, obviously the strat, but for jazz i more and more tend to get the same strat too.
It still has .10 strings and it has a maple neck, not the best recipe for jazz. You just have to be quiet careful with hitting the strings not too hard otherwise it is getting.... too stratty.

Here is a jazzstandard of me and my beloved strat:

Hans

**Boston Joe** · 10-04-2016, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by Hatim

It still has .10 strings and it has a maple neck, not the best recipe for jazz. You just have to be quiet careful with hitting the strings not too hard otherwise it is getting.... too stratty.

I have .11s on my fenders. I used to run .10s on them back in my rock days. It's not too much of a change in feel, but I like the thicker tone for jazz.

**Hatim** · 10-04-2016, 02:59 PM

I have .11s on my fenders. I used to run .10s on them back in my rock days. It's not too much of a change in feel, but I like the thicker tone for jazz.

I think I will change the strings to .11 as well. And then take it to the local jazzsession here.(pretty high level though).

**Stevebol** · 10-04-2016, 08:06 PM

I use 11's. Jimi could get a fat sound with 10's but I'm not Jimi. I checked and this one is a MIM 2000.

**Stevebol** · 10-04-2016, 08:10 PM

I'm not going to get into switching out pickups and all that. It is what it is. I have to say that swapping out my Squier bass pickups with other pickups made a world of difference. Everyone raves about Bill Lawrence bass pickups. They sound great.
A strat is a strat. I just don't want to put in the effort.

**Jehu** · 10-04-2016, 09:41 PM

Originally Posted by Stevebol

I use 11's. Jimi could get a fat sound with 10's but I'm not Jimi. I checked and this one is a MIM 2000.

I think Jimi also used a narrow range of gauges (10 - 38?), which gave him quite an even response across string sets.

**Boston Joe** · 10-04-2016, 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by Stevebol

I'm not going to get into switching out pickups and all that.

The Mexi Strat pickups are fine. If you've got trouble with noise, shield the cavity and do a star ground. Did it to mine and it reduced the hum considerably.

If you WANT to change pickups there are some great options out there, but I think the stock pickups sound great.

**Thumpalumpacus** · 10-05-2016, 03:50 AM

The scalloping on the bass side of the neck seems uneven -- in your fourth image. the eleventh and twelfth look shallower than the tenth and thirteenth frets.

**Boston Joe** · 10-05-2016, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by Thumpalumpacus

The scalloping on the bass side of the neck seems uneven -- in your fourth image. the eleventh and twelfth look shallower than the tenth and thirteenth frets.

I noticed that too, but I think it's just the light/angle.

**Vic155** · 10-06-2016, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by Thumpalumpacus

The scalloping on the bass side of the neck seems uneven -- in your fourth image. the eleventh and twelfth look shallower than the tenth and thirteenth frets.

True, I will check it out over the weekend, I don't remember it being that bad. It's a bit out of reach at the moment - gotta do some jiggery pokery with other gits to get at it. (This is what happens when you have too little space to keep your guitars). Might be the angle as Joe said or could be a bit of both.

**Hillmillenia** · 06-24-2024, 11:29 AM

Steve,

Hey, with a Strat you can go from hard rock to country to jazz to Motown...pretty much any sound you want is possible. Though I was primarily a Les Paul player during my pro-playing career, I used a Stratocaster exclusively in the studio and it was all I had at the time. I did eventually buy another years later to complete my collection...turns out it's a dead-ringer for yours!

Good choice! Here's a song I recorded back in the 80's using my Strat...

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