Going to get one last guitar this year

[surfnorthwest]

Well it's a new year and of all the gear I want to buy this year one more Strat is on the radar. I am certain of the one I want just need to decide if I want another maple fretboard or go with rosewood this time. The reason for the Strat is in the studio it just is so versitle and more of my sound is going that way anyways.

After much research I am going to buy the 2010 Fender Custom Deluxe from the Custom Shop, they have all the right hardward, wood, and specs I like, sound amazing. Here is the color I want, just don't know about the neck yet.

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Model Name Custom Deluxe Stratocaster®

Premium Ash on:
(803) 2-Color Sunburst,
(831) Aged Cherry Sunburst,
Neck Lightly Flamed “A” Maple, ‘65 “C” Shape,
(Vintage Tinted Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish)
Fingerboard Dark Hand-Selected Indian Rosewood (P/N 150-9900), or Maple (P/N 150-9902), 9.5” Radius (241 mm)
No. of Frets 22 Dunlop® 6105 Narrow Jumbo Frets
Pickups 1 Custom ‘69 Single-Coil Strat® Pickup with Grey Bobbin (Neck),
1 Reverse Wound/Reverse Polarity Custom ‘69 Single-Coil Strat® Pickup with Grey Bobbin(Middle),
1 Texas Special™ Single-Coil Strat® Pickup (Bridge)
Controls Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. No-Load Tone Control (Middle and Bridge Pickups)
Pickup Switching 5-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup
Bridge New Deluxe 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Polished Solid Stainless Steel Saddles and Block
Machine Heads Fender®/Schaller® Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Locking Tuning Machines
Hardware Chrome
Pickguard 3-Ply Mint Green
Scale Length 25.5” (648 mm)
Width at Nut 1.6875” (43 mm)
Unique Features Aged White Plastic Parts,
Rolled Fingerboard Edges,
No-Load Tone Control,
Clay Dot Position Inlays,
Bone Nut

[frank9310]

surfnorthwest, Just my 2 cents but my advice is Don't do it! That's not a real Strat! (at least in the vintage sense) Like Trower says, the only ones that sound like a real Strat are the ones with the vintage style bridge 6 screw. If you check out the Fender Custom Shop site, every single one of the artist signature models sports the original vintage style bridge except for Jeff Beck's model but you never hear that vintage krrrang coming from Beck because his trems are so precise and he needs that. I must say though that the actual dual pivot movement seems easier and smoother but at a cost in vintage tone for sure. Listen to RT explain that at around 4:00 on the clip below. Plus of all people who sounds most like Trower, it's you! I'd have thought you'd have been first in line for one of his sig models. LOL Also, listen to him playing it clean at the custom shop around 6:63.

If you want the ultimate Fender tone machine with the most versatility, get the Robin Trower Signature Strat. It's got custom 50s in the neck, a custom 60s RWRP middle and a Texas Special in bridge and gets the most amazing pistion 2 & 4 quack tones ever, not to mention big fat neck tones, cutting vintage chords in middle and screaming lead tones in bridge. Plus the cool black abalone dots on maple C profile neck with large CBS headstock for added sustain with the midnight wineburst finish are striking, though it also comes in white or black

It also has Sperzel locking tuners which crushes Schallers because those have a rubber gasket inside that shrinks after several years and slippage will eventually occur. Fender wouldn't put Sperzels on their Deluxe models because they cost $2 extra! That's what the man himself told me at Sperzel. Price is abotu the same or less.

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[Kongels]

Strats are very subjective and there are many different takes on it of course so I think you need to pick what fulfills your needs. I have both Rosewood, Maple and a Pau Ferro neck, I like them all for something different. I have a 90s Standard Hard Ash with Rosewood board and it is one of my favorite guitars if that helps. Like you said, you have an Alder with Maple so an Ash with Rosewood might give you some other tonal options in the stable.

Right now I am checking out the 62 Thin Skin Teles and the new Acoustasonic Tele as well as the Anniversary Jazz Bass, check out the new stuff Fender is releasing this week.

http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0144500305

http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0195000809

[surfnorthwest]

Frank thanks for the advice but I recently did play a Trower Strat (white one) and hated the neck on it. I thought it sounded good but honestly my 2004 anniversary Strat with the fat 50s played better to me so I passed on it as it was going for $2700. It was a used one (white) that was the limited first run of 100 that came with a signiture deja vibe signed by Robin.

No I am trusted my heart on this one, I will make it sing. I have 30 days to return it but I think I know what I am doing here. I really have been researching them for a few weeks now and even talked to Mike at the Custom Shop about it. The demo while not much playing sounds great to me.

I do not want to be exactly like Trower anyways man, I love his playing but that belongs to Trower and I am no Robin Trower plus it would be pretty chicken shit of me to try to copy him unless I was in a trubute band like you. I have to have my own signiture tone and if some think I sound like him then that is a huge compliment to me.

Too late anyways the wife said yes and I ordered the one you see it the picture. Mike at the Custom shop said he has never built a Strat that sustains like these do, he said they play fast as hell also. We will see, I have been wrong before but again my heart and research picked this. I also wanted to jump on this becasue they have stopped building them so what's out there is it and I really wanted the aged Cherry Sunburst. They have been in production since Feb of '09

Right now I am checking out the 62 Thin Skin Teles and the new Acoustasonic Tele as well as the Anniversary Jazz Bass, check out the new stuff Fender is releasing this week.

Yes I seen those also, my runner up was one of the Wildwood 10s. I don't know man there is something about this guitar and after talking with Mike from the Custom Shop I am sold on it.

[frank9310]

Ah! surf, that limited run Tribute Strat you played is nothing like the Robin Trower signature Strat. The ones where they made 100 of them with the Deja Vibe had a big old fat 70s rounded radius neck because it's like what was used back then but his new signature Strat is an entirely different animal altogether with a thin C Shape neck and a flat radius for easier upper register bends along with completely different specs all around. In fact, the only thing similar from the Tribute and Signature model is the CBS style headstock. Remember, Trower mostly played Squiers back in the early days because of their thinner necks since he has short fat fingers, so I'm sure he must have hated those fat 70s necks just as I do. I had one of the Classic 70s Strats and had the neck shaved down by a luthier but was never happy with the skinny vintage frets, (tough to play) bad refinish job and overly bright ash body for the warmer vintage tones I was after. I just couldn't tame this hard bright edge attack it had no matter what cap value, pickups or strings I tried in it..http://areyouexperienced.net/fender_70s ... Guitar.htm

Glad you like the one you ordered though especially since you already made it past the gate keeper which is always my biggest hurdle! I usually order it, then let her know after the fact. Otherwise, I wouldn't even own a picture of a Strat. haha Congrats!

Hey check this clip out too

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[Lungo]

Cool looking guitar! I'm sure we'll get some sound clips at some point.

I really don't think you're done buying guitars though. You don't have anything with P90's....

[frank9310]

Hey surf, I didn't know you'd already decided for certain to get that one or I would have mentioned the other one. Thought you were looking for feedback. Sorry! I'm sure it will be great if Mike made it!

Those saddles look like they woudl give you a lot of sustain!

Also, the cherry burst finish sure is purty!

Can't wait to hear some of your clips when you get her...

[surfnorthwest]

Hey Frank no problem, I expect and like honesty and players that don't sugarcoat it. You are are very good player yourself I respect your opinions and yes I was looking for opinions. I pulled the trigger on it after the wife said it was cool. I can sneak a few hundred easy but she usually misses 3k.

Again I deal with Sweetwater and I do have a fair 30 days to decide and if I am not totally blown away with it I will try a RT Strat next in dark wine of course. I hope you understand that while Trower is my biggest influence I do need to pave my own road.

I know have the amps I love and all the guitars to get the classic tones I love. I know I am going to primarily play Strats but love my Gibsons also. You have to agree that the color and grain on this one is a 10, being that they are not going to build anymore I wanted to grab this one quick

[frank9310]

Oh yeah I fully understand and glad you can try it out. Thanks about my playing. I still have a long way to go before I'm ready for live action with the Tribute thing but practicing all the time. BTW, Your wife sounds like a keeper! :-)

About Trower, I do try as much as possible to feed into the vibe of his and Jimi's stuff to try to take that to a different level in my own way, because I think those 2 guys were tapped into the same universal vibe. They say that every musician resonates to a certain chord. I know for certain that mine is the intro to 'Bridge of Sighs' as that chord sequence plays in my head and heart daily for the past 30+ years, even though that's kind of a slowed down copy of Foxey Lady. It's all that and those Curtis Mayfield 2 note chords, soul-funk etc. that pulls me like a 2 ton magnet.

But, I also go out and play weekly at these blues open mic's for fun and I play my own style which is kind of a combination of those 2 guys, Frank Marino and an amalgamation of rock and blues influences dating back to the Beatles. Funny thing is, none of my friends at these places even know I play the Trower-Jimi stuff yet because if it isn't a 12 bar blues progression, they won't play to it so I get stuck playing a lot of the same blues shapes which can get boring at times but it makes me stretch so... LOL

Now all I need to do is get a couple of those Plexi's like you have and a good recording PC etc and I'll be on my way!