Question Is there any way to get my Strat to play as easily as my Balls?

[paranoid70]

I have a beater MIM Strat that I actually play quite frequently - not plugged in while I'm watching TV. I never case it up, so it is just for noodling, and almost never plugged in. I've been trying to work out Highway Star lately (Damn that Ritchie Blackmore and his super fast legato), and I have lately noticed that my hand does get sore when playing above the 15th fret with the Strat.

 

[Sweat]

Fenders never play as well as Music Man guitars nothing to be done I will be so happy when my last Fender is gone

 

[Spudmurphy]

I could chime in with all the MM advantages, however I'll add to what has already been said ... ... you could try a 24 inch scale length guitar? The string tension is a lot less, whole step bends are sooo easy. It really is no big deal switching to 24 inches.

 

[banjoplayer]

I've been trying to work out Highway Star lately (Damn that Ritchie Blackmore and his super fast legato)

Sorry for the hijack, but Ritchie didn´t play it in legato. it´s fast alternate picking

 

[ozzyrules]

Yes, trade it in for an Axis Super Sport.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Siddius]

To revive a post from the dead, in the next week or so I'll be getting my USACG 24.5" scale, 1.625" nut, asymmetrical shaped, all roasted maple neck (thanks for the advice on the 24.5" scale neck, Spudmurphy). Then I will just throw my Uli Jon Roth signatured fender neck up on the wall for decoration. I'll post pictures of the guitar with the new neck as soon as I am able. I'll also let ya know if it has gotten close to the ease of a Ball.

 

[GHWelles]

No.

This

 

[Kenji20022]

Surprised at some of the negativity here, Fender makes amazing instruments as does EBMM. Yes, you can get your Strat to play as well as your EBMM however don't get it mixed up. Just because you found something you like better doesn't make what you previously owned terrible.

Preference =/= Playability.

If you prefer the string spacing on the EBMM, that doesn't automatically make the Strat have bad string spacing, it's just different. Same with just about any other feature that is commonly shared between the two. Take any guitar to a GOOD tech, and let them do some work on it, or even do it yourself if you can actually setup and maintain instruments yourself. Any good tech can make any guitar play well, replace the tuners, the nut, polish the frets, lube up all the parts, get the action as low as possible without buzzing. And yes it will play as good as your EBMM most likely after a bit of work on it, people saying no aren't putting in the time or effort to make guitars play well. My tech taught me everything I know, and I can thankfully perform all my own work and setups properly.

And lastly, yeah a Fender Strat will never be an EBMM Y2D. But an EBMM Y2D will also never be a Fender Strat. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[DrKev]

The strat is a design classic, just like the '59 Cadillac de Ville, or a Boeing 707. They have many things in common, among them is good looks in addition to their iconic status. Another thing they have in common is terrible inefficiency compared to modern designs. Compared to a Music Man (and other modern guitar designs too) the strat is clunky and uncomfortable, and the vintage trem offers very poor tuning stability without care and work. Even my own tech skills at their best every time I picked up a strat or Les Paul I felt like I was fighting the instrument. I never realised just how much until I got my hands on a Music Man. That's what i love about my Silhouette Special - it has it's own personality but it doesn't get in my way.

 

[Kenji20022]

To each his own I guess, I've never had an issue with Strat Trems. They do have multiple versions of their vintage design across the board, just like most every brand out there with very different trems on multiple guitars. I don't dive bomb or pitch bend up like crazy, so for my uses which is a slight vibrato and accenting gateway I've never come across a problem on a Vintage Style Trem.

When you get a guitar brand new, the nut might be binding but that's universal. Every guitar requires care and maintenance, evident by my BFR Petrucci that I just got came with quite a bit of binding at the nut, easily remedied by a slight filing and some nut sauce. And that fix applies to Strats and their Vintage Trems. I love my EBMM guitars, truly and I'll eventually have a Strat of some sort in the herd for those tones, but I personally don't find it flunky and uncomfortable neither do the hundreds of thousands of players using them.

I do love my herd quite a bit as is, they're all wonderful instruments especially the JP6 Rosewood and the Jackson I just received.

 

[Agileguy_101]

It seems like a lot of people here think Music Man is the only company in the world that can make amazing guitars. Once I get my Strat's nut replaced and have the frets leveled (it's 25 years old, it's due for it) it will play as nicely and stay in tune as well as my Music Man.

 

[ArtMac]

But it will be hard to pick up my Gibson L6 if I can't seem to put down my new EBMM !

And man... my hands just won't let go! What a marvelous neck it's got!

 

[DrKev]

It seems like a lot of people here think Music Man is the only company in the world that can make amazing guitars. Once I get my Strat's nut replaced and have the frets leveled (it's 25 years old, it's due for it) it will play as nicely and stay in tune as well as my Music Man.

Lots of great makers, out there. but this the EBMM forum, naturally as fans we're a little biased.

Strats can play well. I own an '98 MIJ 60s RI, sonic blue, which has 1400+ gigs under it's belt so I do know about getting the best from it. And as test / setup tech for a large music store I saw (literally) many truck loads of 'em too. Any guitar with locking tuners and a two-post trem will stay in tune very well especially with a little lube. That includes Fenders too. Non-locking tuners and a vintage six-screw trem can perform well with extra care and attention but will never perform as well. That's just physics.

Similarly, any guitar with a compensated nut will play in tune better than guitars with a regular nut. In fact, I'll never buy another guitar with a standard nut again. Damn you EBMM, I am held captive by your nuts!!

 

[Siddius]

I never said that the strat was bad. It is just that with hand problems I have found that I cannot play as long on it as EBMM guitars, or that is to say, their non-JPs and non-Armadas. This is mostly because my style is very bend heavy, and some of my tunes just wear me out when I use the strat. In fact, my dilemma in starting this thread was that I love the tone of the strat, and I got the neck signed by a hero of mine, so I was wondering what I could do to make all of that easier. Perhaps I should have just switched to .008's, but I decided to get a new neck w mostly music man specs.

 

[Tollywood]

But it will be hard to pick up my Gibson L6 if I can't seem to put down my new EBMM !

And man... my hands just won't let go! What a marvelous neck it's got!

Welcome to the forum, Art.
These ebmm necks are indeed the best, and I for one found it impossible to go back to my other brands.