So.. i am in UK now, sparing up money to buy 2nd guitar and a pod:) The guitar should be about 500 GBP (round 1 000$), +/- 20%. Could i get good guitar at that price point? Or a custom one?

ATM, my favourite is Fender Deluxe players Stratocaster(mexican made). But I just saw B.C. Rich Mocking bird and its just beautiful:( I also love the looks of Dean Razorbacks.. But lets stay practical - sound>looks

What i am looking for is Neoclassical tone (i totally dig Marcuss sound - and playing ofc:) - thats why i consider Fender deluxe with 3 single coils) and bit of Hendrix/Andy Timmons sound (slightly overdriven sound).

Any ideas what guitar might i check out? Also, what is the noticable difference between USA and Mex strat in terms of playability?

Thanks for any tips:)

(PS: the shopping day will be on weekend;))

Well I would suggest saving some money to buy American Stratocaster...Maybe you can order it online for the money you already have ? Its a great instrument to have!

well... when ordering online (ebay or anything from usa) I have to add 20.5% for VAT and customs.. also ill have to add a postage price.. and last but not least.. i prefer to play on guitar which i will buy.. i dont want to spend thousand bucks on something, that I wont like from any reason but if you know how to evade VAT and customs.. now we are talking

But when you opened that topic - are the american stratocaster that better to cost 2x much?

This post has been edited by Jakub Luptovec: Aug 24 2008, 08:39 PM

This is the online shop from Music store in Germany where i ordered my Ibanez from it's a pretty fast delivery and in most cases cheaper then when you go to a music shop this is a link to the american strat:

http://www.musicstore.de/en_EN/GBP/Fender-...-GIT0012530-000

price in pounds is 826.83 GBP there are no shipping costs or customs involved.

But indeed it's better to try it out before buying it The difference between the american standard and the mexican standard is that the american strat has a better bridge, pickups, improved neck, 22 medium jumbo instead of 21 frets and you get a case with the american strat with the mexican you get a bag if you get one at all that's about it i guess

This post has been edited by ChrisVdS: Aug 24 2008, 09:00 PM

USA strat is a better guitar, and it does sound and feel better. The thing with Strats is mass production. Both MIM and USA models fluctuate in quality, so you can sometimes hear stories from musicians that they "bought MIM strat that sounds even better that USA" and similar. IMO these stories are often not true. Yes it is true that once in a while a quality match happens, but this is very rare. You can't beat quality of USA strat, every component is better, and manufacturing process is more detailed and man-oriented, and this is why it costs more.

If you're looking for looks with guitar, I suggest you check out USA models and find the finish you like and check out how it sounds, and compare it to same level MIM. You will clearly hear and feel the difference.

Buy a 2nd hand american strat if you can.The american strats I have played have all played well,but some feel a bit stiff but open up with time.If you get a standard strat you can always replace the bridge pickup with a malmsteen model or a JBjnr to give you humbucker tone later.
I have texas specials in my mid and neck pups,and the JBjnr in the bridge-sound very good and has that lovely single coil neck pup tone

Hey Noangels, you have JBjr in the bridge? I'm currently usign lil59 for hte bridge and maybe wanna experiment with JBjr a bit. Can you tell me how you like the pickup, how does it sounds, or maybe post some clips with clean and distortion? Thanks mate.

No problem Ivan,I have some old samples lying around when I used to be into the istrumental thing years back prior to being glued to bands!
I won the JBjnr as a bet with a mate from America when we were in two musical internet teams from oposing countries(uk/USA)and my team gave them a damm good spanking with the tunes we posted.So he mailed me this PUP and i have to say its perfect for strats.Still keeps that strat sound while allowing for some over the top harmonics to pop out at will when used on an overdriven amp.
I normaly go to the neck pup for cleans to be honest,so I havent any samples of it clean-but i have a coupe of samples of it action-

Break Out-this must be about 5 years or more old by now!

This is a collab I did with an english player(now in sweeden)Andy Gavin.You can hear the JBjnr on all the ryth tone and solos where I play(I start off,play all the riffs and pedal section while Andy plays when I dont on an LP)

these were recorded on a Pod Pro for myself and another preamp of some sort for Andy

The latest sample I have is for the lead solo I recorded with the band I'm in(waiting for our singer to record it now)
this is the JBjnr in the strat through a maxed out HUghes and Kettner switchblade head(rthy tone is LP)

One Against Time Solo Section


And heres an old clip of the Strat in action a few years back I did for some online buds

Strat jbjnr

Have used this PUP for a long time now,and off all the guitars I have with many pick ups from many makers,it sounds the best overall for solos(mind you I'm lucky to have good sounding strat body too that resonates so well)

For about $1250USD you can get an American Deluxe Strat, which is what i have, and what Kris has now. Upgrades are the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless single coils, stainless steel saddles and bridge, locking tuners, and the Am. Deluxe tremolo with pop in arm.

The neck is like butter, and I smile every time I hear the tone.

Thanks for sharing the samples Noangles, I appreciate it mate

No problems my old china,over the years I have recorded a silly amount of tunes with many guitars,premaps and amps:)