Choosing A Strat Options

[ShinyHighlander]

Hi Everyone! I am thinking of buying a strat. Problem is just that there are so many to chose from. So I was hoping you might give me some tip of nice strats that are worth checking out. The price range should be from 1000-2000 dollars. I mostly rock/metal but I´m also into neo classical stuff. Thanks in advance.

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[ShinyHighlander]

Very good information Ivan I checked around on Fenders web site and I noticed that the american standard series only has single coils while for example the vintage series has two single coils and a humbucker as bridge pickup. But how much does the choice of pickups affect the sound. I understand my question is quite diffucult to answer but i´d like to something like what types of pickups fit for which type of music etc.

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

Very good information Ivan I checked around on Fenders web site and I noticed that the american standard series only has single coils while for example the vintage series has two single coils and a humbucker as bridge pickup. But how much does the choice of pickups affect the sound. I understand my question is quite diffucult to answer but i´d like to something like what types of pickups fit for which type of music etc.

Actually your question is pretty easy to answer.

Single coil pickups have distinct twangy sound to it, with bell-like harmonics. Good for lot of styles but not very good for anything that has too much distortion. There is a lot of noise on them, and they can't handle distortion too well. I don't say people don't play them at all with a lot of drive, it's just it is hard to achieve a well defined tone.
Humbuckers are way better in that area. But humbucker can't give you that spankin' twangy, bell-like sound. They are more flat, and can handle distortion good, you can hear every note nicely etc.

For your style I recommend buying any strat you like how it sounds. It is the wood, quality of details and the feel on the neck that you should look after. Bare in mind that all new standard strats are ALL drilled down to HSH configurations - EVEN those with SSS combo. This means that you can easily put a regular type humbucker afterwards, you will just have to replace the pickguard that's all.

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[ShinyHighlander]

Actually your question is pretty easy to answer.

Single coil pickups have distinct twangy sound to it, with bell-like harmonics. Good for lot of styles but not very good for anything that has too much distortion. There is a lot of noise on them, and they can't handle distortion too well. I don't say people don't play them at all with a lot of drive, it's just it is hard to achieve a well defined tone.
Humbuckers are way better in that area. But humbucker can't give you that spankin' twangy, bell-like sound. They are more flat, and can handle distortion good, you can hear every note nicely etc.

For your style I recommend buying any strat you like how it sounds. It is the wood, quality of details and the feel on the neck that you should look after. Bare in mind that all new standard strats are ALL drilled down to HSH configurations - EVEN those with SSS combo. This means that you can easily put a regular type humbucker afterwards, you will just have to replace the pickguard that's all.

I am not sure I understand what HSH and SSS mean? Does HSH mean you have a humbucker as neck pickup, a single coil in the middle and another humbucker at the bridge? And is SSS just three singlecoils?

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[OrganisedConfusi...]

I am not sure I understand what HSH and SSS mean? Does HSH mean you have a humbucker as neck pickup, a single coil in the middle and another humbucker at the bridge? And is SSS just three singlecoils?

That's exactly right. Can have other combinations of course also

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