Attachment Issues

Stompbox

Been playing with a Mexican Strat for a while now and I think it's time to upgrade anto bigger and better things. There is ,however, one problem, the neck on my Mex Strat is absolutely gorgeous. Just like hot butter, so responsive and so uninhibitive. Its really a dream even though other parts of the guitar may be lacking. Any other guitars I've tried(I've had my eye on Telecasters for a while now) really don't stand up to it in terms of neck comfort (However, it must be stated that the neck of my guitar only feels so responsive after half an hours play, perhaps my trials with store guitars are all too brief for me to truly appreciate). Any suggestions on a possible remedy to my plight?!

Dord

Are you sure it's the neck and not your muscles loosening up after an hour?

Also, will you not be keeping the guitar if you get another?




btw look in my sig, my Telecaster is for sale! (and it has a Strat neck!!!)

Darkstrike

Warmoth, keep the neck, new body/pickups etc, easy to assemble and you can spec out the perfect axe for yourself.

Wouldn't even need to keep to a strat body, or pickup config.

Doctor J

It feels so comfy because your hand knows it well, like when I pick up my old ESP Jazz bass, it was the only bass I had for years and it always feels like home. You have to believe there are better necks out there than your Mexi strat. Every new instrument takes some adjusting to, what you need to do is decide if you're going to go through the intial pain of adjustment with long term gain in mind or if this is sentiment clouding your judgement.

Personally, I'm a firm believer in selling to upgrade. Good as your Mexi strat is, there are guitars out there which are a lot better with necks finished by hand, side scalloped edges to feel already broken in, that kind of thing. Keep your eyes on the prize and never be scared to take a chance.

red_ice

Doctor J wrote: »

Personally, I'm a firm believer in selling to upgrade. Good as your Mexi strat is, there are guitars out there which are a lot better with necks finished by hand, side scalloped edges to feel already broken in, that kind of thing. Keep your eyes on the prize and never be scared to take a chance.

Thats what people do with cars. An instrument is something else, its not something that you can just sell on without any remorse imo. Then again, im coming close to 10 guitars/bass' and a second drum kit.

Save up a couple of quid and wait until you find something you really like, then splash out, take that chance rather than passing on something you love in hope that you will find something you might not. You obviously love that strat. I have a mex strat also and it feels great, i wouldnt let it change hands for anything.

Doctor J

I used to think that until I got some really nice instruments, then I noticed how I wasn't playing the crap ones anymore. When you stop playing them, there's no point keeping them

red_ice

Doctor J wrote: »

I used to think that until I got some really nice instruments, then I noticed how I wasn't playing the crap ones anymore. When you stop playing them, there's no point keeping them

very callous doc! I suppose its what ever your in to. Every guitar that i have has a different sound. Even my kay electric has a place in my arsenal of instruments when im looking for a cheesy tone. My harley benton *shivvers* looks pretty cool, and sounds really mean, yet it feels crap - i find it great for most of my recordings, i prefare it to my jazz and p bass for unplugged sessions.

I could see where it might differ for a strat, but i have the tone and feel i look for in a strat in my mex, so im happy with it. Then again, you seemed to put it down to an instrument being crap, id say it should be down to what you want to play, what sound you are looking for and the sentimental value it holds. If its not broken dont fix it.

Sweet has pretty much said that he loves the guitar. It feels right, so why should he change that just because there are better and more expensive instruments out there? If i was in your shoes sweet i would look at what you think is wrong with the guitar and work on trying to make it better. If its your pickups, get new ones, if you dont like the look of your pick guard get a new one. If its beyond anything that can be easily changed, then look into getting something else, but by the sounds of it to me, you dont really want to!

Doctor J

It's not callous, it's just practical. Every guitar I have has a different sound too, but I prefer the sound of my Sadowsky Jazz over my Fender Jazz. I prefer how it feels and plays too. I prefer the sound, feel and playability of my Bacchus over my old Aria Pro II. They served their purpose at the time but, in truth, they were steps on the way to something better. At the time I thought they were great and, to an extent, they were but as I've moved on I've come to cherish the extra quality and attention to detail you just don't get with a Mexican strat, or whatever your axe of youth is. Granted, they were vital in their day, but their day, for me, has passed and now they are in the hands of others who can still get something out of them. What is the point in me merely hoarding them when they can open new doors and develop the playing of somebody else? Surely an instrument is made to be played, if not by me at least somebody else, not to take up space and accumulate dust? When you get what you can out of an instrument let it pass on to someone who can get something new from it and you move on to a new chapter of your playing with a new instrument which lets you experience what you couldn't with your old gear.

red_ice

yea good points. I guess for me progression does somewhat come with a new instrument, be it the feel of the instrument producing something new for me or the sound of it making me want to do something else (if thats where your coming from), but i will always return to other instruments because i guess my bag of tricks can somewhat depend on them and i guess thats something that i dont want to give up. When i gig i take 3 bass' with me, the harley, it has a low octave piano sound to it(thats the best i can describe it), the P and the jazz. I swap between them, im currently looking at a "the ripper", gas fest.

I cant reproduce the sounds i get with those instruments or improve on them for what i play, god knows i've tried, infact a good hour of each session (3 times a week) goes into trying new sounds out for me. Infact the sunday gone while my band was at electric picnic i was in the studio from 12 to about 4/5 trying everyones pedals out with a few of my guitars and bass', linking them up in different ways trying to get something new out of them.

In all fairness doc, i bet there are a couple of guitars you regret passing on?

Doctor J

red_ice wrote: »

In all fairness doc, i bet there are a couple of guitars you regret passing on?

Sure, I miss my old Ric 4003, I miss the Lakland 55-02, I miss the Schecter C7, but I still believe selling them was the right thing to do at the time, I'm happier with the instruments I have now, happier by a long, long way. I'm glad too, that other people are making their own paths with those instruments right now, whereas I would be using them sporadically at best.

Without selling the Ric I never would have bought my first Bacchus, which was my first proper "HOLY ****!!!" moment in terms of just how good a bass can be. Given the choice between getting the Ric back and keeping the Bacchus, I would keep the Bacchus every single time, there is absolutely no doubt about that at all. The same goes for every instrument I've sold, I've always been happier for having moved on.

The OP is already looking for something new, meaning the Mexi strat is deficient in some aspects, otherwise he wouldn't be looking in the first place. There are instruments which will tick more boxes and, if the Mexi strat needs to be sacrificed in order to be happier long term, I say do it. Do it now!

Eoin Madsen

Only thing I'd add is... maybe measure the parameters of the neck - neck width and depth at various points, fingerboard radius, the current string height, fret height and width etc. If you know for sure that you like that neck, it might cut out some future guess work to document the details before you sell it on. You might be able to get someone to measure these things for you.

If I were you, I'd be tempted to try Darkstrike's suggestion of replacing the body and keeping the neck. It would be relatively inexpensive and might offer you a best of both worlds scenario. Or it might not work at all. :pac: But even if it doesn't work out great, you could always still order a new neck as well from somewhere like Warmoth. It could even be based loosely on the parameters of the original, if you managed to figure them out.

Darkstrike

Well his guitar is a MIM Strat, thats a standard neck profile, should be easy to buy another neck with the same specs. Warmoth, StewMac, USACG, Allparts should all carry Strat necks. The StewMac necks are Mighty Mite brand, and come ready to be drilled for neck screws and bolted on, in a nice satin finish.