$375 '86 Strat?
 

I just found a 1986 Strat for $375 bucks... but it's beat to hell and back, the body only has about... I'd say 60% of its paint still, its got some major cracks and splits on the body, and its all really rusty... but it sounds beeee-yootiful, and it has character, which most strats, in my opinion, dont have.

Thoughts? Should I fork over that much for a beat up, dying strat? Is $375 too much or an '86?

What's the serial number? Where was it manufactured?

I have no clue, but I couldn't resist sharing that my son asked at dinner tonight, "Dad, how long would it take me to save $1,200?" After a brief math lesson (yes, our kids are tortured, no doubt about it) I asked him what he thought he needed $1,200 for. Apparently on Drake & Josh, a TV show he watches, one of the characters was scheming to get a '64 Vender Strat. (Mrs. Dallas: "Umm son, I think it's "Fender." "Oh yeah, that's it."

i have an 87 american standard strat. perfect condition, humbucking pick up, rosewood fretboard, blonde. i asked a guy at a music store what it was worth and he said 4-450. im sure he was lowballing. i was thining 6-650...... new ones go for about a grand. you can get one in better shape for around that money.

Better answer: if this guitar is in really bad shape, it isn't worth it. The rust is the main thing; lack of paint won't kill it, but rust could mean you need to replace the electronics and the bridge, and now you're spending too much. Better deals are available on eBay and brand new Mexican Fenders, or Dean, ESP, Ibanez, BC Rich, or about ten other brands that manufacture in Korea and China are cheaper than $375 new.

Hm, fine, I wont get it then.

I neeeed an amp, but amps here cost like 4 times what theyre worth, and christmas is relatively soon...

Theyve got this nice Edwards Prince-style guitar... not his Squiggle guitar, but the one with the huge cutaway horn on one side and like no horn on the other. It looks better than it sounds, but it plays and sounds pretty nice... but its a good hundred bucks too expensive, at least.

Theyve also got a '77 Rickenbacker bass for $1500...


Hey, I can dream...





Any suggestions for a good, versatile guitar with character for under six hundred?

A '77 Rick 4001 in good shape is definitely worth that price if the neck is good. Now I'm the one dreaming.

I have a friend with a 70's vintage Rickie bass. I play it from time to time through a similarly vintage Ampeg head and one of those folded horn type cabinets. Damn thing'll knock your block off. Awesome bass, wonderfully low-profile neck. Fast.

The only thing better is his equally vintage Thunderbird bass, which will knock *everyone's* blocks off, and for blocks around.

As a former MexiStrat owner, I can testify to how close they are to the American jobbies. Buy one as cheap as you can, then upgrade the electronics. Voila'! A Strat that most people can't tell from an American made, except for the little "Made in Mexico" under the Fender script on the headstock.

I have a Pacific drumkit, which is essentially a DW kit, but made in China.
Works well enough for me, at a fraction of the price. I agree with Elspode.

I've aaalmost decided on a Fender Nashville Telecaster.

Should I get the Nashville Tele, or save up another twenty or thirty bucks and get the Nashville Power Tele?

You just don't seem like a sunburst sort of lad.

I wont get sunburst, i'll go for the honey blonde.

Nice.

I've always thought they were ugly. never played one, tho. is it set up like a strat?

Telecasters are so friggin heavy though. And the knobs and stuff aren't where I like them. But they sound very distinctive and cool, so if you want warm and rich, that's a good bet. Cool/warm...whatever, you know what I mean.

You are a fan of shreddy stuff too, though. If you want to play some of that kind of music, you might also consider the playability on the upper frets. iirc, telecasters only have like 20 frets. That's just fine for 90% of music, but I find myself on 22 many times when playing metal. We broke out Holy Wars on Saturday, and the high note on the first solo is actually a full bend on the 24th fret. I don't have that many so I had to fake, and now I have this weird little neurotic thing bugging me that won't go away until I can find a guitar with 24 frets and I can bend that note. Just once. Kind of like an itch in the middle of your back you can't reach, and it drives you nuts.

Anyway, you might look at some ESPs, too. They have a less-expensive line that sound good and offer several design options. Ibanezes can be found on the cheap at pawn shops, too -- if you get a good example of one, it will be a great guitar. If you get a lemon, it will be a source of constant pain.