I'm in the D/FW area (not Dallas...haterz). Yea...non-peak hours is the time to go I'm sure. I need to take a day off and go in. It's funny how when I looked up the guitar models I was interested in to see if they had them in stock...it's like every GC had the same color of the model in stock. Like, I'm looking for a 3 tone sunburst and no one has one. But, they all have the ebony white or whatever (which isn't a bad choice but I'm leaning toward sunburst). It must be a dream to actually find the guitar you want in the color you want (no compromises) that you get to play there and walk out with. Somehow, I don't think that happens often. I doubt they are going to get a guitar in the store that you would like to play but don't buy. Like, if I wanted to play the David Gilmour strat and they didn't have one, then they couldn't just get one because I might have an interest in it and want to play it.
I know it may not help for the "must see it in person" type buyer, but if you don't already check these sites out, you might find what you're looking for here: http://www.reverb.com http://www.gbase.com Both are networks (some overlapping) of everything from big chains to small independent stores to individuals selling music gear. I've found a lot of great stuff through them over the years.
I'm thinking I may go and check out the Eric Clapton Artist Series Stratocaster (non-custom shop). I really want to try out a soft V neck. I have smaller hands and I've read good things about this neck profile in this regard. Also, it has the active mid-range boost, noiseless pickups, vintage frets/tuners, maple neck/fret board, etc. . Everyone raves about it. The good thing is Guitar Center seems to stock these. I love that it is versatile enough to where you can get the heavier rock sounds close to what a humbucker can deliver but still get the strat sounds. Everyone seems to love playing this guitar. I think there were like a 100+ reviews on it on Musician's Friend alone and the worst someone could come up with about the guitar is something about the pickguard.
To me, that's such a hard question to answer. I think it kind of depends on the sound you're going for though and what you're willing to spend. Most Vintage Blackface Fenders, Marshalls, and Vox amps that are in good shape are pretty much out of range to anyone who isn't a collector or professional. Vintage Blackface Fenders have been pricey for a long time, and the Silverface ones were considered cheap. Now, whenever I see a Silverface one, it seems on higher side too. There are so many of them though, so I can see that being a pretty good buy for a while. Some of the old American made brands still can be good buys: Valco, Gretsch, Supro, Ampeg, National, Silvertone, Guild, etc. come to mind. Guilds are pretty cheap these days (like a Guild Thunder combo). Ampeg Gemini amps are still generally affordable. I have three guitar amps now... two vintage and one newer one. I have an old '59 Selmer that's about 18W and it would be about 1/4 the price of a similarly sized Marshall or Vox from the same era... and it sounds amazing, but that's still more than a lot of similar era American amps. Then there's an early 60s Valco-made Gretsch that sounds great clean or with vibrato. Then I have a Chinese-made Vox AC30CC1 that sounds surprisingly good. I usually have it set completely clean and use effects pedals for everything else. It seems like every time a story is done on someone "big" and the sound they have, the equipment prices go through the roof.
So, I weighed basically every damn Stratocaster model against each other and, after exhaustive research and beating my head against the door to knock some sense into me, I narrowed down to all my preferences and came away with the Fender American Standard HSS Shawbucker Stratocaster with Fat 50 single coils in the middle and neck, 3 tone sunburst Alder body, and Maple neck/fret board. So, that's done. I know I will be pleased with the strat sounds I can get while also remaining flexible to the tonal varieties and dirty, heavier stuff I like to play. Thanks for all the input. I will follow up later. Wooo!!!!
Well, I've had a few weeks to play on the American Standard Stratocaster HSS Shawbucker model through a Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue amp and also run through a Digitech GNX-2 effects processor into a pre-amp out to PA speakers. I even a/b-ed it comparing to a Made in Mexico (MIM) HSS Stratocaster with stock pick-ups I was borrowing. Upon first playing on the new guitar, it wasn't holding it's tune well at all. The bridge is obviously a floating one and had too much of an angle to it when I got it. So, I had to tighten down the claw by removing the back cover to make the bridge more level. This seemed to do the trick albeit, by tightening the claw in, it more limits the up motion when pulling the trem bar up for higher pitch (not an issue for me as I'm no Jeff Beck). A lot of people just screw the claw in completely...essentially locking the bridge and not using the tremolo to ensure the guitar won't go out of tune. There is an ideal configuration for using the tremolo and being able to do string bends where the guitar won't go out of tune. Unfortunately, I don't have it yet (need a guitar tech to set that up I imagine). But, the guitar holds its tune really well for the most part when using the tremolo or doing string bends. The guitar never goes out of tune if your playing doesn't call for either. So, the tones I've been able to get out of this guitar are amazing. The Shawbucker humbucker pickup is a medium output pickup and basically contributes to the overall strat tone. A lot of SSS strat players comment that they don't use the bridge single coil pickup because they consider it too bright for their tastes. This humbucker is obviously higher output than a single coil but it provides a boost of clarity and reigns in the brightness a bit without the hum. When compared to the other MIM HSS strat with its stock humbucker, it's definitely quieter but more brilliant imo. The Fat 50s in the HSS shawbucker strat are really nice for the middle and neck positions. I use them all the time when going for cleaner tones. The squawk of the strat is definitely there for all positions. The MIM HSS strat is a very good guitar for about a $500 price tag even with the stock pick-ups. I do like mine better, however, after some time playing both. Both hold their tune really well. My new one has staggered tuners and a two point tremolo...versus a six point tremolo with no staggered tuners on the MIM strat. The MIM strat also has one less fret than my new one. Both guitars are extremely comfortable to play. I would have no qualms about picking up a MIM HSS strat at that price point if I were on a budget or a noob because the value is definitely there. I'm definitely very happy with my purchase so far. The more I play it and experiment with my sounds through effects or just directly to a tube amp while just tweaking my guitar pickup selector and tone/volume knobs...the more I like it. I use a Boss Chorus and Overdrive pedal when going through the tube amp to give it the extra brightness and boost. I still need to run my GNX-2 effects through the tube amp with my new guitar to see what I can do. It's just an all around beautiful guitar and I dig it. I had a rendition of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" going the other night and it sounded incredible up against the real thing. I've also been experimenting on the guitar with classic songs like Eric Clapton's "Cocaine" guitar solo and John Mayer's "Gravity" (love those chords he uses in that song). Also, knocked out some "Broon's Bane" and "The Trees" from Rush as some test material. All sounded sweet!
