versatile (Page 1 of 2)

IMO, I would guess a Strat with one Humbucker would come close as you get to bridge gap between the very different animals of Les Pauls and Strats?

Vintage gear for me is like your wife, comfortable, broken in, etc and new gear is like cheating on your wife with a younger woman, not broken in, maybe a little on rough on the edges, but exciting with some updated features.

Cheers!

versatility:
My PRS McCarty has a push/pull coil tap. So I can get stratty tones and LesPaul tones... versatile!
My Bumstead SG copy has 3 humbuckers and a 6-way switch.. all the stratty combos and the LP front/back only...versatile
Parker Fly guitars have some pretty cool versatility too, they got that piezo element in the bridge for acoustic tones...versatile.

IMO - vintage guitars:
Vintage guitars are older (and have more mileage) The wood had dried and the lacquer well cured/hardened... maybe even worn. The edges of the fretboard are rounded and not "edgy" like new necks... so older guitars are more comfy to play. The magnets in the pickups might have lost some gauss? or have sweetened over the years or maybe wound "imperfectly" to give it a hotter or sweeter tone. Last, they just feel broken in. I can't explain it.

IMO - new guitars:
New guitars have fresh wood, new lacquer, pickups wound to a certain # via a machine, the edges of the neck are edgy and uncomfortable. They need to be broken in.

I still like new or modern guitars, but there's the "old t-shirt" feel to a vintage guitar that just makes them play by themselves if you find the right one for you. I'd usually like to buy used vs. new myself.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping.

The difference between old guitars and new guitars is that old guitars are older.  Some crazy people out there think that older guitars are build better or sound better or vibrate more than newer ones... yada yada yada.  Almost every artist that we see out there today is using a newer guitar. The classic rock stuff was recorded with new guitars, the guitars are old now but they were new back then.

I think its funny how we pay people like fender and gibson to beat up our guitars because it makes them feel more broken in. How odd would it be if you asked Ford to beat up your f150 because you just wanted a worn in feel to your truck. 

I like my truck to look like it went thru the woods and got dirty so throw a little rust around the wheels and beat it with some wrenches for an hour before I pick it up. 

Anyway, Old guitars may feel different but they rarely sound any different.  No different than two new guitars or two old guitars tested.

How many Hummer H2's do you see on the road that have never been off the pavement? I'd say a majority. I digress.
but even so, I'd still prefer to buy a used car over a new one. cheaper and (hopefully) the new kinks have been ironed out of it.

I do see your point though.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping.

so would it be fare to say there is not a whole big difference between my 75 strat and the 50's ones that people desire,

i know my 70's strat is a cbs strat but i've heard the 50's strats were mass made by mexican's so nothing much changed except the production numbers went up?

but then again i don't know much just curious - thanks to all who take the time to reply

Seventies pups were not the best, unless they're the early 70's staggered ones. The flat pole ones are very wimpy and dull sounding. Also, one thing that is totally true, the 3 bolt neck strats can be knocked out of set up much easier. Nothing to do with the basic premise of a 3 bolt neck, moreso the poor accuracy of the cutting of neck and neck socket.

Further, some of the 70's has really bad quality trem blocks- tool steel and no paint is best between the block and the bridge assembly. The 70's ones are shite- I always replace with a Callaham. Bridge saddles tend to be chrome plated nylon- old fashioned is much better. Lastly, poly finished - compared to nitro there is no competition.

On the plus side, the necks are chunky, loads of tone, and very easy to set up and to 'hold' a set up as long as you don't bang the socket out of line as noted above.

By saying that some 70's strats are rippers. I have a 71 sunburst/rosewood and it's a belter.

Re newer instruments- well I got a 56 strat and a 2009 custom shop strat and belive it or not the CS urinates from a high place all over the 56, but the CS is a real one off and the best one I've played in yrs.

I understand where you are coming from but I have to respectfully disagree.  To my ears, older guitars do have a sound.  It's not hype or anything but IMO things like rust, tarnish, sweat, finish removal, aging wood, aging capacitors/pots/jacks/switches do something to the tone.  BUT old does not always equal better in my experience.  People won't have you believe this but there are actually some Pre-CBS Fenders and '50s-early '60s Gibsons that are DOGS.  You just have to play a bunch of new and old guitars to find what is right for you.

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