Guitars anyone???

[WhiskeySandwich]

@mikebarhoot Oh yeah I heard about that. I'd forgotten. I recall them taking a lot of shit for that. They think there can be only one guitar manufacturer? Can't they just be flattered? I hear imitation is the sincerest form.

[SamD]

@WithBongInHand Cheers, think I'll take all the luck I can get — it's been a while! Look forward to seeing what you've got

[WhiskeySandwich]

@SamD i do love the look of both of those, especially that raw/natural strat. is it cleared? or naked?

[SamD]

@WhiskeySandwich It's a very thin satin finish over an ash body, so you can feel the texture of the grain. It was part of a limited edition American Performer "Raw" series from a few years back, but I actually bought this one from @AdamJ . It's really resonant without the heavy poly coating, and much lighter than the tele — which my old back doesn't complain about at all!

[WhiskeySandwich]

As for the PRS/Fender debate: my take based on a very limited experience is that I prefer the shorter neck of a PRS and find the pickup location on the Fender a bit in the way for my strumming. I have no idea why but Fenders sound totally different too and i'm sure others have more eloquently described it, but to me its more tinny/raspy/thinner/springy and my PRS sounds fatter/rounder/but also cleaner. Anybody care to teach me about it?

[ChrisC]

@SamD Both of these look ace, never seen a strat pickguard like that before, it's almost like the jag / mustang style but still classic strat

Best of luck for your gig! I'm sure you'll smash it

[ChrisC]

@WhiskeySandwich I think there's a number of factors; it depends whether you've got humbuckers or single coil pickups, but also PRS use a 25" scale length (the overall length of the open string from nut to bridge) which is a little shorter than Fender's 25.5", which means it will be subtly rounder and less snappy than a Fender.

PRS use 25" which is a compromise between Gibson (24.75") and Fender scale lengths. I'm sure you've noticed how an A at the 5th fret on the E string sounds rounder and softer than an open A, this is a similar sort of thing.

The wood used in the body has less of an effect than you'd think, but the pickups and scale length make a big difference in the sound.

[SamD]

@ChrisC Cheers mate - yeah, I made a few custom mods inspired by Jerry Garcia's "Alligator" Strat, which I always thought looked cool. Just need to add some IH stickers now

[RocknRoll]

@SamD beautiful looking guitars, regardless of the shenanigans going on with Fender lately.

I’ve always loved the aesthetic of those 70s style ash/maple strats.

[SFMCfranky]

Maple & ash.