What Guitar?

[Rudi]

I had a Fender Strat for 25 Years. I thought I would keep it for ever. It was in sunburst with a maple neck. The string tension was so high I would break into a sweat trying to bend a note. As for vibrato, it was almost impossible. It didn’t make much difference what strings I used or how I adjusted the springs (I removed them in the end).

I never got accustomed to the neck. It was too easy to pull the top E right off the fingerboard (doh!) when working quickly (despite the tension).

Why did I keep it so long? Like all original single coil pickup Fenders, it sounded superb. However, I have never regretted getting shot of it.

If money were no object, I would travel to Spain and spend 2 or 3 months visiting various luthiers and trying out their guitars. I’m sure I would return with something that would make my present (3) acoustics instantly redundant.