There is definitely some mojo in this guitar, and in the hands of a player with the feel you have...it is downright amazing. I’ve heard you pull some amazing tone out of relatively affordable guitars, but the vid with this guitar from Instagram was pure magic. Congrats!
Definitely agree, rich collector's, no matter what hobby, are a problem...at least when somebody like Joe Bonamassa or some rich rockstar buys a guitar it's actually going to be played and loved.
exactly guitars need to be played not put behind glass and shown off... the prices for guitars r ridiculous. I just wanna play the damn things and have fun I'm lefty so it's already a nightmare to find great guitars in the wild. gotta always buy online. but I'd love to own a 64' fender strat id never sell it hell a collector could have it after I was done playing it for a while... IDC about the money I just wanna play these amazing vintage strats.
@@sacredgeometry Gilmour is worth hundreds of millions, he didn't need to sell his black Strat. Having said that - even if he didn't sell it - that Strat becomes useless when he dies. The best place for it would have been in a music museum of sorts, for people to see it and get inspired.
Just came from the Paul Davis video you were featured in. I can't believe I have never found your channel before, you are CRAZY good. Criminally underrated.
You're so right!!! Actually, this brings up something I've been thinking about for several years now. You see, I have a bunch of guitars and they're all important to me. Most of them aren't really special. They're good, but not uncommon. However, there's one guitar that I feel very strongly about. It's my number 1 guitar and the idea of me dying (I'm not the youngest guy and certainly not the healthiest one) and leaving this guitar behind to never be played again, or to be sold to someone who just can't play is unbearable to me. So after my death I want this guitar, a black Gibson ES-347, 2nd version (I think 1987, not sure) to be given to someone who's an amazing guitar player, who isn't filthy stinking rich (yet), who's young and who's likely to travel all over the world to play his (or her) music and who will take care for my beloved guitar and use it properly. If I'd die tomorrow, Chris Buck would be the only guitar player I can think of who ticks all the boxes. I'd want him to have my 347. Wow...., you know this is the first time I found someone to give my guitar to. 😃
@@mariodriessen9740 You sir are the real deal. God bless your sentiments. My late father left me an extensive collection of vintage Guitars, i play so it pleased him that i chose to take lessons and eventualy became pretty good by everyman standards, but there's one thing that really ticked him off and that was the fact i'm left handed. The search for my own Guitars over the past 40 years has been a hard one quite frankly. I was buying my Guitars when they would charge a premium for lefties. My collection including my Dad's are heirlooms for my children but your sentiments resonate with me.
I am living that life with my 2 1962 fender Stratocaster .To me they are the best playing stratocaster ever made.Also the Best sounding.The modern ones pale in comparison.
Bought my '62 reissue in December 1983 -- first year they were made. Fullerton, California plant. Exceptionally well-made guitars. Fender was determined to redeem their reputation after manufacturing less-than-quality guitars during the "CBS" era. Custom order black. I've played that guitar for tens of thousands of hours. It was only when my right arm wore off the black finish that I realized it was sunburst underneath. Pawned it just once. Showed up a day late to bail it out. They had already sold it to a guitar dealer. Broke my heart. I couldn't even look at a photo of a Strat for years. Then, one fine day, six years later I popped in a guitar shop here in Chicago and there she was! Miraculously I happened to have $2300 in the bank to buy it back on the spot. (I pawned it for a $160 loan.) Only time in my entire life I had more than a few hundred bucks to my name. I put EMG pickups in it in the mid-1980s. (It was the thing to do at the time. I was with my brother at the time. He asked if I was sure it was mine. Of course I was sure. I recognized every chip in the nitro, the wear on the back of the neck, the cigarette burn mark on the headstock under the low e-string, the little crescent-shaped dent. We guitar players recognize our babies. Plus, the serial number matched. I call her my "miracle guitar". Never, ever pawn a guitar you love! Now if I could only find the 1986 Guild Nightbird II gg with the gorgeous quilted maple top I sold, like an idiot! Or the Gibson Chet Atkins nylon string I sold, like an idiot. Or the 1978 natural-finish Strat "hardtail" I sold, like an idiot.
Wow. My apologies Chris, I've been following this saga on Tone Twins, but wasn't yet familiar with you as a player. You're world class and that guitar is meant to be with you. Enjoy!
Just discovered your videos and music just recently. Not only are you a truly great guitarist, but you are also extremely articulate and engaging while in your speech. Great vocabulary which may not mean much to some but in today’s educational environment most folks converse at about an 8th grade level...at best. Just quite impressed with you and your content. And the information and playing is so valuable. Keep it up.
If it inspires you to keep playing like that opening jam, that guitar is worth ten times whatever you've spent on it! Have you ever considered putting out self-produced EPs kind of like Rabea? Would be great to have these tones on my phone to play in the car!
Having played for 60 years (some years better than others), I can tell you the sound of the WHOLE guitar is what makes the magic. It’s just the complete instrument working as one. Chris, you made that point and it’s true. An acoustic guitar is easier to understand in that regard, certainly. But those who feel an electric guitar is just wood and electronics and it’s the pickups that make the big difference are wrong. The other thing you mentioned that’s so true: Always play an electric guitar unplugged first. You can tell so much that way, especially with resonance and playability. If an electric is loud and you feel it against your body, chances are you’ve got a good one to start. My ‘69 SG and ‘66 Strat just jump out at you and I bought both of them straight away. They are outstanding instruments; resonant and great playing, with the kind of mojo only great guitars have. You cannot describe it, but when people hear it they know immediately - that’s a great axe. Keep up the great work, lad. You’re a hell of a player and right respectful of good instruments.
Funny u mention a 69 Gibson SG: My first real guitar a SG special in cherry w/p-90s that was my first real guitar; cost me $149.99 in 1969 with case.!! But remember, minimum wage was like a $1.20 hr....(LOL) $149.99 WAS A ABOUT 1WEEK OF PAY:CUTTING LAWNS:AGE 13.... Now a player of 54yrs.still have the 62 strat. One1 is getting new fretwire as we speak! Sticking with the original fretwire! Not effing it up with the 6105 keeping them original keeps the price higher.
Chris, Sounds like you've got a great sounding Strat there. The comparison with the Highway One Strat is great. Thanks for that. I'd say there's a difference but not anything that would matter at all with a band behind you. I'm just glad to see an old guitar getting a chance to shine again in the hands of a great player. Congratulations on this project and thanks for documenting it. Also... Thanks for the great content and fantastic music. I'm a fan. CHEERS! from Austin, Texas.
I think its cool that collectors preserve them. But I honestly can't hear any real difference between these and Custom Shop reproductions. Leo Fender meant for these guitars' necks to be tossed and a new one installed once the fretwire was worn out. Say no more.
I couldn't say what any of them are truly worth, but I will say the old ones by and large (not always) do sound better than the new ones. If I could find new ones that sounded like my old ones, I'd never buy a vintage guitar again.
I have played a few '62 originals and '62 re-issues and never really been thrilled with any of them pickup-wise and not only that I have gotten unsolicited negative feedback on them in terms of live & recorded sound. Though yours sounds great. I recently bought a '61 that I absolutely love. It had belonged for a while to Steve Earle before I bought it. I ran into him at a show after I bought it and he told me that the pickups on the guitar that's now mine are not original, which explained a lot for me. They're from the '80's he says. And they have a lot more oomph than any original or re-issue '62's I have played. The fretboard is to die for. BTW I have played a '57 in original condition and both owned and played custom shop '50's re-issues. And I love them. Same with late 60's, both originals and re-issues. The TR Crandall Shop in NYC that sold me the Steve Earle Strat, when I asked them, said that pickup quality control at Fender in the early 1960's was a crap shoot and they weren't paying a lot of attention. And they said that if you see an early 1960's Strat with its original finish intact then you might have your first indication that the pickups don't sound very good. But the ones with little or no original finish left tend to be the ones that sound good. But that's their opinion certainly and I am just passing it along. Anyway, kudos on your inexpensive acquisition and the fabulous-sounding restoration.
Damn! That guitar is just gorgeous. One of the most iconic colors, especially when paired with a rosewood fingerboard. Great playing, as always man. Enjoy!
Good tone. But more importantly -- Chris - I just hope you (and other musicians) can be hittin the road soon! Regardless of guitar (I like the Epi Casino myself) - but you are so good, people should hear you -- LIVE! THX - Bob in USA.
Chris I'm new to playing the guitar. In fact i picked it up only when the pandemic hit. But i just wanna say I've lost count of how many times I've watched this solo and you've really inspired me to push hard and improve! Just unbelievable playing and that Strat sounds like it was destined to be in your hands.
I’ve been eagerly looking forward to this. The refinished fret board is gorgeous and I’m so glad the body’s finish was left as is. The distinctiveness of the color, patina and crackling is a huge part of the guitar’s appeal. As for its value based on its adherence to the original vintage the most valuable Strats have always been elevated by the artists who owned it and the fact that this is a Chris Buck Strat adds value for me. If I was wealthy I would gift Chris a vintage bridge pickup. As a master of tone Chris is fully deserving of the gorgeously nuanced notes this Strat is capable of much like the way the top violinists are often matched with Stradivarius violins.There is a sumptuous richness to the tones and the decay is incredibly sustained like the finish of a good wine. I’m looking forward to future jams with this guitar. Of course it goes without saying that this guitar should be insured for a pretty penny.
I just sounds gorgeous. If people are willing to spend 40k on such an Instrument, so be it. I'd rather take a contemporary CS with Josefinas and save 35k.
I have both and both are awesome in their own way. There's nothing like owning history and they sound great. CS models sound great as well. In the vintage world guitars are much more hit or miss, in my experience, than with the CS. The CS has been very consistent.
And I thought $900 for an AmerIcan Std was a lot. There’s nothing complicated or anything to these guitars. So simple yet people pay so much for them. If it had an engine that you could ride on or something then I’d see the $4,000 price tag. Just solid wood and wires. An acoustic at least has inlays and carving and such to give it the price tag. A strat is and always was meant to be cheap. Leo just got lucky that it sounded amazeballs too while being cheap and easy to build. Oh well. I guess expensive to one man is affordable and a bargain to another apparently.
@@BeefNEggs057 Gets even better when you think about Teles. They're about as simple as it's possible to get, it's practically a prototype, just a hunk of wood bolted to a neck. It's not as if wood is expensive, it's not as if the electronics are expensive, pots and enamel wire cost literally pennies. American labour is obviously more expensive than some Indonesian or Korean being paid next to nothing, but even so. I just got an American Tele myself and don't get me wrong, it's great, already love it; but honestly the differences in quality are pretty minor compared to the Mexican Strat I have, to say it cost twice the price. I would argue that when you have extensive restoration and re-fretting etc done on a 50 year old guitar, the end result playing great is more a result of the luthier who restored it than the original guitar actually being somehow better. Guitarists are just apparently willing to pay a huge mark-up for prestige, and I mean, I guess buying old instruments is better than buying whatever other disposable consumer garbage gets pumped out these days.
OMG!!!!!! MY FELLOW GUITARPHILES ! Isn't it absolutely fantastic when you put a classic guitar in the hands of a great player like Mr Chris Buck. What a sound ! What a player !
Chris is honestly one of the best guitarists I've ever heard, especially for being so young. My heroes are mostly the old British guys; Clapton, Beck, Page, Gilmour, Peter Green, Paul Kossoff, Gary Moore (Irish), and I rate Chris at that level of natural ability.
People have been scamming, faking , re-creating, antique-ing, Fender Guitars in the 80's already. It seems like you found a great Guitar in the U.K. as an isolated find. There were not that many brought into the U.K. during the days. Wow.....
I used to own a 62 strat which I sold. The 62 neck was a good shape for me but the guitar overall was no great shakes. Back when I bought it they weren't fetching much money - mine was an unattractive blonde natural colour which I refinished (badly) myself in a walnut shade. I'd paid £110 for it and sold it when they started to fetch £1000 plus. With work it could have been ok but the pickups and build quality in 62 were a lottery. You could get a great guitar, and I heard a few that were pretty good, but you could also get rubbish. Like many valve amps the 62 strat has acquired a reputation it didn't always deserve. I have a Japanese 62 reissue which I know for a fact is far superior to the original 62 I sold. Of course if I'd kept it I could now get stupid money for it - oh well ;) BTW It was replaced by a 1964 ES345 which is just a terrific guitar - that my friend was a keeper!
Funnily enough, John Frusciante found out his pickups in his beloved 62 Strat were actually newer and modern Seymour Duncan SSLs, so really, as much as I loved the look and color choices of a 62 Strat, it's all in the hands. Of course, a good set of pickups helps and they are definitely lower output like a Gilmour type, which allows for more clarity as you crank an amp. The low output pickups are probably a huge part of the allure. I think these sound great, but again, all in the hands.The pickup A/B was awesome!
Chris, great channel and great job allowing us all in on this 62 journey. Much appreciated. Do you like the 7.25 radius? I have a 61 Custom Shop and it took me time to get used to. I prefer the 9.5 radius that most Strats have but my 61 is here to stay. Your thoughts?
You didn’t just buy it, you earned it...you found it, fought for it, sorted it (with some serious skill by Huw) and can play it like few others. Its story continues and can’t wait to see where it takes you. Congratulations.
It might be the 10th comment I put in here but you're solo at the begining is legend! Such a feel of everything! I can't wait to see you touring in Europe when possible.
As somebody who has just completed work on a beat up 67 tele that came into my workshop a few months ago I can both vouch for what’s being said here and substantiate the unique sonic quality these old Fenders have. I have worked on many of them and there is something about them that defies logic but you only hear when in somebody hands who can play them well. Yes there’re expensive but boy are they worth it.
You're right, the bridge p/u is not as good as the other two. It's still good but there's something dark and sweet about the middle and neck pickups that set your '62 well apart from your HW1. Very, very nice.
A wonderful special guitar for a great guitarist, perfect match :-) I will be honest though, after seeing the price of those 62 parts, knobs, pickups, etc, now that freaked me out!!! Imagine, having to replace "ANYTHING" Uffffff!!!!
7:52...I have a blob of solder from a Gibson P90 harness,pot date 1953...all original,has of course been melted twice......any watchers want to make an offer before I put it on Reverb?....and thanks for a great video!
I don't personally think the playability and sound of vintage guitars is worth it. I'll take a 2020 American standard all day. Having said that it's great that a vintage instrument ends up in the hands of a great player not a doctor/lawyer
I bought a 62 Strat in 1976 (from the original owner), loved that guitar. Sadly, was stolen in 1991.. but it was truly exceptional sounding instrument.
Firstly Chris, I really appreciate that you are playing against a good backing track. Doing this makes it sound like music and not just a bunch of random, disconnected “riffs” as I hear on too many other Tube guitar shows - and very nice playing it is. BTW, a Strat is really a semi-hollow guitar what with all the cavities and routes. With the pickups and electronics removed it will resonate like yours did in a similar condition. However, when all is installed it won’t resonate quite like that. Also, you had all those nice sound holes (and three extra ones) which, when all is installed/repaired, are plugged right up. Thirty or so years ago I was fortunate to attend a local guitar show where a beat-up, May, 1962 Sunburst Strat was for sale at one of the tables. The seller was not apparently entirely aware of what it was worth and seemed to judge it more on its condition that on its intrinsic and musical value. The body had been split in half in a fall to pavement from a second story window (so the story went) and a small chunk of wood was missing on the edge of the lower-treble bout. It had been semi-competently (later competently) glued back together, but all else was alright. The finish is original, some of the black paint on edges of the body was worn or chipped off, but all of the red and yellow of the sunburst was fine, front and back. The original three-ply, subtle minty-green pickguard was also fine with no cracks or breaks. The neck was good with little or no lacquer at all remaining on the maple back, which I like a lot. It required a small shim to get the angle to where it ought to be. The fingerboard was in good condition as was the thick-curve rosewood fingerboard. The thick-curve fingerboard was the short-lived and very rare ’62 transition between the slab and thin veneer fingerboard and is close to the slab in thickness. The frets were not original, but were not too worn, had been installed professionally and were of the correct profile. All electronics, pickups and solder joints were untouched, original and functional. All hardware was original and, if a bit tarnished and rusty, in good condition. The plastic was in good condition, albeit a bit yellowed. Only the headstock decals were somewhat worn and have deteriorated since. What attracted me at first was its battered, well-played road-warrior appearance, but when I plugged it into a ‘66 Deluxe Reverb and played it, well, that was what cinched the sale. Yeah, that great amp didn’t do it any harm, either. That classic ’62 tone on all pickups (yes, even the bridge pickup which was bright but not at all spikey with very nice and complex harmonics) shone out and the whole instrument sang and howled and did what I like an electric guitar to do. BTW, I’m a big fan of the middle pickup. The price was more than reasonable and affordable (it was thirty years ago, after all). I took it home in its original case and have lovingly played it ever since. Those who know of these things are always impressed with how it sounds, which is nothing less than the best Strat you ever heard. So, are ‘62 Strats worth the hype? In my case, anyway, a definite YES.
brother i just found you and i am so blown away by your style and your tone and just your GOD given talent.i am really mesmerized and i am a new sub/fan.and i will be studying you to see if i can even come close.thanks for what you do...
A worthy guitar for a great player. I'm very glad an iconic guitar of this quality is in the hands of a player rather than collecting dust in a collection. Guitars like this were made to be played and enjoyed. A superb restoration and what's more, what's not to like about a red vintage Stratocaster?
Well said man. There is so much bull shit around about vintage guitasrs. Are they cool? Hell yeah. Are they much better than most mid priced CNC production guitars with mass produced electronics? Not really.
Holy Crapola, that opener!! I'm just gonna go throw my guitar in the nearest dumpster. That was some wicked stuff dude! inspirational at the very least. Best tone, feel and notes I've heard for a while. Totally cool guitar, a piece of history. There's magic in there fer' sure!
Chris buddy still can't understand why you passed on the vintage green shower curtains !!! 🤣 .... great to see the '62 back restored and ready to go ! sounds great man !
You have the patience of a saint. I think I would have been in the parking lot stringing it up in a manic state like a crackhead. Id have to know right away! Lol
The original pickups have a percussive quality that the Highway One pickups don't have ....is it a treble frequency? Airy quality? No idea ...but Chris your playing sure brings out the best of what that guitar has to offer!
The guitar is fantastic but your playing is unreal. I'm just blown away by your phrasing and how you get Derek Trucks-like tones without paying slide. Thanks for sharing your journey and all of your playing with us.
I tend to agree. I think the weight & type of timber also have a bit to do with it as well. I have a 1972 Strat copy, Made in Taiwan by Tempo who I think were taken over by Ibanez. A DiMarzio Super Distortion in bridge position I installed in 1974 & recently installed DiMarzio Virtual Blues 2 in middle & neck. New all Fender wiring, switch, pots, copper sheet lined cavity, vintage machine heads, bridge saddles, bone nut & a Chinese made Fender spec neck which only needed slight modification to fit. This guitar is also made of a decent slab of timber, it weighs nearly 10lbs. It all goes into a Fender Champion 100 amp & scares the hell out of most Fenders!
Roger Russian , Until I put the 57-62 Vintage fender pick ups In my project, I didn’t think wood was more than 5% of it. I have an original Ibanez and it’s made out of basswood, the junior is a mahogany body, maple neck with Rosewood fretboard. I’m amazed at how much I can hear it, especially after I decked the bridge with a piece of steel. I used a super distortion for 30 years. Two years ago I switched to the JB. Love the JB but I missed my super distortion so much that I just bought a new F spaced for my old Ibanez Jem.
Like giving a great painter the perfect most comfortable tools for him to absorb into his mind in the most relaxed way, allowing creativity to be effortless.
I am fascinated by Chris’ playing. That right hand technique, that left hand technique. It’s familiar yet totally unique. One of the few guitar RU-vidrs whose actual hands on playing is in its own league. Thank you!
damn that dude can play the absolute hell out of a guitar. My fingers hurt just from watching him. He must be left handed. I hate the lack of treble. I hate it. I don't even see how keeps the note ringing with no treble at all. A friend of mine runs his strat like that and it makes no sense at all. Visit Dallas, Texas and learn about treble. With treble, it would be awesome.
This was a long wait, but well worth it. So nice to see and hear how it came out. A lot of other folks have expressed similarly, but that such a "holy grail" guitar is in the hands of as supremely capable player as yourself is truly just deserts.
Hey guys! First of all the licks are killer! Great tone as well! I need to know what rig are you playing in this clip? I have to have that sound! Sounds very Fender blackface but I can quite put my finger on the drive you are using. Help a brother out, please!
Acquire a little somethin', did we, muh-main-man Shane!? Hahahahaha - nah, just joking! Good onya, Brah! You don't overdo it when it comes to gear Acquisition compared to your American Utuber counterparts..so, I say enjoy the ones you get. Good for you 🤙
Worth the hype? Oh yeah! Chris great guitar especially in your hands! Bonamassa has said he loves two types of guitars the minty perfect for his collection and the "turds" which show hard use from playing and sound great and invariably end up being used by him on the road and studio.. I think you possess an outstanding exemplar.
Excellent video Chris. Absolutely love your playing - great technique and feel. I love Les Pauls but more of a Stratocaster guy myself. This video reminds me of my 30th birthday back in the early 90’s. My wife wanted to buy me a Fender Stratocaster and the choice came down to either an American Stratocaster Plus or a ‘62 re-issue with a dark rosewood finger board and tomato soup finish on the body (looked very similar to yours). It was a tough decision, but ended up going with the Plus (with the Lace Sensors). After watching this, I kinda wish I went with the ‘62 re-issue.
Wow! It sounds fantastic. It was a lot of work. From here, it was totally worth it. Hope it brings you great joy. You're playing is blazing. Thanks for sharing the whole process. Cheers!
Dai from from the Rhondda here Chris wanna buy a 1962 Shaftsbury amp in immaculate condition to go with your strat. Single ended, Mullard and brimar valves, vale rectifier, Goodmans alnico 10 inch speaker. Bought it off an old man who had it under his organ, it looks like new £300 baps and its yours. Big fan mate, all the best Dai from the Rhondda.
Great to see a video after all this time! I've been watching all the restoration videos, so happy to finally see it on the channel! Play it well Mr. Buck.
