Do 1970s Fender Guitars Suck? Lets Find Out.. 

If it's not a 3 bolt with a hardtail and a bullet, it's not a 70s strat to me. I love me some 70s, 3 bolt, hardtail, bullet strats.

They were good enough for Richie Blackmore, so if anyone hates theirs I'll have it. Lovin' the vibes, man.

everytime that i see the 70's large headstock i remember david gilmour playing echoes in pompeii

Truth is that it's now almost impossible to judge how good/bad any vintage models were - the good ones have survived, the mediocre ones have been modded until they became good, and the ones that were just firewood with dreams have been junked. If you really want to know if '70s guitars were any good, you're going need a time machine.

Played a 1972 Strat some time ago, killer guitar! 3T Sunburst, rosewood board and really awesome playwear. Sounded absolutley good, just like you'd expect an old strat to sound!

I would like to see/hear Chris Buck and Matthew jam!

Has 20,000 dollar strats and a bass less than 500 dollars. Man knows his priorities 😁

“Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it don’t work, you can hit them with it”.-Boris The Blade

I love the look of the big headstocks. To me they just look better that the small ones.

70's strats are hit or miss. sometimes the neck pockets can be wonky, but not always.

I'm an older player and I sure appreciate the memories. Keep up the great work.

The appeal of GEAR is it's measurable. What isn't measurable is the magic of great playing. Jimi Hendrix could have played the worst, cheapest, dirt cheap guitar and still sounded amazing, still sounded like Hendrix. The tone was in his hands. Still, it's fun to talk about gear. I love it and you do a great job of it. (Great playing too, by the way!)

I have a 73 Blonde tremolo strat which was re-fretted with medium size frets (the frets were removed sideways). It has original pickups and pots, it plays and sounds great. It has a 3 bolt neck, and I've never had a issue, and love the micro-tilt feature. I think after about 75 or so they began becoming much less desirable as well as sounding sharp and piercing. I own quite a few vintage Gibson and Fender guitars, and this 73 stands up very well.

Bought a 79 strat in 1979 loved it. Played it for many years. Traded it for a 65 Jazzmaster and traded the Jazzmaster for a 91 strat ultra. Still have the Ultra.

man i wish there was more of you playing in that video

In my opinion, determining whether a guitar sucks or not depends on who's hands it's in. 🤔👍

This is why the 70’s “Strats” from Japan are so popular.😉

Im starting to grow out my hair like yours now. You've inspired me to play guitar more and I've improved a TON in the last 5 months.

I have partscaster Strat with a 70s body. The poly finish is ridiculously thick and it weighs the same as a small moon.

would have been fun to see a comparison the same stuff played on a 50s or 60s strat. I would like to hear that blind sound test you mentioned

That who knows intro was awesome man

I do own a 79 strat, probably the best guitar I've ever had. Nice tone and very stable guitar. stays in tune forever... even using the tremolo.

My number 1 strat is a 72, amazing guitar. The 70’s starts are my favorite era of strats.

Dude PLEASE do a complete playthrough of your song “Mirrors”. I absolutely love it

I have owned several 70's strats. I had a 79' --- not the anniversary model though it was all black body/pickguard with a maple neck/fretboard it was gorgeous ! All the 70's strats I had came with the bullet truss rod. I see yours doesn't have the bullet truss rod or the s/n on the face of the headstock. All the 70's strats I owned were HEAVY... 9-10 lbs heavy ! all had big boat necks too. Which I liked. I didn't like the laquered fret boards though. I didn't like the 3-bolt neck either. It seemed to effect the tuning stability. The tuners kinda sucked too. The tone of those 70's strats were a little darker than my other strats too.

I am a bassist and have owned many 70's Fenders...as time has marched on, the 70's models have become more appreciated probably due to the fact they are becoming harder to find. They do have a vibe all their own.

I’m a big headstock fan with a 76 rosewood and 79 maple. Both are amazing in their own way, but the 79 weighs a TON 🤣😷

One of the best Strats I've ever played and own, is a mid 80's MIJ made in the Fujigen factory with the System 1 locking tremolo. Awesome Strat, Rosewood fingerboard, 3-tone sunburst all original, and it's showroom condition.

Did you apologize for playing guitar in the intro? Apology not accepted. I need more playing!

I bought a Jaguar, my first and only Fender, and when I got it I thought it made everything sound like Hendrix. That Fender tone man. I found it very inspiring.

Bro i swear everytime i get a notification from you i get so hyped

I have a 78 antigua stratocaster, I absolutely love it. I did put custom shop pickups in though. I don't see the problem with the 3 bolt neck.

Hardtail 70s strats are the way to go, cool vibe, sustain, and less weight!

Always a pleasure to hear you jam out man!

They don't suck at all. Only the snobs look down on them. That's fine it keeps the price on them lower. Excellent value and still vintage.

My '79 blond ash Strat sounded very harsh with little sustain. I refretted mine with larger frets, stripped the thick poly finish from neck and body with a heat gun and applied an oil finish, wired the bridge pickup to the tone pot, added a switch to combine 2 or 3 pickups in series (with capacitors wired to jumper wires to clear up the muddiness), swapped the cheap bridge for a steel one, made a maple plywood pickguard, and blocked the tremolo cavity with wood. I did keep the vintage tuners and pickups.....it was a great little project. Mine only weighs about 7.5 pounds.

My 72 is one of the best sounding and playing strats I've even encountered

You truly have a gift. Your playing is incredible. Just the perfect touch

I have a ’75 strat which is kind of my ultimate number one. Its already been through a lot of hours by the previous owner and has a lot of wear even on the back of the neck. It is the single most fantastic guitar that ive ever played even with the 3 bolt neck and the bullet trussrod (which never bothered me) even the grayback pus are fantastic sounding sparkly goodness. Its of course not competable with a 50s or early 60s fender qualitiy wise but the feel and sound dont lie ✌🏻

I too have a 79 hardtail, all original, absolutely love it! You’re right about the neck pickup, that’s where the magic is on these. I do like the middle position as well. Positions 2&4 aren’t as creamy as pre-cbs Strats. Mine is 8.4 lbs, not too hefty.

Who Knows by Band of Gypsys live at the Fillmore East (1970). Nice jam Matthew 🤘

Coming from a thrash metal background (played numerous gigs thru the mid 80's to early 90's), I have come to love and appreciate the Fender Stratocaster guitar. I recently bought a newer Fender Player Plus HSS. I really love it. I am used to playing BC Rich/Dean/upgraded clones guitars that mostly have humbuckers. But I have come to appreciate what the Fender Strat has to offer. If I could afford it, I would LOVE to buy a vintage Fender. But damn....5 digits for a guitar is a bit steep for me. I guess the newer Fenders will have to do. I stumbled upon your channel and have been binge watching all your vids since. LOVE the info you share on these vintage instruments. And love the guitar lessons. They're very helpful. Thanks for existing and keep up the great work.

Could have listened to that outro for hours !

My dad gave me his 76 Strat, it’s a secret weapon in the recording studio. A while back I took it along to a session as an option for the guitarist (I was playing bass). It absolutely blew her modern USA Strat out of the water and was used for the whole recording. I also took it to the studio of a friend who owns plenty of 50’s and 60’s fenders and Gibsons, and who was a snob about anything 70’s. I played it through his tremolux and the sound was unbeatable. Great guitars in my experience

Perfect song for the question in the title. ”Who Knows ?“ 😂 awesome vid like always

I have a 79 Strat, and I love it. Although it's been modded with Fralin Blues specials, and jumbo frets. The weight is tough to get used to, however the original trem stays in tune and the tone is killer with a swamp ash body.

I know Julijan Eric rocks a 70's Strat when he plays Hendrix and he's the best when it comes to playing Hendrix

I've had a '76 Strat since I started playing 30 years ago and I love it. I found that the original pickups were a bit thin & weak for my liking and didn't have great tone to my ears so I changed them to something more desirable and better suited for playing live (David Gilmour EMG Loaded Pickguard). The guitar is also a bit heavy compared to my other Strats. That said, it has a FANTASTIC neck and never NEVER goes out of tune and has an extremely resonate body and sounds like a dream with the upgraded pickups. I love the fat headstocks as well and mine has a rosewood fretboard which I personally prefer over maple (but ebony is the best in my opinion). I can not play it for months and pick it up and it's always in perfect tune. The most dependable guitar I've owned and I own and have owned many even more expensive ones and brands. I gigged it extensively for 25+ years and it could handle an entire gig without ever going out of tune which is a really important thing when playing live and I can't really say that for most guitars I've played over the years. I normally have to tune up during a gig at some point with other guitars but not my '76 Strat. It also fell over off a guitar stand for a really hard hit on a concrete floor when I was a teenager and didn't even leave a ding or knock it out of tune Thanks drummer for that! I love it and will never sell it because it's one of the best sounding and playing Strats I've played to date with the upgraded electronics and pickups. It never needs adjustments and has only bee.n setup when I wore the frets and nuts down from extensive playing. But like any other guitar brand, year or model there are gems and there are clunkers. I've played a handful of 70's Strats and a few were crap and a few felt good but mine honestly had the best feeling neck and resonated the best out of the handful I've personally played over the years. I didn't like the pickups on any of the 70's Strats I've personally played and they were all a bit heavy. Mine started out black but the original owner stripped the paint and its natural wood color now. I would have preferred black but I was gifted this guitar as a kid and couldn't really complain. Besides this guitar plays and sounds so good that it was destined to be a players guitar as opposed to a collectors guitar. It was really well built and I've played it so much over the years that I've had to have it re-fretted 2 times and new nuts put on twice. These days I play my Les Pauls or my HSS Strat more as I've grown to enjoy the versatility of humbuckers a bit more. I still play it at home semi regular though but I've retired it from playing live and just keep it at the house and studio to enjoy. Rock On!

No guitars actually suck. People are just brainwashed to think certain ways about specific decades or models of guitars. If you can get sound out of it, you can make it do whatever you need for the most part.

When I was in my teens i got to play a brown and black 79 Strat (25 years ago) with band practice. The father of the drummer lend me his, while It probably sounded awesome, the only thing I remembered was the massive weight.. funnily enough I was waiting for a comment about that.. you didn't disappoint.

I just picked up a 71 Strat, best guitar I've ever played.

I had a 1979 pearl white anniversary Strat. It was a great guitar. It was my first Fender. I had an LP Custom and an SG. I don't remember it being that heavy. I guess the 18 year old me didn't mind. Wish I still had it.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ed King on “Sweet Home Alabama” strat is a 1973, Yngwie Malmsteen 74 strat

Back in my tech days, I handled a dozen or so of the 70s era Strats, most of them were great instruments! Never really had a problem with them except that the weight was always a crapshoot. Some were Les Paul heavy and some were super light even in the same serial number/year range. I loved the tilt neck adjustment and bullet truss rod from a service standpoint, it cut service time substantially as I didn't have to take the pick guard off to do a neck adjustment. Fender uses that same type of micro-tilt adjustment on later models, although with a 4-bolt neck. RItchie Blackmore used the 3-bolt era Strats, and those were good enough for him. Ed King recorded Sweet Home Alabama on a 3-bolt Strat too if I am not mistaken!

Oh yeah, the "3-Bolt" Myth: If you keep the bolts snugged up once a year, AS YOU SHOULD DO WITH ANY BOLT-ON NECK, you will have no problems with Fender's 3-bolt design.

I own an early'77 strat with the bullet trussrod, 3 bolt neck & 3 way switch. As I'm both a gigging musician & a luthier, custom guitar builder & pickup winder I took care of a few things to make it reliable & gig worthy. Firstly I refretted it with 6105 fretwire & I tightened up the loose neck pocket. As mine is the first of the serial number removed from the neck plate & made into the headstock decal, it also wears a sticker on the underside of the pickguard. The pickups were microphonic & the 3 way not working for me, I wound a set of pickups & loaded a new pickguard with cts pots, 5 way switch and removed the original loaded pickguard with original pups, pots & switch all untouched along with the matching serial number sticker & installed my pickguard. This guitar is a beautiful sounding, playing & feeling guitar that pays for itself most weekends. Love it without the massive price tag of others.

Who cares, Matthew could make a squire sound like a dream anyway.

My first guitar purchase ever (back in 1978!) was a used 1973 hardtail, black with white pickguard. Rosewood fretboard. I still play out (until COVID) and record with it to this day, and it's on its 3rd set of frets now. All I knew about guitars back then was that Jimi played a strat, so I was going to have to have one. It cost me $300, which was all I had. I didn't have enough for the fancy ones with a whammy bar. (I used to hit a lot of rock shows back in the day and saw plenty of guitarists pushing on the back of their headstocks for vibrato, so I started doing that! The neck has held up even after almost 50 years of doing that...no big EVH-divebombs, though.) I love the big headstock, I love the bullet truss rod nut, I even love the 3-bolt neck plate...it never occurred to me that these were "bad" things. So, to the question of do 70's Strats suck...depends on who's playing...as Matthew clearly demonstrated here :) - oh, and by the way, it weighs less than 8 lbs.

I’m too early for the comments from the people who know what they’re talking about

My dad has a 71 left handed strat !! It’s absolutely gorgeous! Plays fantastic too

Looks like the guitar fender gifted Rory Gallagher when they felt sorry for him and his no1 strat...that one was white.

I own a ‘79 Silver Anniversary Strat. I saw one in a guitar magazine and wanted one ever since. Anyway, I found in 2005 that is in amazing condition. AND, it only weighs around 7.5lbs!!! I had it re-fretted with jumbos, and the bridge pickup had gone completely microphonic, so I changed it to a Lollar “Blackface” bridge pickup. It is a pretty nice instrument. Thanks for the great vids. Very informative, and plus, you are a hell of a player. I’m a fan. Keep the vids coming!

I think I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that the bulk of a players budget should go on a phenomenal amp rather than an awesome guitar....

I have a late 78, early 79 3-bolt Strat. I bought it last year and swaped the pickups out and added a Callaham trem. Absolutely awesome guitar. It's heavy but manageable and a joy to stand a play two sets with. Affordable vintage!

The CBS 70s big headstocks are the best ever designed. Such an amazing look.

i have a '73 strat that i bought used in about '79 for 200.00- ive always loved it

I believe that Dave Simpson is the greatest guitar player of all time.

The lead guitarist in a band I used to play in played one of those. He got amazing killer fat Strat tones. He loved it. So did we! Many thanks for posting.

70's strats are awesome idc what anyone says

Dude I knew before I watched this you'd make anything sound great. You have such a great understanding of tone and your equipment, you are a joy to watch and listen to. You have a beautiful vibrato. I agree fully about OD pedals sounding shit unless the amp is on 6-7 or more. I don't think I've seen anyone get as close as you do to SRV's tone. Of course you cop hate from the jealous but I trust you are smart and talented enough to not be upset by this (although I've seen plenty of super talented people who are mega insecure - self criticism and self doubt go hand in hand with high standards and performance). One thing I find curious is you manage to play fast and fluid blues lead without using your pinky finger! Well of course Django only had 2 fingers. Keep on rocking, stay sane and healthy friend - you have a long life ahead of you so look after yourself and have compassion for the haters.

Every time you catch me again with your stunning playing Good job man

I have a '74 hardtail Strat. Only owner. It's very light and stood me well playing in New Orleans in the 70s and 80s. Lots of guys loved both the sound and the weight. It has needed a fret job for decades. I also have a 74 Tele Deluxe that sounds amazing. I haven't played these guitars out in a long time. (I'm retired)

I had a sunburst Strat with a maple neck that I bought new in a small rural town in Minnesota1977 when I was 17. Not sure if it was a 77 model or earlier, I know it had been in the music store for a while because I'd been eyeing it and hoping to get it. It was the only one they had and the next nearest music store was probably 40 or 50 miles away. Paid $550 for it and I played it for about 10 years and loved it. I don't have much prospective on whether it was a good one because I didn't really get much chance to play other ones at that time. I really learned to play on that guitar so it holds a special place in my heart.

I had a 70s Strat reissue that I replaced all the electronics on. I put Lindy Fraillan hots in it, Emerson electronics pots/switch and it was a an amazing guitar at that point. It was stolen along with 40 other guitars last year while we were moving... it was one of the cheaper guitars that I’d customized to fit me and it really was a terrific playing and sounding guitar. I miss it, but I’ve moved on and have an entirely new arsenal of guitar weapons to enjoy. Thanks Matthew for another great and informative video! Best! ✌🏼

love the gold strat - great playing as always

I’ve got a 78’ black one. You have to have some luck but there are some good ones out there. I’ve bought mine from the original owner who had played the heck out of it forever. He had handwired pickups put in it. I only had to refret it. It sounds and plays amazing, great Hendrix vibes. I’m digging the tones you get out of this Matthew! You never cease to inspire. Because of you I started my own guitar instagram and I’m going to start a youtube channel too. Thanks for all the great content!! Cheers from The Netherlands ⚡️🙏🏻✌🏽

I have an original 70s Tele Deluxe and its easily one of the best sounding guitars I've ever played. The WRHB is a thing of beauty.

As usual Matt another very cool video and I think the star is that 70's Strat. Your riffs definitely reminded me of Hendrix. Actually I saw him in concert circa May 1969 at the Waikiki Shell at night. The moon was out and magic was in the air. "Play On" man....

Had a 74 strat that I bought new. I loved that guitar.

In 73 I bought a three bolt burst with a maple board. The fit & finish were flawless and it played beautifully. My bandmate had a 64 rosewood that wasn't as easy to play but the tonal quality difference between the two was profound.

I have a 1979 Hardtail Strat with a maple neck. I love it so much. It's considered heavy, 9.3 pounds, but that doesn't bug me. Now, it doesn't have the original pickups. But it's EXTREMELY playable and sounds WONDERFUL. It has the 3 bolt neckplate which I love, and also the bullet truss rod. I also replaced the tuners with 70's style F tuners which are locking, and same design (looks-wise) as the original. I replaced them because somebody put Ibanez tuners on it.

Spot on Matthew. I have 3 Seventies Strats, a ‘79, a ‘77 and a ‘74. The later ones suffer from all the things you mention, weak bridge pickup, dodgy shifting neck, 9-10lb weight, also shallow contours, and that Mazac bridge. The ‘74 is light, nicely contoured with grey bottom pickups and sounds and plays like a mid 60s model (I also have a ‘64). Hendrix definitely had better guitars available to him than those late seventies examples. I do admit I have a soft spot for my mocha ‘77 though 😁

My very first guitar is a 79 sunburst strat with a bullet truss rod and a 3 bolt neck. All original. That my dad and uncle got me. I really don't play it much anymore because it's not as easy to play as other strars I've picked up. Also, it has a few quality issues. The neck joint is loose and the bridge isn't completely centered, but it's still a beautiful strat and I will never get rid of it. Thanx for all the amazing videos man!!!

I had a 70s strat and the frets were dead in no time. The pick guard cracked all over and one of the pickups broke. But man did it have mojo to me and the neck felt just right

I'm lucky enough to own a '77 Tele Custom and it's amazing! The versatility that the wide-range Humbucker give the guitar is just immense and the middle position is a thing of beauty. Nothing but good things to say about a 70s Fender!

Thank you for showing us this beautiful strat I’m going to look at one on reverb now

You hit on the big thing with 70s Fenders, Matthew. I bought a nice '76 Telecaster Deluxe about 10 years ago. It was a dream guitar for me, but it was so heavy I just never wanted to pick it up, so, I sold it off. I do miss those wide-range humbuckers though. They'd take your friggin head off!

tone is in the hands of the guitarist. and man, that was some seriously nice tone there. i love strat tone, but your touch on a strat just makes them sing so nice

Also enjoyed the SRV meets Hendrix outro. Thanks again for sharing 🎸🤠

My friend that taught me the guitar back in the 80s still has his one of these. I think it’s the reason I always wanted a Strat witha 70s headstock as this was my first experience of a real Fender Strat. I did achieve this last year by picking up a MIM 70s reissue at the UK Guitar Show. I ended up getting some Radioshop ID63GTs made and installed as the pups that came with it where a little thin as you mentioned, with the bridge.

I’ve always loved the look of the 70’s strats. I’ve never owned one though. that one does sound great!

I've been wondering why there are so many more 70s era Strats available on Reverb than any other decade. Solid vid, thanks dude.

That looks GORGEOUS! You are as good as SRV himself! Your tone as well! 🤘🎸😝

I had this same guitar for about 25 years. Bought it when I was 15. It was great because it was my first guitar, but it definitely had issues.Over time I found the frets to be very flat and low. I eventually switched out the original neck for a rosewood with large frets. The tremolo broke off deep in the bridge and we never could bore it out. I think I finally replaced the whole bridge. But the main thing was the electronics. The pots were never very sensitive or responsive, especially volume, which was either on or off. There was no middle. I still loved it though. I even had some signatures on it from the ones I'd met, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, and BB King. Unfortunately, it was stolen. No idea where it is now.

I had a 74 strat that was awesome.

I own a 74 strat. When I was doing my research before stepping into the shop I saw many people say 70's strat are hit or miss. So I went in and tried it and it was a big hit for me. I compared it to a 1999 voodoo jimi Hendrix approved strat, and a 79. Neither of those were any close to that 74. It's to this day the best strat I played. Granted I didn't play many of them. It's very very light, I haven't weighed it but it was the lightest strat the store had. The only reason why it was reachable for a broke man like me was that it's a refin and the neck pickup was rewound. If you like the look of the strats from this era and have the opportunity to get one I say try it out before buying and I hope you'll be as lucky as I was that day :)

I have two 25th anniversary Strats. A silver and much rarer white one. The first few hundred were sprayed in white using a paint formula borrowed from the Huffy bicycle company. The paint cracked and peeled causing Fender to switch to silver as the primary color.

My first 'proper' guitar (ie, not a copy) was a 79 USA Strat, bought new from Fender Soundhouse in London. What a lemon - the neck slopped about in the pocket, but even at the end of its 'travel' the top e was nearly falling off the edge of the fretboard anywhere above the 12th fret. The bridge pup sounded shrill and weedy. I was so overcome by 'real Strat', 'actual Fender' that I failed to notice these faults before parting with my £300-plus - a fair bit of wedge in 1979! So to answer your question, some of them did - and I bought one!

I'm on my third '70s Strat that I picked up in '98. it is on the heavy side but not as heavy as others that I've owned or played. The first thing that needed attention were the pickups. I went with a set of Fender Texas Specials and that improved the tone. Next up was the pot metal saddles and tremolo block. I upgraded to steel saddles and a Guitar Fetish block. It brightened it up quite a bit. I'm happy with it now as a player.

Great job on this, nice playing and spot on from an accuracy perspective. My first Strat was a three bolt ‘79 in candy apple red that weighed over 11 lbs. The neck would shift in the sloppy neck pocket, so I converted it to a 4 bolt. Back in my early 20’s, I really didn’t mind the weight but by the the time I hit 30, I started to gravitate to lighter Strats.