WhY nO sTrAt?! - Here's WHY I Don't Like Stratocasters 

Are you a Stratocaster fan or they’re not really your thing? 🤔

Totally agree with you, somehow i feel like a choir boy when holding a Strat and that’s not me at all ! 😄 I do have a Fender Player series and it’s really good to have when suddenly inspired to learn a song that asks for a Strat. Nice honest and straight forward video, rock on! 😊🎸

Great rationale. No one should be forced to have a certain type of guitar. I do love Strats. I have 8. Always been more of a Fender player. Rock on!

So glad I found your video! I feel the same way, I was wondering if I was the only one.

I find a lot to love in a vintage style Stratocaster, but I can see how it would not be your thing. My guitar heroes when I started playing were Angus Young, Randy Rhoades, and Slash, all big Gibson humbucker players. Yet I was immediately drawn to the Stratocaster's lines and feel.

I'm a huge fan of Strats due to my taste in music, Dire straits, Pink floyd, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix just to name a few. I guess it's all down to personal taste and preference. I play all guitars from single coils, P90's, Filtertrons and Humbuckers.

Strats were my favourite guitars until I started playing Jaguars, which are even more playable and look cooler too. That said, I have to agree with you, I don't see the point in owning a guitar you just don't connect with!

Try the EVH Frankie! It's ruined me on all my other guitars. The 12"-16" compound neck feels awesome, EVH Wolfgang pick-up absolutely kills, Floyd Rose stays in tune no matter what, D-Tuna comes in handy for more songs. Very long sustain! The volume knob is out of the way and even though no tone pot I use the round end of pick and/or strum closer to 12th fret or lower volume knob or adjust amp settings to get a bassy tone. It's lightweight and nitro finished. Zzounds currently has the EVH Frankie for $1699.99. It's like driving a sports car! It's just shaped like a Strat! I'm in tone heaven with just the EVH Frankie, a $50 Nux Plexi Crunch pedal and practice amp! The EVH Striped series guitars are also excellent and lower priced than the Frankie. I also have the white and black striped EVH guitar. It's a little brighter than the Frankie maybe due to straight pick-up placement vs. slightly slanted pick-up placement on the Frankie. Cheers!

I respect your opinion on the strat. I have 2 different American strats. My main strat is a 97' candy apple red with white pickguard. I put locking tuners on it and added Bill Lawrence noiseless pickups. The other is a 50th anniversary with the S1 switching system. I find both very versatile for lead and rhythm playing. I always have a strat with me at every gig. I play mostly covers. I also take my H150 Heritage and a 24 fret super strat equipped with a full floating trem with me.

No criticism here - you like the guitars that you like. When I was a teenager I always wanted a Les Paul because of Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. However, when I finally had enough money to buy an electric, I tried an LP and it didn't do for me. The same went for a Tele. Then I tried a Strat and I realized I had found my instrument - it just spoke to me and I could make sounds that I liked. It was a very personal thing. Strats have a very distinct sound and very specific ergonomics (volume and tone controls that get in the way of some), so I understand why some people do not like them. It's all good.

I love hearing many people playing strats! I have owned 3 of them including an American performer but “I can’t fall in love”

I play every style of guitar I like them all, but one thing is each guitar has its own design language as you said so when you’re playing a classic Strat choke up on your pick a little bit if you use one, which may be different from your current play style, but I like the challenge of adjusting how I approach each instrument and the physical nuances I must change to master that instrument. Note to any beginners out there I would absolutely stick with one guitar to learn on before you start having to learn new muscle memory and awareness on a different type of guitar

Yngwie Malmsteen got me into strats. A strat, Marshall tube amp, overdrive pedal, and a noise suppressor pedal.

Just getting to the middle of your video and I agree a lot with "looks are very important". To me, I really love Stratocaster bodies, but I don't like the single coil sound, mainly because of my music preferences. As you, my main influences are not the classic strat players. I was fortunate to have bought one of the Player Series limited editions in blue burst, that is a great looking guitar. Looks and comfort are very important to me, and tbh... your point on the knobs and middle pickup is a gripe I have with the 3 pickup design as well 🤣 (I may change my strat to a HH configuration later on).

To be honest I’m the same, I can get down with telecasters. But every time it comes to getting a new guitar, it never ends up in a strat getting purchased. Tone wise I want something a bit thicker and I don’t really like the sound of a typical strat sound. Not to play with at least, it’s too common.

I agree. I still can't understand why so many prefer a strat. They rarely come with jumbo frets. I like jumbo frets for bending! Or at least medium jumbo. Thinner necks are nicer as well. My opinion.

Honest (and possibly courageous) opinion. The fact is, guitar is very personal and subjective. So you can't be wrong. The number one rule of guitar is "If it feels right, and sounds right (for you), then it is right (for you)". Anyone who argues with you is ... not you. So their opinion doesn't matter. Having said that, if you have any strats you want to get rid of .... let me know!

I have tried to like strats. I have owned a few and currently have an American pro ii that is pretty much on the chopping block. That is how I stumbled upon this video. I mostly have gibsons and they just feel and sound right to me. I like how other players sound with them but I just can't seem to unlock their magic... and thats okay!

Guitar player of 45 years and I've never found a Strat I connected with, and I've owned dozens of them. I do like they way they sound, especially for raw blues tone and you can't get that position 2 and 4 sound out of anything else but I've never had a Strat that didn't feel "rigid" and unforgiving when you play it. Teles on the other hand...

I feel the same as you. I've really tried to like the strat, it was the first guitar I ever used. But like you said, everyone and his granma plays a strat so it's not really inspiring instrument. The controls gets in the way all the time, and the only way I like a strat is to make it "not a strat" by removing all controls, hardtail it, 1 knob and 1 humbucker. It's just isn't really a strat at that point haha. Might as well pick an instrument which essence fits my needs from the start instead of completely butchering it. Love the video!

BuT WhY N0 StRaT!? Nah, I totally get you and even though I love a Strat, I think you make some fair points. At the end of the day, it's always about what feels good to play and inspires you. I'm kind of the opposite of you. I love Strats and Jags, and I do own a Gibson Les Paul Jr, but I've personally never been a big fan of Les Pauls. I have fun on my Jr, but I play it a lot less than my Strat, and I've never been tempted to blow a paycheck on a Les Paul like I often am with Strats and Jags. Also, kind of like how you said Strats are really common, I feel a lot of people play Les Paul style guitars, so they never really jump out to me (but for some reason Strats do, it makes no sense!). I totally respect Les Pauls, but they just don't do it for me for some reason. I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets drawn to guitars by how they look as much as how they play. I always felt superficial doing that, but some guitars just jump out at me through their looks alone.

I agree with you. I have two "strats", one is a cheap one so I can re-visit the style of guitar (which proves your/my point, especially about the bridge pickup), and one is a "super-strat" with a humbucker in the bridge position. I find this one gives me enough "strat-ness" but with a preferable bridge PU sound (to me). I do like coil-split humbuckers, and I like P90s. My current favourite guitar is a Les Paul Custom, and next is an SG Special (P90s). Each to his/her own preference though. Interesting video, thanks!

I had one Stratocaster that i bought new in 1982. I wish i still had it. It did not have a vibrato,so i had none of the tuning issues some experience. The playability was perfect. I sold it( i put the $$ towards a Les Paul) because i was using a solid state amp and couldn’t get quite the sound i wanted. It was also slightly too heavy( a very common problem with guitars of that era). I do think i could do more with it today. The irony is that the LP i got weighs over 12 lbs( not an exaggeration).

Interesting video, and im definitely agreeing with you. I have many guitars including a strat but I don’t find it that versatile. I’m a telecaster fanboy. I moded my strat so it has tone control on the bridge, and I also added a push push pot so I can get the neck + bridge pickups or all three at once. I still barely play it. I keep it tuned in Eb for just a few songs that I’m playing live. Even though I’m not using it that much, it always delivers if I need a typical strat tone and that’s why I won’t sell it, just like you said, you can’t make anything sound like a strat. I must admit, the bridge pickup is the biggest turnoff for me. It just doesn’t compare to the telecaster. Speaking of harsh bridge pickups, how do you get along with the jaguar? Mine is so trebly that it drives me crazy. Using the tone knob helps but not entirely. The pickups just sound thin.

I'm old enough to remember when Stratocasters were considered to be thin-sounding surf guitars (The Beach Boys and such played them) - before the popularity of Jimi Hendrix. It took some convincing for me to hear Stratocasters as "hip" or "heavy" guitars. In the early-to-mid-sixties, the thing was humbucking pickups and hollowbodied guitars. Jerry Garcia played a Guild Starfire, Jerry Miller played a Gibson L-5, and Jorma Kaukonen played an ES-335. The Beatles played Gretsches, Rickenbackers, and Epiphone Casinos. The Rolling Stones were seen with solidbodies, but they were Les Pauls and Firebirds and Vox's- Not Fenders. Mike Bloomfield and Jeff Beck woke some people up with their Telecasters, though, and then Jimi Hendrix came along and showed everybody what could be done on a Stratocaster! Since then, however, Stratocasters and their clones have become so ubiquitous that they're practically anonymous-synonymous with the concept of "electric guitar" to most people who don't play guitars. I can see the point in not wanting to play Stratocasters by now. They're so ordinary.

I like Strats simply because I find them comfortable to play, and with my limited "intermediate" guitar skills I need all the help I can get. It slightly annoys me because, like you, I do actually prefer the looks of certain other guitars.

As a Clapton fan (and strat player) I agree with your assessments. All of my strats I had modified with the Eric Clapton midboost kit (25dB midboost). I find passive strats to be too ice picky, too anemic sounding, or too crystalline sounding. Until I discovered the EC strat and the EC midboost kit, I found them unusable. With that being said I am moving away from strat style guitars. I’m moving more towards PRS instead. However, if you want a strat style guitar that is superior to the Fender model, try a PRS Silver Sky. Honestly, if they had Silver Skies when I started playing, it would have saved me a lot of money building and modifying strats to get a better sound. Ultimately, I’ll always be a double humbucker guitar player at heart.

Strats aren't my thing at all but my first guitar was a Crate electra that is like a stratocaster replica but is modified with Seymour Duncan humbukers in the bridge and im planning to modified even more

The strat sound can be had with any guitar with a 25.5" scale and single coils in the neck and middle. Positions 2, 4, and 5 are what everybody loves. I've never found that single coil in the bridge very useful and I do not like the tremolo bridge on them. I have a strat with Floyd and Humbucker in the bridge. It's like 2 guitars in one. Strat up front, Eddie Van Halen in the back.

Strats are cool and iconic and all that, but yeah, there are design flaws. That volume being so close to the strings sucks. I don't currently have a strat, just like super strats with humbuckers. Coil splitting a humbucker is good enough for me.

My favorite strat guitar I had had two humbuckers which makes it not a strat ... I agree , maybe the Stratocaster isn't as versatile of a guitar that everyone claims it to be.

I loved Gibson guitars for the first good few years of my playing. More recently I've come to find that Fender guitars, specifically Strats suit me really well, just picked up a Japanese 67 reissue and loving it. Totally respect your opinion, but I do still think they're super versatile lol

I very rarely comment on videos. This is literally the 2nd time I've commented on any video. But I felt I had to, because I 100% agree with everything you said as I also started with a Strat as my first guitar because I bought it 2nd hand for cheap and was desperate for an electric guitar. But I never found my sound on that guitar and like you said, I also found it ergonomically wrong and always hit the volume knob and middle pick-up. I do like super strats though, but I will never buy another strat. Thank you, I've always felt weird because of this. Especially when talking to strat players, but now I know I'm not alone❤

I went through a Fender phrase. I own a Start, two Teles, and a Jaguar. The Strat has its purpose. And yes, it can definitely pull off rock sounds. But when it comes down to it, Telecasters are better. They are designed for the gigging musicians. And as a front man, they make more sense for me. Less distractions and oddly more diverse in tone. Overall, I prefer Gibsons now. However, I always enjoy playing my Fenders. Play what works for you!

I don't believe I have ever seen a Stratocaster with a broken headstock . I keep my Les Paul in its case. My most versatile guitar is my 33 year old Strat Plus with Lace Sensor Hot Golds.

I've got a Mexican Fender Strat and I like it but they're not everyone's preference. My favourite guitar is a Godin that has a Gibson scale length but a bolt on neck and is basically a SSH Strat.

I like Starts for certain sounds, but I tend to go for humbucker or P90 equipped guitars. What is the guitar rack that you use for your Gibson's? I'm looking for something that I can trust will not damage Gibson's nitro finish.

Besides the looks part, I agree a hundret percent and even with the looks, I get where you are coming from, some Strat designs are a bit over done (3 tone sunburst or black,for example) but there is something that set's a nice strat apart from the fakes, but thats just taste. (The problem is in my opinion not the fender strat, but stuff like the silversky and other rip offs, tehre are just to many) But I totally agree, that it is quiet a niche instrument, although the niche is pretty big. I love my start and wouldn't give it away for my life, but the same can be said about all but one of my guitars and when I'm not playing bluesy strat music over a tube amp, I choose something else. Also the tremolo (vibrato) is a pain in the arse, it's the best thing in the world, if it works properly, but getting it there can be a pain. Not every guitar is made for everyone, I myself could more or less copy your arguments but change the word Start for SG, it has all the same problems and some others that you mentioned, at least from my point of view, I want to like it, because it's a somewhat cool guitar, but it just doesn't work with me. But most importantly I really don't get, why people are that involved in what guitars other people own... Seriously people, use your energy for practicing guitar or something... I enjoeyed your video and as always, that Jaguar is bloody amazing :D

100% I'm in the same boat.

I definitely agree with you on the idea that a "strat sounds like a strat". Those pickups are so distinct that it doesn't really matter what you play its still gonna sound like a Strat. I think the versatility argument doesn't really hold up. Sure, on paper it is versatile but it's not really a blank slate like people would have you believe. I really like my strat so I'm not a strat hater or anything but it's definitely not super versatile in its classic configuration.

This is a great video, and most of all a very good subject of a video, all guitar is not for all people, even though i have some really cool strats on my channel i must say that i´ve always been a Gibson Les Paul guy and thats why i have several of those in my guitar collection, but i do have some strats as well, but just not any strats, really hardrock strats with massive Humbucker pickups and hardtail bridge and so on. Most of the time i can not identify my self with a strat, when i dream of a guitar its always a Gibson Les Paul, i have some Explorers to that is cool but.. nothing is like a Gibson Les Paul.. keep up the good job with making videos.. :D

I get you, i'm exactly the same with les pauls

No guitar speaks to every player... but players change over the years. I think the Strat is a revelation in every way- looks, design tone. I couldn't get excited about anything else for 30 years! I found the les paul awkward and heavy, the ES too big and teles too ugly and thin sounding. I own, play and love all of them now for different reasons, but the Strat is still home.

I've owned many guitars over the years, maybe around 40 or so. I still have a bunch of them. Not a single one was or is a Strat. I have SG's, V's, Firebirds and a single LP and single Tele. I have nothing against Strats. I grew up listening to a bunch of Strat players. Strats just never worked for the sound I wanted and the look never did much for me.

I thought I was a tele guy, but my gas made me buy a Cort select g280 in amber. Pretty cool specs, affordable, solid, with a lovely neck and a gorgeous look. I love rock, country, funk, Neoclasic and that neo soul stuff. And I love struming patterns. A lot. Tomo Fujita's fan 😁🤘🏻. I enjoy It a lot, it made me progress and it's my to go geet, but somehow I realize I am still a tele guy 🤷🏼‍♂️

I vastly prefer G&L Legacy USA’s to Strats. Essentially they are Leo Fender’s finalized design for the instrument. 2-point tremolo, quieter pickups, slightly thicker necks, and you can also pick one up for much less than a Fender in most cases.

I like a guitar to have its innate sound, which gives it identity and character. The problem with Stratocasters is that you have 3 pickups and a 5-position switch. This gives a lot of tonal variations and takes away the guitar's identity. It's even worse when a humbucker and/or push-pulls are fitted, which makes it completely anonymous. If only they'd make a Strat with two pickups and a 3-position switch. Oh, they do! The Telecaster. Far better. Easier to play, with real character and a fantastic sound.

I completely agree. I'm not a huge Strat fan. I am more a semi hollow or hollow body guitar fan myself. I think everybody and their brother / sister has a strat.

I can't play a Strat because the top volume knob drives me nuts - my pinky hits it....I don't curl my fingers toward the palm, and never will. And after 30 years of playing, I'm not going to start trying just to suit one guitar. If you've decided that Strats are not for you, then stick with that idea. Don't try to convince yourself to buy a guitar that you know down the road you're just going to get rid of - that's a foolish waste of time and money. I recently got an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro, and it has coil taps in it, so I can have single coils if I want, and I don't feel the need for any more guitars since I bought it. Good luck to you, and stick with your gut...not someone else's!!

Dobry strat nie jest zły. Szczerze to nie przepadałem za brzmienie czy wyglądem strata, także nie dziwi mnie wcale czemu nie masz. Nie lubisz, nie chcesz, nie potrzebujesz i tyle. W 100% się zgadzam. Ale w moin życiu chociaz miałem podobnie przyszedł dzień, że po prostu... No jest inny w brzmienu i jest wiele utworów które na nim zostały skomponowane. Plusem jest jeszcze jedna rzecz. Tudzież dwie. Musiałem mieć gitarę, która wydawała mi się nie leżeć. A po wtóre mieć zaokrągloną podstrunnicę, aby po prostu ćwiczyć palce. Co innego grać na klasyku, na którym zaczynałem, na Ibanezie czy LP, które też mam, a co innego na 9,5 cala. Pozdrawiam. PS. W pełni się zgadzam z głośnością przy mostku oraz środkowym przetwornikiem. Cóż. Rzecz która wymusza na człowieku wyrobienie sobie odpowiednich nawyków podczas obcowania z tym typem gitary. PS.S To krakowskie zaciąganie to nawet jest w twoim angielskim. Hahaha. Odpał.

I think it's weird that some people insist that all guitar players need a Strat in their collection! Why?! 😂 I'm also not a fan of Strats, I find them a bit boring - tonally and visually. And I love Fenders, I own a Tele and a Jazzmaster, but the Strat just doesn't do it for me.

When i was a teen...I was totally in to Jimmy Page...So The Les Paul it was...then in my 20's, I discovered Jos Satriani...So Ibanez JS it was...Then i arrived in my 40's...going on the clean side of things..being classy,sophisticated and having left Rock and Metal behind...So now it is ES175 and Strat (but with a hot bridge pickup a la Gilmour for sure)...

Strats are noisy , thin sounding, volume knob gets in the way, and the middle pickup interferes with picking. Other than that, strats are pretty cool😃

Play what you love. I wouldn't trade my Les Paul's for a fender, my hero's played Gibson's and that's the tone that inspires me.

I don't really like Stratocaster but I do like the Telecaster, I prefer ES 335s

I totally agree.

I can't stand playing a Strat. I have heard others make them sound very good, but when I play one it just sounds awful. They don't suit my play style. Now a Telecaster I can appreciate and have one for the occasional Fendery single coil sound if I feel the need. I prefer 24.75 scale and humbuckers most of the time. I do not care for Les Pauls either. I like SG, Explorers, Super Strats.

I have owned a Mex Strat for 21 years (I'm 32). It's a horrible guitar that I genuinely think stunted my growth as a musician. Always having to retune, the cramped fretboard the one-trick sound, the humming. They're terrible unless you just play Clapton and Jimi.

I really dislike strat necks To narrow for my big hands. and it seems to take forever to really dial a tone in that works in all positions. I have a strat that sits because it is just uninspiring. I have a Carvin with HSS and it plays amazing. Great neck and usable tones in every position. Also My schecters and prs are top notch compared to any Strat. If I did every pick up a Strat style SSS guitar it will not be a fender. Too expensive for the quality and finish and name.

I got a frankenstein tele with a strat maple neck. But seriously I'm not a strat fan, cos everyone play that and I appreciate the tone of the strat and his variaty but the bridge pickup is in most cases really rubbish soundwise. On custom shop one I've played they can be good no joke but it doesn't fit to my personality or my soundstyle. I do more live a jaguar or a tele for the twang sound which can be easily heard for my hard of hearing ears :)

As A KC enthusiast I have one. But not only coz of that, these are easiest to play. Great for pedals and mods, mine a bullet squier

Americans would say TELECASTER

Oh I agree 100%. Strats are just badly designed and heavily overpriced (the Fender branded ones) if you ask me, but they were important at the time when they were new. It's like driving a car from the 1930ies or 40ies. They were not those weird old cars anymore but they still have so many problems in their design. There are so many better guitars on the market today. If you're looking for something new and unique I can fully recommend the Yamaha Revstar (with p90s). They have amazing price/performance ratio. Are super comfortable and sound and play great. Also they have a unique look and sound distinctly different.

I much prefer a Telicaster over a Strat. Strats just seem a bit weak.

A Stratocaster is a blank canvas for you to paint your musical color on, it’s voice will be yours.

Dumb to think someone should buy anything other than what they want..... BUT, its also incorrect to say a Strat will _only_ sound like a strat. Pickup selection can change its tonal qualities greatly. And also, the way the tremolo design influences the resonance is true, but its entirely subjective, on whether its a "bad way". But again, you should not have to justify not wanting something.

Looks don't matter to me at all I play in the dark , with my eyes shut . I also hate strats . Had a 62 sg that was stolen when was 16 now I play les paul and an esp F 400

Have you ever tired a Stratocaster with a humbucker or two?

They're a thing by themselves. You either like it or you don't.

I find fender to be highly overrated. Honestly, if Hendrix and SRV hadn't played them i think theyd be an obscure model just like the mustang. 100% Gibson man myself. Love the acoustic like scale length, looks, sound, and pretty much everything about them. Strats sound like strats to me, even with a humbucker. Theres just someting that "pops" and "quacks" about a strat in a very nasal and unappealing way to me. I think it has to do with the tighter string tension do to the extended scale length. Also, they all feel cheap and like bolted together childrens toys to me....not a real high quality instrument. Absolutely baffles me how much people are willing to spend on custom shop fenders, they're just such simple basic guitars.

Gibsons are cool unless you are recording then i recommend an esp ltd or a schecter😃

I dont mind variety😄

I agree with everything you said. I never really liked the look of them, and after trying some, I wasnt impressed. For some reason, I decided I needed one. I tried as many as I could and, and went with a Fender American pro 2. Some days it feels okay, but it's a boring guitar overall. The worst part is the design of it, though. The high frets, switches and knobs, and middle pickup in the way just take away the ability to play it freely.

so you don’t want a strat. i get it, close to the giant plastic (but good for shredding like evh) and yeah the single coils don’t tickle your funny places. YOU NEED A SUPER STRAT!!!!!! lol

Mam trzy stratocastery: 1. Cort stratocaster 2. Kiedo Stratocaster (replika gitary Jana Borysewicza z lat osiemdziesiątych) 3. Maya stratocaster - dzieło słynnej firmy Matsumoku 🙂

Strats are Overrated as hell and truly can hardly stand them anymore just give me my beautiful SG type of Guitar of Honorable Love all my Doom /Black Metal heart truly needs 🤘

Im a simple man.strat neck pu,pbass neck pu.and done 😅

Well said. You can't make a strat sound like other guitars and vice versa. It is unique. I'm with ya. There's no bad pierogi. I just like mine a certain way...with humbuckers🤭

I don't like straps at all. I do that I would like to see guitar players that play in more power to him but they're used to thin and tinky sounding for my needs I want something more low-end and balls.

Strats and Teles suck.