Conference napalm::guitar

    
    
    Check out the note thread in this conference titled "strats and
    near-strats"  (somebody got the number?) for information (with a
    healthy North American bias) on Korean strats and strats manufactured
    in other countries.
    

    A dir/title=strat reveals:
    
    39  FDCV18::CUMMINGS     27-AUG-1986    11  Strat Replacement Necks
    67   PRISM::CLARK        20-OCT-1986    83  Strats and Near-strats
   126    CSSE::CLARK        12-DEC-1986    32  rewiring strat help?
   241  AYOV10::JMORRISON    13-MAY-1987    18  Fender '54 '57 and '62 strats
   257   GYPSY::TURNER       27-MAY-1987    10  Used Strat Question
   283   DEPOT::FLATHERS     23-JUN-1987    37  fender strat look-alike
   319  ECAVAX::VALASEK      11-AUG-1987     9  STRAT NECK REPLACEMENT HELP
   401  EAYV01::GFITZSIMMONS 24-NOV-1987     1  Strat SYS II Set Up
   485  MALLET::VPCS         28-JAN-1988    12  STRAT HAPPY - Can't wait till Saturday
   686  VIVIAN::BENNETT      22-JUN-1988     3  A Real Fender Strat' ?
   767  BOOKLT::WIEGLER      10-AUG-1988    13  American Strat made in Korea?
   803  RDGENG::KEDMUNDS     28-AUG-1988     8  What price a Strat?
   824   VOLKS::RYEN          6-SEP-1988    23  Strat - rewire for 5 pos switch? How?
   831  PARITY::SZABO         8-SEP-1988     7  '68 Strat Reissue- Comments?
   849  FSHQA2::DADDIECO     19-SEP-1988     0  SILVER ANNIVERSARY STRATOCASTER - $500.00
  1121  FULMER::MACKENZIE     3-FEB-1989    79  Fender Strat Plus - any thoughts?
  1169                       28-FEB-1989     3  stratocaster mod in GP
  1227   YUPPY::BENNETT      23-MAR-1989    11  My Strat' don't singggg the blues no more.
  1228   ASHBY::BEFUMO       23-MAR-1989    29  Dating A Strat?
  1403                       28-JUL-1989    17  Need Strat Stats....
  1408  RAVEN1::DANDREA       1-AUG-1989    19  More Strat info needed...
  1452   ASHBY::BEFUMO        1-SEP-1989     4  Strat Pickup Covers?
  1722   ASAHI::SCARY        19-MAR-1990    26  Stupid Strat Questions ...
  1738  GLIVET::SAGEAR       21-MAR-1990    17  Opinions Wanted:  Fender Strat vs. Gibson ES-335
  1745  NAVIER::STARR        23-MAR-1990    13  Eric Clapton Signature Model Strat
  1791   SALEM::ABATELLI     23-APR-1990    90  Fender `Custom Shop' Stratocasters
  1858  GIDDAY::KNIGHTP       7-JUN-1990    12  STRAT+ HELP!!!!
  1886  RAVEN1::JERRYWHITE   29-JUN-1990    17  Price for a Silver Anniversary Strat ...
  2011   SALEM::ABATELLI     25-OCT-1990    30  New STANDARD Strats for $350.00!!!!!
  2056   COMET::LAWYER       11-DEC-1990    21  12-STRING STRAT?
  2197  TRUCKS::LITTEN        9-MAY-1991    25  STRATOCASTER re-build
  2245  PELKEY::PELKEY       25-JUN-1991     2  speaking of prices...  how bout a new american standard strat ?
  2386  LUDWIG::KLO          26-NOV-1991    26  American STD Fender Strat????
  2444   BTOVT::BEST_G       19-FEB-1992     6  Strat "S.D."

    Note there's already a note (767) on Korean Strats.
    
    Dave

    RE: -1
    
    I suppose this somewhat supports the strat being a pretty popular axe?
    Either that, or we just love to talk about 'em.....
    
    |^)
    
    

    re: .-1
    
    A dir/title=gibson produces a list about as long.  *Are* there any
    other makes?  %^)
    
    Dave

     >> A dir/title=gibson produces a list about as long.
    
    not surprising.......
    
     >> *Are* there any other makes?  %^)
    
    can't think of any  |^P
    
    Stevo (Les Paul/Strat person)

    
    I think that the type of guitar you play shows a lot about your
    "personality".
    
    I consider myself a STRAT person.
    
    What about you?

    This morning I was a Strat person: my wife started the day with some
    Stevie Ray (whatta woman!).  On the way to work I played some Danny
    Gatton and I became a Tele person for a while.  Here in the office I
    listened to some Gary Moore and mutated into a Les Paul person.  At
    lunch some Van Halen made me - what kind of person is that?  On the way
    home tonight, some old Weather Report will make me a fretless Precision
    person, I just know it.  After dinner I just might slip into being a
    sax person or a (gasp!) piano person.
    
    When I play, I guess I'm a bass person.  When I listen, it's "So many 
    people, so little time."  Sigh.
    
    Dave  %^)

    re: .6 & .7
    
    My smart-ass reply of yesterday bothered me when I thought about it.  
    I wasn't trying to be abusive, just poking a little fun at the idea of
    being a <something> person.  In fact, when I was younger I sort of
    looked at the world of music (as well as a few other worlds) this way. 
    Musically I viewed myself as a bass player, and not just any old bass
    player but a Gibson bass player.  (In retrospect, why anyone would want
    a self image like that escapes me, but that's another story.)  I wasn't
    a Fender man like everyone else, and I wasn't a Rickenbacker man or
    anything else, I was a Gibson man.  Maybe I got it from my father - he
    was a Ford man.  I took some comfort in this identification; in my case
    I think it was because I didn't have enough self confidence in who I
    really was.
    
    But as I played more music (and matured in several ways) I had to admit
    that some of Fender (and Rick, etc.) bassists were playing some nice 
    stuff, and some of their axes sounded great, and my axe had some 
    limitations after all.  Hard to believe, but there it was if I was
    honest with myself.  I reluctantly came to the conclusion that a guitar
    is only a tool, and no tool can do it all.  So sometimes I was very
    happy with my Gibson-with-an-extra-pickup sound, and sometimes I wished
    I had a Fender or a Hofner (!) for this one song.  It was hard for me
    to admit I might have made a mistake when I bought my bass, but I
    finally had to - it doesn't have a sound I like much of the time.
    
    And now, as far as instruments go, I want them all.  Because what's 
    important is the music, the sound, and it doesn't matter what the
    instrument looks like.  Well, it does matter that you like your
    instrument, and looks are part of that, but ultimately it comes down to 
    what you play.  So rather than say I'm a Gibson man ('cuz in some ways
    I still am), I say "This tune needs a Fender bass sound," or "This tune 
    needs this other sound," and maybe I can get that sound from my axe/amp
    combination and maybe I need to change something sometimes.
    
    So I find it limiting to say I'm a <something> man because that might
    mean I will only play music that sounds good with that instrument; I'll
    miss playing a lot of other music.  And life's too short to limit
    yourself.
    
    Just my opinions, directed solely at myself.
    
    Dave

    
    
    Hey, in *this* file it's perfectly OK to say "I'm a Gibson man" or "I'm
    a Strat man" or "I'm a tube amp man."  That's because most everyone
    feels that way some time or other.
    
    And we also know that after every form feed there is an implied
    
    
    (at least for today.....)
    
    
    Kevin
     

    Hey Dave, funny thing... I grew up exactly the same way.  I played a
    Gibson bass, and I wouldn't even touch a Fender.  Everybody played
    those, I had to be different.  And I agree 100% with you're "so many
    people, so little time" comments; I didn't think they were smart-ass
    at all.  There's just too much good stuff out there.
    
    /rick

    You mean I'm not alone?  Well, thanks, Rick, I didn't think *anyone*
    but Jack Bruce ever played a Gibson bass.  At least, that's what a
    number of drummers tried to convince me of: "Get a real bass, man!"
    I bought the EB-0 because it played well, it was pretty, it wasn't a
    Fender, and I had no idea what a bass should sound like.  As soon as I
    figured out the last thing, I put a bridge pickup on it and my tone
    improved 100%.  I still have it and still like it; I just want a few
    other basses, too.  Is that BTS?
    
    Dave

    Gibson is the only bass I ever owned. (Not that I've never lusted in 
    my heart for a white fretless P-bass, or an Alembic...)
    
    The Gibson just *feels* right.
    
    Edd

    From 1969 until 1989 I was die hard Gibson person.  Played mostly SG's
    (after starting on a Melody maker) with a short stint on an ES335 and a
    Gold Top Les Paul.  Bought my first strat in 1989 (thanks to PatMan)
    and traded it for a Les Paul Deluxe several months later; I never gave
    the strat a chance and couldn't afford 2 axes at the time, so I fell
    back into my Gibson mode.  I kept the Les Paul but found out that there
    really is alot of music that *needs* to be played on a strat.  I saved
    my pennies for along time and bought a new Am Std this summer.  I
    wouldn't part with either axe, now, and the strat gets most of my
    playing time.  I really love the guitar!
    
    Steve (Les Paul is NOT for sale)

    
    
    I've been a "Hagstrom Swede" man for 18 years.  Last weekend a friend
    who owns a music store pointed at it and asked me where I got the
    dinosaur.  Kind of like someone pointing at my car and saying "Get a
    horse!"  
    
    Oh, well, my boat floats.
    
    Kevin
    

    My first (good) bass was a Gibson Thunderbird; I still have a warm
    place in my heart for it.

    
    
    
         I went back and read your note once you said you felt bad.
    Man, I was thinking you said someones tone sucked.  Aaaaarrrgh!
    
         Didn't see anything nasty 't all.   Buy everything, then you won't
    ever be able to offend.                      ----------
                             8^)
                          
    
         Rick.   
                  (Wish *I* could.)
    
    

    
    My first electric guitar was a Strat copy.  Then for a long time (8
    years) I was "Guild man".  Nobody played Guild electrics that I knew
    of (the guy from Heart had one, I think).  It's more of a Gibson sound.
    Now I still have the Guild, but I also have a Strat.  I was starting
    to think I was a Strat man.  Now I'm both.  Heck, today I've got two
    monster blisters from playing bass.....maybe I AM a Fender man...;-)
    
    I like different sounds/feels 'cause they make me play new things...
    
    
    guy

    
    gee, i'll play any bass over the one i own!  I got called last wed by
    a desperate bass player asking me to fill in for him thursday night
    on a musical "la cage aux folles".  I say he had to be desperate, since
    i've not read on bass since last march (and that was upright), i don't
    know the music and i need to borrow a bass.
    
    well, thurs night, there i am with a yamaha stick bass, a score with
    the usual impossible key changes musicals employ, a bass i've never
    played, and not a clue as to what any of the melody sounded like! A
    mild case of terror mind you...
    
    fortunately, the band was very pro, once the music started  i fell
    into it, and with the exception of a few missplaced b-flats (either
    the cello or the bass have the g & a strings in the wrong place
    depending on which one i'm playing :-) and not too many missed cue's, 
    i survived.
    
    funny though, i brought the bass back home with me, and while i was
    pretty comfortable with it during the show, i was not so comfortable
    later.  One aspect of having a stick neck, is that if i wasn't really
    paying too much attention, i'd play f# for f-naturals leaving room
    for the headstock that wasn't there!  Furthermore, it had one of those
    itsy-bitsy bodies which caused me to tighten the strap during the show
    (doesn't fit well in the lap).  One last problem was the pickups seemed
    to be placed right where i prefered using my playing finger(s) causing
    a lot of tapping!
    
    My take on all this is if i ever go out shopping for a new bass, i'm
    not paying attention to brand name.  I want not only good sounds, but
    comfort and ease - too damn distracting otherwise.  The same principals
    i'm gonna use when i buy a new electric git.  That immediately
    eliminates the Strat as i have never found those necks comfortable at
    all, and the sound is too specialized and not general enough for my
    purposes.  However, anything else that meets my criteria is game,
    regardless of the brand.
    
    bob

    My experience is that there's a whole different set of brand names
    for bass as opposed to guitar.  For example: Peavey - good bass, bad
    guitar;  Gibson - good guitar, bad bass, etc.  This is a little
    simplistic and someone will tell me how great Gibson basses are, but
    that's my take.
    
    Peter

   >>   For example: Peavey - good bass, bad
   >>   guitar;  Gibson - good guitar, bad bass, etc.
    
    
    disagree on Peavey guitars and Gibson basses.....
    
    Steve

    When I bought my Gibson bass almost 20 years ago, it felt RIGHT.
    
    Today it still does. If I was to play "air bass" and put my arms and
    hands in what was a comfortable position, THAT is exactly where the
    Gibson would be. Between weight, balance and scale length, I find it
    to feel more like an extension of *me*, as opposed to an instrument
    that I play.
    
    Edd

    Re: .21
    
    Quick, name one Gibson bass other than the T-Bird worth using for
    something other than a doorstop  8^)  8^)
    
    The old EB line is pretty dreadful by today's standards although as an
    old Cream/Mountain fan I gotta admit if you like gooey slabs of thick,
    distorted bass sounding like bumblebees in yer head, go for a Gibson...
    The best feature of those was that the necks were really small so they
    could be set up to play very fast, and they were lightweight.
     
    The follow-on models like the Ripper, Victory and LP models all missed
    the point, while they insisted on *not* doing a reissue of the T-Bird
    for years...I don't wanna even think about that stupid Flying V bass
    they made in the 80s...
    
    Even though you can get T-Birds today, at $1000 street price, it's
    hard to justify against what else is on the market unless you are
    channeling the spirit of Overend Watts  8^)  8^)
    
    So what else do they have for basses now?  A couple of Fender clones
    like everybody else and now a *new* series of LP basses...sheesh...
    
    						Barfbaghead

>    Quick, name one Gibson bass other than the T-Bird worth using for
>    something other than a doorstop  8^)  8^)
    
    Well, let's see, I seem to remember a reply somewhere...  Oh, yes:
    
    ================================================================================
Note 230.5                         Gibson Bass                            5 of 9
AQUA::ROST "But are they friendly spirits?"         114 lines  20-MAY-1987 10:45
                        -< Son of the Gibson Bass Note >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    [...]
    
    BTW although I always lusted over a cherry-red slotted head EB-3
    I have never owned a Gibson bass although my first bass was a Guild
    Madeira EB-3 knockoff.  Guess who was a Jack Bruce fan....
                                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Me too.  %^)
    
    Dave
    
    BTW, 230.5 is a great description of the EBs, Brian - thanks!

    Don't hold back, Brian, tell us what you really think of Gibson basses!
    
    Greg

    
    	... er, my Peavey Odyssey is the best guitar I've ever
    	played.  Including my '62 Cherry 335.  But, from some
    	of the older ones, I can see where you'd have that opinion.
    
    	re: Edd - come on?  The one I played at Ron's with the
    	plastic strings?  ;)

    
    well, Edd's description fits my need, although the bass probably
    doesn't - but then, that's the point |:['

    > ...with the plastic strings?
    
    Tom, Tom, Tom. Those weren't plastic, they were AGED (like a fine wine)
    black nylon tape wound Fenders. See, I like my bass to sound kinda
    "rubenesque" and Gibson, tape wounds, and a 2x15" Ampeg tube amp gives
    me FAT to die for.
    
    I ain't defending it, but it fits ME like a glove...
    
    Edd (whose strings are probably older than some noters!)

>    See, I like my bass to sound kinda "rubenesque"
                                         ^^^^^^^^^^

    You like it to sound like sauerkraut?  Or you like it to sound like
    Ruben Kincaid, the manager of the Partridge Family?
    
    Greg