Why is the Stratocaster the best guitar ever?|
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2019
- #TGU19 feat. Ron Thorn & Phil McKnight. Guillaume gets together with Phil McKnight and principal Fender Custom shop masterbuilder Ron Thorn to discuss their love of the strat. Construction, feel, sound... What makes the Fender Stratocaster the most iconic and most copied guitar ever!?
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Phillip Saved this interview lol
Great job guys... Totally enjoyed the conversation. Thank you Guillaume of Thomann and thanks Phil McKnight and Ron Thorn. Wish I could have grabbed a beer and sat down with you... oh yeah, I did.
When you write everything down but forget your notes 😂😋😎
pascal bxl Yep on point 😂😂😂
I especially liked how they demonstrated the sounds of these guitars
feeling so proud!! i have a strat!! 😭💗
There is a lefthanded guitar on the wall, what a rare beast :)
Someday if were lucky, everyone will be right handed
Man I want that guitar... SMOOTH. Love Rob Thorn interviews. So open and down to earth. No pretense, how refreshing!! Great video!
Glad you enjoyed !! Meeting Ron was a very humbling experience, he is one of the most knowledgeable builders out there and so generous with it! // Guillaume
The Stratocaster is one of those legendary designs that not only got so much right, it jumped so far ahead of it's time, that it is STILL modern and relevant.
You pick up a good Strat and notice it's comfortable... kinda molds into you. You play it realize it plays really easy (if set up well), balanced, easy upper fret access, the whammy bar is so intuitive you can find yourself using it without realizing... Your playing might alter a little.... Then the SOUND. There is a reason Strats are on so many legendary recordings. Not just a sound, but several, all of them great. Great clean, great distorted. Great straight into an amp, great playing with effects.
It's not good at one thing, or a few things, the Strat is a stunning design for the ages because it is good at EVERYTHING. It's the 6 string swiss army knife. Not sure what to bring? Bring a Strat. 'When in doubt, Strat' is actually not bad advice. I love Teles, SGs, Les Pauls... I had a Korina V I'd kill to get back (just an Epi, but loved it, stolen years ago).
But stranded on a desert island or selected for a mission to Mars... Only one electric allowed...
Gotta be a Strat. Fat Strat (HSS) in my case. No other serious option. It's the one guitar that can do it all well for me. Not even a difficult choice. For me, my tastes, my preferences, my style of playing... Nothing does it as well for me as a good Fat Strat. Followed closely by a traditional SSS Strat.
Thus, for my money, the Stratocaster is the single most important musical instrument design in the sum of human history. Again, for ME. For my tastes and my money, absolutely nothing beats a good Strat.
i was playing some custom shop teles in the same room 3 weeks ago. i remember the carpet XD they have so many amazing guitars there. and i agree with guillaume regarding relic guitars. it is ridiculous until you play one. and then you don't want anything else anymore
This is so good, I enjoyed the episode a lot as well!
Gorgeous guitars and such a great discussion. If I ever manage to justify a custom shop Strat, I'd get Ron to build it, because I wanted a Thorn so bad at one point, and he doesn't build those any more!
I’m fender for life. Got my first Squier at age 9 played in high school jazz band and started my own band. Got a Mexican fender Stratocaster, telecaster. Kept playing and my grandmother gifted me a 1972 Fender Stratocaster. Got a refret and it plays beautiful. Fast forward to now, I picked up three classic vibe squier guitars. I just love fender all the way down the line, the history the players the colors, the style it’s a dream come true.
Ron Thorn, the man the myth the legend
I am amazed at the quality of the Squier's. It really makes me happy to see that a kid can get a inexpensive guitar that plays well. Not like when I was a kid. Because of guys like Phil, Dan from Stew mac and others, I have kind of become obsessed with guitar repair. I started to buy guitars that need repair or just some setup, fix them up and give them to local schools. Squier's are my go to for that.
Dan and Mick probably cost me the most $$ for my own rig. :)
Quality content. Very good exchanges of ideas.
❤Strat
"This is probably the best conversation I've had in a very long time." ~ anybody in a room with Phil and Ron, ever, probably.
@PhilMcKnight - I've played Strats for 20 years and never owned a HSS one until today, was inspired after watching this vid.
I got a american hss strat a year ago. So awesome!! Can do anything.
hey phil most educational episode yet! thanks now i understand my compound fender!!
loved this interview guys
I totally want that one with the P90S it's friggin gorgeous!
TH-cam has such a brilliantly genius algorithm that it saved this video for today after I’ve spent the last two years obsessively searching for & watching Stratocaster videos on the platform. 😂.
Love the strats!!!
The placement of the volume control on a Strat is perfect. That's actually in the Bible.
Good chat. To me, IMHO, a strat is a particular body and neck configuration that gives the player a particular feel first dating back to 1954. Pickups are secondary, but I must say that the 3 single coils with a 7.5" radius maple neck, 6 screw trem, and maple fretboard and ash body for a classic Fender strat sound. I went a little hybrid with H-S-S (Tim Shaw pickups) with a 9.5" radius maple neck, 2 screw trem and a rosewood fingerboard and an alder body in a fender american professional with a classic 3-color finish and I love the sound. To me it feels and sounds like an original fender strat.
I really wanted to hear that strat with p-90s!
I think one of the best things about a Strat is you can replace or upgrade things (it’s almost modular) easily. Want a new neck made from exotic wood, with stainless steel frets… So easy to do!
What pickups are on that strat in the intro playing ? Sounds amazing !
Brilliant! My favourite guitar ever :-)
I’m a year late but talking about relic guitars made me think of the song “Perfectly Good Guitar” by John Hiatt…
Well, he threw one down from the top of the stairs
Beautiful women were standing everywhere
They all got wet when he smashed that thing
But off in the dark you could hear somebody sing:
Oh, it breaks my heart to see those stars
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
I don't know who they think they are
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
It started back in 1963
His momma wouldn't buy him that new red Harmony
He settled for a sun-burnt with a crack
But he's still trying to break his mama's back
Oh, it breaks my heart to see those stars
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
I don't know who they think they are
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
He loved that guitar just like a girlfriend
But every good thing comes to an end
Now he just sits in his room all day
Whistling every note he used to play
There ought to be a law with no bail
Smash a guitar, and you go to jail
With no chance for early parole
You don't get out till you get some soul
Oh, it breaks my heart to see those stars
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
I don't know who they think they are
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
Late at night, the end of the road
He wished he still had the old guitar to hold
He'd rock it like a baby in his arms
Never let it come to any harm
Oh, it breaks my heart to see those stars
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
I don't know who they think they are
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
Great discussion.
Phillip McKnight rules! How fun!
Awesome!
Nice that they didn't use the 360 camera on this one. It's a good conversation, although it would have been nice if it were a bit more focused.
I just got my first fender strat last week and I love it so much. The neck feel and the tone from the neck and middle pickups is magical
Awesome no one gave you any love brother well one to stratville
Phil owned this video!
I’d love o hear that P90 Strat! Great video, love Fender Strat’s! Question: You see more video’s and more people basically raving about or leaning towards the Fender guitars, but not so much towards
G&L or Musicman guitars? Didn’t Leo Fender go on to form those companies after selling Fender!?!
We have a lot of love for those too.
I’ll keep it in mind to feature them more
//Andy
Canessa? WTF that cracked me up as he had no idea what he was saying looool.
Is this why @phillipmcknight didn't do the live q&a ?
That’s a beautiful guitar!
I think the guitar you (Phil) can't recall the name of at 26:00 is the TC-90 thinline, then replaced by the JA-90 signature.
I have a 2009 American deluxe strat - I did at one point out the EMG KH set in it and I shit you not... it sounded like a strat! It sounded completely different to any EMG guitar I had! Now has Bare Knuckles - still sounds like a strat 😂
You remember beatle mania? That was awesome
Overall the Strat is probably my favourite model ( with modifications) but I also love the bridge tone of a Tele and also various Gibsons , mainly Les Pauls and the 335 etc.
wow that telestrat was gorgeous, i want one...is that one for sale?
Would really have liked to have heard about some of the lesser known Strats or "misfires". Remember the push button controls in the mid 80's? I own a Powerhouse Strat. It's a fantastic guitar, but It's extremely difficult to hear anything about that model!
I gave my son a graffiti yellow power house strat
First 10 years playing guitar, Jackson, ESP, 2001 Ibanez RG thru neck (that I still have). Never played a real Strat. 2011 played a friends American Strat and I wanted to take it. Went to guitar center the next day played a few but didn't connect with any like I did my friends, they just did not feel the same. When I was about to leave someone came in to return a 2011 Olympic white American Deluxe. I did not know about compound radius then but turns out I loved it. Got it for a deal because it was a return and it has been my #1 from then on. #2 and 3 also have compound radius necks.
Congrats! Sounds like you got a great deal. Customs are so expensive, but the Deluxe and Elite Series are a little more reasonable, and the ones I've played are next-level!
Now, you should buy a Classic Vibe Squier Strat...just for fun, and you will be really surprised at the quality!
It‘ nice to see Phil in the TGU, his channel is awesome.
This whole video is so passive aggressive lol
I feel the exact same way, about Les Pauls. But I'll never NOT have a Strat in my gigging collection. Nothing sounds like a Strat, like a Strat.
Hey, PHIL!!
I Love Ron, he is a Top Guy,..and Phil too of course.
Both Real Genuine men indeed 🇬🇧
My vote - Super Strat: HSS, Wilkenson or top of the line Fender bridge, locking tuners, flatter radius neck, additional switching options... If I had to play a standard Strat, I probably wouldn't play one 😂
Nitro over baked maple! That actually does sound nice haha! Oh you Fender guys know how to get us all fired up don't you! ;)
Phil & Ron are great to listen to! The Strat Ron was holding was beautiful. I also loved the Peridot green one on the back wall to the right of the THOMANN sign!
Love it when Gill pretends to be Le French :)
That custom shop p90 strat has beautiful flame top. It looks a lot like the new prs on my knee right now... Same orange colour stain... I wonder what they call that..?
expensive!
@@kitano0 😂
#1 Fender Stratocaster #2 Gibson Les Paul #3 Fender Telecaster/Esquire/Broadcaster/Nocaster i have all 3 they are fun.Just my humble opinion oh and the First Act lineup are #4 alll the way.
First Act? What the fuck? Also complete BS, you don't have a nocaster AND broadcaster.
@@crisp9929 never said I had a nocaster I thought id mention them because of the history.And first act was a joke dumbass
Phillip McKnight....daaaannngggg!! Always good to see him with others!!
So the G&L legacy is the best guitar of the best model ever made
The strat will always be relevant. It finds it’s way in every decade of music in some form. They can really do anything, and you know the sound of one when you hear it. There’s yet to be a guitar in todays era that has you like, wow that’s a ______
No doubt the Strat is the most important electric guitar, However the later improvements like humbuckers, flatter or compound radius, and Floyd(if you use a trem) are legitimate improvements!
Oppoopp
@@jan404404 I see what you're saying, I guess it would depend on the genre
davetbassbos whoops, I fell asleep and seem to have written something. Sorry ‘bout that. Your response is quite funny though. And now that I’m actually seeing the video it’s quite good as well!
Im trying to gather funds for my first real Fender Strat, i cannot decide yet if i should get some from the player series or classic 60',
i love the looks and style of the classic 60', but Player series has more usable tremolo, alnico V pickups (i love alnico V's),
and modern tuning keys which i can change to the Fender Locking ones very easily.
There is also the classic Player series, and it would be the best for me, but the 12 inch radius is playable for me if the neck is thin, like Ibanez Wizard.
Fat neck with 12 inch radius feels strange to play for me.
Also if Deluxe series had normal, small headstock i would probably just get hss tobacco sunburst one.
It's soo hard to decide, if You live in places like Poland, and have very limited funds... Also not alot of places to
see the guitars and try them out..
Hi , I'm in England. Just out of sheer curiosity , I have never been to Poland... Is there a general lack of guitar shops in Poland or just not in your town ? Do you have any Polish family or friends in the UK ? Mexican Fenders are , to coin an Americanism , absolutely the "best bang for the buck" over here .
@@shaunw9270 City of 340 000 people, and 1 normal size and 1 small shop with guitars.
I think they are "best bang for the buck" over here too if you want a guitar with single coils.
Mexican player strat sss, costs my whole monthly pay, so with my pocket money, i can buy it
if ill collect it for 2,5 years :)
Try many. Buy the one you connect with.
@@sak7530 that's what i intended to do, but there is no Fender Classic in shops in my city, only modern 9,5 inch radius ones and 12 inch Deluxes,
i have never played 7,25 inch one. Also pau ferro is a hit & miss wood, sometimes it looks nice, and sometimes it looks like someone has stepped on
the Snickers bar ;) so getting a guitar with this wood fingerboard is not recommended..
@@lucaszembrzuski I would try the 7.25 before you buy. I'm like the compound radius myself. Look at used ones at the store, you my find the one for you that someone neglected. Craigslist if you feel confident. I have found gems on there but so many scams so be careful. I agree about the pau ferro, function is fine but looks are very hit and miss.
Great discussion. I want everything on the wall plus the strat Phil is holding. BTW if you have been awake for days trying to be a good host to hundreds of you tubers you might be s bit forgetful too. The host isn't awkward...my guess is he is exhausted.
Thank you so much Toney :) I was indeed pretty exhausted when this video happened and in fairness as people spotted rather unprepared. We had no directive line and just wanted to have a nice conversation with passionate people so nothing was scripted. I'm really glad you enjoyed it! //Guillaume
I love my strat and have played it for years. Yet here lately I’ve found myself wanting a bigger tone, started favoring my 58 explorer better because of the tones I can get. Installing a bridge humbucker is not an option for the strat. I don’t know, I love the thing and find myself wanting it to be my main guitar but i just can’t get the fuller sound I’m looking for.
Thanks Cameron, I couldn't agree more. Change is the spice of life right ? My strat is right up there, but I need some humbucker love too haha / cheers, Guillaume
I don’t get the “no humbucker” thing. The strat’s signature sounds are positions 4 and 5, almost solely. I’d say if anything, a humbucker will make it your main, with more versatility. And if for some reason you don’t like it ... change it back.
C Taylor late reply but if you happen to see this some things I do to get a fuller sound especially distorted on my strat is the bridge pickup or the neck pickup, pick your fav & try raising the pickup height a lil if you need more output, EQ controls as well, I turn the tone down on my strat then eq the treble on my amp add some bass to just before the point of “boom” & a bit of a mid scoop to taste
Tyler L I’m also in the no HSS group. Maybe because I prefer vintage looks and specs but SRV managed to get some decent bridge tones out of the single coil
@@gunkanjima3408 Late for the party - I had the same issue with my guitar so I installed humbucker in single coil case - it look the same and required only soldering. Now I have everything that I ever wanted :)
So if you make it with a set neck, humbuckers, and hardtail bridge wouldn't it still be a strat?
It would just be a guitar the same shape as a Strat.
@@derekbiggerstaff That's stupid.
RonThorn is a breathing encyclopedia.
My g&l was made by the inventor who sold the company to those now stamping his name on the headstock
I'm really curious 😄
The lefty on the side of the billboard is one of the most beautiful guitars i have ever seen. UAU. Wondering how many internal organs i would have to sell to be able to get it...?! hehehe
All you'd really need is a ride to the store and a brick after closing time. Best of luck!
The Strat shape, with contours is the most comfortable body shape. The beauty of a Strat as a design, is its modularity and the variation that can be brought into it.
The Strat sound is a thing as well, but infinitely variable. Because the instrument is so easily modular, you can switch out pickups, and tailor the tone to a large degree. Very hard to make a Strat sound like a Les Paul...impossible to make a Les Paul sound like a Strat.
They should've called me to do the interview, and I'm a kook.
This basically a 20 minute passive argument, nobody wanted to yell during
Strat vs Tele and why?
the stratocaster is the best guitar ever made
Phillip dang good to see you on this man!!🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘👍
Imagine you would play Violin and you can choose between any Brand or a Stradivari that doesn't cost more, what would you choose 😉
The thing is is, guitars are purely subjective though...
Also... the answer is telecaster....
//Andy
Neth BT Hi, Kris here. Andy is right. 😏
Thomann's Guitars & Basses huh?
Guillaume actually looks rested HA! Strat master Thorn! the strat can be everything you want it too and more!
The Strat, Fender fixing something that wasn't broken, Leo got it right first time around with the Telecaster,
It's "Con - oye - zerr"
It seems so difficult for the moderator to pose the right questions to get interesting answers, a little bit boring to watch him aching out, stealing the time from the spectators. It could be interesting to think a little bit before switching on the camera, like the first time a school boy trying to come clear with his own thoughts...
Hey Peter, thanks for your comment ! I agree yes, because that video wasn't planned and we were just having a conversation when we walked in this room, I had to think it through as we went. As English also isn't my first language I wanted to make sure I was making sense and had to think about my phrasing. I'll work on my improv skills and get you something better next time :) // cheers, Guillaume
For me it's simple it has"that sound" nothing else has that crispness that strats can produce and yet you can mould that to your sound with how you play it
I'll happy act as a test pilot for fender custom shop !
Thanks Gulllome as always
Too bad the volume knob location sucks!!
The Stratocaster is the Chevrolet of guitars, why I believe that too be true is parts are found very easily almost anywhere, and at very reasonable prices.
It's the neck joint. End of video. why are they not talking about the Charvel line? Fender owns it now.
Duosonic
Yes if you count super strats as strats
It's versatile. Simple. Practically indestructible. Immensely customizable. Some think it looks sexy. It has allowed hundreds if not thousands of guitar builders to make a living. :/
What's that beauty Phil is holding? :o
Hey Pablo, that's a Fender Artisan series strat and this model a Spalted Maple :) You can find out more about it here : www.thomann.de/gb/fender_artisan_spalted_maple_strat.htm // Guillaume
The host is terrible, but kudos to him for getting Phil and Ron together on this topic.
What about guilluame screwing up the word ‘connoisseur’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Fender stratosonic 😛😍
I luv Strats, the Music Man Cutlass is the best Strat on the market at the moment.
Music Man guitars are absolutely incredible. I own a 2002 Axis Sport and did own the Albert Lee mode!. Superb instruments and a great company!!!
Music Man guitars do have the best build quality in comparison with ANY other guitar out there! Although I prefer the Silhouette over the Cutlass. You can get similar sounds with it, but with the addition of an unique design.
@@itsfailix98 I need to get around to trying a Silhouette one day. I have a Stirling Silhouette which is also a great guitar.
thats not a strat though ?
@@itsfailix98 reverend guitars are the best quality off the shelf purely because of the fretwork EVERY guitar is perfectly crowned and leveled unlike basically every company out there
Like the strat but i will take lp cs all day
Why is it the best ever? The quality is good. It looks brilliant - the design has never been surpassed. It’s versatile - you can get almost any tone out of it, particularly if you install a bridge humbucker. It’s affordable - there’s a Strat for almost any price point.
In terms of relic guitars, I just don’t get it. Why would you buy a custom shop guitar that someone has attacked with a sand belt? Personally I want to buy a guitar that looks perfect, retains some of the vintage vibe, but has some modern features. Locking tuners should always be standard? Noiseless pickups are pretty much essential? A humbucker in the bridge should be the modern standard - does anyone ever use the single coil bridge pickup unleashed these days?
Duo-Sonic?
18:57...WTF, NO arm contour on that Strat and it's $5K?
The main reason I play Strats is for the arm contour.
21:20...Lil Dude stoned then or what? LOL
The Mount Rockmore of guitars would perhaps be A Strat, a Tele, an LP, and an SG.
And a 335!!!
I'd agree with 3 of your choices but I'd go 335 over SG :-)
I debated that in my head for sure. I suppose if we are talking rock's foundations then yeah, that would be right. But then I have an SG so I'm partial. :-)
Jagwire (that still makes me laugh.. with all due respect).
Wait, hold on, what if you are a chef by profession and a musician by passion? And you owned a Les Paul, a Gretsch, a jazz, master, a Jackson, but not a Strat. Am I doing things wrong?