Need some help with choosing a guitar

[Comfortably Numb]

Hey all,

I'm looking into buying a Fender Strat. Obviously I like Dave's sound and want my strat to produce such sound. Which strat do I need? Single coil or Humbacker, Floyd Rose or regular, etc. etc.

I've been looking at Fender's website and they have lots of different strats there, don't know which to get, thinking of spending up to 800$ on the strat, and another 700$ on an amp and effects (if 700$ is enough for both....).

Any advice/feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Ilan

[meddling echo]

Talk to stratman, he's sure to enlighten you.

PS: if you're ever looking for an acoustic, I recommend a Taylor! Just my two cents...

[Fulghum]

Dave's strat is given it's unique sound by it's pickups and active electronic wiring. These pickups are produced by EMG. The kind folks at EMG have nicely prewired and bundled the entire setup for consumer sale. it retails for about $350.00

Check it out at EMG's website > emginc.com <, it the DG20 pro setup.

I just finshed building a "Dave strat" (Dave Gilmour and Me, I'm Dave too). I purchased the neck and body from Warmoth.com and the EMG pickguard setup, Floyd Rose trem and Floyd Rose roller nut.

Plays incredibly well and sounds JUST LIKE GILMOUR !!!!!

[stratman]

Yeah, C-Numb, get the EMG's as Fulghum pointed out. One thing I would add, the DG-20's are single-coils, so obviously, get a standard single coil setup strat. Don't bother with the Floyd Rose trem, it's extra money, and the standard trem is what Dave uses. I'd suggest Schaller locking tuners if you intend to crank the whammy bar much (about $50 but it makes string-changing a snap!). Also, if you want that extra Gilmour touch, shorten the trem arm a couple of inches,+or-,
and get one with a maple neck....awww, you know what it looks like.
Good luck & have fun!

[Piper@Gates]

They dont call you "stratman" for nothing!

[sebastian85]

does guilmour uses humbackers, or just the EMG single coils?

greetings

[Shane G.]

Just the EMGs.

[Fulghum]

Stratman's right about DG's setup with the std trem and short bar.

I just like the FR for my style of playing and I got a good deal on it (cost).

Get as close as you want dude, but just get one and start playing.........

[stratman]

The EMG's are "quiet" like humbuckers because of the "active electronics" (powered by a 9v battery) so they're often mistaken for humbuckers. The "active electronics" also let you EQ the pickups so you can tailor the highs/mids/lows where you want.

Floyd Rose trems are great, I just don't use the trem that much.

[Comfortably Numb]

Thanks for the replies,

I think I'll go with the DG20.

As for the body, I can order one from a local maker. Which design should I ask? any specific parameters/materials?

The guy at the shop told me that no one buys maple necks anymore and that maple necks deform with time which makes them a poor choice. Is this true? should I go with rosewood?

Cheers,
Ilan

[Fulghum]

Rosewood cost more and is more profitable for the shop, also take a close look at a "rosewood" neck. It's just a rosewood fretboard laminated over a maple neck body.

Maple is one of the most stable and durable woods on the planet. It does not swell or shrink as much as most other woods with changes in temp or humidity. Hence it IS the wood of choice for stringed instrument necks (Take a close look at a Strativarius or Gueneri DelGeisu violin).

Of mt guitars two have straight maple necks, trwo have maple/rosewood. They all play very well, and unless you intend on leaving in outside in the rain for a couple of months, you'll do just fine with straight maple. With the least amount of care it should last you a lifetime.

Anyway, If plain Maple is good enough for Gilmour, it's good enough for me.

[Comfortably Numb]

Ok, what about the body? should I ask astandard strat design?

What about buying a standard cheap strat, remove the elctronics and put the DG20 in? would a squier do?

Just fishing for ideas, if I could I'd just place an order with warmoth but that would cost too much and I'm not so sure about this local maker so I don't know if I should order one from him.

[Shane G.]

I wouldn't go for the Squier. If you want a good Strat in which to transplant the DG20, then get a MIM (Made in Mexico) Strat. They're the baseline Strat, but they play damn good.

Plus, you should really only trust yourself when it comes to the details of your guitar. I would get the MIM Strat and transplant the DG20 setup into it.

Just my two cents...

[sebastian85]

so the body isn't as important as the pick ups?
I mean, how much importan is the wood of the body then?

[Shane G.]

I tend to think that the pickups are slightly more important than the body. But the body wood is also important.