62 strat / am deluxe strats

exhausted

paco / bob,

talk to me. ordering one or the other tomorrow (big gear trade).

neck profile?

i'm used to the am std. deluxe the same?

I really want the nitro and feel of the 62 with the electronics of the deluxe.

input?


edit: it sucks that i can't try both at once but being lefty and all, i have to order them. at least they don't force me to buy if i don't like it.

MetalGod75

i just got an American Deluxe Ash Strat last week.Love the switching:)neck is wicked too ,frets are great filed real smooth.Tuning stability seems really good too.Havent gigged it yet but i cant stop playing it.I have an American Double Fat Strat too which i love and the neck on the Deluxe seems slightly thicker.

who's_pearljam?

Looks like a big gear trade going on!

Ok, please allow me to help confuse your issue!

I have the Deluxe and it's a great guitar. The neck is the standard "C" shape and is like a 9.5 or 10 inch radius. I like it for bending strings because they don't note out and I bend the hell out of them.

The finish does kind of bug me because I like nitro finishes, like you. I may strip and sand the neck and refinish that, because I like a more satin finish so my hands don't stick. I'm up and down the neck a lot with my hand.

The sound is great and the pickups are really quiet, and the S-1 switching is great.


I don't have a 62 model, but I've played a few and I love them, but the 7.5 inch neck radius is too round for me. It's great for playing chords and leads, but for bending, it tends to note out with a 3 step bend. For me, a Strat with that sound is for the blues and I bend a lot with the blues. (Not because I'm particularly soulful,,,, but, to bend up to the right note when I screw up! ) That's why they REALLY invented bending.

I love that nitro finish on the 62, too and the pickups are great vintage sound.

If you're recording, and quiet is important, then those noiseless are great.


I think that the S-1 switching is compatible with other pickups, but not all. I don't know if they match up with the 62 pickups but that might be a question to ask, too. Buy the 62 and convert to S-1 switching?
I took mine apart and looked at the switching and it's tight, and a lot of wires.. Ha ha,,, if I ever tried rewiring that I wouldn't drink any coffee before, because I'd shake and have all kinds of wires soldered together!
But it is possible!

If you have any other questions, let me know. I'll be around tonight, but gone for tomorrow.

Good luck, Ex... Do you know if you have an electronically quiet basement in your new house?

harrisonmerwin

if you play the "thumb over" way (hendrix, mccready, any "good" strat player") i HIGHLY recomend getting the V-neck. I have it and it is the nicest neck i have ever played, and beats the hell out of the skinny c's. and because i think you can get the 62 tone out of the deluxe, but not the deluxe tone out of the 62 (because it does not have s-1) it woudl be a better choice to go with the deluxe, v neck is possible.

exhausted

well, the board radius was sort of a concern for me since i'm used to the flatter boards.... but i don't bend a lot. one whole at the most and not often.

based on specs, i know what the neck of the deluxe will feel like as it is the same as my standards i guess. i'm hoping they'll have a couple righty 62s so i can at least see what a vintage neck feels like. it's foreign to me. my son's mustang is somewhat similar i guess. the fretboard radius is the same anyway. my other guitars are all pretty flat.

pickups, well, i have SCNs in the N/M of my current strat so i know i love them and they are dead dead quiet. it's not so much the S-1 as those pickups that i love. the S-1 needs 3 conductors so it doesn't work with the 57/62s to my knowledge.

if i do get this new strat, my old one, which is an ebay scavenger (all fender though) anyway, will likely get parted out (neck to my tele etc.) so i could buy the 62 and put the SCNs i already have in it. and get a bridge scn to finish it off. just drop the assembly from one into the other. the neck is from my first strat so i can't let it go. otherwise, i'd be trading it in too.

the 62 comes with the 3 way installed so i'd be opening it up anyway.

i really want that nitro though. the poly finish is so boring and doesn't age at all.

unfortunately, unless we end up in a house with a finished basement, i'll probably still have the noise issues. our current house sale is supposed to go final this week so we'll be buying next weekend. some we've been looking at have finished basements.

exhausted

harrisonmerwin wrote:

if you play the "thumb over" way (hendrix, mccready, any "good" strat player") i HIGHLY recomend getting the V-neck. I have it and it is the nicest neck i have ever played, and beats the hell out of the skinny c's. and because i think you can get the 62 tone out of the deluxe, but not the deluxe tone out of the 62 (because it does not have s-1) it woudl be a better choice to go with the deluxe, v neck is possible.

unfortunately the V neck isn't available lefty. the 57 has the V shape but it's maple and i don't like maple at all.

who's_pearljam?

exhausted wrote:

well, the board radius was sort of a concern for me since i'm used to the flatter boards.... but i don't bend a lot. one whole at the most and not often.

based on specs, i know what the neck of the deluxe will feel like as it is the same as my standards i guess. i'm hoping they'll have a couple righty 62s so i can at least see what a vintage neck feels like. it's foreign to me. my son's mustang is somewhat similar i guess. the fretboard radius is the same anyway. my other guitars are all pretty flat.

pickups, well, i have SCNs in the N/M of my current strat so i know i love them and they are dead dead quiet. it's not so much the S-1 as those pickups that i love. the S-1 needs 3 conductors so it doesn't work with the 57/62s to my knowledge.

if i do get this new strat, my old one, which is an ebay scavenger (all fender though) anyway, will likely get parted out (neck to my tele etc.) so i could buy the 62 and put the SCNs i already have in it. and get a bridge scn to finish it off. just drop the assembly from one into the other. the neck is from my first strat so i can't let it go. otherwise, i'd be trading it in too.

the 62 comes with the 3 way installed so i'd be opening it up anyway.

i really want that nitro though. the poly finish is so boring and doesn't age at all.

unfortunately, unless we end up in a house with a finished basement, i'll probably still have the noise issues. our current house sale is supposed to go final this week so we'll be buying next weekend. some we've been looking at have finished basements.

I have to put together a diagram for that post!

Current Strat................new Strat
2 scn's...........................3 62's
Scn's >>>>>>>>>>>>new strat.
to here <<<<<<<<<<<<Neck

Haha,,,, I got it now!!!



I'm not to worried about aging finishes on guitars, so poly coating doesn't bothere me that way, but the feel of the neck is important to me, and that's actually relatively easy to change.
I've sanded V's into peoples' thicker necks before, too. When my friend and I were making guitars, we sat once with some "too big" necks, took sandpaper and glued it to some thin leather gloves and sat with a bottle of wine and played our guitars till they felt right, and damn if that didn't work!


Regarding your new house, Congratulations.
I'm really good friends with Eric from the Hooters, if you remember them.
He was looking for houses last year, and he asked me to go with him as a home inspector when house shopping. He was looking to put a major studio in, so I took a crappy noisy strat and a little champ with, and set that sucker up in the basement, and it was pretty quiet!
Maybe you should put that in your sale contingency!

exhausted

my head wants the deluxe and my heart wants the 62. dammit.

i forget another option. buy the 62 and that new suhr backplate for noiseless.

or just buy the rest of the guts and make my frankenstrat a full S-1 w/ SCNs.

i hate being left-handed.

who's_pearljam?

How about getting the Deluxe, then just get the 62 pickups for your frankenstrat!

Or,,,, if your current one is a good player, but you don't like the finish, refinish it with nitro. It's not all that hard. Maybe a bit, I guess. Either with spray can from stew mac, or a luthier somewhere, then get your electronics and that other pup.

I'm just thinking of options here!

You are going to need something noiseless if it's a home studio, though, and you have two of the pickups already.

harrisonmerwin

I can sell you a right handed american deluxe (2005) for a really good price, its pretty much new...it needs the backplate screwed on (unfortunately i dont have the screws) im not sure where you stand on switched over righty's but i could sell it to you for one hell of a bargain if your interested (v neck too)

exhausted

thanks but unfortunately, the upside down thing doesn't work well for me.

harrisonmerwin

exhausted wrote:

thanks but unfortunately, the upside down thing doesn't work well for me.

yeah fair enough...i could hook you up with the pickups...i have 3 57/62's to put in a guitar, and i might put them in the deluxe, and sell the S-1 and SCN's, or i might just turn around, lose money, and sell the 57/62's. interested...?

exhausted

i'll see what i do tomorrow and let you know. thanks.

exhausted

going with the alder body deluxe in 3TSB.

i can't get to the bottom of the poly undercoat/nitro overcoat situation.

plus, i just know i love SCNs and need a dead guitar guitar for recording so the deluxe it is.

exhausted

AHHH. back to not being able to decide. my trade in is netting me huge $$$ so i can do either. if i buy the 62, i have enough left over to buy the suhr silent backplate.

hmmmm.

going this afternoon to look at the righties and try to make a choice.

moster78

What are you trading in?

exhausted

-the ac15 (can't get past the reverb). the deluxe reverb is my sound. i should just buy 3 and call it a day.
-my parts strat (decided to let go of it as a whole. it's a bastard anyway and has some bad memories associated with it's neck. i know that sounds stupid)
-my brown SG (my red one has way more feel and vibe). i'm not getting a great price for it but i don't care anymore. i love the red one so much.
-a few pedals

plus a few more pedals are going to ebay so there's even more $$$$.


will i regret this? perhaps. but none of this is stuff i love so that's the way it goes. my red sg, my deluxe reverb. my les paul. these are things i truly love and won't let go of.

i'm leaning back towards the AV62 strat i think. go big or go home. someday i can make a new pickguard for it and load it with SCNs if i want. i want the classic look and feel i think.

plicking away at right handed ones today is going to suck.

Pacomc79

wow, there's a big decision in there, the Suhr backplate would certainly work, and we all love the nitro finish. My 62 is very resonant and I like it very much but, the radius is a little small at around 7.5 and you'd probably prefer the AM deluxe better, I just prefer the looks of the 62. I'd actually maybe prefer a 10 or 10.5 radius gun oil tint neck.


IT's tough to make. Trust me. I love the SCN's and the S-1 switching, I just wish the new AM deluxes had a more vintage vibe. I never found a sunburst on the new AMD's I really could live with. I knew what I wanted to see and that just wasn't it. Shallow yes, but sue me. I have to look at it every day. . The neck is a bit small for an average hand, and fatigue can creep in there a little easier I think than on the AM deluxe.

Ultimately the Suhr's are some of my favorites but then you're looking at almost 2G's and if you go custom neck and pups and backplate on a Nitro 57/62 body you're almost there so I settled. But I've been very happy with my 62 and I'm getting ready to do the mods on it.

Honestly If I could swing a Suhr or one of the "10's" from Wildwood that would have been perfect but that's $$$$ more than the grand I have in my 62.

The LP still needs to get sold so I can get a casino.

who's_pearljam?

Pacomc79 wrote:

I knew what I wanted to see and that just wasn't it. Shallow yes, but sue me. I have to look at it every day. . The neck is a bit small for an average hand, and fatigue can creep in there a little easier I think than on the AM deluxe.

.

Haha,,,, ok, here's what I figure:

If you're lookin' at it, you ain't playin' it!

Paco!!! I hope all is well down there! Good to see you!

I think the Standard Deluxe. I just got mine out and plugged it into the Deluxe Reverb, and it's a beautiful thing.

If there's ever a big sale down at Crazy Who'sPearljam?'s Gear Liquidator Warehouse, the only things NOT going are the Deluxe amps, American Standard Deluxe, old SG, and I just re-fell in love with my ES-335.


Ok, and my TS-9





The one thing I DO like about that round radiused 7.5 inch neck is for barre chords. If you play a lot of them then it's pretty comfy. I don't barre too much, so I like the flatter radius.

exhausted

got the 62. after inspecting a bunch of righties, including a few deluxes and an AV57 etc. it was no contest.

went with the 62 for the feel and vibe. the deluxes are beautiful but just too modern.

so i got the 62 and a diamond memory lane. and still have enough left over for either the suhr plate or a set of SCNs.

now the wait begins. hopefully within the month.

who's_pearljam?

Haha,,, Just like I suggested!!


Ok, well, maybe not.



Congrats.

I want to hear that Suhr plate. (Or not hear it , I guess!) I called my friends at Acme guitar works down the road from me, and they have them in stock.
They swear that they work, and I would put one on my old whacko Guyatone 3 pickup, great playing and sounding tone machine. It sounds great when it's not picking up every radio station and power drill in a 50 mile radius!

That would be a $250 noise reducer on a $100 guitar!

exhausted

i'll see what i think of the 57/62s first. if i like them, suhr, if not, new wiring with SCNs and lift out the stock harness untouched.

who's_pearljam?

Sounds good. I may get one of those suhrs to check it out.
Who knows,,, maybe your next house will be electronically quiet!

I'm actually looking at figuring out a noise meter for tracing stray electronic noise in houses.
Dimmer switches are the culprits a lot when people ask about it. Especially those ones with the little round cap that falls off every day!
My customers think I'm smart when I tell them to turn off the chandolier in the dining room and everything goes quiet on the stereo system!

exhausted

i think the problem with mine was just lots of wires and concrete and no drywall. i badly want a finished room. hopefully, hopefully. may my rickenbacker once again shine.

no dimmers, except for myself with a lack of sleep. pretty dim.

who's_pearljam?

exhausted wrote:

i think the problem with mine was just lots of wires and concrete and no drywall. i badly want a finished room. hopefully, hopefully. may my rickenbacker once again shine.

no dimmers, except for myself with a lack of sleep. pretty dim.

That'll be me tomorrow! Dim

I've been in my old house in the city here for 2 years now, and I have all combos of old wiring and open walls in the basement and it's really quiet. (Except for the dimmer! )

My other house that I sold was noisy, and after owning that thing for 18 years and fiddling with the circuits and noise reducers,,,, two weeks before I moved, the buyer's dad came through to look at my house. He's an electrician, and he was walking outside and said,, Did you know your house ground wire isn't connected to the rod?
Haha,, he hooked it up and BINGO,,,, buzz gone.
Then I moved!

What is it they say,,, the shoemakers kids go barefoot?

That was actually part of the reason that Youthinkyou'reold and Rob and I bought a whole separate building for the studio!

Novawind

Pacomc79 wrote:

The LP still needs to get sold so I can get a casino.

Whenever you get the Casino I'm curious how you like it, I was thinking about getting one after my amp upgrade (within the year hopefully).

exhausted

the casino is nice. take a look at a few to find one without finish flaws. the wiring is terrible but the pickups themselves are nice sounded. however, i found a huge mismatch in volume between neck and bridge pickups. i *think* because they both have the same impedance.

overall, the feel is nice though. just the fit and finish are a little lacking. tungin pegs crooked, cheap wiring etc. most of which can be fixed.

Pacomc79

exhausted wrote:

got the 62. after inspecting a bunch of righties, including a few deluxes and an AV57 etc. it was no contest.

went with the 62 for the feel and vibe. the deluxes are beautiful but just too modern.

so i got the 62 and a diamond memory lane. and still have enough left over for either the suhr plate or a set of SCNs.

now the wait begins. hopefully within the month.

welcome to the 62 party!

and I thought you were a tele guy. The memory lane should be a fun new toy.

Given the noise in the basement you'll probably want the backplate.

Cheers Bob and Greg!

exhausted

i'm actually less and less a tele guy as time goes on. i've had 5 different strats now. and one tele.

not that i won't buy an av52 tele someday i guess.

the memory lane is awesome. however, the adapter they supply sucks and introduces a ground hum into my chain. i'm hoping the little 9V to 18V cable for the pedal power solves that problem. otherwise it's going back.

Pacomc79

exhausted wrote:

i'm actually less and less a tele guy as time goes on. i've had 5 different strats now. and one tele.

not that i won't buy an av52 tele someday i guess.

the memory lane is awesome. however, the adapter they supply sucks and introduces a ground hum into my chain. i'm hoping the little 9V to 18V cable for the pedal power solves that problem. otherwise it's going back.

yeah, I'm needing to sell the DL4 for a new Teese, and then I want maybe a BYOC analog or a freaking memory man, it's just the sound I like, other than a strait tube tape echo.

exhausted

the only thing i don't like about the memory man is the quality of the repeats, lots of hiss. the echos sound like cotton balls coming through the amp.

i've been spoiled by digital emulation quite frankly.

but the memory lane does it for me because the repeats are still analog but much more hi-fi. hard to explain. it's beautiful though.

i'm keeping my echo park as a mixing effect because i still like some of the things it does. it just hisses too much when it's in a guitar chain. in a mizer loop it's dead quiet.