New Strat... 50th anniversary or 57' RI?

robbyb

So I've decided to sell my SG on Ebay and get a new Strat (I'm not going to provide a link to the SG, but if you're interested it's teal blue and on EBay - not hard to find). Anyway, I'm going to buy a Strat and I've narrowed it down between a 50th anniversary and a 57' reissue. I haven't been able to get my hands on either of these guitars to play at local music shops so I need a little help. What are some opinions on both these guitars?

It seems that the 50th ann. has more updated features which may or may not be better (better frets, saddle, tuners, etc). Also, I hear the custom shop 54' pickups are great! But the 57' RI just looks sweet, and with vintage reissued parts just as Leo intended, it has to be awesome! So I'm in a bit of a internal struggle now...

By the way, I have a tweed Fender Blues Deluxe (AWESOME!) so that's what this guitar will be played through. Also, I like the sounds of John Mayer, Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, of course PJ and Zepplin.

Thanks!

Novawind

SG looks great but unfortunately that's the color of my strat! I wouldn't want another guitar in the same color :(

xtremehardy388

That's a toughy but my girlfriend has a '57 RI and I like the way it plays. I'm biased though since I haven't played the 50th Anniversary one. My vote is for the RI

harrisonmerwin

50th anniversary is the EXACT same as the American Standard or American Deluxe (pending on what 50th your looking for) if you are that driven by the gold hardware, there is other models with the same specs, just cheaper, and lacking the "50th" sticker. the 57 is a GREAT guitar, and i have ordered those same pickups and put them into another strat of mine. So, if your looking for something not standard, don't spring for the 50th, its just a trap set up by fender (trust me, im the strat-man)

keeponrockin

harrisonmerwin wrote:

(trust me, im the strat-man)

This is true

seanw1010

keeponrockin wrote:

This is true

+1

robbyb

I'm not really interested in the gold hardware or scn pickups (thats the deluxe 50th anniversary). But given the responses, I will look into the 57' RI a little more...

Any comments on the smooth V neck. I'm used to C shaped necks like my MIM strat.

And also, the pickups in the 57' are good? Is that what I'm hearing. Because I hear great things about the 54' custom shop ones in the 50th ann.

Anyway, thanks for the replys

harrisonmerwin

robbyb wrote:

I'm not really interested in the gold hardware or scn pickups (thats the deluxe 50th anniversary). But given the responses, I will look into the 57' RI a little more...

Any comments on the smooth V neck. I'm used to C shaped necks like my MIM strat.

And also, the pickups in the 57' are good? Is that what I'm hearing. Because I hear great things about the 54' custom shop ones in the 50th ann.

Anyway, thanks for the replys

the V on the 57 is VERY comfortable if you play the "jimi
style, or 'thumb over' technique. i believe on the 57's the neck smoothes out to a more C shape as you go up the frets, and it makes it for easier solo's. The 57/62 pickups are real nice, they are very versatile, and respond to the volume and tone controls nicely. They can give you the old school strat scream, or mellow chunky ryhtems. they do a good clean job as well on some settings. the 54 customs aren't as throaty in the top end, and they are a little muddy when playing clean. they are sort of twangier, and harder to get a solid rock tone. the 57's are a mid-range pickup, designed to fill out your sound, while keeping the low end tight. hope this helps.

robbyb

harrisonmerwin wrote:

the V on the 57 is VERY comfortable if you play the "jimi
style, or 'thumb over' technique. i believe on the 57's the neck smoothes out to a more C shape as you go up the frets, and it makes it for easier solo's. The 57/62 pickups are real nice, they are very versatile, and respond to the volume and tone controls nicely. They can give you the old school strat scream, or mellow chunky ryhtems. they do a good clean job as well on some settings. the 54 customs aren't as throaty in the top end, and they are a little muddy when playing clean. they are sort of twangier, and harder to get a solid rock tone. the 57's are a mid-range pickup, designed to fill out your sound, while keeping the low end tight. hope this helps.

Thanks for the information... any comment on the vintage frets compared to the medium/jumbo. I employ a lot of bends in my playing, but also like a somewhat low action for smooth soloing. The vintage frets and 7.25 radius scare me somewhat...

I will be driving all over tommorow trying to get my hands on a 57' RI... I'm just concerned about the overall comfort and fretability (new word?) of the 57's neck, since i'm used to a MIM with a skiny C neck.

Thanks again

P.S. I do use a thumb over technique (if Jimi did it and John Mayer still does it, there must be something to it) because of my long fingers...

robbyb

So let me further complicate this discussion...

I just saw the specs on the Eric Johnson strat and it looks almost excactly like the 57' RI but with bigger frets and a flater, skinnier radius. Also different (no better/no worse) pickups. To me, this seems like a good compromise... Suggestions?

harrisonmerwin

robbyb wrote:

So let me further complicate this discussion...

I just saw the specs on the Eric Johnson strat and it looks almost excactly like the 57' RI but with bigger frets and a flater, skinnier radius. Also different (no better/no worse) pickups. To me, this seems like a good compromise... Suggestions?

good sounding guitar thats for sure, feels a little different than a nice broken in strat though. what sound ar eyou after by the way, might help us out the pickup question.

robbyb

I found a used Eric Johnson strat at a local music store today... it felt and sounded great! I tried it through a hot rod deluxe and was really impressed. Despite my intuitions, it had a very nice overdriven tone along with an amazing clean tone. I'm going to need to buy one very soon...

They had no 57' RI to compare it against, however they had a few 62's and some closet classics which all had the 7.25 radius v neck. I think those necks are too chuncky for me. I guess I sort of stumbled upon my own answer.

keeponrockin

robbyb wrote:

I found a used Eric Johnson strat at a local music store today... it felt and sounded great! I tried it through a hot rod deluxe and was really impressed. Despite my intuitions, it had a very nice overdriven tone along with an amazing clean tone. I'm going to need to buy one very soon...

They had no 57' RI to compare it against, however they had a few 62's and some closet classics which all had the 7.25 radius v neck. I think those necks are too chuncky for me. I guess I sort of stumbled upon my own answer.

I didn't like the 62 neck either.

ianvomsaal

robbyb wrote:

Thanks for the information... any comment on the vintage frets compared to the medium/jumbo. I employ a lot of bends in my playing, but also like a somewhat low action for smooth soloing. The vintage frets and 7.25 radius scare me somewhat...

Vintage frets are tiny - if you're doing a lot of bending you'll want bigger frets.
SRV replaced his frets with Bass Frets (with his heavy strings, bending, and how hard he played, small frets just pulled out).
I play enough that most of my guitars with "normal frets" need to have them replaced within 2 or 3 years.
Therefore I've had most of my guitars frets replaced with jumbo stainless steel frets.
Stainless frets are smoother feeling, and last quite a bit longer (4 + times longer).
I'd recommend the 6150 size in regular frets, or the SS105 size in stainless steel.
Warmoth has it for sale here (I use to have a friend that worked for Carvin, so I use to get my Jumbo Stainless fret-wire from them).
Click Here: for FRET SIZES

- Ian