Fender Strat advice

eviltimeban

I'm in the market for a new Fender Strat and I was looking for some advice. I'd be looking to spend about 500 - 600 on it. I've seen some on Thomann but having read some of the posts on the sticky I'm not sure what to do. I know I can go into town and buy one for about 699 or so, but was wondering if there was any deals on now or if anyone knows of a good online store to get one?

electrogrimey

What's wrong with Thomann? I've bought about €1000 worth of gear from them by now, in about 5/10 separate purchases, and have never had a problem.

Go into the guitar shops in town, have a play of the different strats, see what you like about them, and then order a strat with the specs you like from Thomann!

eviltimeban

Well for me it'll be all about cost. There's a nice one on Thomann for 480 which is really cheap, so I'd probably be looking at that. The next in line are all 639 or so. But yeah, if your experiences have been positive (and I think most have been) I'd go the Thomann route.

Strings.ie

Guys, guys, guys, If you are spending that kind of money my advice is go try the Guitar you buy. You might get 10 strats all the same model but one out of the ten will just stand out. Buy online and you just might miss that special Guitar.

As for using Irish music shops as Thommann's demo room - that's pretty low.

electrogrimey

Strings.ie wrote: »

Guys, guys, guys, If you are spending that kind of money my advice is go try the Guitar you buy. You might get 10 strats all the same model but one out of the ten will just stand out. Buy online and you just might miss that special Guitar.

As for using Irish music shops as Thommann's demo room - that's pretty low.

Waltons generally only have 1 of each higher end model, so the odds are no better either way.

I buy my overpriced pedals, leads, strings etc in Irish guitar shops so I don't see anything wrong with playing their guitars to see what the different models are like.

jamieh

Hey,

It mightn't be of any interest to you, but I'm selling an Eric Clapton signature strat at the moment if you want to have a look.

http://www.adverts.ie/250268/guitar-and-bass/fender-stratocaster-clapton-blackie-signature-model/

electrogrimey

jamieh wrote: »

Hey,

It mightn't be of any interest to you, but I'm selling an Eric Clapton signature strat at the moment if you want to have a look.

http://www.adverts.ie/250268/guitar-and-bass/fender-stratocaster-clapton-blackie-signature-model/

With that price drop that's definitely closer to my price range...would definitely be interested in that. Any more wiggle room on it? Also, is that just a sticker on the body? They aren't usually on the Blackie's right?

jamieh

electrogrimey wrote: »

With that price drop that's definitely closer to my price range...would definitely be interested in that. Any more wiggle room on it? Also, is that just a sticker on the body? They aren't usually on the Blackie's right?

800 is the lowest I can go. They usually go on ebay for about 1k.

It's only a sticker - put it on about 2 weeks ago. I can take it off and send you more pics if you like?

eviltimeban

Well this is the advice I'm looking for, the difference between all the Strats. Now I know the difference between a 60s vintage model and a Mexican, but what about the difference between a Mexican and a standard issue? Or is there such thing? Perhaps someone can break down the differences. I don't know. It'll come down to cost, like I said, and I will have to go for the cheaper end of the scale.

That Blackie looks like a beautiful guitar - out of my price range. Is that a John Mayer Heartbreak Warfare sticker on it?

jamieh

eviltimeban wrote: »

Well this is the advice I'm looking for, the difference between all the Strats. Now I know the difference between a 60s vintage model and a Mexican, but what about the difference between a Mexican and a standard issue? Or is there such thing? Perhaps someone can break down the differences. I don't know. It'll come down to cost, like I said, and I will have to go for the cheaper end of the scale.

That Blackie looks like a beautiful guitar - out of my price range. Is that a John Mayer Heartbreak Warfare sticker on it?

Sure is!

Eircom_Sucks

Strings.ie wrote: »

Guys, guys, guys, If you are spending that kind of money my advice is go try the Guitar you buy. You might get 10 strats all the same model but one out of the ten will just stand out. Buy online and you just might miss that special Guitar.

As for using Irish music shops as Thommann's demo room - that's pretty low.

until they lower their prices , thats exactly what i'll keep doing

got a les paul standard from thomann €450 cheaper than same one in Waltons

Strings.ie

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

until they lower their prices , thats exactly what i'll keep doing

got a les paul standard from thomann €450 cheaper than same one in Waltons

Waltons do not represent all music shops in Ireland.
If you came into our shop looking to buy something and wanted me to match Thomann's price, as long as I was not loosing money I'd be very happy to do that to gain your business and I know I'm not the only music shop in Ireland who would do that.

electrogrimey

Strings.ie wrote: »

Waltons do not represent all music shops in Ireland.
If you came into our shop looking to buy something and wanted me to match Thomann's price, as long as I was not loosing money I'd be very happy to do that to gain your business and I know I'm not the only music shop in Ireland who would do that.

Well seeing as Waltons are the distributor for a lot of Irish guitar shops, they do in fact represent a lot of them.

Strings.ie

electrogrimey wrote: »

Well seeing as Waltons are the distributor for a lot of Irish guitar shops, they do in fact represent a lot of them.

I'm not sure what you mean electrogrimey?

Its true that Waltons are the distributor for many brands including Gibson.
Retailers are often legally only able to obtain specific products from the official distributor. So if I want to sell Gibson I have no choice but to deal with Waltons but that doesn't mean Waltons 'represent' us.

electrogrimey

Strings.ie wrote: »

I'm not sure what you mean electrogrimey?

Its true that Waltons are the distributor for many brands including Gibson.
Retailers are often legally only able to obtain specific products from the official distributor. So if I want to sell Gibson I have no choice but to deal with Waltons but that doesn't mean Waltons 'represent' us.

Well the prices will be more or less the same prices as Walton's seeing as a lot of shops buy from them, so if a lot of shops have the same stock for the same prices as Waltons then it's fair to say that Waltons are representative of guitar shops in Ireland, no? That's all I meant.

Strings.ie

electrogrimey wrote: »

Well the prices will be more or less the same prices as Walton's seeing as a lot of shops buy from them, so if a lot of shops have the same stock for the same prices as Waltons then it's fair to say that Waltons are representative of guitar shops in Ireland, no? That's all I meant.

Waltons have their prices and we have ours. If you compare strings you'll see we make considerably less profit than Waltons, even if it was a Waltons supplied product.

I'd rather make less and keep the money in Ireland than giving it to the German economy which is why I & other shops are open to price matching Thomann where possible

electrogrimey

jamieh wrote: »

800 is the lowest I can go. They usually go on ebay for about 1k.

It's only a sticker - put it on about 2 weeks ago. I can take it off and send you more pics if you like?

Just made an offer on ads

electrogrimey

Strings.ie wrote: »

Waltons have their prices and we have ours. If you compare strings you'll see we make considerably less profit than Waltons, even if it was a Waltons supplied product.

I'd rather make less and keep the money in Ireland than giving it to the German economy which is why I & other shops are open to price matching Thomann where possible

Definitely fair play for that. I have a good friend working in another guitar shop in Dublin, and the only time they'll come close to a Thomann price is if you get some kind of bundle when you spend a few hundred. I do much prefer dealing with real people when I can though.