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Post by charlierose on Sept 15, 2018 14:54:48 GMT
I am dead set on getting a HB guitar, and right now I'm leaning towards the St 90 swamp Ash. Because I already have 2 strats but I don't have a swamp Ash guitar, and I naturally want to try this out.
My question however is, I want to get a vintage style strat (late 50s early 60s style) and it seems that everything on the St 90 is rather "modern" (aside from "vintage" Roswell pups).
Can anyone tell me if the swamp Ash is, or is close to a vintage strat, or should I look towards another HB strat?
Searched the forum but failed to find a thread that talks about these HB strats in terms of which other strats they resemble.
Thanks.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2018 16:02:08 GMT
I had that one but with the Wilkinson pups which sounded very good to my ear. These Roswells sound dull as I had them on my ST62MN.
The trem alone is worth buying the ST90 but I would be put off by that Blackwood fretboard which in my experience is not stable wood (shrinking too much exposing fret ends and even getting high frets after 2 months of use. On a HB traveler guitar).
The neck is old fashioned strat C shape. Not fat not modern thin. I like it.
Tuners are also vintage if I'm not mistaken. I enjoyed mine until I realized the frets were misplaced in the high register. Also the PG is horrible.
I would rather opt for a ST62MN especially if not using the trem much. Mine is a keeper for life. Very vintage and very light
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 15, 2018 16:14:34 GMT
It might depend on what you expect under the "vintage" qualifier. For the look, you have the pictures but for the sound, they all have the same pick-ups. They are all staggered together with a flat fingerboard which makes no "vintage" sense whatsoever (the staggering was supposed to match the curve of the strings, matching that of the fingerboard). Necks are rather thick C shapes on the ST-62 with exceptions. I think the one with the golden hardware and pickguard has a thinner, modern D profile. The ST-20 has a modern C profile, also thinner. The Hank Marvin copy has a V shaped neck. A natural wood Strat' is "vintage 1990s" I suppose, or is it more late 70s? I'm not sure but it's "vintage something". The vibrato system is a modern two-point on those, while all others come with the old-fashioned 6 point. Back to looks: the two tone Sunburst from the 50s had a maple neck and some had that yellowish tint but the ST-62 is a three tone burst, so it doesn't fit. The one with a dark fingerboard and tortoise pickguard is the closest you can get to a 60s vintage instrument.,
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Post by charlierose on Sept 15, 2018 21:19:48 GMT
By "vintage" I guess I meant generally: tone, feel (things like neck, weight and radius) and look or vibe. The natural wood is certainly most popular in 90s strats but I've always ascociated bare grain with older instruments (perhaps because of so many old, beaten up strats with half the finish missing). I have a Kay strat from the 60s which is natural finish. And also a 90s squire strat, also natural finish. I planned on expanding my collection in to other guitars, a tele or something with buckers or p90s, but this swamp ash has really caught my attention visually and tonally.
I like to play old or old style guitars, so I'm just checking that I'm not rushing into a new purchase based off of swamp ash alone.
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 16, 2018 2:50:32 GMT
The natural wood is certainly most popular in 90s strats but I've always associated bare grain with older instruments (perhaps because of so many old, beaten up strats with half the finish missing). I have a Kay strat from the 60s which is natural finish. And also a 90s squire strat, also natural finish. I planned on expanding my collection in to other guitars, a tele or something with buckers or p90s, but this swamp ash has really caught my attention visually and tonally. I like to play old or old style guitars, so I'm just checking that I'm not rushing into a new purchase based off of swamp ash alone. If that Swamp Ash ST-90 "caught your attention", it is the one you want. That's the key feature, the thing you like. The others won't give you that. A Squier Classic Vibe, likely closer to the "vintage" specs (but not a replica) won't give you that. It's a gamble, though, unless you are considering a 2nd hand guitar you have seen. There's no telling ahead how the wood will look on the new one. As to old Strat's, this is how they really look:
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 16, 2018 3:01:04 GMT
There can be something special about natural finishes. My first guitar was one and I nearly bought a JB-75NA. Thinking back on it, I should have.
I want this thing:
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Post by charlierose on Sept 16, 2018 8:06:45 GMT
Yeah I've always liked natural finishes on guitars, the only possible downside is that I also love the roadworn look ala Rory's strat. As mentioned by myself and others above, at the end of the day it's the swamp ash that I want. So maybe I'll get that one, and then repaint my squire for an eventual roadworn look, better than having 3 natural finish strats. RE seeking a "vintage" instrument I guess I can do rewiring on the st 90 back to 50s,and can change the pups if they are not to my liking. I remember seeing Rory Gallagher pickups somewhere which would be ideal for me, can't remember if they are fenders or Duncans. What chedapapa said about the Blackwood is a little unsettling, but I guess I can file down any fret ends that become exposed, and possibly do a re fret once the wood has fully settled. Thanks for the input everyone, just needed some help in decoding all these HB strats.
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 16, 2018 9:19:18 GMT
Blackwood is a recent thing. There is hope that whatever problems were in the early products will have been solved and today's guitars will behave just fine. My new SC-450Plus also has a Blackwood fingerboard. I'll see what happens.
I thought 50s wiring was a Les Paul thing.
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Post by charlierose on Sept 16, 2018 10:03:25 GMT
Yes, you're right 50s is les paul wiring, I mixed up my terminology between 50s wiring and master tone. I wire my strats to have master tone, not 50s. Hopefully the Blackwood works out as well.
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Post by charlierose on Sept 16, 2018 10:05:57 GMT
Although that said, les paul 50s wiring is a possible mod for strats. Many say that it gives a more authentic/vintage treble bleed.
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k31scout
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
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Post by k31scout on Sept 19, 2018 1:20:41 GMT
Blackwood is a recent thing. There is hope that whatever problems were in the early products will have been solved and today's guitars will behave just fine. My new SC-450Plus also has a Blackwood fingerboard. I'll see what happens. I thought 50s wiring was a Les Paul thing. I hope so. It's almost woodstove weather here in northern Michigan and with constant 20% indoor humidity it will be a hard test for my 450+ Blackwood fret board. I'll report in over the winter.
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Post by roberto on Sept 19, 2018 14:10:09 GMT
Blackwood is a recent thing. There is hope that whatever problems were in the early products will have been solved and today's guitars will behave just fine. My new SC-450Plus also has a Blackwood fingerboard. I'll see what happens.
Gibson Les Paul's freatboard material is Richlite:
“Is Richlite really paper?”
Richlite is an incredibly durable, extremely versatile, and highly sustainable material made from resin-infused paper. Originally developed over 70 years ago for industrial tooling and pattern making, Richlite has expanded into a premium surface material used in the aerospace, marine, action sports, culinary, architecture, and design industries, and in machine shops and automotive manufacturing. Handmade from many layers of high quality custom craft paper, Richlite’s surface texture comes from the natural variation in the way fibers lay within the paper. Composed of approximately 65% FSC®-certified or recycled paper content and 35% phenolic resin, Richlite’s color comes from a combination of the paper and the amber tone of the resin.
We already know that this Gibson Les Paul is a very expencise guitar (in the order of 3500 Euro and more), but we don't know much about richlite ... now we don't know much about blackwood but surely we know that the 450 plus in a few years can be devalued in the order of ... max 50 euros ... that's the trick of HB guitars, no matter which material is used for.
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Post by LeoThunder on Sept 19, 2018 16:22:10 GMT
I paid 108€ for my SC-450Plus, including shipping. I won't lose more than that.
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Post by roberto on Sept 19, 2018 17:30:19 GMT
I paid 108€ for my SC-450Plus, including shipping. I won't lose more than that. Only this we need ... Near to zero in svalutation ... and last but not least because it's only rock roll and I like it!
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