Which Stratocaster is the Best?

I think that depends. What style of neck do you like? What pickups do you prefer? Having said that, early '60s aren't a bad place to start for a popular choice. Unless you are only talking about strats in current production?

for me most current producton strats have scrawny, wimpy necks, but for you they may be just right. Personally I tick with certain signature model with very vintage appointments and neck profiles.... I've owned some strats ove rthe eyars that were very well amde guitars but they just weren't for me. I want a decently big neck with a U, soft V or boat type of profile. The neck they call a C shape these days is too small for me. Soke of the necks on american standards and the mexis tandards are comically thin and have no shoulder and on a strat I might want to bring my thumb up and anchor it on that shoulder, Hendrix style.

But fender makes a lot of good guitars, the mexican guitars are a helluva deal for the amount of craftsmanship that goes into them.

I tend to play with a Hendrix grip, so I love the C-shape neck. A nice U shape is also good, but I was never a huge fan of the V shape. I'm one to grab a nice, moderately chunky neck and call it a day. I think the current mainline American model (Pro? I don;'t even know anymore) is one of my favorite strats in a long time but the Players feel heckin' nice too.

Pickup-wise: there isn't a Fender Strat pickup that truly blows. There just isn't.

those american ones still have tiny necks

if you don't use the wang bar, prefer rosewood to maple fingerbaord and don't care about the sound of the springs resonating when you play really loud (the way you should) I highly recommend the Robert Cray sig model actually... I should make special emtnion of thsi guitar as its a great value being mexican, has a medium but full neck, and is very distinct frome very other affordable strat out there.

they're not Ibanez small, and they're alright. i think they're nice and comfy but i'm not planning on buying one.

I'm sure they're right for soembody... you probably wouldn't like many of my guitars, they're not easy to play, the action's not aprticularly low and the necks range from a soft V up to some baseball bats.... when iw as younger I didn't udnerstand the big neck thing but I get it now

baseball bats are fine, it's the V's i can't get

its a soft V, sort of a boat, not a pointy V

hmm, I'd have to try it.

its really common on strats... notably its the clapton enck shape

yeah, I've never tried the Clapton sig (?) at least I think thats what it is, but I ought to give it a shot

its got weird bpickups and thats tupid on baord mid booster but otherwise its a good guitar

the jimmy vaughn strat is a fender "V" too.... its like a boatneck with less shoulder. Basically in the 50s and 60s they'd go to make a boat shaped neck that was like a full inch thick but they would get carried away sanding it and it would get a little smaller and more round. But that ebcame a shape of its own

hmm ive never seen the vaughn strat, i'll keep an eye out. personally i like all the sounds of clapton's mid boost.

I have one.... you used to see theme verywhere now they don't make as many I guess, it was good bang ofr buck when Iw as younger. I got mine used for a couple hundred bucks at Daddy's Junky when I was up in Connecticut for some reason... mine has a medium sort of depth, defintiely less than an inch, not too pronounced of a V shape.... I've played some thata re a bit deeper on the enck with a really pronounced V

Clpton's stuff sounds good when he plays it... it ill sound awful when you play it. His whole deal is like the midboost blackie copy into a gunned low power tweed twin. Maybe you could get away with like a JTM45 but it just soudns dump otherwise.... and it helps to be clapton. I knew a guy with a clapton strat. He used the mid boost like crazy. He played a super reverb or a dunky little pr junior and sued a tubescreamer. He also was not clapton but he thought he was.... people just sound dmb with clapton signature gear and fender should stop selling it. LOL

valid. i guess it makes sense for other applications tho-- takes away the need for a TS of you use it right into a silverface fender, can probably get some sick garage tones

I guess, the tbescreamer does a lot more than just boost the mids like the clapton boost htough. And there's is NO NEED for a tubescreamer. Ever. Its just not needed. You don't need it. Need's a strong word.

valid, guess that's me comng from a place of higher gain music. every guitsar player i know uses the ts as a clean boost to tighten up, and they all pretend like it's their little secret.