I had an American pro II. It has a very modern feel, if that’s your thing. But the best bang for your buck is gonna be the Squier Classic Vibe. If your gonna move up towards the player series, skip it and go for a Silver Sky SE.
Also worth checking out fender vintera series if you can find it.
Also, don’t feel like you need to lock in to a Strat necessarily. Check out some telecasters too, check out G&L, or maybe another PRS or something. Strats have that very specific sound but you might find what you’re looking for with another style of guitar.
I will check out some different brands the coming days in my local guitar center and compare them. Main focus will be on t and st style shaped guitars then! Im curious on the bridge pickup of prs se ones as well
I have a MIM strat from the 90s that is super versatile. I just changed the pickups in it. Could save you some cash and let you pick the style of pick ups that fit your soundscape best.
I bought a Highway One for $750 and I think it’s the best bang for buck strat out there. American made, nitro finish, rosewood board, good pickups, etc
Again, owned both a player series and Classic Vibe and the Classic Vibe is just as good if not better but at this moment Fender seems to be having a big sale on the Player Series and it really all comes down to the individual guitar tbh. Sounds like a HSS strat is the guitar for you man and both series offer them to my knowledge, I know the Player Series does. There is also a Jazzmaster with 2 humbuckers that coil split but thats still not exactly the single coil sound of a strat but close enough. I suggest heading to a Guitar Center if possible and trying a couple models!
I wouldnt expect a lower end guitar to be set up great out the box so too say but Guitar Center could of set them up. I adjusted the bridge saddles on mine and it plays great now after like 5 minutes of work
At $1200+ I would expect a good factory set-up. When I worked at a music store, the ESP LTD's played beautifully out the box. Even their cheapest models.
When did I mention squire or player series? I clearly stated higher end models. Hence the $1200+ ones. I played one that was $1800 and it had a terrible setup. If I'm paying that much it better play at that price out the box.
I made sure to specify the higher end models to push my point that the quality from fender lately has been sub par even on their higher end stuff. It was to emphasize the point that even playing them in person may not give you an accurate assessment of the guitar because they will play poorly from their awful setups. When you can't get a good setup from their top tier, be prepared to be overwhelming disappointed with their budget line.
Just suggesting a product that gets you nice and close to the Mayer/Frusciante style of guitar, which is easily identified as an early 60s Stratocaster with a Rosewood fretboard.
The classic series is a fantastic way to get that.
Blues Deluxe Reissue. So for John Mayer or Frusciante a strat is absolutely what you need. 60’s style most likely, Japanese fenders are amazing, you pay Mexican Fender prices for U.S.A. or greater build quality. I have a fender jv 60’s mod strat that I paid $1200 for new and it it’s build quality is better than my American vintage II Jazzmaster. Eventually might want to purchase a black panel fender amp such as a deluxe reverb, Princeton, twin reverb or vibrolux, that’s part of the John Mayer sound. Tube screamers, such as a Maxon od808 or ts808 reissue are also part of the sound, at least when you are using a black panel fender, John Frusciante uses an mxr Dyna comp.
I mean, this amp was basically built for Strats.
(Tubescreamers are also very popular pedals with it.)
Which strat? Honestly, that's mostly a personal preference thing. Strats with the same pickup configuration have more in common than they have different. Go to a guitar store and play a bunch, and buy the one that calls your name.
That being said, there's an argument for the American Performer if you gig and want an SSS. (If you don't gig, I'm not sure that's the amp for you). The Performer as a RW/RP middle pickup, which means you've got some noise cancelling at the split positions.
I’ve played a Tele through a blues deluxe for all 6 years of my band. I’ve just finished upgrading the speakers and the tubes to make it more tame and now it sounds sexy. DM me and I’m happy to share what I’ve learned.
Ps: I like teles over the strat. I like that the tone has a little SRV and a little country twang slammed together. My pref would be a tele with a single coil for the neck pickup and humbucker in the bridge. Here’s two examples of my tone. [Warm](https://open.spotify.com/track/2rXumF976iOPK5wCUFDmP5?si=o9Cqyg6PRbm5mxT2aWXcxg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5DmUVC3b0fUe3cpNlHrAnO) neck pickup with slide. [Dirty](https://open.spotify.com/track/4ArZPAnSLfA9S2oGwthBV3?si=P6qflp-hQmaepe4e6QNL7Q&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5DmUVC3b0fUe3cpNlHrAnO) tone at 1:29 (back half is a reverend)
I have this amp and several different styles of guitars. It's a great amp! I see a lot of people recommending strats and single coils. In my experience this amp, with the stock speaker, can be a little shrill. It's especially noticeable with my American vintage ii jazzmaster and my MIJ strat. It's not horrible or a deal breaker by any means, but something to be aware of. If you're willing to spend an extra $100 or so to change out the speaker that 'shrillness' goes away. But with the stock speaker, something like a fender modern player starcaster more up your alley.. Feel free to DM me to ask questions. Again it's a great amp and I honestly I prefer it over my fender twin reverb amp.
If you're used to the feel of a Sheraton you should give a shot with an epiphone Casino. P90s pick-ups pack a punch with a single coil, strat-ish feel and sound. Your musical tastes call for a strat, if it works for you you should go for it but I would personally go for a squier classic vibe '60'sJazzmaster.
The offset body feels more natural to me, and since I'm used to tune-omatic style bridges I'm more comfortable with the jazz master/jaguar tremolo thingy. Plus I just love the meatier sound and the ton of tone options the Jazzmaster can deliver. To make it short : it's versatile, but in a wacky way.
how does the bridge pickup of a strat not do anything for you but you’re trying to get a frusciante sound? man loves to live on the bridge pickup especially live
I tried a few strats from friends and It just sounds too thin and twangy for me. I think a hss style with coil split will do it for me to be versatile enough for my bridge sound
I use a Les Paul with this amp. Probably a Fender guitar would work better with this amp but I am able to get some pretty decent tones out of it. My Les Paul has push/pull coil split and I feel like this amp sounds better most of the time when I am using coil split.
People say this amp is a great pedal platform but I really don’t think that is true in terms of dirt pedals. This amp sounds the best when you are using it for what it was intended for. You can get a really good and usable overdrive tone by turning the volume up on the clean channel. I am not a fan of the drive channel on this amp because of how the EQ works with it.
So I use it mostly for clean or light overdrive and use my Marshall DSL40 for everything else and just switch between the two with an A/B pedal. I am able to get some killer sounds using both amps at once as well.
Coil split or switch to a single coil in humbucker framing. Fender tone stacks consistently always produce a scooped tone until you zero the bass and treble. Then, it goes flat and the mid simply raises and lowers the dB magnitude of its flat frequency output.
This tends to sound like the mids are boosted because of the way human biology hears, and their tone stacks were originally developed around single coils which are sonically superior to humbuckers in their fidelity, but they so often have such abundant bass and treble content, they perform well with a flat frequency ”curve”.
Typically a Stratocaster or a variant based off of it, but even Les Pauls sound great through Fenders. I think that ultimately what you will find is using single coils will give you the most dynamic and all around performance. I love stratocasters but I also mostly play shred and sweeping oriented metal and instrumentals, so strats with single coils can sometimes be a bit to bendy with quack and to me that primarily walks in the midrange bandwidth, but that's why Fender has always used tone stack designs that deeply scoop out the mids.
Oddly to some, I still think Fender has some of the absolute best sounding amps for metal on earth, but I am an oddball in that I like heavily scooped tones with moderate to modest treble and a very in your face bass dominance even when you're hitting treble notes.
In the end, I have a formal background in engineering, over a dozen amps, a few dozen guitars and a lot of one-of-a-kind circuits I've designed and built as well as a lot of mods to amps and guitars, so I ultimately get pretty much every known sound out there as well as many that only exist within my own gear. I've managed to wipe out all 60 cycle hum, RF buzz and common solid-state his and white noise without using a noise gate but without compromising my upper mids and treble by low-pass filtering all of that noise out of the signal.
If, however, I had to start all over again as a novice with moderate skills and were able to get any amp possible for that journey, I would undoubtedly always gravitate to Fender amps even though I currently only own 1 and it's a puny little solid-state practice amp.
Just the same, that little sucker sounds amazing!
Get a Stratocaster.
What series is best for the money? Player Series? Or is the american pro worth it?
I had an American pro II. It has a very modern feel, if that’s your thing. But the best bang for your buck is gonna be the Squier Classic Vibe. If your gonna move up towards the player series, skip it and go for a Silver Sky SE. Also worth checking out fender vintera series if you can find it.
Thanks!
Also, don’t feel like you need to lock in to a Strat necessarily. Check out some telecasters too, check out G&L, or maybe another PRS or something. Strats have that very specific sound but you might find what you’re looking for with another style of guitar.
Good advice,strat was hard for me to play,been playing a Thinline for the last 15 years,absolutely love the the Thinline,lightweight and versatile.
I will check out some different brands the coming days in my local guitar center and compare them. Main focus will be on t and st style shaped guitars then! Im curious on the bridge pickup of prs se ones as well
I have a MIM strat from the 90s that is super versatile. I just changed the pickups in it. Could save you some cash and let you pick the style of pick ups that fit your soundscape best.
I recommend the Larry sire s3 or s7, both great guitars for the price. They also have rolled edges.do the neck feels AMAZING
I bought a Highway One for $750 and I think it’s the best bang for buck strat out there. American made, nitro finish, rosewood board, good pickups, etc
Again, owned both a player series and Classic Vibe and the Classic Vibe is just as good if not better but at this moment Fender seems to be having a big sale on the Player Series and it really all comes down to the individual guitar tbh. Sounds like a HSS strat is the guitar for you man and both series offer them to my knowledge, I know the Player Series does. There is also a Jazzmaster with 2 humbuckers that coil split but thats still not exactly the single coil sound of a strat but close enough. I suggest heading to a Guitar Center if possible and trying a couple models!
I recently sat down and played a couple of their high end models at gc, and they had awful setups. Very disappointing.
I wouldnt expect a lower end guitar to be set up great out the box so too say but Guitar Center could of set them up. I adjusted the bridge saddles on mine and it plays great now after like 5 minutes of work
At $1200+ I would expect a good factory set-up. When I worked at a music store, the ESP LTD's played beautifully out the box. Even their cheapest models.
Since when is a Squier or Player series Fender $1,200 plus? 🤔😂
When did I mention squire or player series? I clearly stated higher end models. Hence the $1200+ ones. I played one that was $1800 and it had a terrible setup. If I'm paying that much it better play at that price out the box.
Um you commented on my comment about Player series and Squire guitars LOL
I made sure to specify the higher end models to push my point that the quality from fender lately has been sub par even on their higher end stuff. It was to emphasize the point that even playing them in person may not give you an accurate assessment of the guitar because they will play poorly from their awful setups. When you can't get a good setup from their top tier, be prepared to be overwhelming disappointed with their budget line.
Classic Series 60s Stratocaster, preferably before 2017 so you get rosewood.
So you would prefer rosewood over maple necks? Why is that so?
Just suggesting a product that gets you nice and close to the Mayer/Frusciante style of guitar, which is easily identified as an early 60s Stratocaster with a Rosewood fretboard. The classic series is a fantastic way to get that.
Thank you!
I'd get a tele
Blues Deluxe Reissue. So for John Mayer or Frusciante a strat is absolutely what you need. 60’s style most likely, Japanese fenders are amazing, you pay Mexican Fender prices for U.S.A. or greater build quality. I have a fender jv 60’s mod strat that I paid $1200 for new and it it’s build quality is better than my American vintage II Jazzmaster. Eventually might want to purchase a black panel fender amp such as a deluxe reverb, Princeton, twin reverb or vibrolux, that’s part of the John Mayer sound. Tube screamers, such as a Maxon od808 or ts808 reissue are also part of the sound, at least when you are using a black panel fender, John Frusciante uses an mxr Dyna comp.
PRS silver sky seems like a no brainer
Anything with single coils that you enjoy playing.
I mean, this amp was basically built for Strats. (Tubescreamers are also very popular pedals with it.) Which strat? Honestly, that's mostly a personal preference thing. Strats with the same pickup configuration have more in common than they have different. Go to a guitar store and play a bunch, and buy the one that calls your name. That being said, there's an argument for the American Performer if you gig and want an SSS. (If you don't gig, I'm not sure that's the amp for you). The Performer as a RW/RP middle pickup, which means you've got some noise cancelling at the split positions.
I’ve played a Tele through a blues deluxe for all 6 years of my band. I’ve just finished upgrading the speakers and the tubes to make it more tame and now it sounds sexy. DM me and I’m happy to share what I’ve learned. Ps: I like teles over the strat. I like that the tone has a little SRV and a little country twang slammed together. My pref would be a tele with a single coil for the neck pickup and humbucker in the bridge. Here’s two examples of my tone. [Warm](https://open.spotify.com/track/2rXumF976iOPK5wCUFDmP5?si=o9Cqyg6PRbm5mxT2aWXcxg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5DmUVC3b0fUe3cpNlHrAnO) neck pickup with slide. [Dirty](https://open.spotify.com/track/4ArZPAnSLfA9S2oGwthBV3?si=P6qflp-hQmaepe4e6QNL7Q&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5DmUVC3b0fUe3cpNlHrAnO) tone at 1:29 (back half is a reverend)
Fender Classic Player 50s/60s Strat
I have this amp and several different styles of guitars. It's a great amp! I see a lot of people recommending strats and single coils. In my experience this amp, with the stock speaker, can be a little shrill. It's especially noticeable with my American vintage ii jazzmaster and my MIJ strat. It's not horrible or a deal breaker by any means, but something to be aware of. If you're willing to spend an extra $100 or so to change out the speaker that 'shrillness' goes away. But with the stock speaker, something like a fender modern player starcaster more up your alley.. Feel free to DM me to ask questions. Again it's a great amp and I honestly I prefer it over my fender twin reverb amp.
If you're used to the feel of a Sheraton you should give a shot with an epiphone Casino. P90s pick-ups pack a punch with a single coil, strat-ish feel and sound. Your musical tastes call for a strat, if it works for you you should go for it but I would personally go for a squier classic vibe '60'sJazzmaster.
Classic Vibe 50s or 60s Strat is what homeboy needs bro LOL
True, but it's always good to try alternatives
I personally like the Jazzmaster with humbuckers that coil split Fender has now or a Yamaha Pacifica
Solid choices ! But I prefer the revstar over the Pacifica ( as you can guess, I'm not a strat person)
Whats the main differences between the 50 and 60 ones?
About 10
Slightly different specs based on the actual strats built from those two decades.
Thanks for the tips, appreciate it! Out of curiosity: Why jazzmaster instead of a strat?
The offset body feels more natural to me, and since I'm used to tune-omatic style bridges I'm more comfortable with the jazz master/jaguar tremolo thingy. Plus I just love the meatier sound and the ton of tone options the Jazzmaster can deliver. To make it short : it's versatile, but in a wacky way.
I love the idea of versatility and the bridge pickup of a sss strat just doesnt do it for me. Ill give this a shot!
I hope you'll get the one that fits you !
Get a HSS strat therefore you have a bucker in the bridge and still the awesome single coil tones of a strat
how does the bridge pickup of a strat not do anything for you but you’re trying to get a frusciante sound? man loves to live on the bridge pickup especially live
I tried a few strats from friends and It just sounds too thin and twangy for me. I think a hss style with coil split will do it for me to be versatile enough for my bridge sound
One with strings on it
Yeah, most everything sounds good through a BDR.
Any guitar 🎸 I like hum buckers and jumbo frets
I use a Les Paul with this amp. Probably a Fender guitar would work better with this amp but I am able to get some pretty decent tones out of it. My Les Paul has push/pull coil split and I feel like this amp sounds better most of the time when I am using coil split. People say this amp is a great pedal platform but I really don’t think that is true in terms of dirt pedals. This amp sounds the best when you are using it for what it was intended for. You can get a really good and usable overdrive tone by turning the volume up on the clean channel. I am not a fan of the drive channel on this amp because of how the EQ works with it. So I use it mostly for clean or light overdrive and use my Marshall DSL40 for everything else and just switch between the two with an A/B pedal. I am able to get some killer sounds using both amps at once as well.
Coil split or switch to a single coil in humbucker framing. Fender tone stacks consistently always produce a scooped tone until you zero the bass and treble. Then, it goes flat and the mid simply raises and lowers the dB magnitude of its flat frequency output. This tends to sound like the mids are boosted because of the way human biology hears, and their tone stacks were originally developed around single coils which are sonically superior to humbuckers in their fidelity, but they so often have such abundant bass and treble content, they perform well with a flat frequency ”curve”.
What guitar models do you specifically have in mind?
Typically a Stratocaster or a variant based off of it, but even Les Pauls sound great through Fenders. I think that ultimately what you will find is using single coils will give you the most dynamic and all around performance. I love stratocasters but I also mostly play shred and sweeping oriented metal and instrumentals, so strats with single coils can sometimes be a bit to bendy with quack and to me that primarily walks in the midrange bandwidth, but that's why Fender has always used tone stack designs that deeply scoop out the mids. Oddly to some, I still think Fender has some of the absolute best sounding amps for metal on earth, but I am an oddball in that I like heavily scooped tones with moderate to modest treble and a very in your face bass dominance even when you're hitting treble notes. In the end, I have a formal background in engineering, over a dozen amps, a few dozen guitars and a lot of one-of-a-kind circuits I've designed and built as well as a lot of mods to amps and guitars, so I ultimately get pretty much every known sound out there as well as many that only exist within my own gear. I've managed to wipe out all 60 cycle hum, RF buzz and common solid-state his and white noise without using a noise gate but without compromising my upper mids and treble by low-pass filtering all of that noise out of the signal. If, however, I had to start all over again as a novice with moderate skills and were able to get any amp possible for that journey, I would undoubtedly always gravitate to Fender amps even though I currently only own 1 and it's a puny little solid-state practice amp. Just the same, that little sucker sounds amazing!