The Strat debacle, saving lost (guitar) souls and other random musings

The Johncaster

When I built my signature Stratocaster - a.k.a. the Johncaster - I did it as purely a theoretical exercise, a "what if" scenario. Of course, it turned out so well that I couldn't help but give serious thought to making the theory a reality. I just don't know whether or not I want to modify my Strat.

The reason for this is my ever-wavering stance on the tone of my nearly-stock Strat. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don't. Lately, again, I've been loving it. I think it goes back to what I wrote about mood guitars - if I'm in the mood for a certain tone, I better have the guitar that will give me that tone. Since I tend to be in a Strat mood pretty regularly, does it really make sense to completely change it? Not really.

Plus there are other factors. Like, for instance, my Johncaster concept is tuned decidedly for metal, but the guitar itself isn't really a metal guitar. It has a fairly standard 9.5" radius, a relatively thick (by metal guitar standards) C-profile neck and only 21 frets. Metal guitars, in contrast, typically have flatter fretboards (a 12" or 15" radius is common), thin necks and 24 frets. It's like putting a Ferrari V12 in a pickup truck. It'll sound like a Ferrari, but it sure won't drive like one.

It's pretty clear to me that my Strat will stay a Strat for the duration of its existence with me. I would still like to get one of those BladeRunner tremolos and possibly some better (but still Strat-like) pickups, but it'll always be a Strat.

So now the focus turns back to the short list, or at least the concept behind the short list. It's no question that I have a soft spot for things that may have been cast off that need a home. It's the reason why two of my dogs are rescue dogs - one from a small dog rescue and another from the local shelter. It's also why I'm drawn to places like pawn shops and used guitar Web stores like Daddy's Junky Music.

There are so many guitars - great guitars - that are out there just waiting for a new home. I remember last year I found a pretty rare 1983 Ibanez Roadstar II on Music Go Round's Web site that was at their Aurora, CO store. It was an RS335, a model so rare it never even appeared in any of their catalogs. The RS335 model was released in the second half of 1983, missing the catalog for that year, and discontinued that December, thus not appearing in the 1984 catalog. Anyway, Music Go Round obviously didn't know what they had, because they were selling it for a very low price ($179, if memory serves). I remember I wanted to go look at it so bad, but for one reason or another I never got around to it and it ended up being sold. It looked just like the guitar in the ad above but it was white and had a locking nut, another rarity. I've seen other RS335s for sale since and they've all been more expensive than the white one at Music Go Round and none of them have had a locking nut.

To get to the point (finally), as nice as a new guitar would be, it would be even better to have something older that is more unique, more rare - a guitar that was abandoned by its owner and needs a new home. (Feel that? That's me tugging on your heart strings.) I really like the old Japanese-made Ibanez guitars like the Roadstar II series and the Pro Line series. It definitely convolutes the whole short list thing. Just looking at that picture of the RS335 as I'm writing this post makes me want to find another one. I don't get that same feeling with a new guitar.

In other random news, I'm pretty sure I'm going to sell my Line 6 amp. Now that I have my DigiTech RP90, all I use the Line 6 for is a glorified speaker. The amp is a modeling amp and the pedal is a modeling pedal, so why do I need both? What I really need is a nice amp that I can run the RP90 through that also has a tone of its own. I'm thinking of the Bugera V5 again despite my lukewarm initial impression. I like that it's a small tube amp and I know more about it now so I'd be able to better test it out given the chance. I also like that it's dirt cheap, especially for a tube amp. I could easily sell my Line 6 to someone just starting out (it's perfect for that) and put the money toward a new amp. For the time being I could just use the headphone jack in the RP90 until I get enough to buy a V5 (or whatever amp I end up choosing - there are a few inexpensive 5-watt tube combos out there). The Line 6 served me well and was a great choice for me when I was starting over again on guitar, but now I've outgrown it.

So that's it, pretty much. Kind of a rambling post but, you know, I haven't had a post for a few days and I had these thoughts rattling around my brain for a while that had to get out. After a while, all that rattling gives me a headache.