I Played (almost) Every Stratocaster To Find The BEST One

Enter to win the Fender American Vintage II Strat HERE:

Guitars Used In Today's Video (affiliate links)

Squier Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster - Lake Placid Blue: $419.99

Fender Player Stratocaster - Buttercream with Maple Fingerboard: $849.99

Fender American Professional II Stratocaster - Black with Maple Fingerboard $1,699.99

Fender American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster Electric Guitar - Olympic White $2,099.99

Fender Custom Shop 1959 Time Machine Heavy Relic Stratocaster - Aged Daphne Blue with Maple Fingerboard

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Two Notes Torpedo Captor X

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[sidestyle]

The very small difference in sound from the demos just goes to prove a fact most guitarists don't want to admit: your amp is more responsible for your sound than your guitar.

[MusicisWin]

Best sound: American Vintage II
Best look: Custom shop
Best guitar: ... SQUIER BABY THAT THING SOUNDS SWEET

[MrRizoable]

I had the same problem with my Player MiM first but then used the little trick, which puts the neck perfectly in the neck pocket: I losened the neck screws maybe a bit less than a quarter while the strings had tension in E-standard tuning and then tightened them up again. This will fix the dead sound of a strat sometimes, cause the neck pops in perfectly and connects tight to the body, which will make it more resonate. Worked for me. Thanks for the great content Rhett (as always)! Best regards from Germany

[drjcolin]

Have to give you props for such a great channel. Your audio/visual is pro level. I appreciate how thorough your reviews are. And your guitar playing is always tasteful, I especially liked the intro you created in this video. Keep up the great work!

[fivewattworld]

I’m surprised at how much I dig all the American vintage II specs actually. If the idea is for a guitar to get you to play differently then this does that for me.

[harshtruth]

That intro was amazing Rhett....salute

[clos]

The playing on this video is out of this world. Excellent work, sir!

[mattlau]

Love strats! Your melodies are so good and really captures every character of the strat. My favourite is still the vintage road worn relics Customs. Looks and sounds amazing. But it's really about the feeling of the guitar which means....we all have to go to the local guitar shops to try the best one

[adityap]

That intro though ❤ Footage, playing, everything top notch! I also appreciate all the details you mentioned as to what you’d upgrade.

[TheBurdenOfHope]

Your title tracks get better and better every week. That octave fuzz ripped!!

[madbeanz_co]

So you've done Les Paul, and Strat. Can you continue the series into 335s, Teles, Jazzmasters, and SG? I think it's the perfect format for people to get a gist of each type of guitar that may not know where to start.

[jackpalczynski]

Great video. I like the Vintage II "as is". I'm a huge tinkerer and learned a bunch of luthier tricks in my time. For a few years, I started with craigslist bought Mexican Strats and upgraded quite a bit that you talked about. Sand the body to wood. Acrylic color, nitro clear. Level and crown the frets and round the finger board edges. Go with better alnico pickups. And the back of the neck gets sanded down then waxed well. A hint too is that old Deluxe Mexican strats (the serial number starts with a D) like a Jimmie Vaughan, a Powerhouse or the like have the wider, US string spacing and bridge with a much bigger block already. Going the extra mile on one of those doing only paint and neck work make them easily outplay a standard American Strat. Now, I'm not a vintage fan, so if I built one of these to take out and gig, I want the top of the neck truss rod, I add a roller string tree and the tuners become lockers. Pop on some 9's or 10's, lube the nut, saddles and let her rip.

[joshuacondon]

Absolutely love my 59 custom shop strat, I would suggest paying slightly more and looking for a used custom shop rather than the vintage 2, but I love that this new series exists!

[oliverbordac]

Great video as usual❤️. Really love the way you make these videos. I would love this type of video with jaguars or jazz masters.

[ElDiabloHuma]

The intro tracks just keep getting better. Your use of octave fuzz is insane 🫡

[gregrandallbtsr]

Thanks Rhett. Very informative. I'm looking forward to trying out a new American Vintage II soon.

[thrumyeyesphoto]

Beautiful track! Really love the vibe and all the guitar layers. Great work man!

[Thatdudeoverthere]

Loved the intro jam. Love all the videos, Rhett. Your videos keep me wanting to do more. Thank you!

[caryconover]

Rhett your rapid-fire articulations of super specific differences throughout the range of these guitars is excellent. You always state then refine and finally clarify your points. You just do such a great job throughout. It's not the editing (which is excellent) or the camera work (ditto). It's the way you keep viewers engaged. I play a 1984 Hondo H-700 MR/R that every time I'm in the basement doing laundry I pick it up it sounds excellent. But this video gives me some insight on what I might upgrade to some day.

[AlexW-wvnt]

This is a great series for us guitar nerds, I love it! I hope you keep doing this with other popular models 🙂🤘