Custom Shop Stratocaster Shootout | FENDER vs XOTIC vs LSL vs PRS | Thomann

This time Kris compares some of the finest Stratocaster and S-style guitars.
Enjoy the video!

Watch our mid-priced Strat shootout aka the American Standard Strat VS the competition:

Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Introduction
0:43 The guitars
2:20 Clean comparison | neck PU; neck+middle PUs
4:27 The guitars' setup and the full rig
5:35 Clean comparison | middle+bridge PUs
6:10 Overdrive comparison | Round 1
6:49 Overdrive comparison | Round 2
7:17 Overdrive comparison | Round 3
7:45 Overdrive comparison | Round 4
8:24 My thoughts and impressions

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[JohnPriceJNPMusic]

I thought the Xotic guitar sounded the best all-around out of this bunch. The guitar sounds very traditional with a nice warm vibe. Then it would be the Fender/PRS/LSL

[jerrycarroll]

To my ears the white strat sounds the best, then the silver sky.

[PainDive]

The fender sounds the best to my ears, in last the PRS cause I thought it sounded harsh, but the fender was very balanced in the high frequencies and nice warm mids.

[AnkurWow]

For cleans, the Silver Sky. For OD/gain, the Fender Custom Shop (sunburst).

[TheMytherian]

It’s interesting listening to these examples. I think each of these guitars has a setting in the pick-up selection that sounds better than all the others in the same position, but it’s always the case that it’s never all in 1 guitar for me. They all sounded great

[briandevitt]

Chris always sounds good. I liked the Fender and the PRS. Would want to get them in my hands before even thinking about spending that amount of cash though.

[tmartin]

And for the next round, I would suggest comparing these guitars with any inexpensive Strat with a good neck and Kinman pickups. I just discovered Kinman because I was looking to reduce the hum, but the quality and tone are fantastic. I now have two Strats with an investment under $800US each, (EART +Kinman) that sound better than my original 1965 Strat, ... which is still hiding in it's case.

[ibalrog]

They all sound good, but for me the overdriven split bridge pickup on the white one made the best sounds in this video by a mile.

[crflores]

The silver sound the best…. I don’t know if it’s feel better, but apparently it’s the best strat

[EspMiiiDLX]

There's no point in picking a winner here they all sounded great. I also think they feel good too even the ones I haven't tried (xotic, PRS). I just think that if you're going to go so high in price you should go with the "big" brands cause if you change your mind or something wrong happens with your finances, you'll be able to get your money back relatively easy.
PS: Solid playing by Kris as usual

[craigthomson]

I tried a lefty Xotic HSS recently and was very impressed - I also ran it through a Marshall SV20H. Xotic do 50’s and 60’s versions of their single coils - each having a different sound. Quite a few lefty Fender Custom Shop and LSL guitars here in London UK, but PRS do not offer the Silver Sky in left-handed orientation. I can play right-handed but prefer playing lefty.

[keef]

Was that overdrive all pedal into a clean amp please?
And yes the Fender does sound best to me too. I own both PRS and Fender so not biased either way. Thanks. Great video comparison.

[scottmoreau]

I find with the Silver Sky, no matter what tone you are going for clean or overdriven, it seems to always have a clear/string separation that the other ones don’t have. I need to try more to see if I like the radius but it’s a great strat.

[JoeBear]

Fender or PRS for me. Great video, thanks Kris

[fraenkiboii]

I think the price sweet spot for a modern high end regular strat is around 1.5 - 2k, basically where the Prof II and the Ultra sit. Meaning everything above that, the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Most say that from that point up, you're paying 80% more money for 20% more value. Me, personally, if I was willing and insane enough (which I was once in the past) to go up to the magical 4k mark, I'd wanna aim for the original Fender CS. Not even for rational reasons like tone, etc., but for mojo, heritage and - yes - the brand name. I own a Prof II (1500) and a CS (4k) and honestly, there are attributes where the CS is worse than the Prof II. But the mojo you get from a CS also has its value. It inspires me more. Coming back to this awesome shootout. I was REALLY surprised by the Xotic. The clarity and articulation of that guitar is stunning and it looks awesome. However, I still prefer the F :)

[olafburgermann]

All sound great in their own way but I think if I were in this end of the market it would have to be a Music Man Cutlass. Definitely wins on volume knob placement.

[PaulCooksStuff]

I tried to be impartial, and each played in isolation you'd say they're all very strat, but back to back the fender just has more strat somehow. But it could just be it was played first and was the reference for judging the others. A full blind test might've been interesting.

I'd also be curious what happens if you take a set of fat 50's from the strattiest strat in this shootout and put them in a Mexi Player. How much of that tone survives the migration. It wouldn't be the best playing/feeling, but how does it hold up on best sounding 🤔

[GraniteSoundtrack]

They all sounded really good, the fender stood out clean and the rest kind of sounded similar with gain, at least through YouTube. I liked the look of the Xotic the best. Silversky would win for me though cause of price.

[jeffreyeagen]

I personally liked the sound of the LSL the best, bridge humbucker not withstanding. To me it sounded closest to my American Performer strat with alnico 2s and 4s, which is also white (just a coincidence I'm sure). You didn't mention if they were all alnico 5 pickups or not.

[frantisca]

Hey Kris, as you quoted, there is no winner: all great guitars. My preferred soundwise was the Fender CS, followed closely by the Silver Sky. The Exotic sounded a bit weaker to me, which can be an advantage for low outputs can be pushed harder. Special mention for the LSL with its HSS configuration, that makes it very versatile. Life's hard cause it's made of choices...!! :)) Keep well ;-)