O.K. I LOVE this freakin' guitar! I took it by my fav Luthier Mike at A Sound Education in Brookfield last week, who tweaked the one thing I don't like to mess with (The Truss Rod in the neck), and now this thing is perfect.
Of the electric guitars in the Stable (This makes 4 for electrics) This is the most professional instrument of the bunch. Rose's Cortez Tele is great now after the mods, and has the that Tele and Broadcaster twang with the new pickups, but it is one heavy guitar (one piece Ash Body), it is also a bit temperamental to play with the "D" shaped neck. It's a great sounding guitar, average for playing. The Epi Les Paul, is also nice, but being an Epiphone, it's not made to the same Specs as a Gibson, and even after a trip to Mike, and trying a variety of strings, the action is still pretty high (compared to my other guitars) and even three years later the stain on the neck still comes off on my fingers when I play it. It sounds like a LP, and plays well, but it lags well behind the Blacktop for playability. Lastly my heavily Modded Squier '51; believe it or not this guitar comes in second in sound (I would describe it as More Strat sounding than a Strat) and playability to the Blacktop, but it's a very distant second, as even with intonation set perfect, it gets a bit wiggy sounding above the 14th fret.... Que tangent rant...
(Tangent Rant) Squier (on purpose I think) changes the scale length a tad less than on their models and then sets the bridge about 1/4 inch off (short) compared to the Fender models so that you can't (with the stock bridge placement) ever set intonation perfectly (or the saddles have to be so far back, you're at the full extent of their adjustment, which is not good either). I ran into the same problem with the Squier Stratocaster I gave my Brother 4 years ago. Rather than move the tremolo system back 1/4 inch (and have to route the trem cavity) I opted to put a fixed bridge (hardtail) on it at the correct position which helped it significantly (end Rant).
Back to the Blacktop: While this guitar can get quite Les Paul Sounding and has much more sustain than most Fenders, its string dynamics (and longer scale) prevent you from making it a fully convincing Les Paul replacement. Of the 5 switch settings two are standard Strat sounding, but are more bass-y than what you'd get from a single coil standard strat. It's also just a hair short of that Strat "Icepick in the head" squeal from the bridge pickup trademark Strat Sound...BUT with a good effects processor (Line6 Pod or Digitech), you can easily overcome these small shortcomings and easily gig with this guitar and get most of the sounds you would need from most of the Rock/Blues/Pop that I grew up with and not need to tote another with you for "Gibson Sound" songs.
I started out with Bass in high school, so often I'm fighting with the guitar because it's not as easily playable as a bass (not to mention how late in life I started with guitar). I am on occasion hampered by the other electric guitars in the stable, something in their playability or design. Not so with the Blacktop, its quality and playability is beyond my current playing ability, Riffs and chords that I've fumbled with on the other electrics just roll off my fingers on this guitar. While I know that the American made Strats are made to a higher standard that this Made in Mexico model, my hobbyist playing just does not justify $$$uch a guitar.
This one is perfect for me. Meet the new King of the Stable; The Fender Blacktop Strat.
Thank You Dear!
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