Thinking about a Korean Stratocaster Ash Lite

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

Sort of a neat looking guitar, clear finish on the ash body and maple neck. Three pickups, non-humbucker IIRC.

Any opinions on these, anything to look out for when inspecting before purchase?

I know nothing about electric guitars. This will be a first for me, if I get it.

:hi:

[kysrsoze]

1. My best recommendation: Play a LOT of guitars

Seriously, if this is your first electric, go out and play a lot of different types of guitars through a good, low-wattage tube amp (Egnater, Blackstar, Blackheart, Fender, Vox, to give you some suggestions). Although this Strat looks nice to you, what will keep the love affair going is knowing it feels good to play and sounds good to you. And there's no problem with Korean geetars. I have a Korean Les Paul and I love it to death. They tend to be high quality, IMO. Mexican Strats and even some of the Squier models are good playing/sounding too.

Ash bodies have a very distinctive sound. Some people love them and others find them harsh. Alder bodies are a little more mellow. Mahogany bodies are that much more mellow. SG's have mahogany bodies and most Les Pauls have mahogany bodies with maple tops glued on (good mixture of mellow and bright). Single coils tend to be better for blues and clean sounds, while humbuckers give a nice grind/crunch. P-90s are really sweet too - basically a single coil like a strat pickup, but it can be really dirtied up and have an awesome crunch.

Before you jump on that particular Strat, You might want to try a couple of the following types (because even the same types of guitars will have a different sound/feel and you'd be surprised how much they can vary): Stratocaster, Telecaster, SG, Les Paul and a semi-hollowbody like an Epiphone Dot or an Ibanez. Most other guitars, except for the metal axes, are just variants of these.

Here's one last piece of additional knowledge it took me years to figure out: the amplifier is more important for good sound, and you should spend at least as much, if not more on the amp. Most Fender tube amps are built more for cleans or "American" distortion. Marshall, Vox, Orange, etc., are good for "British"-sounding crunch. Some amps like an Egnater Tweaker or Blackstar HT5 can straddle both American and British types of sound.

It may sound daunting, or like a big pain, but it's a lot of fun to noodle around on a bunch of different guitars and amps. You may end up grabbing that Strat, or something else you never expected.

Hope this helps. Have a good time.

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. I played a Strat for years as my main guitar and 2 years ago I decided

to buy a Les Paul. I had a gig the night the guitar arrived and I thought I would fool around with it and leave it home figuring I didn't want to have to get used to a new guitar during a gig and just play my Strat like I always did. When I picked up the Les Paul to fool around it felt perfect in my hands like I have been playing it for years. I ended up taking it to the gig and using it.
The point to all this is that, turns out, the Les Paul neck was a more comfortable guitar to play for me than the Strat which I never knew until I bought one.
Nothing against Strats and I still use it a lot but my point is to definitely try out other guitars before you buy.

[kysrsoze]

4. I know what you mean. A couple years ago, I thought I'd check out an SG

I was shopping craigslist for SGs, and I ended up finding a great deal on a Les Paul. I fell in love. I now have a fetish for Les Pauls. There's nothing like them.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. Dupe n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Very Good Advice

Also, the Strat has a very narrow radius and LOTS of people like the shorter scale and flatter neck. You get NEITHER of those with a Strat. (Or nearly any other Fender except the Jaguar and relatives.)

So, your suggestion to try a bunch is perfect.

Glad to see this forum is popping up a bit. Was pretty dead around here for a while.
GAC

[kysrsoze]

5. So did you check that thing out and buy it? What's the status?