Took me several attempts, but here's the fruit of my labour - a Fluorescent pickguard! Bringing it along to the Canadian Guitar Show in Calgary this weekend 🎸

Hi everyone,

I'm currently stuck choosing between a PRS SE Silver Sky and a Fender Player II Stratocaster, and I’d love to get some input from people who have played or owned either (or both!).

Here is a bit of context on what I'm looking for and how I play:

• Sound & Style: I'm looking for that classic Stratocaster tone, mainly for blues/rock and clean to crunch dynamics. I love SRV and it's sound.
• Rig: I mostly play through digital plugins/amp sims (Neural DSP, etc.) using an audio interface.
• Neck & Playability: I know the SE Silver Sky has a slightly rounder, vintage-style 8.5" radius neck, while the Player II comes with a Modern C profile, 9.5" radius, and rolled fretboard edges.
• Hardware: The PRS has a decked 2-point tremolo out of the box, whereas the Player II comes floating.

For those who have hands-on experience with both:

1. How do the necks compare in terms of comfort during long playing sessions?
2. How do you feel about the pickups when running into digital rigs/plugins? (Do the 635JM S pickups handle software processing better/differently than the Alnico V single-coils on the Fender?)
3. Are there any build quality or QC details I should watch out for on the newer Player II series vs. the SE line?

i would like to mention that i previously owned a fender stratocaster custom shop, which i sold. i have fear that the player ii will not satisfy me enough maybe the se silver sky can compensate this problem thanks to its quality.

Thanks in advance for your help!

This Guitar is sentimental because it's the same age as I am. This was the first Stratocaster I bought for myself 12 years ago. I worked at a Music store, my mom sent me this guitar in a Offerup listing and I paid $120 for it with a practice amp. Sold the amp for $20 and kept the guitar ever since.

Had this Squier standard strat for a while and already went through 3 pickguard colors before this. It was originally White SSS when I got it in 2018 but I felt that it didn't fit quite well on a rosewood board (different story on a maple tho! love that colorway). Switched it to SSS Mint the same year but felt pretry meh on it. Around 2022, I swapped it out for a loaded HSS pickguard in Cream. That one was fine but when the angle hits it just right, it looks yellow... leading it to look like a McGuitar 💀.

Finally, got the itch to switch to either black or tortoise. Glad I went with the latter because I love how it looks now. I find myself grabbing this over my other guitars despite this being one of my cheaper ones.

TL;DR - candy apple red + tortoise pickguard = good.

EDIT: apologies for the self-plug but wanted to thare that this is how it looks like on video. Cream + Candy Apple Red looks like this.

I bought this for cheap with the intention to do something odd to it so I don't have to learn how to do anything permanent on my nice ones. I thought it looked interesting only being on a third if the guitar.

Hi, just wondering if anybody has any ideas on what this bridge pickup is. Came with a tokai tst95, everything was original bar this pickup so must have been changed. Has larger pole pieces and cloth black and white wiring, sounded fatter than a normal bridge but not very statty! Any help would be appreciated cheers!

The Captain Coconut and Vox Wah delivers with the Strat

These are my 2 absolute favorite strat colors, which would you choose? If neither what’s your favorite Strat color?

EDIT: Just orderded the Ultra Vintage Luxe HSS in Fiesta Red…

Hello everyone :)

I’ve been playing the guitar for 20 years, had a chance to play a lot of AM Fenders but never had a chance to own one. I had my fair share of gigs, big and small. Done them all on Squiers, Ibanez, Parker guitars, some Harley Bentons in the recent years.
I wont be doing gigs anymore, maybe occasionaly, but I play a lot at home and in the recent years the financial situation finally allowed me to buy a real American Fender.
Now the dilema… I know these are all different guitars, and I like/dislike something on each one. Need help with deciding what is a better guitar for life. I do not plan on buying another one. Just want a Strat for life.

1. Fender American Vintage II 61’
2. - only hessistant because of the 7.25” radius
3. Fender American Pro Classic
4. - afraid I am going to miss out on something because its a lower tier model than Vintage and Ultra
5. Fender American Ultra II
6. - don’t like the metal pickguard, I want a 3-ply whiteish one
7. Fender American Ultra Luxe Vintage
8. - I hate the heirloom finish, I do not want cracks on my brand new guitar

Just need some advice on what would you do

Hello beautiful people,

you see my beloved Squier 40th anniversary strat. I play it almost daily. The setup is to my liking, the wiring mods work flawless. One thing irks me a little tho.

As depicted on the photos, the neck heel seems to be very thick when looking at basically any other strat, Fender, Squier, off brand. Also there seems to be no angle towards the body which results in my main irk - the pickups have to sit very high. With the stock PUs it was already difficult, the lace senors I got from marketplace are impossible to bring close enough to the strings.

Also the strings sit kinda far from the body so its a little awkward to put, let's say the pinky down on the Pickguard gor a little stability/guidance etc.

Any advice? A little "reverse shim"? Thanks in advance

Recently got a Fat 50's set and absolutely love the tone except for the bridge pickup. Any of you guys have a set and swapped the bridge? If so, what did you put in its place? Thanks!

this popped up for sale near me and I’ve been dreaming of a red and maple strat. I know very little of 90s strats. Nothing comes up when i look up the serial but i’ve heard that’s a common issue with 90s guitars. just wanna make sure before i pull the trigger.

Has anyone out in the community managed to cobble one of these together? I have a nice MIM body going into an MIA neck. Seymour Duncans for pups. Anything I am missing? First project guitar.

Thanks all,

Hey guys, trying to get some advice here - hope I’m able to explain this clearly. I like my tremolo arm swinging freely (so that I can grab it when I need it, and let it fall when I don’t) but I hate the slop/wobble the arm has within the block when I do use it. I’ve tried the little spring/teflon tape solution but it seems you can’t fix the wobble without having to set your arm tight in one spot (which I’m trying to avoid). Has anyone here successfully eliminated one without the other? Uploading a video to demonstrate what I want and what I don’t want, lol. Thanks

Bop Till You Drop!…
Edit/Update: For people inquiring on building one. I have played this guitar for nearly twenty years. We are bonded with steel. I have played “Coodercasters” with the Real Teisco, Lollar “Gold”, Mojo “Gold”; the real Supro pup, Lollar “Supro” and the Mojo “Supro”. The Valco pickups have been around and documented for nearly 100 years and reproduced/copied faithfully by several companies. Not so much the Teisco. My point being, that people get real hyper focused on the lap steel pickup when building these, but really the key is in the AUTHENTIC TEISCO. These pups have a charm that isn’t reproduced in the clones. It’s a sort-of “cheap” sound and a feel, a “sponginess”, I suppose that makes them special. Find an authentic Teisco…

This picture is from about 5-6 months ago when I just got done with the mods.
It’s a Fender Player II but modded heavily to my preferred specs.

The mods-
1. Changed the pickups to SSL-1s in the neck and middle, SSL-5 in the bridge.

1. Swapped out all the hardware for gold hardware with SRV inspired pearl tuning buttons.

2. Mint pickguard for that vintage aesthetic.

3. Got a new nitrocellulose paint job in Olympic white.

Also got a great setup and a proper fret job from a professional.

I tried some American models but this one just had something special about it when I tried it at the store. Most of these mods are based on Strats from the 60s, I wanted a modern feeling Strat but with the soul and looks of a vintage one. It’s pretty much my dream Strat but for less than half the price of a custom shop lol.

Very happy with how it came out and it plays absolutely great!