Stratocaster American Select with BKP juggernauts, is this good?

C

Carpercen

Inspired
Hi! A friend of mine is offering the guitar mentioned on the title with a custom pick guard for my juggernauts.
What's the break opinion Stratocaster and modern metal and progressive metal?
I've never seen bands like periphery, intervals, etc using Stratocaster so it's a bit hard to me up imagine it but my friend keeps telling it would rock and sound best than anything.
I'd be playing internals and periphery kind of music using standard and drop c tuning.

What do you think?
Thanks
 
Why wouldn't you be able to play metal on a Strat? That never stopped Yngwie Malmsteen. And he uses single coils. Should be no problem at all using juggernauts. If it works for you its never wrong. Unless you need those extra strings that those bands use on their 8 and 9 string guitars, as long as the Strat got the right pickups any guitar will work. The only problems I foresee is that when you downtune you need heavier strings, cause a regular 0.09 or 0.10 stringset which works perfect in standard tuning will flop around when you downtune. And a floating tremelo bridge is not the best thing to have when you change tunings between songs. Unless the tremelo is fixed or its a hardtail. This is not a Stratocaster problem, you'd have the same problem with any guitar with a floating tremelo. With a tremelo equipped guitar its best to stick with one tuning.
 
Muad'zin said:
Why wouldn't you be able to play metal on a Strat? That never stopped Yngwie Malmsteen. And he uses single coils. Should be no problem at all using juggernauts. If it works for you its never wrong. Unless you need those extra strings that those bands use on their 8 and 9 string guitars, as long as the Strat got the right pickups any guitar will work. The only problems I foresee is that when you downtune you need heavier strings, cause a regular 0.09 or 0.10 stringset which works perfect in standard tuning will flop around when you downtune. And a floating tremelo bridge is not the best thing to have when you change tunings between songs. Unless the tremelo is fixed or its a hardtail. This is not a Stratocaster problem, you'd have the same problem with any guitar with a floating tremelo. With a tremelo equipped guitar its best to stick with one tuning.
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I'm a bedroom player so no problem with changing tuning as I don't have a band or gig.

Yes I know Yngwie rocks on it, like Ritchie Blackmore or Nick Johnston. Singles have always a distinctive sound, I really like my juggernauts and they have a tremendous split coil tone, but when you look on internet it's rare to find someone playing periphery or btam tunes on a Stratocaster (i haven't seen one) and on most cases to find guys using solid body guitars, jp6, PRS, Schecter... That's why I'm asking. I have never played a Stratocaster that's why I don't know what to expect or how is it going to sound.
 
The biggest factors in how an electric guitar sounds are pickups, hardware, adjustment and strings. With the right pickups and adjustment why shouldn't you be able to play metal? It will lack the extra strings that seems to have become mandatory in djent, but other then that its mostly a matter of taste. Most people pick guitars based on what their favorite guitar heroes are using. Since most famous metal guitarists use non-Fender guitars, that's what their fans will gravitate to as well. What kind of guitar works for you should be based on actual experience, not OMGZ!!! Tosin Abasi uses a Strandberg, therefore I have to have a Strandberg. It could be that the sound is right for you, but the feel is not.

Also, there is nothing wrong with standing out from the pack. If all the progressive metal dudes are using the same kind of guitars, using the same amp models with the same IR's, vs. you with a Strat using different amp models and IR's, who is going to stand out more? This is why Glenn Fricker is always bitching about how terrible modern metal is. All the artists sound the same. This is why I prefer to use single coils and P-90's for downtuned guitars. Give it some brightness to compensate for that lower sound.
 
Muad'zin said:
The biggest factors in how an electric guitar sounds are pickups, hardware, adjustment and strings. With the right pickups and adjustment why shouldn't you be able to play metal? It will lack the extra strings that seems to have become mandatory in djent, but other then that its mostly a matter of taste. Most people pick guitars based on what their favorite guitar heroes are using. Since most famous metal guitarists use non-Fender guitars, that's what their fans will gravitate to as well. What kind of guitar works for you should be based on actual experience, not OMGZ!!! Tosin Abasi uses a Strandberg, therefore I have to have a Strandberg. It could be that the sound is right for you, but the feel is not.

Also, there is nothing wrong with standing out from the pack. If all the progressive metal dudes are using the same kind of guitars, using the same amp models with the same IR's, vs. you with a Strat using different amp models and IR's, who is going to stand out more? This is why Glenn Fricker is always bitching about how terrible modern metal is. All the artists sound the same. This is why I prefer to use single coils and P-90's for downtuned guitars. Give it some brightness to compensate for that lower sound.
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I wasn't taking a decision based on OMG factor, but I do understand your point.

My doubts are based on the next points:
The only "high End" guitar that I know it's my PRS S2 Custom 24, best guitar I've ever played.
Why I want to change? I feel more comfortable with 25.5" scale guitar.
Where I live there are no places where you can try before buying, so I have never played fender and have no options to try one before buying.
One of the factors that make me hesitate is "tone wood". My prs is mahogany, the fender alder. A lot of people talks about wood tone, I like how mine sounds but have no other way to test others.

I agree with your point of view btw, and strandberg look pretty good too.
 
Tonewood is pretty much a can of worms debate. In that is pretty much irrelevant. Which is why I said pickups, hardware, adjustment and strings. Not tonewood. The only argument I keep on hearing in favor of tonewood is 'yeah but I can hear a difference between two similar guitars with different wood.' Fair enough, I hear differences on my guitars too. But attributing that to tonewood is like attributing supernatural explanations to a scientific problem. I can't explain this, therefore ALIENS! Or ghosts. Or random omnipotent beings. So many factors go into how a guitar will sound. Pickup height alone can make the difference between 'I'm feeling decidedly underwhelmed' vs 'OMGZ I'M A METAL GOD!!!'

I've built guitars out of alder, I've built guitars out of mahogany. The only reason I prefer alder is because its easier to work with. Which is why I wouldn't be surprised why Fender also chose it. And cost. Similarly for Gibson I'm pretty sure lots of other factors decided their choice to opt for mahogany, none of which involved magical tonewood qualities. We are being fed so much snakeoil in this regard and as with everything in life, when a politician or a businessman (which guitar builders are) makes a claim, always follow the money. When people offer and promote things to you with voodoo abilities, what they really want is to sell you something at a vastly inflated price.

If I were you I'd try and find somebody who has a Fender Stratocaster and just play with the instrument unplugged. You're going to swap the electronics anyway. So best to find out if the feel of the instrument is right to you. Does it play and handle well? Does it detune if you bend the strings or use the tremelo. 22 frets vs. 21 (I hate 21 frets)? If those are to your liking then drop in the Juggernauts and you have a metal monster. If not, then it might not be for you. Although you can have a shitty version. It's still a sample of one, not every statistically sound. I once had two identical Strats, same model, same era. And yet I always ended up picking one over the other. Some have thick baseball bat necks, others can be thin. Even though they all look the same there is not a single model Strat and the variations can be surprisingly endless. Same with Tele's and Les Pauls by the way.
 
What don't you like about the guitar you have now? What's lacking that a strat will provide?
 
Budda said:
What don't you like about the guitar you have now? What's lacking that a strat will provide?
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My PRS is 25", in looking for a guitar with wider frets. Stratocaster is 25.5.

I very much like my guitar but when I play room frets 14 and higher, my fingers feel to cramped... That's why I'd like to have more room.
 
Carpercen said:
My PRS is 25", in looking for a guitar with wider frets. Stratocaster is 25.5.

I very much like my guitar but when I play room frets 14 and higher, my fingers feel to cramped... That's why I'd like to have more room.
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Go to your nearest music store that sells strats, and play some. The difference between 25" and 25.5" isn't massive.
 
Budda said:
Go to your nearest music store that sells strats, and play some. The difference between 25" and 25.5" isn't massive.
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I know it isn't massive, but a year ago I had the opportunity of play a 22 frets prs and a 25.5" scale guitar. In both cases I felt I had more room for my fingers to play. I made the assumption that having the same scale the frets on a 22 were wider than on a 24. Now I know that's incorrect. So now I know what I need is a 25.5" scale guitar. Now the reason I felt the 22 frets prs was more comfortable, I don't why... Perhaps someone could explain that.


Thanks
 
Carpercen said:
...One of the factors that make me hesitate is "tone wood". My prs is mahogany, the fender alder...
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As Muad'zin mentioned, alder is generally easier to work with than mahogany. Potentially less expensive, too. But also keep in mind that "tone wood" is a term invented by the industry to make consumers believe one wood is more desirable than another. All wood is "tone wood", since all wood transmits tone. Just some of it is prettier than others. The density of the wood plays a bigger role in the tone than the look of it. Quilted maple is similar in density to oak, but it looks nicer in a guitar. Back to the mahogany/alder debate, on average alder is a less dense than mahogany, but it can vary quite a bit, and it's possible for a piece of mahogany and a piece of alder to be the same density. And even if the wood in the Strat is less dense than your PRS, it doesn't mean the sound will suffer. Different, maybe yes. Worse? Only your ears can answer that question.
 
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