Stratocaster - Try again? Or punt...

@electronpirate don’t give up on that little voice. I’ve been a Les Paul guy for 22 years and always thought that Strats just didn’t sound good with my hands. I picked them up here and there over the years and never understood what all the fuss was about. But like @Rex said, play every Strat on the wall. And like @trancegodz said, find one that’s lightweight and resonant unplugged.

Personally, I landed on an American Professional Strat after playing every one on the wall at Guitar Center in Nashville. It was light, alarmingly loud unplugged, and the neck was perfect. That ONE spoke to me, and now I get the whole Strat thing. The moral of the story is to be patient and play a lot of guitars until you find the one. It’ll be worth it.
 
I'm hearing the PRS's are the shizzle. If your not tied to the headstock and truly looking for a Strat bod w/ 3 singles, that's where I would begin.

Unfortunately, I'm tied to the headstock. It's the reason I like my Charvel over a Jackson or my Ibanez. It's not logical but I WANT the Fender shaped headstock on my strat style bodies. I blame Jimi, Eddie & Stevie.
 
Going to Wildwood? @electronpirate, you're already toast...

My two favorite Strats are both Frankensteins that began life as American Strat Plus guitars from the 90s. Some of Fender's most playable, IMO. Wildwood has just about everything suggested here, so you'll get to try them all. And I would do just that!
 
I attended a PRS event at the local music store a couple weeks ago. I was impressed by the tones coming out of the a Silver Sky.

That being said, I've never been a Strat guy, and never played one I desired to own after playing.

A week ago, I went back to the shop and tried the Silver Sky as well as a Charvel DK24 Pro Mod (HSS, satin Shell Pink, carmelized maple neck, Gotoh 510 bridge, $999).

I liked the Silver Sky but a really liked the Charvel. I'm sure I'll be getting one soon!
 
I'm more or less with you - I was never much of a strat guy. I have an American Standard and its OK. I have never fully bonded with it. But needed that strat single coil tone for some songs. I really only ever use it for Pink Floyd, Robin Trower, a few Pearl Jam songs etc. Ones where nothing else but a Strat will do. But really in my playing, those songs are few and far between. My PRS's and Les Paul get 97% of my attention. For some reason for me, there a two things I just can't get used to - the scale length and the (to me) wide string spacing. I love the LP and PRS scale - for some reason the Strats are too long for me. yes I realize that a large portion of guitars are 25.5. For me it just seems too long. But - good luck on your search - I hope you find what you're looking for !
 
Yes, WildWood is truly an evil place. Quality instruments, and people know know them.

I'm not all about the headstock...don't really care...except those Tylers...those are just too much.

We'll see. I'll really have to be wowed to jump.
 
I'm very happy with my Squier VM Surf Strat that I re-PUP'ed with Lollar Dirty Blondes and a brass block on the bridge. With these squiers it's the lottery though; I had another VM strat, looking exactly like this Edge Strat, no way to make it sound decently whatever PU I mount on it. The necks are great though. (These were done with this squier : , )
 
I'm the exact opposite, I LOVE Strats. Tele's are okay too, but if I have to take one guitar with me into the grave, a Strat it will be. I love how utterly customizable they are. Leo Fender did a very good job designing them. They're not perfect, nothing is, but to me they are the Swiss army knife of guitars, the Sherman tank of guitars. Yeah, the other side has bigger and beefier ones, but there are shitloads of Strats to chose from, they're reliable as hell and so easy to upgrade. I tried getting into Les Pauls, and they're just not for me. I don't like the shape of a LP, I don't like the feel of a LP, only the sound is good. And that is nothing that cannot be fixed by dropping in a humbucker or two into a Strat. As usual, Strats for the win!
 
I LOVE Strats. My first guitar was a 1982 Stratocaster. My long-time "favorite" guitar is a 2001 American Deluxe. Fender sent a new Stratocaster Shawbucker Elite to the amp show for us. People really appreciated that guitar!

That said, I would also highly recommend the Anderson Icon, having bought one recently.
 
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I've owned 5 strats over the years and they all are/were completely different. Neck profile, frets, radius, feel and sound. That being said, I've found the "best" in all those areas for me to be the Suhr Classic S or the Fender Elite or Deluxe Strat (with different pickups). Everyone always says how Les Pauls are all hit or miss. I find that with the Strats too.
Best of luck with your search but it may take a minute to find one you bond with.
 
Try to find a Japan made used Squier from the eighties, a lot of the guitar Brit Soul sound of that era was done with those.
 
A week ago, I went back to the shop and tried the Silver Sky as well as a Charvel DK24 Pro Mod (HSS, satin Shell Pink, carmelized maple neck, Gotoh 510 bridge, $999).

I liked the Silver Sky but a really liked the Charvel. I'm sure I'll be getting one soon!

I like my MIM 24 fret Charvel (HH and FR). It has the Full-Shred in the bridge, works really well. You'd think it's high output (from the name) but I'm pretty sure it's actually lower output than the JB. No issues with fret end quality here.
 
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