Which 80's style hard rock and metal super strats should I consider?

Fizz said:
It is too bad this thing has ugly paint
https://www.espguitars.com/products/21865-mirage-deluxe-87
original.png
Click to expand...
Depends on your tastes, I guess... I have a Charvel DK-24 in Shell Pink that I really dig.
 
i have one of the US made Fender HM strats from 89 or 90’. It’s an amazing guitar from pickups to feel. Only problem is the Kahler trem is just bad but I don’t use my whammy much anyway. Fender recently reissued those guitars if you can’t find one used. I really wish I can find a guitar with the same exact specs and just in hard tail form so I can change tunings to whatever I want. SOOOO many new guitars come with floyds or some whammy
 
Jipps0525 said:
Only problem is the Kahler trem is just bad
Click to expand...
I’m with you all the way. I dreamt of a Kahler for a long time, but I didn’t realize you only have a slight chance to stay in tune by decreasing the break angle at the bridge, decreasing sustain and completely killing the tone. I nearly lost my mind with it. For all my problems with Floyd, break angle is not at all a problem.
 
Jipps0525 said:
i have one of the US made Fender HM strats from 89 or 90’. It’s an amazing guitar from pickups to feel. Only problem is the Kahler trem is just bad but I don’t use my whammy much anyway. Fender recently reissued those guitars if you can’t find one used. I really wish I can find a guitar with the same exact specs and just in hard tail form so I can change tunings to whatever I want. SOOOO many new guitars come with floyds or some whammy
Click to expand...
Huh. I've owned one of those since I bought it new in '88 and played it in anger as my main guitar for many years. Never thought the Kahler (the Spyder, which was a Floyd-style unit) was bad at all. That said, I've never owned a proper Floyd.
 
DiamondDaveL said:
Apologies if this is too off topic.
I do not think the FR1000 blocks are zinc, but the specials are.
Adam at FU has always taken good care of me and we share a few circles. Most recent example that comes to mind is I purchased a b-stock Wolfgang Special from an online retailer, and showed up without a fine tuner screw for the D-Tuna. Retailer not interested in helping to source a screw or refund the cost of a new D-Tuna. I mentioned it to Adam in passing and he sent a replacement screw, priority post, free of charge. Small thing, but he didn't have to go out of his way for someone who wasn't a customer at the time.

Semi-related, outside of replacing a sustain block, titanium block inserts are my favorite FR (inserts to hold the string in place).
Click to expand...
Yes they are. I have taken off 50 plus, even cut one up to shorten it for a customer. Titanium is a relatively soft metal and has no place on a Floyd. Don't even start me on brass for a locknut ( any alloy of it.) Also $300 for a $70 retail OEM Chinese Floyd copy is pretty unacceptable.
 
State of Epicicity said:
@Mark-B Very cool! The Vigier trem is only available on their guitars, which sucks. They make almost exclusively one super Strat, and they’re more commonly available in Europe but much scarcer in the United States.

When I feel okay to inhale other people’s respiratory droplets again I do want to go out and try many of the current whammy super strats myself, until I find one with tone and tuning stability! Several people on this forum have talked about the Edge trem being great, and that has really gotten me interested. Personally I’m going for two of the factors that @Fizz is looking for: easy upper fret access and strong trem stability, but I also want to get something with stainless steel frets. Luckily those frets are no longer hard to find. Good fret work though? Maybe a little harder (no pun intended, since stainless steel is much harder than what’s traditionally used). As for tone, as long as the wood, as well as the basic sustain and frequency balance seem good, I can always rewire to my preferred configuration, which is like a Les Paul with series / split / parallel on each pickup. I’ve looked at that Megaswitch before, but if I had a blade switch route I’d be tempted to go for a 10-way Freeway, to eliminate a mini switch.

@Fizz I completely forgot to recommend that since upper get access is a feature you’re wanting the best thing I’ve seen from the look of it, is a Dean Exile! That thing has a cutaway out of a dream! I currently play a Washburn Parallaxe Trevor Rabin with a fixed bridge, but that also is great for the upper frets.
Click to expand...
The Vigier trem is just a Schaller Shift 2000 with the needle bearing added. You can just get the Schaller version with knife edges and regular posts .Vigier used to use this one anyway. The performance is the same.
 
State of Epicicity said:
@Andy Eagle What’s your favorite trem for stability and tone?
Click to expand...
Best Floyd ; Gotoh 1996 stock.

Best vintage six screw for vintage strat tone; Shallow drilled CRS block with a Gotoh baseplate and Raw Vintage saddles. This is very nitpicking, most six screw vintage trees sound good even if they hardly work as a trem.

Best modern two post; Gotoh 510TS with Wilkinson locking saddles. The Wilkinson trem is very good but the 510 TS block is better.
 
I still have a Kahler Spyder that is super stable, normally I do not abuse Floyds so much but this can take some.
 
Andy Eagle said:
Yes they are. I have taken off 50 plus, even cut one up to shorten it for a customer. Titanium is a relatively soft metal and has no place on a Floyd. Don't even start me on brass for a locknut ( any alloy of it.) Also $300 for a $70 retail OEM Chinese Floyd copy is pretty unacceptable.
Click to expand...
@Andy Eagle - so you don't like titanium block inserts? What is best in your opinion for block inserts and locknuts?
 
CodePoet said:
@Andy Eagle - so you don't like titanium block inserts? What is best in your opinion for block inserts and locknuts?
Click to expand...
Steel obviously, it's about the properties of the metal. Brass and titanium are softer than your strings and the unwound strings pull out of the blocks and slip in the locknut when they have left imprints with use.
 
Fizz said:
What's great about the Hamer? Just curious because I've seen it mentioned here a few times. Wish I would have bought more guitars back in the 80s but I really didn't know much of what I was doing back then as a pre-teen and teenager.
Click to expand...
Gnarly_dudr said:
In my experience, they just play awesome. I've had lots of Jacksons (have a soloist right now), played a lot of Charvels and lots of Ibanez and that Hamer neck was special.
Click to expand...
This. They're unfinished/oiled, I think they are 14" radius, but they don't have that aircraft carrier feel that you get on an Ibanez for example, you could play blues all day long.

I'm 80s vintage so mine is "original, single owner". :D Best neck of any guitar I've owned. I'm currently thinking about a Suhr custom, and if I do get one, I will get John to replicate the neck --exactly--.

Edit: And more on topic: Worth having a look at the Peavey HP Special. It's basically a Peavey vintage Wolfgang with a double cutaway and routed trem. Really nice and not crazy expensive when they come up, but at least at the level of the current US made Wolfies.
 
webby-uk said:
This. They're unfinished/oiled, I think they are 14" radius, but they don't have that aircraft carrier feel that you get on an Ibanez for example, you could play blues all day long.

I'm 80s vintage so mine is "original, single owner". :D Best neck of any guitar I've owned. I'm currently thinking about a Suhr custom, and if I do get one, I will get John to replicate the neck --exactly--.

Edit: And more on topic: Worth having a look at the Peavey HP Special. It's basically a Peavey vintage Wolfgang with a double cutaway and routed trem. Really nice and not crazy expensive when they come up, but at least at the level of the current US made Wolfies.
Click to expand...
Aircraft carrier feel? I've heard ruler and other things, but that one was new!
 
webby-uk said:
Man they are wide at the 12th fret. If I left the Pia outside, I worry that one of F14s from the airbase up the road would try to land on it. :tearsofjoy:
Click to expand...
LOL, where I grew up, that would have beena legit concern. The Hindenberg crashed a mile from my childhood home. Navy planes went in and out 24/7....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom