Well it's like this, if you want and like the sound that a Strat has then it is probably the best guitar in the world. I tried playing one the other day after playing on my SA Ibanez and could not get use to the feel of it. Now if all I played was a Strat and really got use to it I would probably love playing it. That being said I know people that all they play is a Tele or Strat and they don't play anything else. some people say that the Les Paul is the greatest guitar ever produced but the thing weighs a ton and if your a glutten for punishment and gig with it for a few hours then your a better man than I. I love the way a Strat sounds when someone else is playing it that knows what the guitar can do. A lot of the old school guys would agree with you and maybe some of the new school. It all boils down to preference, I know how to make the sound I want with an Ibanez, I love their action, super fast, and it looks similar to a Strat, LOL.

Preference is the thing. Everybody's different. I prefer the strat because I like the sound, that nice punchy, bright, clean sound they make. They're lightweight and easy to throw around and won't wear you out from the weight fatigue. Fender also builds variety of strats with different necks, pickup configurations, and trem pieces. I like the versatility and the after market parts are probably more abundant than any other guitar. It's a workhorse in my opinion.

seems like every time i play one, it feels like a toy in my hands. i'm a les paul player and have been for many years. allthough i do have about 14 other guitars including a strat, the strat gets the absolutely very least play. i just can't stand the hum.... it grates on my nerves. about the only strats i can stand are the ones with the EMG gilmour package. they simply feel like toy guitars to me. i can respect those who play them, but they just aren't my cup of tea by any means.....for me, good for cleans only....

Everyone has their own best guitar in the world. I've played lots of strats. Their nice guitars but I prefer a humbucker with a little flatter neck radius. I do like the way the strat body shape rides though, their comfortable to play.

I have a 64 Strat / Rosewood that I bought for $125 in 1973. I love it's out-of-phase sounds ....

Major problem, -- when I started fingerstylin' I kept getting this strange overtone-sound from the deep-E starting at about the sixth fret. I took it to my corner luthier. We checked this, checked that -- gave it a refret job ... tons of stuff.

Still had the sound.

So, after several trips taking it back to him --- I went to pick it up and he had this sh$$-eating-grin on his face. Suprisingly, I said "Oh! You found the trouble?"

At that point he grabbed a brand-new Strat from the wall, plugged it in .... and it did the same freakin' thing. Aaarggh!!

I know that Strat's aren't made for fingerstyle -- and I am now wise-enough not to try it. I still love it for R&B, blues and funky-jazz stuff because it has such a nice 'bite' sound in that out-of-phase spot. But I lay-off that entire section of quite-important stringage..........

"I know that Strat's aren't made for fingerstyle -- and I am now wise-enough not to try it."

actually, it's all in the technique and touch you have.

That said, I'm NOT a strat fan. Owed a few, played more than my share, old ones new ones, maple board, rosewood etc.. Just never found one that I could "bond" with for more than a month. It's all in personal preference I suppose.

I have two strats which I love. They feel great, but the only problem is that goddamned hum. Of course, you can very easily get that fixed or fix it yourself, but it is annoying as hell. I am really divided between my American Strat and my Gibson Les Paul as to my favorite, and they are both great guitars.

I don't know if it's the greatest guitar (Beauty is in the fingers of the player) but it is an icon, as is the Tele, the Les Paul, the SG and maybe a couple of others. A good designed, good playing guitar that has been around for a long time and copied a million different ways. It is such a good guitar that people will ask if it isn't the greatest guitar ever and we will argue about it's pluses and minuses endlessly.

I LOOOOVE my strat, but I can't say I've had much experience with much else (a cheap knock-off that one of my exes lent me and some Yamaha acoustics) I am probably going to purchase another guitar soon, possibly another Fender, maybe a strat, maybe not. I think strats are a good all-around guitar, but depending on what you want or what you like, there's something better for your needs.

I'd have to say that strats are arguably the most copied guitar in the world. That says something about the strat right there even if it only comes down to just the aesthetics of the guitar. My Les Paul on the other hand has way better sound for hard rock, and metal. The sustain I get from that guitar is downright nasty. But overall, I'd still have to pick the strat as my favorite. It's just so versatile, lightweight, well made, and for the money you just can't beat them. I think that's one of the things the shred movement tried to do in the 80's, take the Les Paul sound and put it into a strat body. That's when I started noticing strats with double humbuckers coming off the assembly line. But when it comes to solid bodies it always seems to come down to six guitars, the strat, the tele, and the Les Paul, and to a lesser extent, the SG, Explorer, and Flying-V.

Strats and teles are pretty cool guitars, but the dont work for what I do. I was really thinkin about getting one so I finally found a guitar shop with a strat and a marshall, and it was a very thin sound as compared to what I was used to. My buddy had a Squier Strat (hes on a budget) and he had this little amp and he made that thing sing. It all depends on what you play.