What does a 50s Strat sound like?! | Friday Fretworks
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Hey! My name's Chris Buck and I'm a musician from South Wales, United Kingdom. Thank you for checking out Friday Fretworks - as the name suggests, there's a new video every Friday! If you haven't already, please subscribe and if you have, it'd be lovely if you came to say hello on Facebook and Instagram as well. Links below!
REMAINING BUCK & EVANS TOUR DATES:
Friday 21st September - Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London
Tickets: www.buckandevans.com
Lenny Kravitz' 56: reverb.com/ite...
Lucky Fret: www.luckyfret....
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Fender haunts my dreams. From my grandpa talking about his weird neighbor Leo in Fullerton who never played outside much but was always in the barn tinkering with radio tubes.It took till I was 16 to figure out old man Fenders son Leo was THAT Leo.
Now I'm retired I live in Ensenada not far from the factory...but I miss the old days when the guys in the Fullerton factory could walk out the back door and toss a strat over the fence on to the railroad tracks that ran behi d the building...
They weren't stolen guitars really..a hot Axe is bad juju..they were donated sort of .
Thanks Leo
Why exactly were they throwing the strats away? And wasn't that dangerous for the railroad track?
fascinating
My very first guitar, was a 1954 Stratocaster ... by the time I got it for Christmas of 1963, it was a well-worn, relicked guitar, with chewing gum wrappers in three nut slots, a seriously pitted fingerboard, and a big long green streak on the bass side of the back of the neck. I loved that guitar. It went out the window of my brother's '61 Ford station wagon on a Jacksonville FL expressway, early morning of 25 July 1965. Have grieved for it ever since ...
I always put the seatbelts on my guitars when I drive with them! @@Tonetwisters
@@Tonetwisters wow.....
Just when you start to think the vintage thing is hype, this!
Good stuff. I can't watch these videos without immediately picking up my guitar afterwards. Mission accomplished.
Oh my what a unreal tone WOW!!!
Brother, there is something about your playing that's so, falling into the emotion of what you are playing and simultaneously deliberate and precise, if you keep it up you will go down in history as one of the greatest ever, I salute you.
Shane Gochenouer Thank you so much Shane, that’s incredibly kind of you ☺️
Seriously dude, your solo that you use in the "How to construct a great solo" video, melting the paint off the fkin walls my man, thats some David Gilmour level shit, no lie, sick.
The serialized neck plates were just thrown in a box, and the assemblers just used the first plate which came to hand during the build. There's been several instances where consecutive numbers were built a month or more apart. Back in '54, serial numbers were stamped on the spring covers. David Gilmour owns S/N 0001, which had a neck date of 11/54, IINM, the third month of Strat production.
I DO love tweed amps -- I've got a '59 Deluxe w/original Jensen 12, and a '59 Tremolux, but not the original speaker. That one has a reissue Jensen Alnico 12. Unfortunately, both had been re-covered by Kendrick Amps back in the 90s, but that doesn't hurt the sound. My favorite, though, is a 1960 first-production-run brown Super, with 2-10" Jensen P10Qs and reversed knob arrangement. I got that from the original owner back in '87, with the original cover.
could listen to this all day long ..
What a guitar Chris, this is so unlike the sonic range that Strat's have today, that everybody drools over, believing that that "spank" is "the" signature of a Fender Strat. This has that tone within it's range, but there is far more additional middle in every pickup position. As a guitarist for over 50 years, and a Strat player too, this has to be the most beautifully balanced sound I've heard! Thanks for this video, it really shows what Leo Fender was about. It looks as though his quest for the perfect pickup/tone, he actually achieved it early on, but it has taken all these years for the guitar to mature into it! Admire your playing too Chris!
God that's gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing it with us....
I still want the Yamaha mind
Matt Allen Haha. Cheers Matt!
Wonderful round thickness to the sound. The big bass and bright treble Bite. Beautiful.
Incredible playing.
That is one of the best clean sounds I've ever heard. Beautiful!
A beautiful guitar and amp complemented by some tasteful and well played demonstration examples. I look forward to future Friday Fretworks.
came for the guitar, stayed for the playing. exceptional playing as per usual!
Coldacre Thank you! 🙂
Chris, in five minutes you've just demonstrated that all the talk about old Strats being special is actually true! What a wonderful sound.
Cheers Mark :)
Yes. Although Chris's playing is of the caliber he can play a shrimp sandwich and make people weep uncontrollably.
I have had the good fortune to play numerous original 50"s strats and I can say that the 1956 and 1957 necks are without doubt the best feeling profile that Fender ever created. Its no wonder that Claptons blackie had a 1956 neck and that Buddy Guys fave strat was a 1957. That big V neck is the stuff!
This is my favorite year of the strat. Thanks for posting
Dude the way you play makes me pull funny faces. Gets me every time!
Thanks Chris for your beautiful playing as always, allied to the fascinating and educative 'back story'. Cheers man.
I agree that the wonderful sound is as much to do with the player's skill and choice of music as the guitar itself. Great stuff Chris. Bravo!
A66omd Thank you man, that’s very kind of you 🙂
@@ChrisBuckGuitar I play guitar cuz of Buddy Holly
Good Lord... thats THE sound of one gorgeous guitar.... AMAZING player too! 5 stars to you Chris!
Can we say "quintessential rock and roll tone"? Man, I wish I was in the room while you were playing, just to FEEL what that gorgeous rig was putting out!
Celtic Fury Haha. Cheers man. It was pretty special!
That strat has a beautiful voice to it. You really brought out the tone with this gorgeous guitar.
Oh my - tone for days!!! Inspirational licks!! I think I'll leave work now and go play guitar all day!! 😁😁
christopher suggs Cheers Christopher! Thank you for watching mate 🙂
Great video! I always thought my next guitar would be a Telecaster but after listening to a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughn recently and now this, I'm convinced this is the guitar for me.
Here is one of the best channels on CZcams. Super!
damn, such a beautiful sounding strat i would imagine it is so inspiring to play that amazing instrument. also, your playing is phenomenal new subscriber here, just amazing
Thank you Kip! :)
Absolutely gorgeous sound. Great playing.
Mike PJ10 Thank you Mike 🙂
Bloody hell Chris, that sound on the neck/bridge was pure perfection, it sounded just Outstanding. And the bridge pickup is probably the most Buddy Holly sounding strat I've heard in a long time, they all just seem to be too shrill sounding these days. Always supporting your channel man 🎸👍😀
andrew broadhead Thank you Andrew. That’s very kind of you mate 🙂
Lets not forget that in the 50s strats had a much warmer tone capacitor .1mfd vs the .047 mfd of today. it makes a very noticeable difference in a strat bridge pickup. I always put a .1mfd wired to the bridge pickup tone pot. and a .047 to the middle and neck tone pot.
@@cawfeedawg your so right, the capacitors do make a difference, I changed my strats to a sprague Black beauty 0.056uF and the sound is so much better. With a clean boost it comes to life now.
I have to agree, heard thousands of Strats, but never sounded this good, this Rock n Roll this . . . . . . . . . . .
BUDDY HOLLY 👍
That guitar/amp combo is pure magic! I could listen to you play all day. Stunning tone...WOW!!!
I have a 1955 and 1956 early it has D neck and it's made March 1956 the round string tree was used to August of 56 what I know.
The tone different between my 55 and 56 is very clear to hear!
Both has alnico 5 pickups. I love the 54 most because they has the alnico 3 pickups they are more glassy in tone. And I'm prefer Ash over Adler my own preference! I have a 1959 whit Rose wood neck and that stratocaster is very hot and has lots of midrange! Most important all this vintage stratocasters are different because they are hand made and variations of the physical wood and what neck it got out of the batch made big difference in the total outcome and performance. I play my vintage strats on my gigs. And my 1955 have my ded friend Stevie Ray Vaughn played live photos of that is exist.
Beautiful tone as it should be 👍
Best regards from Sweden 🇸🇪
Awesome sound. The bass is incredible and treble so smooth. I love it
Watching this video,
Adding some mojo for my Straturday!
Bloody awesome guitar and truly great playing. I wish I could spend some time with such instruments..
Greetings from Greece
Nice touch....sounds wonderful in your hands matey.
Absolutely gorgeous sound and playing. This is the Strat and amp they’ll give to you in heaven.
Sounds exactly like I’d expect a $50000 setup to sound lol
Exactly, just like a 1500 dollar setup 🤣
That Strat is adorable looks almost new a dream to have.
Nice playing...Reminds me of Derek Trucks alot..
Fantastic playing.......... this strat sound incredibly well, I'm in love.... Thanks!!!
very nice shot of the neck shape! as always good video mate! :)
Such a great video and a strat lovers dream come true.
It sounds marvellous, nothing like fender's modern recreations.
Honestly, you make any guitar sound great.
Always an interesting subject matter and fantastic guitar playing! I really do look forward to your videos. Another great video and they keep on getting stronger.
Kevinpaul Thank you so much ☺️
Man, your playing is wonderful.
You probably would make a turd sound like the best guitar ever.
Most beautiful lil melodic riff I’ve ever heard 4:58
Awesome ! Twang chime and jangle all wrapped in one.
Loved the Friday fret works as always.. what I would love to see in future is more comparisons between your highway 1 and other strats! Like you did on that pedal show. soooo interesting! I thought your strat sounded nicer than the others. I have two highways myself. Great strats.
James Addison Cheers James. I’ve actually got something like that planned - I’ll keep you posted! 🙂
Man, I first saw your video with the les Paul, and was completely blown away at your really atmospheric sound. If you can could you do one of these videos on a tele. Thanks, and incredible playing
Thank you man :)
I wouldn't count the frets as a mod, personally. Any guitar that old that hasn't been through a few changes of frets has hardly been played. Lovely playing, by the way, some sweet legato runs at the end - obviously exactly the sort of guitar tone to encourage that style of play, I'm sure it was inspirational. I've never played a vintage Fender, sadly.
Indeed, like you don't call a vintage car "modified" just because it doesn't have its original tyres.
Thank you, now I have a reference to the sound of a vintage 50s Strat sound! Now I gotta find videos featuring the sounds of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, preferably by you so as to reduce to minimum the variables that can affect the tonal results! I'm still new enough to not know intuitively the difference in tone between the decades.
Id say it sounds pretty damn great.
October, 1956 ... I just turned nine years old! A guy named Jimmy Ammerson found those notch positions somewhere around 1961 or 1962 and it was a well kept secret in Jacksonville FL. In the early '70s, in a "Guitar Player" magazine, Eric Clapton let the notch out of the bag, so-to-speak, when he revealed the 2 & 4 tones to the guitar world. Still today, many players (and I don't think Fender knew it either, until I wrote and told them) don't know about the notch on three-ways ...
Ughhh ... this guitar sounds so good ...
Hoooo Boy, your friends have GREAT stuff !!!!!
I was due to go to your gig on 21st Sept in London but can't make it now. I'm gutted.
I hope others take the opportunity to go see you play live.
Have a great gig!
hollywoodactress Thank you very much. There’ll be others! 🙂
@@ChrisBuckGuitar 👍
Also when will you put together your guitar rig setup for laptop. I have seen quite a few posts on your videos asking for it.?
One of my two favorite git-tar/amp pairings of all time (SG Special and Hiwatt/Loud, Clean British amp being the other), Strat and Tweed magic. Great demo, mahalos!
Jon Komatsu Thank you Jon!
Nice playing and tone.
Your playing is killer. I’m assuming you’d make anything sound like a phenomenal guitar.
Wow! An incredible sound. Not only the guitar. It's the guitar player. That's sometimes forgotten. So thank you for playing for us! And many greetings from Germany! Chris
Ah, a guy in the neighborhood will sell a 80's Tokai Goldstar Strat. I think it's a '62 strat copy. What do you think about this guitar? Does anyone knows this guitar?
Christian Goll Thank you Christian! 🙂 As for the Goldstar, the only Goldstar I’ve ever played was fantastic! 80s Tokais have a great reputation
@@ChrisBuckGuitar Thank you for your answer! And if you ever want to play a few gigs in Germany, I could try to help you. There are a few locations in Ruhr Area that are quite good for bluesy live music. I think I will buy the tokai. It has Kloppmann pick ups. And they have a very good reputation in Germany. So, thank you again
Christian. I've got an '83 TST55. Probably 'worth' about £750, if pristine. Try it... if it's as good as mine, it'll be as good as anything Fender currently sells.
@@somebodyelseuk Hi, I bought that Tokai, and it's gorgeous. I took it to my local music shop to compare it with many "original" Strats, and I'm very happy to have the tokai. So, thank you for your answer. It helped me to make the right decision.
You're welcome. One thing to bear in mind, the "serial number" on 70s/80s Tokais bears no relation to when the guitar was made.
Since Fenders varied from guitar to guitar in the days before CNC, their reissues are modelled on an 'average' of many guitars from specific periods/years, whereas when Tokai started doing their replicas in the 70s, they borrowed guitars from a handful of guitarists and 'cloned' specific guitars. They did a model for each year of manufacture between '54 and '65 for the Strat, for example, and the number replicates the style of number that would have appeared on the guitar they were replicating. Mine is a replica of a '58 - borrowed from Gilmour, I believe.
I used to have the Tokai catalogue from '83... it was a helluva catalogue. They were just as 'enthusiastic' about Teles, Les Pauls, SGs, 335s, P Basses, J Basses...
Nice playing brother. Got some mojo goin' on in those fingers and with that gear.
That tone! Lordy Lordy Lordy.
It definitely wouldn’t sound that nice if I picked one up though, great playing as usual Chris.
Cheers Joseph :)
that strat is you man cheers mate
Pretty neat that something so old still works
Awesome gear and VERY nice playing ... greetings from germany, Dick
Dick van Dahl Danke schoen Dick! 🙂
Buck And Evans, my pleasure...👍
I always wondered, now I know. Beautiful! Thanks for this, it’s a nice clean demo played with soul. You have a really nice touch...keep them coming.
Great playing. What a guitar!
Beautiful sounding Strat mate! The owner is a lucky guy \m/
Hi Chris,
Greetings from North Carolina. I have a couple of your Buck and Evans cuts from the now defunct Blues Magazine. Each issue would include a CD. I really miss that mag, sad to see it go. Anyway, your song Slow Train was one of my favorites. I don't have a 50s Strat, but I do have a 67. Much has been made about pre/post CBS and there surely is something to that later on. I will say that for me, the 67 is a fantastic guitar. I don't think the quality dropped off over night. Fender continued to make guitars for a couple years after the CBS sale, with parts/materials they already had. Besides, I think Hendrix played a 67 or 68; seemed to be a capable instrument, don't you think?!
2:20 AFAICS this seems to be how most mass-manufacturing worked back in the day, before ideas like Total Quality and just-in-time came back from Japan about the '80s. Bodge things and cut corners to manage the fluctuations in demand and stock of parts. Likely Fender was cheekier than most but you hear plenty of similar things about the likes of Gretsch and Ludwig. Ringo Starr's original Ludwig snare famously has a non-standard depth for that model, apparently simply because that was what was on hand that day in the factory.
A had a chance to buy a leftie one same year at the scotish music fair in the early 80s for 2grand a past god a wish a had a time mashein loved your gig in glasow erik☺
Lynn Mccabe Thank you Erik. So glad you enjoyed it mate 🙂
Lynn Mccabe I have one of those stories too...a late 50s Goldtop Les Paul being sold as "used" in the mid 80s for $800 with the original hsc...I passed, thought they were asking way too much for an "old guitar". I kick myself in the ass every time I think about it!
That's cheating, you can make anything sound like Eric Clapton while I can make a strat from any era sound like a squier made out of damp plywood.
Great guitar, better musician, greatings from Mallorca, maestro
Miguel Angel Sheriff Gracias, Miguel ☺️
Holly was the greatest innovator of the original rock years. I came to be the first Stratocaster luster, the day I first laid eyes on "The Chirping Crickets" album cover. I thought that Stratocaster was both the neatest and strangest thing I had ever seen.
That Guitar sounds so great!!!
I really think the key to the killer in-between bridge middle or neck middle is to to NOT have a modern reverse wound middle pickup. The humbucker effect kills all the beautiful high end harmonics and dulls the attack. One of the many reasons these old guitars sound so great. Sure, you loose that noise cancelling thing but hey, it's a Strat.
Gorgeous playing and guitar.
Might I make a technical suggestion? If you are going to use a stomp for reverb, mic the cabinet as closely as possible. Reason being is that the room reflections are very present and take away from the tone of the guitar/amp, simply because it’s kind of distracting. Or, mic in the room, and don’t use the reverb.
Anyway, again, you have a real gift. I wish I could play with your talent, and I’ve played for nearly 30 years.
Of course, that awesome tone has naught to do with the bloke holding the guit-fiddle. Excellent playing as usual. I steal...I mean I learn so much from watching you play.
I cannot help feeling that these pick-ups sounded nothing like that when new.
Ohh my.
if anyone goes to the Los angeles guitar , they have these guitars hanging there and anyone could try them out ( they re without glass).
I’m jelly man !
No words....
Beautiful tone. Love your touch. The ultimate question always is....is a great new strat as good as an old one? I never played a vintage one. What is the verdict?
Nice tone and noodling there Chris Buck... Any CZcamss of your band?
cheers
Cheers Jonny. Check this channel; there's a few clips. We're just about to release our first album though so lots of stuff to come in the next few months :)
Great news!
Would anyone have any pickup suggestions to get this sound?
Hey Chris, what a beauty. And classic playing as ever bringing out the best in the guitar. How does it compare to the 66 from Italy? 🤘🏻👍🎸🤘🏻🤘🏻🎸🤘🏻👍🎸🤘🏻👍🎸
Hiya mate. Worlds apart, playability wise. This one having been recently refretted makes all the difference. It genuinely played like a new guitar! Sounded gorgeous as well, although I'd probably (sacrilegiously!) stick a 5 way switch in there 😜
Buck And Evans so the refret makes a big difference to how it plays so does it also sound very different? At least with a 5 way you could put it back if needed! 👍🤘🎸
holy cow that guitar sings...
Yeeeeeeessssss! \m/QQ\m/
Please do alter your camera angle to “straight on” its nice to see the guitar being played and your hands playing said instrument... nice playing btw :)
I agree. I want to hear him thrash on it. That strat begs for more. He plays too beautifully soft.
great sounds . btw what speaker is used in the Fender bandmaster amplifier ? thanks .
love your playing. What gauge of strings did you put on that beauty?
Chris, how did you find the output levels on the pickups compared to your own radioshop one's, more or less output? Cheers 🎸👍
good sound and playing ,, what amp do you use here??
yep that is some sweet ass stratalicous tones! cheers from Canada! What amp you playing through?
Kelster` Von Shredster Cheers Kelster. It’s a ‘57 Bandmaster 🙂
@Buck and Evans Was the fingerboard radius flattened a the time the guitar was refretted?
V necks are the best strat necks imho
The Stratocaster is Buddy Holly, Buddy Holly is The Stratocaster 💁♂️
HOW THE F do you have the action that low without any buzzing??? Please let me know. Im very frustrated with my 1000 dollar strat. I cannot get the action anywhere near that and play clean without buzzing.
hi can you tell us the dc of the pickups?
6:17-6:20 tasty and very original lick. What scales did you blend there
Ear candy!!