All manufacturer have to many model of thew same guitar

[jtr]

Ok I 've been thinking and why do they offer 30 Strats and almost as many Tele's. Who needs all those Les Paul from both Gibson & Epiphone. And all the other companies that make dozens of the same design. (J/C included) When I started there was 1 kind of Strat and 1 Tele Gibson had Jr.,Special,Standard & Custom and so on. I know that some are student model that are starter but the JR or Firebird 1 and Mustang were still Great guitars. What do you Think.

[CharvelRocker]

Different features, different factories, different price points, and different tastes. Thats why they have all the models they do now

[markD]

i agree. price points aside, SOME variation in models would be nice.

the flip side is that "starter" guitars are WAY nicer than they were when i started playing 25 years ago....

so, i guess that actually leaves me undecided....

[CharvelRocker]

The other thing I forgot to add to what I said is making tons of variants is probably cheap as hell, as they are reusing bodies, necks and most hardware.

[Newc]

Mostly it's for the variety of features. You reach a wider buying public with a wider selection. In the case of Strats, the different models usually have different neck profiles, even the Artist Sig models.

With Gibson, not everyone sees the need for binding or fancy (block/trap) inlays but they want the chambered body and maple cap of a Les Paul Standard.

As for J/C, I don't think there's enough variety, personally. You can get every Strat with a maple or rosewood board (aside from Sigs), though they don't offer ebony-boarded production models.
You can get all 3 boards on various Jackson models, but the biggest variety is in the import sigs (Collen, Wolbers, Morton, Bond), and there's always something about each one that keeps someone like me from buying them - the Wolbers and Bond need neck pickups and Floyded versions IMO, despite being sig models.

I'd love to see more maple-boarded 24 fretters with black binding and black fins: namely KVs, RRs, and Warriors, and many others would like to see other variations ( short-scale, single hums, stringthrough, etc etc) of the same models.

[necrotechno]

It's so sad. Like a hundred different models of Strats and Teles, and not a single good one in the bunch. No wonder Warmoth can command the prices they do for parts.

[Blazer]

It's so sad. Like a hundred different models of Strats and Teles, and not a single good one in the bunch.

And where do you base that Bullshit on?

Play a couple of fenders and you'll guaranteed to find one that really blows you away.

Even stronger, I own a Squier affinity telecaster that blows many USA fender away, maybe a freak encounter but they do exeist.

[necrotechno]

I've played quite a few. Usually, my instant reaction is, "Hey, not bad for Fender." Then I start looking at the details and find way too many problems that I know will piss me off before too long.

String trees. Non-tiltback headstocks. Giant neck heel blocks. "Vintage" (read: un-usable) tremolos, the only Strat model with a Floyd is a piece of junk. Very few hardtail Strats. Non-humbucking single coil pickups. Not a single Tele with a forearm contour (some have the back contour). No Ebony fingerboards. Tiny frets on most. Fingerboard radius between 7.25" and 10". And probably a few other things I'm forgetting.

There is just no excuse.

[markD]

String trees. Non-tiltback headstocks. Giant neck heel blocks. "Vintage" (read: un-usable) tremolos, the only Strat model with a Floyd is a piece of junk. Very few hardtail Strats. Non-humbucking single coil pickups. Not a single Tele with a forearm contour (some have the back contour). No Ebony fingerboards. Tiny frets on most. Fingerboard radius between 7.25" and 10". And probably a few other things I'm forgetting.

dude, they are fenders!!! that is what fender guys want!! they make charvels, jacksons, ESPs, ibanezes, etc. for guys that DON'T want that stuff....

and my mexican strat and tele are incredible guitars......they are every bit as valid as my USA jacksons and custom shop charvel...

[necrotechno]

Sure. But with so many model variations they could easily offer a few with some updated features. I wouldn't even care where they were made (my two Strats — a Charvel and a Fernandes — were both made in Japan), just make them decent.

[CharvelRocker]

Sure. But with so many model variations they could easily offer a few with some updated features. I wouldn't even care where they were made (my two Strats — a Charvel and a Fernandes — were both made in Japan), just make them decent.

They aren't running a custom shop. They are going to offer traditional Fender things for the most part.

[emperor_black]

Sure. But with so many model variations they could easily offer a few with some updated features. I wouldn't even care where they were made (my two Strats — a Charvel and a Fernandes — were both made in Japan), just make them decent.

Fender stratocaster is probably the most copied design in the history of guitar building. No matter how many variations you offer, there's always someone who wants a different neck-profile, different fret, etc. hence the need for a "custom shop" ...and if enough people want that version, boom, there's a new variation mass produced. I have no problems with "too many" different variations being available. consider Jimi's time when the poor guy had to turn around a right-handed guitar and play it as a lefty. **shudders**

[scotty]

Personally I am a J/C guy. I feel comfortable knowing what I know about them. When it comes to Fender and Gibbys I don't really know a lot about them and am afraid to spend money on them. So I stick to what I know. Yeah I get get my MF cats and I read them but they don't really tell me the differences between many of the models. I have friends the love their Fenders and their Gibsons but they cant really tell me the differences either. I do know what most of differences between them are but I think I am just more comfortable with the knowledge I have learned here at the JCF about these guitars. I guess if I spent more time at the other forums I might feel different but I just love my pointy J/C guitars.
I am also happy to see Jackson playing in the mahogany set neck field.
Just my thoughts,
Scotty

[necrotechno]

They aren't running a custom shop.

Not asking them to. Just to catch up to the present day. There is no excuse for string trees, tremolos that can only be dived once, single coils that hum, a 21-fret neck, truss rod adjustment at the body joint, or for an oversized heel block. These problems have long since been cured.

[Blazer]

Not running a custom shop?

What the hell is this then?

http://www.fender.com/customshop/home/index.php

Un usuable tremolo?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uwvBizKAwc

Updated features?


Under what rock have you been living if you're not aware of this?