My DSL40 is way more than enough for any small club. I use mine at home only and with the volume on 2 its pretty intense. One thing I have noticed is the sound is very directional. If you stand off to the side just a bit the volume is about half.

I would say acoustic. The extra effort to push the strings will build hand strength and when you switch to electric you will find it very easy to play compared to the acoustic.
You will also hear your mistakes much clearer and that can only lead you to play better in the long run.

Please do, I have had my shaky finger on the checkout button many, many times in the last couple days Just need a little reassurance I think...plus, I will be away for a few days when it would be scheduled to arrive but I could have a neighbor grab it. Not sure if I need a Strat but I sure would like one

Loudest amp I ever had by far was a Budda Stringmaster 30. HOLY CRAP it was loud. It didn't have a master volume either so it only sounded good ridiculously loud. I had to buy an attenuator for it to play anywhere that wasn't a huge club. My favorite small amp is a VOX AC15 but I also really like the 1x12 Fender Blues Deluxe.

There's lots of confusion with comparison of tube and solid state amps. I don't know if there's even an accurate conversion, but it seems like a 20 watt tube amp is just as loud as a 80-100w solid state. Maybe that's why you get some guys saying they need a 100w amp to be heard over a drummer and other guys with 20 watt tube amps looking at them like they're nuts.

Absolutely, solid state tends to be "thin" where as Tube has nice punch and warmth to it.

Thanks

trigger (resized).png

Never thought I would thank anyone for showing their "backside."
Guitar looks like it was worth staying home to accept the delivery.

Man, it even comes with one of the nicer hard shell cases as well........man, such a good deal

So how does it play?

AWESOME. So glad I ordered this baby. Hell the case alone is (I'm guessing) probably $150. I was expecting a "hardshell" gig bag. My boy at Melody Music could not believe this deal ; surprised they're not all scooped up.
Super stoked !

I was on the fence; could I afford to save that much money? Then it occurred to me that here I have over two dozen damned pinball machines, yet I have never owned a nice guitar!

Well, when I put it that way, I thought hell, I'll sell a pin if I have to, but my days of only owning crappy guitars are over!

Order placed! Thanks, vid, I don't know where you got that link, but I sure appreciate you sharing! If you type the SKU into their own home page, you get the regular price of $1199, which they say is 20% off list! So this deal is like 50 bucks from being half price!

I'm stoked!

Yes , Thanks. I realize taking all those pics, posting them, and actually disassembling parts of the fiddle to insure the quality is incredibly time consuming. All this when you have a new toy at your disposal you have been eagerly waiting for and I'm sure dying to plug in. I am not sure I would have had the patience. Thanks so much sir!

When my daughter took 30 minute piano lessons last year at Melody, I would bullshit with/bother the dudes at the counter and we became friends. Saw a Dad buy his teen a fuckin GIBSON Les Paul and amp and Tucker handed him a gig bag. I was like...really ?? For a fucking Les Paul ?? Yep.
So that makes this deal even sweeter (if that's possible) because the last case I bought was $150. So boys and girls...that makes this a $649 AMERICAN DELUXE.
HOLY SHIT. THANK YOU VID !!

Dang I need to drain this thread. Congrats guys.

Just looked up this case. New: $120-$170. Pow.

Cannot wait to see this pickguard up close. Black would be perfect, but I think this slight green tint will be the bees knees. Hot damn !

So besides Hendrix and Gilmour ; who is yer favorite Strat slinger ?
I'm gonna have to go with Dave Murray, followed narrowly by Buddy Guy.

I hate you guys

I haven't picked up a guitar in over 20 years, but I succumbed to the [non] peer pressure in this thread (and the fact that it was a killer deal) and just pulled the trigger on one. did the free shipping, so I'll probably have it after I get back from expo

now, to find an amp

I agree...most people have no idea that a small watt amp can make your ears bleed..I'm with you on the ringing...boo

Quilter Labs, headed by the founder of QSC, has a line of solid state amps that's finally a viable alternative to tube amps. I bought their original MicroPro model soon after it became available a couple years ago and haven't seriously looked at buying another amp since (although I am contemplating getting another Quilter for a wet/dry setup). I've kept two vintage tube amps I'm fond of, a Rivera and a Supro, but I always grab the Quilter when I play a show. The guy who designed it cracked the mystery of making a transistor amp that sounds and feels just as good as a tube amp.

If you're thinking about investing in a good amp, I strongly recommend checking them out. If you don't want the spend the $$ but want something that doesn't suck, VOX Pathfinder is unbeatable in its price range. I would recommend staying away from any "modeling" amps, they're a lot like virtual pinball compared to real pinball.

SRV

Rory Gallagher

Actually the Am standards have the old style spring in the whammy. That spring should be in every Strat actually...even the cheaper Mexican and Indonesian models. The American deluxes have the pop-in bar which is nice as there is no spring to get lost and has an adjustable grip on the bar. They also have different solid saddles. So the close out ones are "hybrids"... Fender wanted to keep the price down since they added the card system so it's missing a couple things. The true "deluxes" should also have the rounded heel behind the neck, the S1 switching system and a lot have the roller nut (so the strings won't get stuck in the nut with whammy use). This closeout is actually closest to an American Standard with the nice addition of the locking tuners. Yet it's priced less even with the better tuners.

Except for the pop-in bar (which is great) the other deluxe features you can live without...like abalone fret dots

It's a good deal with the USA neck, electronics, etc... great deal buddy! Happy for ya.

Malmsteen for me.

Well since this thread has some legs and you guys appreciate Strats - here are some of mine:

The Am Deluxe FMT and QMT's are interesting. They made these from 2004 to 2011 (IIRC) and have the usual deluxe features... roller nut, sculpted heel, S1 switching, locking tuners, pop-in tremolo bar, yadda yadda but besides the pretty wood top on the body they were the only Strats (I think) to have ebony fretboards. I like the ebony as they have the hard snap of maple but a hint of the warmth of rosewood.
The last pic here shows one of them in the front (tobacco sunburst QMT).

Glad you guys like Fender!

3 (resized).jpg

2 (resized).jpg

1 (resized).jpg

FenderQMT (resized).jpg

Ritchie Blackmore is the king of the Strat.

rd

Has anyone ever seen a closeout deal like this on a Gibson les paul? I'd really like a good excuse to buy one.

Is that when you get hit on by a couple?

(bypass)

Well, I need something to do while I wait for my guitar! (I do suppose I could play pinball...)