Is a "frankenstrat" the best guitar for the $$$?

[The_Sentry]

OK< I'll admit...that's not a completely apt term (or PC)...but either way...the whole gist behind a Frankenstrat...

Frankenstrat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Methinks what EVH started all those years ago has turned into a pretty huge industry for a lot of guitar makers. Long and short...when I'm using this term, I'm thinking of strat-body guitars (or a close variant) with a humbucker in the bridge. It also comes with a Floyd Rose.

I know that for a lot of people, these are the guitars they take out and abuse daily and the guitars more than hold up...especially for the price.

So...even though this is a Les Paul forum, is a Frankenstrat style guitar (made by Ibanez, Jackson, ESP, or another company out there) actually the best deal available on a new guitar?

 

[The_Sentry]

Some examples...

\

 

[Makeitstop]

I have two 'Frankenstrats,' and I haven't played either one of them in a couple of years now.

No doubt I'll get back to them one of these days, but I've been pretty attracted to the Gibsons and Epis for the past year or so.

And talk about value - the one Strat that I've got, with H-S-S pickup config, original Kahler trem and three mini-toggles instead of a 5-way switch, cost me 25 bucks. It sat in my closet in a box for 10 years before I even decided to put it together.

- D

 

[cynic79]

It's certainly easy to get a quality Frankenstrat at a reasonable price, given that the woods aren't particularly rare and the design is pretty easy to manufacture. I would think the tremolo would be the weak point in the design, since it's the most complex part of this particular instrument by far, and it takes a little bit of tweaking to get it to function correctly.

 

[b-squared]

I wouldn't call the Jackson/ESP/Charvel guitars 'Frankenstrats'...those are more like 'SuperStrats.'

I took my '56 Relic Strat, put a '62 reissue neck on it, aftermarket custom pickups and electronics by Mike Detemple, titanium metal parts, and fossilized mastodon ivory nut, switch tip/string tree.

That, to me, is a 'Frankenstrat.' I'd add that it's the best Strat I've ever played.

BB

 

[zslane]

I think the semi-official term for this category of guitar is "Superstrat". They are still very popular today in the metal scene, with ESP and Jackson dominant amongst the pros, at least from what I can tell. Ibanez may have the largest marketshare overall, but I suspect that's due to selling zillions of budget superstrats to metalgear wannabes, not because they are necessarily the ax of choice amongst the pros of the genre.

I am building a "Frankenstrat" inspired clone, right down the paint job, using Warmoth parts, and it is technically a superstrat in form, but one could be forgiven for not recognizing it as such at first glance since it uses a normal Stratocaster body style (like Eddie's original), and not the pointy-guitar "Soloist" style that is regarded today as the norm.

Yes, they tend to be "feature-rich", but a lot of them involve serious production compromises in order to come in under that magical $400 price point. You'll notice that the cheap ones are bolt-on, that their trems aren't genuine Floyds, that the necks (and/or bodies) aren't bound, that the pups are essentially no-name, and the fretboards are "fast" but hardly impressive from an overall construction standpoint. Sure, there are some $2000 superstrats on the market that improve on every single one of these elements, but at that price they may not be quite the "deal" that you think they are.

 

[captain amazing]

get a charvel!

 

[Jason]

I wouldn't call the Jackson/ESP/Charvel guitars 'Frankenstrats'...those are more like 'SuperStrats.'

I took my '56 Relic Strat, put a '62 reissue neck on it, aftermarket custom pickups and electronics by Mike Detemple, titanium metal parts, and fossilized mastodon ivory nut, switch tip/string tree.

That, to me, is a 'Frankenstrat.' I'd add that it's the best Strat I've ever played.

BB

I was just about to say that... those 1980s wankmaster guitars are Superstrats. Frakenstrats are built from odds and ends.

 

[JonMan94]

To clear this conversation up:

The frankinstart was a guitar and defines guitars with either e H-S or Single Hum PU in the bridge, and was bult from cheap, reliable parts.....

from that, the suprstarts where born out of the jacksns, 24 frests, H-S-S or H-H configs with a double locking vibrato...ibanez expsaned on that by using the H-S-H config, super thin necks and oriingal locking trems.....lol

thats my .2 cents...

 

[Jody]

My 1988 Ibanez RG 560 (AKA the "SplatterCaster") is my most played,And the one I reach for in time of creating....
She is well seasoned...

 

[captcoolaid]

I built mine out of parts in the shop.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jigsLQ3tyE]YouTube - My WB UV20 Pickup In my home made Eddie Van Halen guitar[/ame]

 

[The_Sentry]

I was just about to say that... those 1980s wankmaster guitars are Superstrats. Frakenstrats are built from odds and ends.

Yeah...forgot about that 'ol chestnut...

Either way...the Superstrat has its origins with the Frankenstrat.

Heck, it's such a popular model....I've got a strat sitting in the corner with 22 frets and a cavity carved out for a humbucker (even though it shipped with single coils.)

Had an Ibanez RG 550 for years that was a really reliable and solid guitar.

They do seem like good bargains.

 

[carydad]

I've built 2, though one is in parts again to remove the thick poly finish. The other was a caparison that someone stripped, so I drilled three holes in it to add two micro switches and a tone pot, put in pickups and set it up. Oiled mahogany, maple neck, ebony board. WB Firewater bridge, SD vintage stack middle, hot rails neck. Currently my favorite guitar (and that is saying a lot). Need to find someone to put dots on the neck for me though. The plain ebony is nice, but I get a little lost in stage darkness.

The other one is all warmoth parts. Flamed Koa body, maple neck, ebony board. Both are H-S-S though I like blades/stacks in the single positions and a SD triple shot on the bridge pup for lots of pup options.

 

[zslane]

Here's my current Warmoth project, code-named "Warbird" (photo taken last night following the last round of painting over the weekend). It will have an original Floyd Rose double-locking trem, an EVH signature Frankenstrat humbucker, and a single volume control. It's 22 frets, but is for all intents and purposes a "Superstrat".

 

[elcajon64]

I've built two. For me, that was the best part. I had less than $100.00 in each one and learned a ton about how guitars work by not being afraid to dig into it. I never really played them, but would recommend that everyone try building one at some point. It also kept my kids away from my Les Pauls.

 

[TeleDog]

I always called EVH replicas "Frankenstrats" and the rest, Jacksons and Charvells, "Superstrats"... That's just me though!

I owned a Jackson for a brief period of time, but I'm not a metal player so it always felt weird, like a shoe that didn't fit. Great sound though, but what I liked the most was the versatility and most are just very easy to play.

I'm old school, boring and old, so I prefer a good Tele over any Superstrat! lol.. I would love to own one once again, who knows, maybe in the future.... I've looked at some good deals recently, but nothing convincing yet.

 

[Jason]

Yeah...forgot about that 'ol chestnut...

Either way...the Superstrat has its origins with the Frankenstrat.

Heck, it's such a popular model....I've got a strat sitting in the corner with 22 frets and a cavity carved out for a humbucker (even though it shipped with single coils.)

Had an Ibanez RG 550 for years that was a really reliable and solid guitar.

They do seem like good bargains.

Yeah, from a logical standpoint they really do seem like the best value out there. I owned a couple that were dual humbuckers, if that counts. Honestly, it wouldn't have made any difference if they were HSS... I just didn't feel inspired by either one of them.

One was an import Jackson, the other an import Schecter. From the pointiness of the bodies/headstocks to the somewhat garish colors... they just weren't my style. The Jackson had insanely low action and played effortlessly, the Schecter was no slouch either... great quality hardware on both. The white ones I can almost deal with, but I still have no real urge to own one.

 

[snaredrum]

I wouldn't call the Jackson/ESP/Charvel guitars 'Frankenstrats'...those are more like 'SuperStrats.'

I took my '56 Relic Strat, put a '62 reissue neck on it, aftermarket custom pickups and electronics by Mike Detemple, titanium metal parts, and fossilized mastodon ivory nut, switch tip/string tree.

That, to me, is a 'Frankenstrat.' I'd add that it's the best Strat I've ever played.

BB

you use woolly mammoth for your nut? awesome!

 

[The_Sentry]

Yeah, from a logical standpoint they really do seem like the best value out there. I owned a couple that were dual humbuckers, if that counts. Honestly, it wouldn't have made any difference if they were HSS... I just didn't feel inspired by either one of them.

One was an import Jackson, the other an import Schecter. From the pointiness of the bodies/headstocks to the somewhat garish colors... they just weren't my style. The Jackson had insanely low action and played effortlessly, the Schecter was no slouch either... great quality hardware on both. The white ones I can almost deal with, but I still have no real urge to own one.

I can relate to that. At the same time....I gotta admit...there's a few out there I think are pretty sweet, though...

 

[Thundergod]

Do you mean "superstrat"?

Frankenstrat sounds better, those things are hideous anyway... BUT, I currently own some and can't seem to get rid of them, they want me to sell them, I know that, but I just cant do it... I play them only a couple of times a year but that couple of times I really have fun.

I think they are the best deal if you want versatility and are on a budget... you can have a guitar that sounds close to a strat, a tele, a les paul and many other tones.