Fridays are solo gig days for me where I play at a restaurant doing a variety of tunes on both piano and guitar from the Beatles to Puccini (opera, that is). My shtick has been the ability to perform a variety of styles and genres of music, and for the classic rock, folk and country stuff I do, the guitar has been an integral part of my act.
As you might now, if you’ve been to my rig page, you’ll see that my acoustic has been an Ovation Celebrity Elite. I’ve been playing that guitar pretty much continuously for the past 16 years. That guitar’s been on the road with me and in the studio, and has always had a special place in my heart… until yesterday…
I won’t go into the particular details about exactly what happened to “Sunset,” but suffice it to say that she got a crack somewhere under her top that didn’t have a bad effect with her unplugged, but became very magnified once I plugged her in. Not good. I found her in this state yesterday morning (Friday), and while I didn’t freak, I knew I had to solve the problem! So I called the wife to explain the situation, and since I had to own up to putting the guitar in a place where she could get a crack – however inadvertently – I shared that I’d pay half for a new guitar out of my gig money.
I wasn’t too hopeful about finding a new guitar yesterday, considering the acoustic guitar store that I was originally going to go to mainly dealt with high-end acoustics; right, big money. But a chance call to B Street Music in San Mateo, CA where I work as I was leaving changed all that. I called them up to see if they carried Ovations, thinking that I’d just replace Sunset with another Ovation, and they said they carried them! Yippee!
Anyway, I got to the shop and started pulling guitars that looked pretty cool off the racks, and lining them up on guitar stands so I could do evals. Among them were a couple of Ovations Celebrities, a Godin (very nice looking), and the Fender Stratacoustic that I ended up buying. Mind you, I wasn’t at all interested in how the guitars sounded unplugged, though I love the Ovation acoustic sound. Since I use practically all my guitars in gigging situations, I really needed a guitar that sounded great plugged in.
As expected, the Ovations performed incredibly well. There’s something that Ovation has down with their electronics. After I tested the Ovations, I plugged in the Stratacoustic – it didn’t work. Luckily, it was just the battery that was out. Once I had it all set up, I took a few minutes to familiarize myself with the guitar. It really didn’t take that long because what I felt I was holding was an acoustic Strat! The Stratacoustic features a shallow acoustic body with a Strat neck, so from a feel standpoint, it felt completely familiar. I closed my eyes and felt as if I was playing my trusty “Pearl!”
The dude at the shop was helpful, and explained that the guitar was equipped with a Tele single coil, and a Fishman acoustic which you could blend with the Blend slider on the control panel; speaking of which, the control panel features independent controls for Bass, Mid, and Treble, a Volume slider, and a Blend slider. It also has a pretty decent built-in tuner. Nice features for sure!
Mind you, I was still a bit dubious of the acoustic sound of the guitar. It was flat and tinny, and was something I’d never play unplugged. Here are the sales guy’s own words, “Don’t be fooled by the acoustic, unplugged sound. It sounds like shit. Just wait till you plug it in. Fender’s done something really special with this guitar.” Yeah, right, I thought. It’s production line Fender after all! But I’ve learned to keep an open mind with respect to new gear.
Anyway, after I got familiarized with the controls, it was time to plug her in. So I plugged her in and WAS IMMEDIATELY FLOORED BY THE TONE! I had the Blend set dead in the middle, with both pickups contributing to the overall sound. Kind of hard to describe what I was hearing but it truly was a mix between an acoustic and electric; rich in mids, and not too much bass, but with a chimey, top-end finish. The Fishman provided a nice, organic acoustic tone, while the ring and chime I was hearing had to be coming from the Tele pickup. I proved that out by isolating each pickup.
I played through it for a couple of more minutes, and then turned to the guy and said, “Sold.” He just smiled… Not because he got a sale, but because he shared that as a Strat player himself, this was a total unsung hero in the shop. I commented that the guitar had a bunch of fingerprints all over it, and there was a tiny, tiny scratch on the top near the bridge, so would he give me a deal for it? And he did! I got the guitar for $499 plus a gig bag and a nice 3.5″ wide leather strap! The guitar normally retails for $629! Was I jazzed or what?
So now I am the proud and exceedingly happy owner of a very weird, but full of Strat mojo guitar, the Stratacoustic!
Gig Report
Of course, as I started today’s story, I had a gig last night. The real test for any device is playing it in a live situation. So how did it do? In a word, FANTASTIC!!! As I mentioned, each pickup contributes to the blend, and even though the guitar sports a Tele pickup, with the Tele pick isolated, the guitar still retains its acoustic qualities. So the gig for me last night was utter heaven! Plugged into my DigiTech Vocalists Live 4 then right into the PA, I was amazed at the incredible tones this guitar produces.
How It Sounds
I was going to end this article with my gig report, but I got inspired to record the guitar and provide a clip. This is a short song that I quickly put together that features the Stratacoustic. The left channel is a fingerpicked rhythm. Then in the right channel, I layer the same riff but strumming – it almost sounds like a piano! Nice. I used a light reverb effect on both rhythm parts using my Hardwire reverb. Then I do a solo dead center with the guitar in the Tele position, and playing it through my KASHA Overdrive in the Classic channel to get a real nice, slightly dirty Strat tone. Almost forgot to mention: I played all the parts through a regular amp, my Aracom VRX22! It is absolutely amazing how natural and organic this guitar sounds through a regular amp! I’m in heaven! Anyway here’s the clip:
Excuse the 60Hz hum from the single coil in the solo… 🙂 I wasn’t turned the right way to eliminate it while I played… 🙂 The guitar was recorded through a miked amp! The rhythm sounds are unlike anything I’ve ever heard plugged in! At least to me, it sounds as if I miked the guitar, then added reverb in production. But in reality the guitar was plugged into my board! I just can’t get over the plugged in tone of this guitar! And the Tele pickup is just to die for!
If you’re looking for a stage acoustic that sounds absolutely KILLER plugged in, look no further. You get all the benefits of the feel of a Strat, but in an acoustic, but you can also use this thing as a straight electric as well by just using the Tele pickup! Simply amazing!
Guitar Gear 
Nice song! The diverse tones from that guitar are amazing. I like the looks of the Stratacoustic.
[…] As I shared in a previous article, my Ovation Celebrity had a bit of an accident that made me look for a new acoustic in a hurry. What I ended up with was a guitar that simply blew me away! The moment I plugged it in, I was completely sold. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It sounded like a miked acoustic! Now granted, I was playing through an acoustic amplifier when I was evaluating the guitar. But nothing would prepare me for the same, natural tone through a regular tube amp! I’ll have a clip in a little bit, but let me tell you, it’s nothing short of amazing. First I’ll talk about the guitar. […]
beautiful guitar and beautiful song bro! I played one of these guitars at GC and they offer the best of both worlds.
Lovin’ your posts and updates. All of them are inspiring,and informative but most of all real!
I look forward to seeing you review and post your honest findings on multifx guitar based processors etc. tested “live” and approved by you for reliable, consistent use every week for especially for guys like me who play and have played lead guitar on church worship teams and have for many years.I have used nearly every affordable processor made and known to man, and over rated “junk” and hand me downs etc. but still journeying on the tone holy graile which doesn’t actually exist, but lots of fun trying). Please consider and pray about raising the bar for doing more and more gear reviews by you.
I trust and forward to other guitarists in the worship circles all your reviews ,evaluations, recommendations and considerations because they are not are not reviewed or expressed by yourself favorably by financial endorsements or deceptive persuasions by manufacturers or their reps) in which you have been so forthright, in your stance of integrity in this matter all along in your posts. I find this so refreshing and most of all,what you post is 99% reliable in example, precept and practicality!
I thank Jesus for your passionate display of excellence and inspiration on this site, and the obvious more passionate display of your pursuit of Him!
d. Williams
WOW! Thanks so much for the GREAT feedback! It’s this kind of feedback that keeps me going! It’s a HUGE reason why I have been extremely careful about commercializing GuitarGear.org. I’ve actually started to do it very slowly, but my deal with stores or manufacturers is that they need to fulfill certain criteria:
1. I have to have used the product or site.
2. I have to be able to give it at least a 4.5 Tones Bones rating.
That has ruled out A LOT of folks who’ve approached me about some sort business alliance they have in mind. I may have missed out on some good financial opportunities, but I have to maintain the integrity of my reviews, and that come first and foremost. I don’t even want to do a “back door” type of arrangement where I have a second company that is an actual storefront that I send people to. It just doesn’t feel right.
My feeling is that while I might not be making money directly out GuitarGear.org, I can help a lot of people make intelligent decisions about what gear they choose. It’s an important service that I think is lacking in the gear industry; and service is at the heart of what GuitarGear.org and frankly, what I am all about.
Again, thanks for your support!