I’ve had a couple people ask me, “if you wanted a ‘Strat-like’ guitar, why not just buy, well.. a Strat?” (Meaning a FENDER strat since “Strat” is actually a trademark of Fender.) I have several answers to this question, but the ones that matter are 1) Fretboard Radius, 2) Tremolo design, and 3) String Trees. Let me explain in greater detail below :<\/p>\n
1) Fretboard Radius – the fretboard radius is the roundness that the fretboard has. It is measured in inches, based on an imaginary circle in which the fretboard is a section of the circle’s circumfurance. The lower the fretboard radius, the rounder the fretboard. The higher the radius, the flatter the fretboard is. Rounder fretboards are more comfortable to play, but flatter fretboards are more precise and intonate better. (Bending a note on a rounder fretboard can cause the string to “fret-out” killing the sound, this doesn’t happen on a flatter fretboard.) For the most part, modern Fender Strats have a radius of 9.5″. Over the years I’ve become accustomed to a 12″ radius neck, and prefer it. So, that’s strike one against the Fender.<\/p>\n
2) Tremolo Design – The Fender synchronized tremolo (tremolo is actually a Fender-created term for Vibrato) was revolutionary for it’s time, but hasn’t really changed since its creation. The tremolo connects to the body and pivots via 6 screws. Unfortunately, this causes tuning problems because using any aggressive vibrato can cause the tremolo to bind on its screws knocking your tuning out of wack. You’ll notice that when Leo Fender left to create G&L with George Fullerton that one of the first things he updated was the tremolo to a 2 stud design that holds tuning better. Strike 2 for Fender’s strat.<\/p>\n
3) String Trees – Their primary purpose is to guide strings toward the tuning pegs, and to keep even tension across the guitars neck’s nut. The problem with string trees is that a lot of times when the tremolo is used the strings can become snagged on the trees (and sometimes the nut) creating tuning problems. Many moden guitar manufactures get around having to use string trees by angling the headstock back thus keeping even tension on the nut and preventing string-snag. Strike 3 for Fender.<\/p>\n
Now, please don’t take this post as an assualt against Fender. Fender makes an excellent guitar, I’m just making note of 3 things about the Strat that bothers me. There are a bunch of other things about the Strat that I love. (It’s versitility for example. I also love the “C” neck shape.) Many people (if not most) that buy a Strat buy it because it’s exactly what they want. They want to buy a guitar that was around in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and for the most part is exactly the same. They want a true representation of a “Classic” guitar. (It would be like being able to go to the Ford dealership and still be able to buy a new 1969 Mustang.)<\/p>\n
So, about my purchase… I bought a Parker P30, which is essentially a lighter weight, differently shaped Strat. It remedies 2 out of my 3 Strat complaints. 1) Fretboard Radius : The Parker has a 10″ – “13” compund fretboard radius. 2) Tremolo Design – This one didn’t get remedied. The Parker has a 6 screw trem, but I don’t plan to use it much anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal for me. (I have other guitars for hardcore Trem action.) 3) String Trees : The Parker has an angled headstock which eliminates string trees. So, for $519 I get the great verstility of a Strat without 2 of my 3 Strat peeves. I think I made out well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve had a couple people ask me, “if you wanted a ‘Strat-like’ guitar, why not just buy, well.. a Strat?” (Meaning a FENDER strat since “Strat” is actually a trademark of Fender.) I have several …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p32FB4-S","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1731,"url":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?p=1731","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":0},"title":"G&L Neck Profiles","author":"Matt","date":"January 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This a copy of the post by \u201cGordon\u201d at Upfront Guitars, a premier G&L dealer before G&L went out of business. I\u2019m copying it here for preservation purposes. This is an update to an earlier blog post to cover the changes G&L made to their neck offerings during their 2015\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","block_context":{"text":"Miscellaneous","link":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1283,"url":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?p=1283","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":1},"title":"Bad Info Abounds : The EVH Wolfgang Online","author":"Matt","date":"May 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"My History with The Wolfgang Ever since Peavey came out with an affordable model of Eddie Van Halen's signature guitar, the Wolfgang, I've made myself somewhat of an expert on the guitar. I've owned 2 of the Peavey Wolfgang Specials, and currently own 3 EVH Wolfgang Specials made by FMIC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53,"url":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?p=53","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":2},"title":"New Guitar","author":"Matt","date":"November 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm selling my Peavey Wolfgang hardtail on eBay, and it's already had its reserve met. So, I went ahead and purchased its replacement, a brand new Parker P-30. It arrived today and it's an excellent guitar for the price. It has a single-single-single pickup configuration with a traditional Fender-style synchronized\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1606,"url":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?p=1606","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":3},"title":"Fender Mike McCready Stratocaster – A Counter-Review","author":"Matt","date":"December 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When searching Google for reviews of the Fender Mike McCready Stratocaster, a made in Mexico replica of Mike's beloved 60's Strat, you'll mostly find positive things being said. Yes, the fretwork is great. The rounded fret board edges are super comfortable. The electronics quality is impressive. If you like relic'ed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_1417-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_1417-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_1417-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_1417-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_1417-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_1417-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1316,"url":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?p=1316","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":4},"title":"Fender Fret Wire, and My Preference","author":"Matt","date":"May 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From Fender: The main fret wire maker, California-based Dunlop Manufacturing Inc., produces five main fret sizes. Listed by part number, name (where applicable), crown width and crown height, they are, from smallest to largest: 6230:\u00a0The smallest fret wire found on older Fender necks (.078? x .043?). 6150:\u00a0Vintage jumbo. Much wider\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1288,"url":"https:\/\/www.pressleypress.com\/blog\/?p=1288","url_meta":{"origin":54,"position":5},"title":"Peavey and EVH Wolfgang Pickups Are the Same Says Jim DeCola","author":"Matt","date":"May 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\"I worked at Peavey.\u00a0Yes, I designed them and they were all the same across the range of models. The bobbins changed early on, but they were always wound with the same specs on both neck and bridge pickups. The current Fender made pickups have the same exact specs. 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