Which Strat is better? $$$$$$ vs $$$🤔

[@banced1]

Doctor J Seuss was a poet with the juice. Thing 2 for me for silver was all I needed to see. Thing 1 would do but I'll leave that one for you. Both things are some thing I need. I need 1 I need 2 I need them all in deed.

[@j-man9457]

@@banced1 hahaha! Thanks and Rock on!

[@summersleepmusic]

Had this running in the background again while doing housework. I honestly couldn't tell the difference in sound. If playing a pub show, there is no way an audience could tell. Reinforces the "Love what you have, no matter the name on the headstock."

[@j-man9457]

@@summersleepmusic bingo! Thanks man! 👍

[@wasteddude9387]

Hey, Jman: Got another “indicator”. Steve From Boston bought a 2001 Ghost-Flame Jackson with “Custom Shop” on the truss cover, made in the US. $1399 and he STILL had to work on it. Man! It’s a beautiful piece of machinery! And yet… intonation, truss rod, bridgework, dings…. It’s Jackson royalty, and he’s thinking about the pickups. By the way, for the record, I would still love that guitar as is. And fyi, Steve has no regrets. Granted it was sold as a used guitar for $1399, but my point is…. even in that financial bracket, you can anticipate literally days of repair work, or more if you don’t know what you’re doing. And again, that ain’t no slouch guitar.

[@j-man9457]

@@wasteddude9387 yeah I get it, but my issue is simply with the price... I can buy a M-Musi that has more options and as good or better hardware for 1/3 the price and need to do less work to it. How does that make sense? Something doesn't add up🤔

[@TechnoRiff]

Nice comparison! I'm a sucker for stainless steel frets, and locking tuners. Fender and Gibson (and PRS) really should up their games!

[@j-man9457]

@@TechnoRiff hahaha.... Yeah well for what they charge, they certainly could and it wouldn't hurt them one bit!

[@TechnoRiff]

@@j-man9457 Given F and G's propensities for greed, I think they would see doing this as a hit to their margins. Mr. PRS actually has argued for years that stainless frets are worse than what his guitars have (go figure!).

[@j-man9457]

@@TechnoRiff yeah I don't know man, but any guitar that doesn't need fret work every year or 2 is my kind of guitar hahaha! SS for me!

[@TechnoRiff]

@@j-man9457 I totally agree, but these other companies would prefer frets that wear perhaps resulting in more sales for them!

[@garyanthony8044]

I mostly go by color. I like the white one, even before I saw the name. They both sounded pretty good. I have 7 strat style guitars. All sound different but not too much. I have a white one that has a plywood body and I didn't know the difference until I installed some pickups because it didn't have any. I can't be sure but I think they are Squire pickups. Sound good to me anyway.

[@j-man9457]

@@garyanthony8044 hey right on man! Like I always say, if you like it, it's a good guitar... Period! 😉

[@TheJohnburghardt]

Great comparison! I like the Fender just for old memories but sound wise I couldn’t tell the difference.

[@j-man9457]

@@TheJohnburghardt understandable! 😁

[@TedTalksGuitars]

Loved it. That Dr. Seuss bit was something else (smile). Great playing and conversation. I appreciate you take, humility, and balanced perspective with no axe to grind (except for thing 1 & 2, of course). And as always, great picking. Rock on!

[@j-man9457]

@@TedTalksGuitars thanks man l, just the facts as my opinion really doesn't matter hahaha!

[@TedTalksGuitars]

@@j-man9457 - I appreciate you. Everybody has to pay their penny and take their own pick. Giving people good food for thought and unbiased vs. videos is a great contribution to the guitar "tubing" world. Thanks, man.

[@j-man9457]

@@TedTalksGuitars much appreciated!

[@johnjolly9519]

Cool video J-man FYI, there’s a KZbin video by Waylon McPherson called try this before you replace PUPs, cheap mod. You may find it intriguing.

[@j-man9457]

@@johnjolly9519 just saw it! Thanks! Very cool!

[@VersaFireGuitars]

Great comparison.

[@j-man9457]

@@VersaFireGuitars Thanks buddy?

[@Vern859]

Thing #1 sounds better to my ears. But i think thing #2 is the high$ one. 👍

[@j-man9457]

@@Vern859 yup. 3 times the price!,😧

[@Samtheman86]

Must say I think you've changed my mind on the m musi.. in my opinion, it blew the mim fender out of the park

[@j-man9457]

@@Samtheman86 ahhhh interesting man. Thanks for your opinion. Much appreciated! 👍

[@calbrockocat8728]

Great comparison. For me, it's gotta be about how it feels in your hand. Real nice comparison demo, J!

[@j-man9457]

@@calbrockocat8728 thanks man! Both nice players, but the features of the musi far outweigh the fender and for 1/3 Rd of the price. Not sure the fender logo and a stamped neck plate are worth 600$ more of my hard earned dollars🤔

[@allenmahan9393]

Good one! fun-KNEE yet informative 🎸 I like the looks of Thing #2 😅

[@j-man9457]

@@allenmahan9393 thanks! yes it's a nice finish!

[@stephanpeters3875]

I liked thing 1 best. But really, either the tone knob was different, or there is a different tone capacitor value. I could hear it in the first sample. Honestly I don't like that wheel truss rod adjuster on it, though. As far as the pickup... if you have a guitar with pickups perfect for you, I'd try stuffing one of them into either of these guitars and seeing if it fixes whatever you didn't like (yeah adjust the height right first, you know this, other viewers might not). Listening to these two guitars assuming both tone knobs are set at full, they have a different tone capacitor value. I love that "metal" expression on your face when you do Metallica. I was in a band that opened for Metallica at... I think it was Ruthie's inn in Berkeley. They were kind of nobodies back then. I also saw them open for a band called Air Raid at the Keystone. Air Raid had a singer that was a cross between Twisted Sister and Gene Simmons. Air Raid was kind of really terrible.

[@j-man9457]

@@stephanpeters3875 hahaha Air Raid! Great name though! So cool that you opened for Metallica! Awesome! Yup you can't not make a face when playing hard rock hahaha! Both guitars volumes and tone knobs were full. Pickups on both were set at the same distance from the strings just for experiment sake. The musi pups are definitely hotter. 😁

[@zuperdee]

I totally agree with you about the sound of the pickups in the guitars. Pickups and electronics are FAR easier to replace than parts that require real hand craftsmanship like the frets and the woodwork though. For this reason, given a choice between a good feeling guitar with a good neck carve, sculpted neck heel, and good fretwork, or a good sounding guitar with better pickups, I will ALWAYS go for the guitar with the better feel versus the one with better sound. A better price doesn’t hurt either. I’d therefore pick the Musi Capricorn, and replace the pickups if I were really picky about the sound.

[@j-man9457]

@@zuperdee 100% agree!

[@Sammywhat]

Wish these guitar brands like M Musi and Firefly were lefty friendly! Be a great guitar to knock around with for the price!

[@j-man9457]

@@Sammywhat I hear you man! It is too bad the only have the one orientation available! 😕

[@1revwilly]

The Dr. Seuss stuff was great! :-) I was liking the MMusi all the way through the video. The pickups had a bit MORE and the guitar had MORE features I like and like Yngwie always says, MORE is MORE! lol Looks like your injured finger is not impeding your playing as much now, that's great to see! :-)

[@j-man9457]

@@1revwilly hey thanks hahaha! Both great guitars, but if I had to pick one, it would be the Musi. Features, fit & finish and playability are just superior IMO...

[@jerrymccabejr]

Great video. I personally like the sound better of the MMusi. To me the Fender sounded thin.

[@j-man9457]

@@jerrymccabejr yes I agree. Just depends on one ear I guess. The real point is that the Fender is 3 times the price and it's not even an American model!🤨

[@-brohdie]

"Shoot me now" lol nice man I ended up getting one of those Monoprice Indio strats on amazon for 137 CAD out of morbid curiosity and it really surprised me with how it compared to my MIM strat. MIM is definitely nicer in every way, but i really like that thing for what it is. Great camping guitar i can be rough on without a worry.

[@j-man9457]

@@-brohdie hahaha yup budget guitars are worry free for sure! 😁

[@tomearly111]

I haven't gotten to the end yet but to me by the 12 minute mark the white one (thing one) not only sounds better to me but you seem to play it smoother. I was surprised to see the thing 2 was the more expensive and a actual Fender.

[@j-man9457]

@@tomearly111 yeah... The musi has a nicer neck for sure! I'm indifferent as far as the pickups... But the bottom line is a 300$ guitar should not be able to compete with a 900$ one. 🤯

[@tomearly111]

@@j-man9457 That name on the headstock automatically raises the price a few hundred dollars. They can do that without regard to actual quality because some people just want a Fender name on their guitar.

[@j-man9457]

@@tomearly111 oh I know! But just because they can do that doesn't mean they should. Supporters of the brand should still get what they are paying for and no 300$ budget guitar should be able to compete with a fender that's 3 times the price. 🤔

[@tomearly111]

@@j-man9457 Back in the 70's Ibanez made an acoustic guitar called the Concord. It was pretty much a carbon copy of a Gibson model selling for a fraction of the cost. I bought one. Gibson wasn't happy about that so they sued.

[@j-man9457]

@@tomearly111 Gibson sues anyone who makes a good guitar hahaha! 🤣🤣

[@_Yep_Yep_]

My call was Thing 1 being the superior guitar based on sound, looks, and it seems like its just better kitted out with a better neck and fretboard. It actually in retrospect reminds me of Japanese Fenders being comparatively better than Mex/American Fenders, but being considered significantly less desirable...because of brand-country of origin loyalty. I also have a bias against gluey maple boards. At the end of the day, I think the MMusi is probably the better guitar, notwithstanding price. Since I owned a Japanese Strat, I think i could have sussed out the same conclusion on my own to exclude the Mexican. Probably. I also expect better players to have qualified subjective opinions in the alternative.

[@j-man9457]

@@_Yep_Yep_ yeah I have to agree with you. I'm not much of a player, but in the hands the Musi feels better. The roasted neck is so smooth, and the SS frets are like glass. I have no issues with fender, I just don't understand their pricing... It just doesn't add up to what you are getting.... The Musi on the other hand has excellent bang for the buck! So if they can put this out for 500$, Fender could too!

[@JLong-py6mx]

Excellent video J-man! The comparison was well done. The Fender pickups are listed as “Vintage-Style '60s Single-Coil”, which, I assume, gives it that clarity of tone. Idk….after all, I just bought it because it matches my 75th Anniversary P-Bass. 😂😅 I like the warmth of the bridge pickup, especially since it will be getting the most use while being played through an acoustic simulator. I can hardly wait to see what it plays like after it gets the full J-man treatment. That Musi is a beautiful guitar as well! I’m still astounded at the quality of the hardware and impeccable finish on those guitars for the price point!

[@j-man9457]

@@JLong-py6mx thanks man! Working on it haha!

[@JLong-py6mx]

No hurry at all. I just know it’s going to play so much better when you’re done with it brother.

[@wasteddude9387]

First, I heard about your injured hand. Bad scene, bud. Sorry to hear it. But glad it’s in the past. NOW! Dr. Seuss those diaper wearin’ snowflake puritan hypocrites! I love it. Great video, hoss! Good to see ya again!

[@j-man9457]

@@wasteddude9387 thanks my friend! Always good to hear from you! 😊

[@wasteddude9387]

@@j-man9457 Hey, ya gotta read my take. At first sight, I thought the silver one was a Groove guitar. Remember those? HeHeHe… Didn’t know what the other’n was. I just don’t like all white. Anyways, early on durin the back-n-forth with the Specs, I realized the silver one just looked cheaper (maybe coz of the Groove association). Then it dawned on me that I know you well enough to surmise there had to be a reason for the contest. I knew right then, halfway through the specs, the expensive guitar was not as good as the budget guitar. But how could the big dollar loser sink so low as to be a $1K Groove guitar? I kept telling my gut not to get shook, but I couldn’t be sure. You had a reason, but you’re also a sneaky dude. I kept closing my eyes during the sound check. Mostly I chose the white guitar, but not always. When the unveiling came, I stuck to my guns and chose. The silver Groove was the costly mistake and the white one had me sparkin serious with curiosity. So it was a good contest. I chose right but I was never 100% sure till the hoods came off. Good one!

[@j-man9457]

@@wasteddude9387 right on man thanks! Yeah they are both good, I just don't see the value of the price tag on the fender. Another brand name on the head stock and it's a 399$ guitar with sparkly paint! 🤔

[@guitarzan0515]

I’ll take both please 😬 Both sound pretty similar, but. I’m starting to enjoy the roasted style necks. Also staggered tuners are a must have for me. Haven’t had a guitar with SS frets, but I bet they feel fantastic!, again, Do You Ever Sleep😱😬

[@j-man9457]

@@guitarzan0515 hahaha! Don't sleep enough buddy!

[@AnnoyingCritic-is7rp]

I hate to admit it, but I think the Fender sounded better. If you have it, just write the specs of the pickups down - the DC resistence and inductance. Then buy a cheap pickup with the same specs - like from GFS or Tonerider.

[@j-man9457]

@@AnnoyingCritic-is7rp yup I think the fender pups were more articulate, but less agressive... I like aggressive pups 😆

[@rogerrousell9789]

I pick the Musi I think better features better sound less cost.

[@j-man9457]

@@rogerrousell9789 for me sound was pretty even, but 100% agree on everything else!😁🤘

[@DMSProduktions]

Which Strat is 'better'? YES!

[@j-man9457]

@@DMSProduktions hahaha

[@DMSProduktions]

@@j-man9457 ;o)

[@Vern859]

I stopped video at 14.2 to say i wrote the other post before the reveal..😁👍

[@j-man9457]

@@Vern859 hahaha smart! 🤓

[@gunsnguitars77]

Thing two has a little more clarity. They sound different but both sound good.

[@j-man9457]

@@gunsnguitars77 hey man, thanks for commenting. Yup I found that too... Lower output pickups I'd say... Plus even with drive they were not as dirty... So I guess it's what ones ear likes more... I just don't see where the extra 600 to 800 dollars is on the fender?! If the Name said Leo Jaymz on the head stock that guitar as is would be $399 at best... IDK, maybe I'm wrong but I just don't see the cash value...?!

[@beyest]

Thing 2 😜

[@j-man9457]

@@beyest I prefer the pickups on thing 2, but features, playability and feel for me is thing 2 all the way!😁

[@2bikemikesguitartopics145]

I knew the white one was the movie right away since I have one. But I couldn't tell the difference between the two because I wasn't even watching you play while you were doing it and I couldn't tell when you were switching back and forth. Every time I look at the screen it would be a different one than I saw the last time. Who is the older way baby

[@j-man9457]

@@2bikemikesguitartopics145 at 1/3 less I know which one I'd pick hahaha!

[@No1414body]

From the sound I was able to tell thing 2 was a fender, to me it was a little brighter

[@j-man9457]

@@No1414body yup it is brighter and thinner for sure! 😁

[@barackmycat9448]

Ah, but did you put hours of your set up skill into the Musi? They both sounded pretty good . If I was selling I would want the one that says Fender, sad but true.

[@j-man9457]

@@barackmycat9448 hey no sir, the Musi was very playable out of the box, just a basic action and intonation adjustment similar to what the fender would have gotten in the store... I hear you and appreciate your honesty. I would like to take an American Fender, and a similar looking Musi, sand the names off of the headstock a and cut them down to an unrecognizable shape, then set them up both perfectly, then have a bunch of different guitar players look at the build quality, the features and play them both clean and dirty on all pickup positions and then ask each of them which they'd pick if they could have 1 of the 2 🤔 Not sure the Fender would win that one!

[@AnnoyingCritic-is7rp]

@@j-man9457 They did that with Stradvarious Violins: www.nature.com/articles/nature.2017.21954

[@aminahmed2220]

What a fantastic video have a wonderful day also Wednesday is my younger brother birthday ❤😊

[@j-man9457]

@@aminahmed2220 thanks! And a happy birthday to your younger brother! 🎁

[@rainerjaschke5216]

Even with my highly trained tone-deaf ears, I have to be honest. I couldn't tell any difference between them. I would have to settle for the lower priced guitar. I'll even do you one better, I'd settle for the $89 Ammoon from the Jungle website.

[@j-man9457]

@@rainerjaschke5216 hahaha! I hear you. They are very close tone wise, but the features on the Musi far outweigh the ones on the fender and for 1/3rd of the price... The budget Strat wins it hands down for me!

[@birdman316]

they both sounded great to me.... yaa the muzicaster gives ya more for your dolla anyway lol! o yaa "the boys are back in town" sounds better on humbuckers.....just sayin hahaha!!

[@j-man9457]

@@birdman316 hahaha no Humbuckers here lol but yeah I agree! 👍

[@RandyFricke]

The comparison should be between a legacy Fender Strat and a knockoff.

[@j-man9457]

@@RandyFricke can you send me one? 😀😉 Honestly, with only a good set up and a set of Barden pups, I'd put this Musi up against any Strat! They are doing it right over there!🤯

[@summersleepmusic]

I’m curious to your thoughts on the WestCreek TT-20 vs a Squier Classic Vibe 50s or 60s

[@j-man9457]

@@summersleepmusic the CV will feel more like a traditional tele, but the TT-20 has way more features and is less Money. It also has a flatter radius for easier bending and soloing. Also comfort cuts which I personally prefer. Electronics would be about even but pickups would be better on the TT-20. Alnico vs ceramic on the CV. All depends what your after I guess! 😉

[@russellharris5072]

The musi had more meat to the sound and the fender sounded a bit thinner,not bad but just thinner.This shows that some companies hike their prices because they have a well known name which to my mind is not justified by the specs..............................................

[@j-man9457]

@@russellharris5072 100% agree! At 3 times the cost. This Musi should not be able to compete in the slightest with a well established name brand guitar like fender, but it's clearly not the case! 😧

[@BK-ox6wn]

What happened to Musi guitars? They seem to have completely disappeared. I have one of the Tele style and it's great. But they are nowhere.

[@j-man9457]

@@BK-ox6wn I was told they are transitioning to a bigger facility where they will be offering F-Style models and also their own design on G-Style models as well... Time will tell!

[@BK-ox6wn]

@@j-man9457 Good to know. They are really quality guitars and I hated to think they simply went out of business.

[@Acreustic]

LOL - YAHOO! - haha

[@j-man9457]

@@Acreustic hahaha!

[@keenedgedesigns]

This is a terrible video for me as I am biased against Strats. They are good for leveling a wobbly table or assembling a sandwich on top of. I’m a Tele guy.😂

[@j-man9457]

@@keenedgedesigns hahaha me too buddy, teles all the way! However there are Strat players out there that I highly respect so there's my reason hahaha!

[@keenedgedesigns]

@@j-man9457 Me too. I guess I have to find forgiveness in my heart. But if my son were to come home with one I might disown him. I would rather he watch a Tijuana Donkey Show than come home with a Strat.

[@j-man9457]

@@keenedgedesigns hahahaha!

[@ranman58635]

My stratocaster is better. 😆 🤣 just kidding. I make generic Squiers and Fenders better.

[@j-man9457]

@@ranman58635 it's fun to mod and personalize stuff isn't it? Rock on!

[@ranman58635]

@@j-man9457 , yes, after playing many from the local guitar center, I prefer mine over theirs by far. It's sad how many are not set up well. Sure detours it from being sold.

[@j-man9457]

@@ranman58635 yup and even worse, the newbie who knows nothing thinks that because it says Fender on it he's buying quality ... It's just not the case anymore😕

[@ranman58635]

@@j-man9457 , they could offer so much more than what they do. Even the player plus has a painted fretboard. Blew my mind that they couldn't fret them after painting. It would be a nightmare to change the frets in the future. This is why the overseas brands are selling so well. Name snobbery is catching up with them.

[@j-man9457]

@@ranman58635 100% You should run for president!