final verdict
Which solidbody is the right one for you?
The good news is that you can’t go wrong. That said, players with a hankering for a classic tone would do well to go for the Stratocaster Deluxe. In Blizzard Pearl, it’s a stunning guitar, with its narrow tall frets, bent steel saddles in the bridge, and pickups all geared towards a heritage instrument feel and sound with the mod cons of a humbucker option. Maybe it lacks a little power for extreme metal but for classic metal crunch it’s a doozy. The Pacifica, with that gnarly, chewy SP90-1N single-coil tone in the neck and the alternating humbucker/single coil of the tappable Custom 5 bridge pickup, might be the one guitar here that plays the whole field; truly an all-purpose option, maybe the only thing it can’t do is cook dinner and file your taxes. It sounds like a bespoke custom shop instrument and encourages experimentation with your playing. Still, even the nuclear options, the Charvel and the Schecter, encourage adventure. With a mahogany and maple construction the Schecter stands proud from the alder-bodied alternatives. Its finish is ostentatious but it backs it up with supreme playability and a thick, warm humbucking tone that can be tapped for a Strat-esque sound, albeit with a little less bite. The Charvel, meanwhile, with its gorgeously-sculpted heel and body, and discreet input jack, is incredible. Like the Schecter, it makes playing easy, but for our money – and yours – that pickup configuration, gives it the edge, with heaps of pro-quality tone on tap.