10 Doublecut S-Style Guitars for your Consideration

• Key Specs - Agathis Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Board, Synch Twin-Pivot Temolo Bridge, Standard Squier Strat Humbucker at Bridge, plus two Standard Squier Strat Single Coils at Middle and Neck
• Manufacture - Indonesia
• Price - £254

For those on a budget you can't go wrong with a Squier Standard, Deluxe or Classic Vibe. I've picked out this one because of the matching headstock and similarity in look to the Aerodyne above - note that there is also a beautiful matching headstock Squier Classic Vibe in Sherwood Green - although this does have a Maple fingerboard.

• Key Specs - Mahogany Body, Maple Neck and Board, Floyd Rose Bridge, Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Single-Coil Neck Pickup, Seymour Duncan Custom 5 Humbucker Bridge Pickup
• Manufacture - USA
• Price - $3,400

A beautiful natural wood guitar stained with natural gunstock oil to give it even colour and finish and make the maple board acceptable to me. As I've said previously, I don't like Maple boards particularly, but will tolerate them if they are stained or roasted to give them a darker hue. This is a limited custom built instrument, hence the high price-tag. Very classic looking guitar though with very similar headstock to original Fender.

• Key Specs - Poplar Body with Quilted Maple Top in Purple Sunset Quilt, Maple Neck, Rosewood Board, Tuneomatic Bridge, Two DiMarzio Steve Morse Signature Humbuckers and one Signature Single Coil
• Manufacture - USA
• Price - £2,500

It's important to mention the direct Leo Fender connection with Music Man - his first stop-off after selling his eponymous company to CBS. The prettier of the Steve Morse signature guitars is also the prettiest classic strat style guitar Music Man makes. I love the smaller headstock with the 4+2 tuner placement - makes for a rather more elegant 'Strat'. This is a 'Super-Strat' in every sense of the word, from quality of build to hardware choices and tonal pallet.

• Key Specs - Swamp Ash Body, Maple Neck, Ebony Board, Floyd Rose Bridge, G&L Dual Blade in neck and middle position, G&L AW4370 humbucker at bridge
• Manufacture - USA
• Price - $2,300

Leo Fender's second stop-off often gets overlooked by guitar buyers - excepting the chosen guitar, G&L is largely more keenly priced than Fender, and often benefits from better quality. This is another typical 'Super-Strat' with some very smart pickup selections and tonal options. Note that this is the first of the more modern headstock-style Strats versus the classic rounded originals. Suhr. Schecter and Xotic all follow similar lines.

• Key Specs - Curly Koa Body and Top, Bacote Neck and Board, Gotoh 510 Gold Bridge, Bacote Enclosed C2015_SSV Humbucker at Neck, Bacote Enclosed C2015_ML Standard Single Coil in Middle, and Bacote Enclosed C2015_SSH Plus Humbucker at Bridge
• Manufacture - USA
• Price - £9,500

Former Fender Custom builder John Suhr is already well known as the first choice for many professional players. If you want the best quality of Fender Style guitar, then you will most often likely find the Suhr name on the headstock. This particular guitar is a masterpiece really - beautiful two piece body construction - single piece Curly Koa body and single piece Koa top, then Bacote Neck and Board with Bacote inclosed pickups too and tone and volume knobs. The body has a beautiful carve to it, as well as being a chambered construction. This is a very pricey guitar, but kind of understandably so when you see all the detail and work that has gone into it.

• Key Specs - Alder Body, Wenge Neck, Macassar Ebony Board, Schecter Vintage 2-Point Tremolo Bridge, Trio of Nick Johnston Signature Atomic Single Coil Pickups
• Manufacture - USA
• Price - £2,570

Henning Pauly has one of these on loan and for one who does not usually particularly like wholly traditionally styled Strats, this one just looks amazing. The combination of surf green body and Macassar Ebony board and headstock is just an excellent colour combination - it totally sounds as good as it looks - a proper professional's guitar.

• Key Specs - Alder Body, Maple Neck, Oiled Maple Board, Gotoh Vintage Tremolo Bridge, 3 x Raw Vintage RV-60 Classic Single Coil Pickups
• Manufacture - USA
• Price - £2,700

Another very classic looking Strat-style guitar, here with either oiled or roasted maple board - which makes all the difference for me. Seems like most of the Classic / Traditional quality USA-made Strats are around the $2,500 mark which equates to same if not slightly higher digits in pounds when available in UK. I think if I had to buy a traditional style strat (Single Coils) I would either go for the Aerodyne or Schecter, with this next in line.

• Key Specs - Mahogany Body with Ziricote Top, Wenge / Bubinga Neck, Rosewood Board, SynchroniZR Tremolo Bridge, Seymour Duncan Vintage Flat Single Coils for Neck and Middle, Seymour Duncan JB at Bridge
• Manufacture - Indonesia
• Price - £969

So my first ever guitar was one of those pointy RG style Ibanez's - the original Super-Strat as such. I now tend to prefer the slightly more rounded shape of the Ibanez S and SA series. As per the NAMM report, Ibanez had an amazing show and a phenomenal 2017 lineup - including this fine specimen made with beautiful exotic woods, Seymour Duncan pickups and the excellent but fairly rare SynchroniZR bridge. For what you get for you money, this is an excellent price. Indonesia as a manufacturing base is already within a hair's width of the superb quality of the Korean factories.