A deal came up on a Nash S-57, their version of the Stratocaster. I've been wanting to try one out for years, but they're never in my state. Their thing is to build a vintage guitar, better than current, and relic it.
This is very close to the one I tried out.
It came with a dealer upgrade: it was left handed.
I have a few friends with them, and they are universally loved.
I had a very interesting visit with its owner, a late 70s Strat enthusiast like me. It was weird, the amount of equipment we had in common. I tried out the Nash, while he played my Pukeburst Strat I brought along for comparison.
The only info I had was the relic-ing and a 'large C neck.'
I hate the current Fender small C necks, but tried a backwards Nash T-style at Chicago Musical (strangely enough, in Chicago). It was pretty nice.
This one was.. different. Not bad at all, but different from what I'm used to. It took me a while to get comfortable with, while trying it out. I think the neck radius was 9.5", while I prefer the vintage 7.25". It came with Lollar 'Dirty Blonde" pickups, which sounded different. The middle was reverse wind/reverse polarity, so when front+middle or front+rear were on, they became humbucking. I've done this since the beginning of time - it's the only way to fly. It's pretty obvious, in that single coil pickups hum. When in switch positions 2+4, they no longer hum. It's a blessing and not optional for me.
It was obviously lighter than any of my late 70s Fenders, plus it was very live. I'll be honest, my guitars feel great, but I have to work to get the best out of them... they're not spectacular, live guitars. I tolerate this because they're so comfortable to play. Because this is my chosen feel, I have a lot of trouble finding guitars I like. With the exception of the 52 Tele reissue and possibly 50s Strat reissues, I haven't liked a single Fender I tried since at least the late 80s.
It took a bit, but I finally started to get comfortable with the neck and saw it wasn't going to be an issue. So I am now the proud owner of a Nash S-57. At home, I ran it into an amp and the Lollars sound good. Tonight I'll compare the neck radii and pickups against my pukeburst. It's weird having a single coil pickup in the rear - I put JB jrs in the rear of most Strats.
I'll update this as I discover new things about it.
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After about a week, there are impressions....
I forgot to mention, like almost all lefty guitars from the factory, the controls are wired backwards. Whenever I go to turn the volume up or down, I have to remember to turn it the opposite way. I have to get in there with a soldering iron and fix that. I once spent 20 minutes on the phone with a nice guy at Fender, discussing backwards wiring: he said it was correct as-is.
The neck is a hefty C - lotta meat there. I'm doing well with it, but the radius bothers me. I can't tell from looking at it or playing it, but it's at least 9.5" and is not as comfortable as the rest of the Fenders, at 7.25". I need me some curves.
Did a little research on the Lollar pickups. The set is Dirty Blonde. Apparently this is their Blonde set with a higher output bridge pickup. Like Seymour Duncan, their page has charts and sound samples. Just by ear, this is probably not a set I would have gone with (less mid-bottom than I'm used to), but I'll compare it with my others to hear if my impression was correct. They're underwound, which I'm curious about. They're a lot more..... glassy.. not used to the front pickup having this amount of bite. Note that none of these pickups sounds bad, just different.
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I've been playing it daily. It's definitely a nice guitar, but as I thought, the radius bothers the hell out of me. Turns out it's a 10". If nothing else, it has cemented my preference for 7.25". My G&L Legacy may be even flatter - it's definitely more difficult to play, especially after the Fenders. I think the Nash might be helping my playing a bit, because I have to exercise my fingers more to play it.
Fender and others are making a compound radius 7.25 to 9.5, which sounds wonderful.
I'm getting used to it, which I don't generally want to have to do. This was the case with the Les Paul, but it rings like nobody's business and is a great guitar (for a Les Paul).
Getting a little more used to the backwards controls but won't fix them til I'm positive the guitar is staying. Also play it acoustically half the time, so it doesn't always matter.
I just checked out the website - you should too. You can't order directly - only through dealers, but they list all the options on the site. There are 2 necks available on some of their offerings, but you mainly get the large C that I got. If you are a heavy metaller or a fan of the recent Fender necks, this might not be your thing. It's similar to the Fender '52 reissue Tele, with a flatter radius/fretboard. The neck is 1 piece maple. They have all sorts of S and T guitars, in addition to others. There's a wild purple finish I probably would have ordered if I got a new one. No pukeburst available. I'd recommend you at least check one out if you're a fan of vintage Fenders done right. You might find out it suits you well. Before you plug in, play it acoustically a bit... this will tell you how live it is and if it's a comfortable guitar for you. If possible, bring your #1 guitar, so you have a reference. There are some available on Ebay and Reverb, but you can't exactly play them. I hear they're pretty consistent, though.
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I got to spend some quality time with the Nash, over a weekend.
For the first time, after playing it exclusively, I got to compare it to my #1 Strat, a 1977. To say there's a difference would be a gross misunderstatement. I wondered why there was so much getting used to time involved, and I figured it out: the Strat plays like butter, and the Nash takes more effort. I can't comment on which is more similar to the vintage Strats, but I suspect it's mine. I am not saying there's anything wrong with the Nash; just that I prefer mine. I should prefer mine, having used it for over 25 years. The action is higher on the Nash, and the radius is much flatter. The radius won't bother normal people, but I like what I like - nyah nyah. You'll find the neck considerably chunkier than Fenders.
I think the Nash is a great guitar, as do quite a bunch of other owners. It was a bit of a departure for me, yet it helped with phrasing because the strings were harder to operate. Plus it exercised my fingers.
You should definitely try one out, if you're interested - they have all sorts of variations.
As for me, I'm going to do some setup to get the 2 closer.
There's a very interesting difference in basic tone. The Nash is very clean and clear, where the front pickup has a lot of bite. This does not exist on my 77, but the 77 has bottom end for weeks. I noticed this with a G&L Legacy too. Time to call Seymour Duncan...
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