Good point. I have at least three places to shop off the top of my head, and I should probably look at all three. But I trust GC over Daddy’s any day of the week. My GF and I went shopping for her son’s guitar at GC, and there is one guy there that I completely trust. He’s more about finding the right instrument than making a commission. Like a good mechanic, a guy like that is worth bringing your business to.
Here’s my basic process. If you know a chord or two, it would help. Nothing fancy. Open E or G or A will do fine.
Sit down, guitar unplugged, and:
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Strum a chord. A good electric will be loud and proud, even when unplugged, and I like the ones that are so “alive” that you can feel the body vibrations rattling your ribcage.
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Make sure the width and radius of the fingerboard is comfortable.
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Make sure the neck thickness is comfortable. Some folks like a big baseball bat of a neck. Some like them slim and flattish. It’s all a matter of preference.
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Be sure the neck isn’t twisted, by sighting down from the bridge to the headstock.
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Check the fret ends for ones that are sharp, or sticking out.
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Check for finish flaws, etc. This one isn’t that big a deal for me, since if the guitar has passed #1 above, I’m already thinking pretty seriously about buying it, regardless of the finish.
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Be sure you like the body shape and weight, and MAKE SURE IT’S NOT NECK HEAVY. Nothing will turn me off a guitar faster than a diving neck.
Only after I’ve done 1-6 will I plug it in and check out the pickups, switches, knobs, etc.
Essentially, modern electrics are so modular in design that anything else can be changed after the fact, if you’re into that. It’s just the things that you can’t change that you want to be sure about before you buy. And I’d say 70% of it is how the thing vibrates unplugged. I know that sounds odd and counterintuitive for an electric, but I’ve rarely gone wrong.
And hellz yeah on the Telecaster. My weapon (or at least body shape) of choice.
What he said. About Telecasters, too - I think they are a GREAT first electric guitar…
The Fender Stratocaster has survived all these years in nearly unchanged form because it is a very ergonomical, user friendly design. There have been several books written about them and two of my favorites are this one HERE for history and features and THIS one for set up and maintenance.
Nice choices. Duchossoir’s book is one of THE standards for collectors and geeks because it lays out all the model changes and differences over the years (although I am sure it is not fully current and there are always changes…). The other one I am not familiar with but it looks very promising. If I was still focused on Strats I would definitely pick it up to review - thanks, RH!
tdn, while you specifically asked about Strats, I wouldn’t discount other foreign-made brands in that price range.
While Strats can be great, I wouldn’t recommend gravitating toward them straight away - see what grabs your eye, examine the quality - Ogre’s buying tips are spot on - and most importantly, see what sounds good for your playing style.
If you’re a new guitar player (or have been out of practice for a while) you may find that a 24.75" scale guitar (Les Paul or SG-types) may be easier to play than the 25.5" scale of a Strat-type. Plus, there’s the bolt-on vs. set neck vs. neck through debate - quality set/neck through guitars have gotten amazingly cheap in the last few years.
Hamer makes a good LP Jr. type set-neck guitar for around $4-500 - they’re foreign made, but they go through Hamer’s US shop for setup and final fit-and-finish. And they’re real purty. Schechter also makes some good inexpensive set-neck and neck-through models if you don’t mind your guitars on the pointy side.
Duchossoir’s book really is a great resource. I got an earlier edition back when I first started playing in '88. I just about memorized that thing! He has a Telecaster one too. The second book I linked is geared more to people that aren’t familiar with doing setups and stuff so you may not learn much new from it. I bought it just to add to my library of Fender related books and it does have some nice pictures.
My all time favorite Strat book is one that I picked up at a guitar show 10+ years ago. It’s a big softcover filled with gorgeous pictures of Strats, each year from '54 to '68 with a big shot (page sized) of the whole guitar and on the facing page smaller detail pics of the disassembled pieces. There is also tons of other pics and lots of info but the text is almost completely in Japanese! It’s called The Fender Stratocaster (Rittor Music, 2004, ISBN 4-8456-1124-4) and there’s a picture of it HERE.
I was poking around the web just now and apparently the Guitar Center on Comm. Ave. is moving. (“We’d rather sell it than move it!” in a large font on the guitarcenter.com site) Last day is March 14th, if you (we?) can get there before then, might be able to score a good deal.
Or it might be hype.
Or they might have already sold everything good.
God, I love guitars…
Guitar Center by me is a total joke. The guys there don’t know anything about their products. But that might be just a local thing. I much prefer to go to one of the smaller shops. They seem to be a lot more passionate about their stuff…
I have a friend who works at Fender’s corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, Az. I’ve gone to visit him at work, and I gotta say - it’s gotta be the coolest place to work. If you work there, you HAVE to have a guitar in your cubicle - it’s company policy. Plus, they’ve got a jam room with a full on drum riser and tons of classic amps. I actually played through a REAL '59 Bassman! I just about jizzed in my pants…
I prefer Strats over Tele’s although they both have their merits. I enjoy building Strats more too. They’re a little more of a challenge. If fact, for any of you who’ve have missed it, check out Eonwe’s Tele Build thread here:
Just to set the record straight, I am not a novice player. I’ve been pretty serious about playing since around 1973. I was in bands all through Jr. High and High School. I did my first studio gig in '79. I got a degree in guitar performance in '84. I made my living by playing for a full couple of poverty-filled months. I gave up playing for a number of years to study composition, orchestration, and conducting. I gave an opera its world premier in 2004.
And I’ve owned a through-neck, double humbucker instrument for decades. It’s my mainstay axe.
So I’m not new to guitars. I’m just new to Strats.
I’m just sayin’. 
Yikes! We can certainly go before then, but it would have to be on Friday.
But they say they are opening their new location next week, and it’s right in the same neighborhood as the other stores I like (Berklee territory), so shopping will actually be easier.
I am curious as to why you have played so long without trying a strat? Most people who play for 30+ years have tried out pretty much all types - strats, teles, Les Pauls, semi-hollow, .etc.
I just never really liked them before. I’ve never been a Fender guy kind of like I’ve never been a Mac guy. Not my bag, baby. I liked the feel of Gibson-style guitars more, and I never saw much sense in single coil pickups.
Going shopping for my girlfriend’s son last year gave me Strat fever, though. I was willing to be converted.
Funnily enough, GF’s son was dead set on a Strat. He would settle for nothing else. He ended up walking out with a Les Paul.
Fender has humbuckers in some models, I have a Tele with 2 of them. It also has a coil tap switch for single coil sound. And some Strats have a humbucker at the bridge.
Some do. My next one won’t. 
You have to pay attention - you never know what is going to inspire you to play. I was a Strat guy for 15 years, went on a Guitar Quest™ and ended up with a big-necked, light-weight Les Paul Custom with soapbar pickups. Which then led me to getting into Teles, since Tele’s and LP’s are more similar…
Some well known guys have switched guitar types. Pete Townshend was a Gibson guy for many years and now he mostly plays a Strat. Even though he has guitars (including Gibsons) with his name on them, the Strat he plays now is a Clapton model with some mods. He uses Fender amps too.
Entirely out of curiosity, which opera did you premiere?
It actually wasn’t new, it dates back to 1871. It was Gilbert and Sullivan’s Thespis, the music of which has long since been lost. Over the last century, a lot of composers have tried their hand at writing their own music for it. We picked a composer we liked, and I orchestrated it, then we played it. It came out pretty good, too!
Sorry for making assumptions.
As for your original question - what can you expect in a reasonably-priced Fender? Personally, I’ve owned three Fenders:
[ul]
[li]a US made Fender Lead II (think a baby-Strat hardtail with only two single-coils, although I installed thinline humbuckers in mine) - this was by far the best Fender I owned. Just an all around solid guitar.[/li][/ul][ul]
[li]a Mexican made righty Strat Standard (around $700 new) with tremolo - dismal quality; the cable jack would very occasionally get bumped, since I played it upside-down, and it shorted out after a few months, requiring replacement. Plus, I took the pickguard off to upgrade the pickups and found a “swimming pool” rout instead of three distinct cavities for the pickups. I owned a $125 Cort in high school that was of higher quality.[/li][/ul][ul]
[li]my current guitar, a Squier Tele - the less said the better (I had sold all my guitars after having kids, but got to jonesing, and bought the cheapest hardtail guitar I could find. I quickly regretted it.)[/li][/ul]
So you can guess how I feel about Fender.
As for alternatives, the G & L Tributes are pretty good. I played one yesterday as a matter of fact, and it sounded sweet and had a great finish. At the same store, I was told that Carvin does a US made bolt-on Strat clone now from around $700 or so. Might be worth checking out if you can stretch your budget.