Well I just got back and I have to tell you, I was pretty impressed with the way the Mexican Strat sounded and felt. The Wolfgang was nice, but you were right about the humbuckers: the single coils sound better for what I’m doing- even the rock stuff. For the money the Strat is going to be hard to beat, though I’ll try a few of the knock offs. The one thing I did decide: I like the maple neck over the rosewood. Oh, and the guy at the store’s opinion: “you can’t go wrong with a Strat.”

On a tangent, one thing I don’t get is why guitar shops are still showing these things prices at the “suggested retail” point and trying to mark it down. The Strat I played was marked at $500 when I know for a fact I can buy it online for $350. I realize the first thing that would have happened if I’d asked about it is that the sales person would have “given me a really good deal”, but it’s not doing shops any favors to have prices listed higher than was can easily be found online.