Fender announces Cory Wong Signature Stratocaster

**MarkRhodes** · 07-10-2021, 04:22 PM

Fender Announces the Cory Wong Signature Stratocaster - Premier Guitar

Love Cory's playing. He bought his Highway One Strat for $300 off a Craigslist ad, though he will tell you he has had to do a lot to it over the years to make / keep it at pro level.

A video on Cory's right hand technique featuring the Highway One Strat mentioned above.

A look at the Fender signature model

**Amberville** · 07-10-2021, 04:47 PM

2 grand to emulate a modded 300 dollar guitar?

Cool if you want to acquire his innovations without going to all the trouble. The radius is certainly a selling point for those who like it. Custom wound pickups too.

I did own a highway one strat a while back. It was very good value. I wasn't keen on the aesthetics so let it go.

**ThatRhythmMan** · 07-10-2021, 04:54 PM

I wonder just how “scaled down” the body is. I kind of wish there were some more scaled up guitars like the Buckethead signature Les Paul out there.

**Clint 55** · 07-10-2021, 05:00 PM

That's some skanky stuff.

**MarkRhodes** · 07-10-2021, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by Amberville

2 grand to emulate a modded 300 dollar guitar?

Cool if you want to acquire his innovations without going to all the trouble. The radius is certainly a selling point for those who like it. Custom wound pickups too.

I did own a highway one strat a while back. It was very good value. I wasn't keen on the aesthetics so let it go.

$300 was what Cory paid for a beat up model. Reverb has several Highway Ones now priced $1,100 and up.

I sometimes miss having a Strat. (Never had---or even played--a Highway One.) Might get one again someday but I think I'll die playing a Tele.
But I do love to hear Cory play and he's got a clean-yet-aggressive tone that is great for funk. I am not in the market for this guitar but if a friend had one, I'd want to give a go. ;o)

**Jim Soloway** · 07-10-2021, 05:25 PM

I wonder how long it will take to put all the same scratches and gouges on his? My guess is 6 months. He just beats the hell out of his guitar playing funk rhythms. Incredibly talent musician. I'm glad to see him becoming "a thing".

**marcwhy** · 07-10-2021, 05:30 PM

Love Cory and Vulfpeck! If the guitar can make me play like him, I'll take it!

**Jim Soloway** · 07-10-2021, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by marcwhy

Love Cory and Vulfpeck! If the guitar can make me play like him, I'll take it!

Have you heard "Meditation", the album he made with Jon Batiste? Just remarkable and very different than anything else he's done.

**marcwhy** · 07-10-2021, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by Jim Soloway

Have you heard "Meditation", the album he made with Jon Batiste? Just remarkable and very different than anything else he's done.

No, I haven't -- thanks for the tip, Jim!

M

**ThatRhythmMan** · 07-10-2021, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

$300 was what Cory paid for a beat up model. Reverb has several Highway Ones now priced $1,100 and up.

I sometimes miss having a Strat. (Never had---or even played--a Highway One.) Might get one again someday but I think I'll die playing a Tele.
But I do love to hear Cory play and he's got a clean-yet-aggressive tone that is great for funk. I am not in the market for this guitar but if a friend had one, I'd want to give a go. ;o)

Is his USA or MIM? I don’t know that you could find one for $300, but there are MIM Lone Star strats available for much less than $1100. MIM Fenders have gone up almost double what they were just 4 or 5 years ago.

**steve burchfield** · 07-10-2021, 09:42 PM

Funky Duck Award To Fender Double Funky!!!

**steve burchfield** · 07-10-2021, 09:47 PM

Greed Hiram B.

**jads57** · 07-10-2021, 09:54 PM

I guess I'll be the oil in the mix here. Who Cares! A generic Strat named after someone who basically is a Youtube Star?

The music called Funk nowadays is a generic, sampled, sanitized version of James Brown and Sly Stone amongst others including Cornell Dupree, Bobby Womack, etc!
It's about as moving as watching paint dry imo. It really has more to do with marketing oneself than producing great music. As John McGlaughlin so aptly says "Where's the Blood?"

Sorry but like many wannabes Corey Wong and Dave Koz along with that whole Snarkey Puppy thing is premeditated music school kids practicing technical exercises adnaseum!

Okay flame away at me now,LOL !

**Greentone** · 07-10-2021, 09:59 PM

Vulfpeck draw big crowds at their concerts...not just a YouTube phenomenon.

**Doug B** · 07-10-2021, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by jads57

I guess I'll be the oil in the mix here. Who Cares! A generic Strat named after someone who basically is a Youtube Star?

The music called Funk nowadays is a generic, sampled, sanitized version of James Brown and Sly Stone amongst others including Cornell Dupree, Bobby Womack, etc!
It's about as moving as watching paint dry imo. It really has more to do with marketing oneself than producing great music. As John McGlaughlin so aptly says "Where's the Blood?"

Sorry but like many wannabes Corey Wong and Dave Koz along with that whole Snarkey Puppy thing is premeditated music school kids practicing technical exercises adnaseum!

Okay flame away at me now,LOL !

Well said, couldn't agree more! Corey Wong sounds like a robot strumming machine. I'll take JB, Parliament Funkadelic, etc. as well as the ones you mentioned.

It used to be one nation under a groove- now it's more like Sanitization for the nation. How sad.

**Jim Soloway** · 07-11-2021, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by jads57

I guess I'll be the oil in the mix here. Who Cares! A generic Strat named after someone who basically is a Youtube Star?

The music called Funk nowadays is a generic, sampled, sanitized version of James Brown and Sly Stone amongst others including Cornell Dupree, Bobby Womack, etc!
It's about as moving as watching paint dry imo. It really has more to do with marketing oneself than producing great music. As John McGlaughlin so aptly says "Where's the Blood?"

Sorry but like many wannabes Corey Wong and Dave Koz along with that whole Snarkey Puppy thing is premeditated music school kids practicing technical exercises adnaseum!

Okay flame away at me now,LOL !

I'm not going to flame you but I am going to suggest that you listen to these in full. They're from "Meditation", an incredibly beautiful album that he made with Jon Batiste.

**citizenk74** · 07-11-2021, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by Amberville

2 grand to emulate a modded 300 dollar guitar?

Cool if you want to acquire his innovations without going to all the trouble. The radius is certainly a selling point for those who like it. Custom wound pickups too.

I did own a highway one strat a while back. It was very good value. I wasn't keen on the aesthetics so let it go.

**marcwhy** · 07-11-2021, 12:18 PM

Hey, if a band can get a crowd at MSG to vocalize an instrumental, funky-fusiony head with them, then there's hope for the future!

**jads57** · 07-11-2021, 01:08 PM

Most people aren't actually listening to music any longer, and havent been since the Iphone, and probably MTV. Entertainment has always been the main selling point of Pop Music and it's crowd.

The difference between then and now is technology has replaced much of the human elements and interactions. I feel no real emotion with many of these newer lauded musicians in all genres. But to me the worst is Jazz and R&B genres.
As stated in an above post, it's like watching robots play music.

When music is forced or over rehearsed it lacks all of the improvisational elements that make it so magical. That's true in all genres and perfomaces.
Jimi Hendrix, Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, B.B.King, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, etc.....

Jim Soloway... For me New Age music is basically ambient background music best suited for just that. The old joke was "What do you get when you play New Age music backwards? More New Age Music!
While it can be well performed it lacks enough tension and release to be interesting and draw me in. But as I've already said that's not it's intention, and is also why I find it boring imo.

**MarkRhodes** · 07-11-2021, 02:50 PM

I think some people here are unfamiliar with the sound of robotic guitar playing...

**jads57** · 07-11-2021, 02:56 PM

**Litterick** · 07-11-2021, 04:13 PM

Music for music students.

**Bach5G** · 07-12-2021, 04:05 PM

“2 grand to emulate a modded 300 dollar guitar?”

This. LOL.

re: Mr. Wong’s music, I quote the noted philosopher Mose Allison: Wouldn’t it be a real drag if we were all the same?

**dlew919** · 07-12-2021, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by Litterick

Music for music students.

All music is music for music students.

I think vulfpeck an excellent band. They sold out Madison square garden without management or a record deal. That means they had to rely on the quality of the music. Plus some smart marketing. But if the music was no good they’d have got nowhere near it.

I do recommend Cory’s podcast ‘Wong notes’ which includes interviews with George benson, John Schofield, Peter Frampton, joe satriani, joe Walsh, mark lettieri, Susan tedeschi and many others.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**jads57** · 07-12-2021, 10:49 PM

Sorry but many events that are popular also sell out Madison Square garden. Just like McDonald's selling billions of hamburgers, does it automatically then become
great? Selling to large audiences is more akin to entertainment value than actual musical talent.

The music student observation is spot on in my book. There were very few music schools for guitarists and even Jazz musicians. The newer players sound like technical excercises as opposed to actual songs.
You learned as an apprentice on the gig, and if you didn't you were fired. In fairness there were many more gigs available that actually paid as well. Not great money but survivable.