I've played acoustics for years and wanted to move into electric instruments and Fender felt like the right way to go. I considered the Tele too but opted for the Strat due to the number of pickup positions available and the tremelo. The finish is wonderful and the mapel neck provides that blackface tone that Fender is famous for. Plays wonderfully due to the finish on the neck and the tall frets are easy to negotiate. I went for a tube amp to pair with it and the clean tones from this guitar are amazing.