Body designs, etc., were basically the same from all as classic Fenders but what about the pickups from either Musicman or G&L or the G&L floating vibrato ?

Anyone used these ?

In general, they're all great and had Leo Fender's (and George Fullerton's) personal input; it comes down to trying out given individual guitars live and in person and picking the axe that speaks to you.

If you like a Fender Strat trem, then you'd probably really like a G&L vibrato- they have a really nice, smooth feel.

I'd take the G&L. I've played them, I've listened to much better players play them, they are superior to similarly built Fenders.

*disclaimer*

I've not actually been directly exposed to the MM clones.

Several friends who have owned both Fenders and G&L guitars prefer the G&L. Never thought much of Musicman, other than their basses, which were very nice.

Personally, I buy guitars because they sound a certain 'way'. Now, that is a horrible generalization... just look at the wide variety of tones you get from a Strat, from Buddy Holly through Clapton, to SRV and Hendrix. But still and all, it is a system that works for me. So I find my tastes limited to the obvious makers... Rick, Gretsch, Gibson, Fender, Danelectro. Don't get me wrong, I have played a boatload of 'better' and 'different' instruments, and my two guitars chosen to take into retirement are both odd-balls (a modified Gibson 336, and a custom built Pellow). But I've never set out to buy anything other than 'the classics' since I got bored with pointy headstock guitars in the 80s.

I love G&L guitars. I tried one of those MusicMan EVH models. They are pretty cool. Cool bridge.

I think Fenders are more inconsistent. You know, if you go to GC and pick one off the shelf, it often doesn't play as well as it should for the price tag. For myself I prefer the G&L necks. They feel perfect for my hands.

I've never been a Strat guy. I was doing a recording project a few years ago though that required a Strat sound. Deciding that I should really own one, I played a lot of them - both new & used. I finally settled on a used G&L Skyhawk. It played, felt and sounded better than any of the Fenders. I don't remember playing any MMs though.

I say brand doesn't matter. Go into a music store and try out EVERY guitar. If one strikes you and you feel like lightning is coursing throughout the room immediately as you play that instrument, don't stop until that guitar is yours. Personally, strats are such a toss-up, regardless of the maker. I say only one in every six or seven american strats are decent and only one in every 40 american strats are actually worth buying. The chances of landing a good G&L are slightly better, but still-- try things out.

I like my Fenders, especially the Strats...the G&L's seem a little heavy...never been around the Musicman....but they are all nice as far as I can tell...

I also thought the G&L strat model was heavy - nice furniture, well made and well finished but bottom line was that it had a skinny sound with poor tone. I could have taken it used in perfect condition from a guy in Montreal who needed the cash but I passed for $350 CDN. Check them out on uTube - they all sound the same - no personality - just my opinion.

I own a strat and a g&l. love them both
the g&l has real hot pick up 10% of my playing time
the strat is my go to guitar 90% of my playing time

The thing is, you really have to try and compare individual guitars from all three brands (and plenty of others!), they ALL vary from one to another to the next, they're affected by the weather, what amp and other gear they're used with, AND MOST ESPECIALLY THE "TOUCH" AND TECHNIQUE OF THE PLAYER...

And what one player dislikes about a guitar, another player will love.

No experience with G & L. The Musicman Axis plays nice, too round for me-I feel like I`m playing an overgrown banjo. Their Sillouette is a fave of Vinnie Moore and my ex-second guitar bandmate had/has one, not bad at all in the Strat-style category but other choices are easy to find.
By far their most interesting guitar IMO, is the John Petrucci sig-don`t think I`ll own one but very tempting.
Fender, yeah what others have said. A good Strat is solid gold but turkeys run in herds. One of my longtime buddies has one-strings are painfully misaligned. The radial fretboard models take some getting used to.

Hip to that, Jack(O-Lantern).
The short version of my query was intended to get at the specific differences between the designs Leo used on the different guitars & pickups + the quality of the G&L vibrato system.
For example, for upward bends does it stay in tune better than what comes on a standard Start ?

in the past few weeks I've had it reinforced for me that amps matter much, much, much more than guitars...

Also, learning which amp to pair with which guitar for which context is a huge thing... if your brain is hearing what it wants to you play better.

There's a timeline to Leo's work; specific problems with a couple of his original designs that he continued to refine. Two examples: when you bend a string on the higher frets, there's a slight volume drop as the string is shifted from its position directly over the pickup's polepiece.

Leo continued to experiment with ways to make the magnetic field more consistent without screwing up the tone (hint: blade polepieces didn't work)-I don't think he ever completely succeeded, but the Z-coils on the G&L Commanche are still pretty cool and they don't have the icepicky highs that some Strats get when you play low strings high on the neck.

The two-point G&L tremolo returns to pitch far better than the Fender Strat's "synchronized" trem. You may have noticed that Fender recently returned to stamped steel (folded) bridge saddles on their American Standard Strat-you can't get the classic Strat sound with the slight 'pop' on the front of the note without those.

It's hard to go wrong buying any guitar from a company that had Leo Fender manning the helm; several Music Man products (Silhouette, Albert Lee, Van Halen/Axis Sport) and most of the early G&L product line (ASAT, Heritage, Commanche) are highly sought after, and for good reasons.

I thought the whole point of playing a Strat (or a MM/G&L clone thereof) was because you wanted "icepicky highs". Otherwise we'd all just stick with Gibsons...

Know what I love about a Gibson solidbody? It comes with a free extra neck joint where the headstock had to be glued back on. Seriously though, they all have their place; right tool for the job, and all that, heh. :-D