I've always had problems with Strats, the pickups and the tremolo would always be just 'off', I always had a feeling that the sound could/should be better. I just wanted to have a hassle-free guitar that I could play and not have to deal with tuning issues and intonation problems every time I changed the strings. I bought a cheap Harley Benton Tele to see what they were like. I was impressed but in the end I wanted a better quality instrument. I bought the Fender Player Tele and I absolutely love it. It looks gorgeous and sounds fantastic (great pickups). A very small set up out of the box (intonation) and then it played like a dream. No more whammy bar nonsense, just plain old rock 'n' roll and blues now (and hard rock, and metal, and country, and pop, and even a little bit of jazz, it can cover them all). Highly recommended.