“I’ve typically been afraid of Strats just because they carry so much baggage”: How a gift from Mike McCready helped change St. Vincent’s relationship with the Stratocaster

St. Vincent may not be the first guitarist to come to mind when coming up with names of Fender Stratocaster players. However, that might have to change: on her new album All Born Screaming, St. Vincent played one of Mike McCready's signature Strats – an experience that lead to something of an epiphany.

“Mike McCready from Pearl Jam gave me one of his amazing signature Strats,” St. Vincent reveals in the new issue of Total Guitar. “And I played that on the record a bit. I’ve typically been afraid of Strats just because they carry so much baggage, but there were certain songs on this record that was like, ‘A Strat is exactly what needs to happen here, so a Strat it shall be!’

“The end of the big riff on Broken Man was that Strat. I was just playing it as aggressively as possible. I play with my fingers most of the time, but I think I played that with a pick.”

With a Fender Strat, St. Vincent had to experiment with what pedals she could use on the record. On Broken Man, for example, she opted for a pedal-less setup and achieved the dirty tone by plugging straight into a reissue Marshall amp.

“Using pedals on a Strat, you just have to be conscientious of avoiding unpleasant brightness, so that’s all from the amp. That’s it. An amp cranked up in a room. Not to be corny, but that’s a real sound.”

In 2023, an Instagram post by Willow Smith hinted that St. Vincent might be using a Strat on her then-unannounced album. Indeed, the Strat captured in the photo is the Fender Custom Shop Mike McCready 1960 Stratocaster, which St. Vincent has now revealed was one of her main guitars when recording her latest album.

All Born Screaming, St. Vincent's newest album, dropped on April 26. She kicks off her album tour at The Majestic Ventura Theater in Ventura, California, on May 22.

For more St. Vincent, plus new interviews with Slash and Kerry King, pick up issue 384 of Total Guitar at Magazines Direct.