Chris Buck has responded to those who took issue with his comments regarding the 'baggage' that comes with playing a Fender Stratocaster.
Last year, during a discussion of why he decided to pivot away from household electric guitar brand names to start playing a Yamaha Revstar, the British blues rock guitar ace caused something of a stir when he spoke about the “baggage” that came with playing a Stratocaster.
Specifically, Buck spoke of the Strat’s distinctive sound, and how playing that specific model tended to invite comparisons to some of its biggest champions – from Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Mayer to Ritchie Blackmore and Hank Marvin.
It seemed like a sensible observation to make – St. Vincent has said the same thing in the past – but, like most things on the internet, it left some players rather irked, with many disagreeing with Buck’s viewpoint.
At NAMM 2026, while showing Guitar World his all-new Yamaha Revstar signature guitar, Buck clarified his comments and asserted that the ‘baggage’ he spoke of was a personal burden for him to bear.
“What I maybe didn’t explain particularly well, or elucidate to the extent to which it maybe deserved, was that the perceived baggage is entirely in my mind,” he explains to GW. “It’s nice to be able to throw yourself out of the shadow of your influences, ultimately, and not feel like they’re looking over your shoulder.
“Instantly when you play a brand of guitar first and foremost that’s outside of the norm a little bit, and a model of guitar that is pretty new at that point, it just instantly throws you in a different head space,” he adds of the Revstar’s influence on his sound and style.
“It’s human nature to want to compartmentalize things, just because it makes things easier to process and understand. But maybe I didn’t expand on that to the extent I should have.
“But I just got frustrated with trying to find my voice as a musician and feeling like – through lack of talent, I would be very quick to say – I was struggling to get out of the shadow of my influences.”
There will be many players, this writer included, who agree with Buck, and many more who will now appreciate his point of view following the clarification. It arguably didn’t require clarity in the first place, but the lure of emulating Clapton, Mayer, Knopfler, SRV and more while playing a Strat is a temptation most guitar players succumb to.
For Buck, removing himself from that ballpark so as to work on his own style and sound made sense, and the evidence is clear to see: with the Revstar, Buck has developed a voice on the guitar that’s very much his own.
Chris Buck’s full interview with Guitar World will be published online in the coming weeks.
Last month, Buck and Yamaha finally unveiled his long-awaited signature Revstar, which was launched alongside the return of the high-end single-cut Pacifica.
