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King Loudness « The (American) Standard »
Published on 08/11/11 at 22:46Ah, the Fender American Standard Strat! The guitar that is the benchmark for everything that Fender bases its Strat line around and the guitar that everything is judged against for tone and feel. It must be good...
They're built right in the USA at Fender's plant in Corona California. They come in a variety of wild and cool colours and are available with maple or rosewood fretboards as well as in SSS or HSS models. The guitar features an alder body, a maple neck with 22 frets, sealed Fender tuners, a 2 point pivot Fender tremolo, and American Standard Fender pickups/electronics. Basically, it's what a typical Strat looks like, but in the modern age. The Olympic White finish of this particular model harkens back to the days of a certain James Marshall Hendrix... anyone? Woodstock '69 baby!
UTILIZATION
The design of the Strat has ebbed and flowed through the years, with various small design changes. However the guitar has basically settled down and what is for sale now is basically a great evolution of the vintage Strat brought into the modern age. The weight of these guitars is pretty good. Some of the ash bodied ones are definitely on the weighty side, but the alder ones seem to have a good medium weight to them that sits on the body well. Upper fret access is what it is on these guitars... not the best, but certainly quite useable.
Getting a good tone out of these guitars is fairly easy thanks to their updated pickups and electronics. The new (2010/2011) USA pickups being put in these guitars are a real shocker... the pure Strat tone is there in spades. Everything from the glassy shimmer of cleans to the dark and earthy undertones of a driven sound from Hell is backed by that unmistakable voicing.
SOUNDS
I've tried many variations of the American Standard Strat over the years using different Fender, Marshall and Mesa Boogie amplifiers. The older ones lack a little bit of that crisp aura that makes a Strat a GOOD Strat. However, the new ones have some sort of pixie dust mojo thing going on... cool vibe. Starting with the cleans, I was really stoked about how the glassy shimmer and sparkle that marks a good Strat was very present in these newer American Standards. The clean sounds were some of the most enjoyable I've tried in a while. Plugged into a good Fender amp, I was able to dial in some awesome tones ranging all the way from the 50s into the modern day, all without missing a beat.
The overdrive tones are really cool as well. I was able to dial in some great Jeff Beck esque tone summits that were probably the highlight of my testing experience. The guitar handled whatever gain I threw at it and responded with a delightful Stratty "snap" that was eerily enjoyable. It's not quite as smooth/refined sounding as the American Deluxes, but it makes up for it with a more honest and rippin' tone that is most certainly a killer Strat.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I feel as though Fender is onto a winner with these guitars and for the $1,000 new they cost (including the TSA approved SKB hard case) it's just a no brainer. If you want a great and true sounding Strat and need the more classic styling and the knowledge that a killer company is backing you all the way, get the Fender American Standard... truly an icon.
They're built right in the USA at Fender's plant in Corona California. They come in a variety of wild and cool colours and are available with maple or rosewood fretboards as well as in SSS or HSS models. The guitar features an alder body, a maple neck with 22 frets, sealed Fender tuners, a 2 point pivot Fender tremolo, and American Standard Fender pickups/electronics. Basically, it's what a typical Strat looks like, but in the modern age. The Olympic White finish of this particular model harkens back to the days of a certain James Marshall Hendrix... anyone? Woodstock '69 baby!
UTILIZATION
The design of the Strat has ebbed and flowed through the years, with various small design changes. However the guitar has basically settled down and what is for sale now is basically a great evolution of the vintage Strat brought into the modern age. The weight of these guitars is pretty good. Some of the ash bodied ones are definitely on the weighty side, but the alder ones seem to have a good medium weight to them that sits on the body well. Upper fret access is what it is on these guitars... not the best, but certainly quite useable.
Getting a good tone out of these guitars is fairly easy thanks to their updated pickups and electronics. The new (2010/2011) USA pickups being put in these guitars are a real shocker... the pure Strat tone is there in spades. Everything from the glassy shimmer of cleans to the dark and earthy undertones of a driven sound from Hell is backed by that unmistakable voicing.
SOUNDS
I've tried many variations of the American Standard Strat over the years using different Fender, Marshall and Mesa Boogie amplifiers. The older ones lack a little bit of that crisp aura that makes a Strat a GOOD Strat. However, the new ones have some sort of pixie dust mojo thing going on... cool vibe. Starting with the cleans, I was really stoked about how the glassy shimmer and sparkle that marks a good Strat was very present in these newer American Standards. The clean sounds were some of the most enjoyable I've tried in a while. Plugged into a good Fender amp, I was able to dial in some awesome tones ranging all the way from the 50s into the modern day, all without missing a beat.
The overdrive tones are really cool as well. I was able to dial in some great Jeff Beck esque tone summits that were probably the highlight of my testing experience. The guitar handled whatever gain I threw at it and responded with a delightful Stratty "snap" that was eerily enjoyable. It's not quite as smooth/refined sounding as the American Deluxes, but it makes up for it with a more honest and rippin' tone that is most certainly a killer Strat.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I feel as though Fender is onto a winner with these guitars and for the $1,000 new they cost (including the TSA approved SKB hard case) it's just a no brainer. If you want a great and true sounding Strat and need the more classic styling and the knowledge that a killer company is backing you all the way, get the Fender American Standard... truly an icon.