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Published on 08/12/11 at 10:23The Fender American Standard Strat was designed at the time of Fender's buyout from large conglomerate CBS. It was meant to bring everything that was good about vintage Strats and combine it with modern day features that players were requesting. It has been built virtually unchanged since 1986 and it still stands today as a premier guitar.
They're built at Fender's factory in Corona California, in the good ol' US of A. 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. It comes in a variety of colours to suit a variety of different tastes... there's something here for everyone!
UTILIZATION
Minimal design changes have been done to this guitar over the years, with only a few basic changes in design. 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. These guitars have a great weight range for sure. Some of the ash bodied ones are definitely on the weighty side, but the alder ones seem to have an excellent light to medium weight to them that rests on the body well. Upper fret access is what it is on these guitars... it's been good enough for many players over the years.
Getting a good tone out of these guitars is fairly easy thanks to their updated pickups and electronics. The newer model USA pickups being put in these guitars are really something else... the pure Strat tone is there in spades. Everything from the charming top end of cleans to the sweet and saucy undertones of a driven rock and roll machine is backed by that unmistakable Fender sound.
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 tend to lack a certain crispiness that makes a Strat as good as it is. However, the newer ones have some sort of pixie dust mojo thing going on... very cool! Starting with the clean tones, I was really stoked about how the glassy textures and sparkle that marks a good Strat was very present in these newer American Standard guitars. 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 single beat.
The overdrive tones are really cool as well. I was able to dial in some great Jeff Beck and Eric Johnson esque tone summits that were certainly the highlight of my testing experience. The guitar handled whatever gain levels 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 sincerely killer tone that is most certainly a killer Strat.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I feel as though Fender is really at the top of their game. They are about $1,000 new with TSA approved flight case, which is a killer deal. If you are looking for a very real sounding Strat and need the vintage meets modern look and the feeling that you're playing an icon, get the Fender American Standard Stratocaster!
They're built at Fender's factory in Corona California, in the good ol' US of A. 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. It comes in a variety of colours to suit a variety of different tastes... there's something here for everyone!
UTILIZATION
Minimal design changes have been done to this guitar over the years, with only a few basic changes in design. 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. These guitars have a great weight range for sure. Some of the ash bodied ones are definitely on the weighty side, but the alder ones seem to have an excellent light to medium weight to them that rests on the body well. Upper fret access is what it is on these guitars... it's been good enough for many players over the years.
Getting a good tone out of these guitars is fairly easy thanks to their updated pickups and electronics. The newer model USA pickups being put in these guitars are really something else... the pure Strat tone is there in spades. Everything from the charming top end of cleans to the sweet and saucy undertones of a driven rock and roll machine is backed by that unmistakable Fender sound.
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 tend to lack a certain crispiness that makes a Strat as good as it is. However, the newer ones have some sort of pixie dust mojo thing going on... very cool! Starting with the clean tones, I was really stoked about how the glassy textures and sparkle that marks a good Strat was very present in these newer American Standard guitars. 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 single beat.
The overdrive tones are really cool as well. I was able to dial in some great Jeff Beck and Eric Johnson esque tone summits that were certainly the highlight of my testing experience. The guitar handled whatever gain levels 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 sincerely killer tone that is most certainly a killer Strat.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I feel as though Fender is really at the top of their game. They are about $1,000 new with TSA approved flight case, which is a killer deal. If you are looking for a very real sounding Strat and need the vintage meets modern look and the feeling that you're playing an icon, get the Fender American Standard Stratocaster!