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Hatsubai « The famous CBS era strat »
Published on 08/12/11 at 18:57When CBS started really changing Fender, they made a few changes to the guitar that some people loved and some people hated. Three bolt necks, large era headstocks, bullet truss rods, etc. The guitar features an ash body, a maple neck with a maple fretboard (one piece with a skunk stripe), 21 frets, large CBS headstock, dot inlays, vintage tremolo, three single coil pickups, one volume, two tones and a five way switch.
UTILIZATION
The guitar itself is put together fairly nicely, and you'd be hard pressed to find a CBS era guitar put together as nicely as this was. That's one of the benefits of buying a reissue guitar. The fretwork is about on par with all of the rest of today's Fender guitars, so while it can be a bit hit or miss at times, it's generally pretty decent. You might need to spend some money on a fret level, but it's nothing real major. The nut was cut nicely, so no issues there either. The guitar weighed a bit more due to its body wood, so if you're not a fan of heavier guitars, you might want to look elsewhere.
SOUNDS
The guitar was brighter due to its ash body. These are also available in alder, so keep that in mind. The ash guitars have an extended high end and extended bass range compared to the alder ones. The pickups in this were pretty cool, and I was able to get some old school Hendrix tones without any problem. I kinda wish they had some more output, but they definitely work for blues and rock. I assume that's what most people with these guitars will play.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar is part of the love/hate era of Fender. I personally prefer the smaller headstock and regular truss rod, but there are tons out there who love this larger headstock. If you're one of those, definitely check out this guitar. They can be a bit much for what they are, so I recommend buying them used instead of new.
UTILIZATION
The guitar itself is put together fairly nicely, and you'd be hard pressed to find a CBS era guitar put together as nicely as this was. That's one of the benefits of buying a reissue guitar. The fretwork is about on par with all of the rest of today's Fender guitars, so while it can be a bit hit or miss at times, it's generally pretty decent. You might need to spend some money on a fret level, but it's nothing real major. The nut was cut nicely, so no issues there either. The guitar weighed a bit more due to its body wood, so if you're not a fan of heavier guitars, you might want to look elsewhere.
SOUNDS
The guitar was brighter due to its ash body. These are also available in alder, so keep that in mind. The ash guitars have an extended high end and extended bass range compared to the alder ones. The pickups in this were pretty cool, and I was able to get some old school Hendrix tones without any problem. I kinda wish they had some more output, but they definitely work for blues and rock. I assume that's what most people with these guitars will play.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar is part of the love/hate era of Fender. I personally prefer the smaller headstock and regular truss rod, but there are tons out there who love this larger headstock. If you're one of those, definitely check out this guitar. They can be a bit much for what they are, so I recommend buying them used instead of new.