SeriesFender American Deluxe

Hi all, I’ve played this fender qmt tele on two amps (rectifier Boogie and Jcm 800 (1982)), mainly for metal and prog metal up to math core for those who know. This guitar reminds me of the fender tele flathead, those which inspired the "Jim root" tele models. This guitar has a great neck, it’s really its main asset, big kudos for its ultra-fast neck ala 1980s jackson/charvel with jumbo frets with a finish that’s here and then better to feel than to look at – lol – but no real catastrophe, it’s just a bit disconcerting. The guitar is very stable and stays very well in tune with its auto-locking tuners, the nut is well conceived and the ebony fretboard is a real pleasure. The electronics is where I find its real flaws as the guitar’s concept really doesn’t match itw woodwork. Two splittable HBs to give them a wider range (to play everything heavier). In theory it should work, the idea is great but in the end the result is not up to expectations. It sounds like BZITBZIT, very un-natural but I can’t find the exact word, it remains in the spirit of whichever style you want to plan but it still sounds cheap and while the pots look nice they’re not easy to use as they lack adherence – so they ain’t much efficient. While the push-pull system is a nice concept (I’m still a bit frustrated), for a three-position split there’s no problem, classic, very efficient. The guitar’s body has a very nice shape with the same contour as the Jim Root model and the same enhanced access to high notes , another kudos (perfect finish). The one cons of the body is that it doesn’t resound enough to my taste, the sound spectrum lacks width. The guitar lacks expressivity for nuance players. All in all, this is essentially a metal-oriented guitar. That’s its true nature with an unbelievable ease of play, just a nice jigsaw away (lol) to please high gain addicts. To me, this guitar is great but it takes changing the pickups for ametal set such as Blackhawk, EMG 81/60 or Seymour Duncan Blackout... Only then will the electronics reveal its true potential for what it does best : WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

This is pretty much the standard Fender that most people see today. At least on the American line up. Today's strats are moving towards being a bit more modern, and the Mexican strats are leaning towards being more vintage-esque. I guess they feel that these features are only worthy on the American models, but whatever. The guitar features an alder body, a one-piece maple neck, 22 frets, dot inlays, a two point tremolo, locking tuners, HSS configuration, one volume, two tones and a five way switch. UTILIZATION The guitar was pretty good, but it was slightly heavy. It had some strong weight to it, and I'm not a fan of overly heavy guitars. Still, it resonated nicely, so I can't take too much away from it. I really liked how the black body, maple neck and copper pickguard worked on this guitar. It was better than I thought it would look. The frets on this were in pretty good condition, and I couldn't find any faults with it. The neck on this is a very nice, round C shaped neck that's medium in its overall thickness. It almost reminds me of an ESP neck, or maybe I should say ESP necks remind me of Fender necks... The tremolo on this is pretty nice, and the locking tuners help out a ton with this guitar. I'm not a huge fan fo the radius utilized on these guitars, but it's not a deal killer. SOUNDS The guitar had its pickups swapped for EMGs. It had an EMG 85 in the bridge with the SLV neck and middle pickups. The EMG 85 in the bridge works quite well for a lot of genres, actually. While most people view it as a neck pickup, it can really help thicken up a thin sounding guitar. This is actually the same combo that Steve Lukather uses (or used to. I heard he swapped to passives lately), and it kind of has that Luke vibe going on. The SLVs in the neck and middle were very nice at getting a cool, fat lead tone with some decent output. One thing worth noting is that these tend to respond to the volume knob a bit better than the EMG 85. That said, they still had a bit of that hi-fi sound going on. They can work for a lot of genres, but they're still not quite as organic as passives. OVERALL OPINION The guitar is very solid, and you can get these for a really good price on the used market. I recommend searching different forum and ebay for the best deal on these guitars. I would rather buy one of these used than new as the prices keep going up every year, and the used market has some great deals at the moment. If you buy new, be sure to inspect it carefully just in case there are any potential flaws.

I bough this guitar about five years ago, and I have loved it ever since. I purchased the chrome silver edition with a black pick guard on it. The only real performing I've done with it is in the worship band at my church, but it never lets me down. Other than that, I use it to record songs in my basement and play for my own pleasure. I bought the hss edition, and I love having that bridge humbucker for a little extra bite. I bought this guitar at a Don's Music Land store for about $1000. I had looked at a lot of guitars, but after considering all of them and playing them all, I just loved the way this one felt. It also had a great sound that suits the style of music I like to play (alternative/rock) One of the biggest things I like about this guitar is the way the neck feels. It feels like it is already broken in, which makes it very easy to play. I've played other guitars in the same price range, but the necks weren't as comfortable to me. I also love the way it sits on my lap, because when I'm recording I prefer to play sitting down.. One of the only cons I've found is that this guitar isn't as loud when it is plugged into a PA system. The other guitar player in the worship band I'm in owns an ESP guitar, and when we both plugged ours in and set them at the same levels on the sound board, his was still way louder than mine. The quality of construction is great. I have never had a problem with anything breaking or not working. I love this guitar. I don't plan on ever selling it, or modifying it too much. It is an amazing guitar for a great price. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Play small ensemble, small venues, prolly not your typical P-Bass player, but it's not my only bass. We play American songbook, blues, yaydayyada ... This ax had a major clearance price drop, and I never had a real P-bass, so I figgered WTF and played it. Turns out it's one of the very few basses that sounded good to me with it's factory RW strings on it. Usually, I hafta mentally project how a bass will sound with my flatwounds. It's your basic sunburst finish, with maple FB and uglee PG. I didn't buy it right away cuz I really didn't need it ... but I did really like it. Then came the "20% Off All New Fenders" sale, and "clearance" is still "new", so at the combined priced drops I finally took it home. So I give thanks for GC's crazy corporate mentality ! The neck is large and comfy, and the edges, including the fret ends, are flawless. Has good balance and not too heavy. Tuners work better than most. Better than on any of my EBMMs or GnLs, or most any other "large peg" tuners I can recall. These are Hipshot UltraLights, a sort of hybrid between small precision tuners and big open gear tuners. The 3-band EQ is cool. I set the bass and treble for whatever limits are right for the room and the speaker cab, then I use the midrange as my variable from tune to tune, to set the mood, etc. Really easy. No other 3-band I've tried works out that simple for me. Seems quite immune to electrical noises. Output jack is on the body instead of on the plastic PG. Much safer that way. The tone is generic, yet versatile. For me thaz good, cuz I wanna sound good and do my job. I don't need an attention-getting bass tone. I don't need applause ... I need zero complaints from the Diva, and like to make the people dance. Without the multiple discount programs it would be more than I can afford. Maybe it could weigh a bit less. Has a pair of stack knobs. Never liked that idea, on any bass. Bridge PU is not adjustable, and too loud on the bass side. I will hafta mod that, to lower the bass side. Prolly easy mod, but it should be built to be adjusted. Construction quality seems similar to a MusicMan, but there's less switchgear, fewer PU coils, simple little bridge, alder instead of ash, etc, compared to MM ... yet Fender costs more ?? But it's really is a cool bass, and some players just gotta have a Fender. An interesting change from my more usual MusicMan tone, two different but equally usable voices ... yet for features and price, I'll be staying with MM. This one-time impulsive bargain purchase was not a bad move, but I am NOT really converted to Fender. I'm in a sorta "no strings attached" romance with it, for now. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I have had a squire strat pak, and it was fine for about a year and a half, for a beginner, but i wanted something much much better, so i went to guitar center and they ordered for me specially a fender american strat hss for about 1000. EVERYTHING!!! It is so smooth and soft to play on. It sounds great, it hardly ever goes out of tune. And the whammy bar thing is really cool. Most of all, it looks real nice, and it came w/ a hardshell case and a care kit w/ an xtra cable, cloth and someother things that i have not figured out what they are yet. O yeah and the dots on the frets are cool. Hmmm... im not sure. I like everything about it. Maybe it could have been less expensive. Hah just kidding its worth it. I just have to figure out what kind of difference the S1 switch makes. I haventt really had time to experiment with it. Excellent. Everything is smooth, and the finish on the guitar (mine is chrome silver) is great. This will be last electric guitar u will ever need (I think). Its a quality, well made, great sounding instrument from the company that started it all. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster 50th anniversary was made for only one year in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the famous Fender Stratocaster guitar. It was built in the USA and based off the platform of their top of the line USA model, the American Deluxe. To that end, it features an ash body, a maple neck with maple fretboard, 22 frets, Fender locking tuners, two point standard tremolo bridge, Fender Noisless pickups with S-1 switching, and the standard Strat control layout of dual volumes/one tone and a 5 way selector switch. It definitely screams classic Strat when you see it... the vintage style 2-tone sunburst finish and maple neck are pure '50s Fender, and the gold hardware adds a really classy touch that really makes the guitar seem special even before you pick it up. UTILIZATION The design of this Strat has a few improvements that set it apart from the standard American model. One of those improvements that really helps with the design is the contoured neck heel that is found on some newer Strats. This is critical for gaining great upper fret access, and makes this Strat much easier to play than some of its more vintage style counterparts. The guitar is a little bit on the heavier side due to the ash/maple construction but it's still quite easy to hold and play for longer periods of time. The upper fret access is quite good because of not only the contoured neck heel but also the very nice neck finish, which isn't so glossy as to inhibit hand movement up and down the neck. Awesome! SOUNDS This Strat may look like a meek vintage piece, but rest assured it has some serious grind underneath its hood. The pickups are Fender Noiseless models and seem a bit hotter to me than the standard models. That being said, they don't seem to sacrifice that wonderful Strat clarity or sparkle that really makes a good Strat stand out. Using a clean sound, the pickups range from offering that great Hendrix esque clean tone (very bright and funky but with a certain body to it that lends itself well to both chord and lead work) to some classic country chicken pickin' type tones using the middle pickup, to some Dire Straits type sounds or even some surf rock. Switching over to a drive tone brought in some seriously thick and punchy tone that was great for everything from '70s arena rock to modern day shred. Kicking in the S-1 circuit thickened the tone up significantly and made the single coils sound more like humbuckers... great for even heavier tones a-la Black Sabbath or Kyuss. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think this Strat is a great guitar that has both collector appeal and great playability/tone. It's based off the American Deluxe Strat which is a tried and true design, but it has that nice classy/vintage vibe that so many players these days really like. They can be had for about $1,200 used which is a decent deal considering the features and tone quality that you're getting. If you're after a great Strat that can do many different styles for not a ridiculous amount of cash, give the 50th Anniversary Strat a whirl.

The Fender Stratocastor guitars are those iconic instruments that has really stood the test of time. This is an instrument that has given influence to dozens if not thousands of guitar manufactures and boutique builders all around the world. It's one of those instruments that has given influence to musicians for many recordings and gigging sessions. It's also an instrument that has brought a culture to the rock 'n roll music world. UTILIZATION Features Select ash body with contoured heel and body Rosewood or maple neck C-shaped profile 22 medium-jumbo frets Compound radius fretboard (9-1/2" at the nut, 12" at the 12th fret, and 14" at the 15th fret) Three N3 Noiseless single-coil pickups S-1 switching system High-mass tremolo block Locking tuning keys Upgraded, molded case SOUNDS I love the tone of the Fender Stratocaster because it meets every demand that I'm looking for in a guitar instrument. It has the right balance, feeling, and tone for the needs that I have. Pretty much any setting that I put it in, it feels good and compliments the current rig or setting. Whether I'm using a load of effects on the floorboard with pedal boards or effects or a clean amplifier to a high gain amplifier Fender Stratocaster will complement anything that I put it in. It's a kind of chameleon type guitar because it adapts to its environment quite well. The tone is lush focused and smooth, and that's probably why I really dig the character in the vibe of this instrument. OVERALL OPINION You can find these guitars for right around $1500 or so in the new market. They hold their value quite well so I would suggest picking one up on the used's market if you can find a good price. They are a great for recording and I highly recommend every guitar player on the planet to own at least one Fender Stratocaster at some point in their career.

This has the special V neck that Fender used to do way back when. The V necks on these are fairly pronounced, and if you're not used to V necks, this guitar might take you back a bit. It's quite a bit different from what most guitars utilize today. Still, some people absolutely love them. The guitar features an alder body with a maple neck, 22 frets with dot inlays, a two point tremolo system, three single coils, one volume, two tones and a five way switch. UTILIZATION The strings that were on this were absolutely dead. I had to replace those and give the guitar a full setup before I could allow this on the show floor. The frets needed to be polished, and I think it sat for awhile before we even got it. The access to the higher frets is the same in any other Fender in that it's pretty poor, but it's not a huge deal. There are some times when it can be a pain, but it's nowhere near as bad as a normal Les Paul. The frets themselves were decent, but they could have been a bit better. The neck needed to be tweaked, but that tends to happen during transport. The extreme heat from the shipping trucks and humidity changes between states can really take its toll on guitars at times. SOUNDS The guitar had the SCN pickups in it. If you've never heard of these pickups before, they're special pickups designed for Fender by Bill Lawrence with some unique magnets. The overall design is super quiet, and they have tons of output. As a result, they're more modern sounding than what you would normally expect from a Fender. The S1 switch on this guitar is useless, and I recommend never using it. You can even convert the pot to a normal one if you're worried you might press it by accident. All it does is make the guitar really muddy. The bridge is powerful, and you can play metal with it without much of an issue. In between positions get very nice cleans/funk tones, and the neck is great for leads. OVERALL OPINION The neck on this takes some getting used to if you've never played a V neck before. It's different, and that can be good or bad, depending on what your own personal tastes are. The quality is pretty standard for what you'd expect from Fender in that it's good, but it's nothing mind blowing. I tend to prefer the older Fenders, despite them having a bit of QC issues at times. Either way, if you find a good deal on this, check it out. Maybe you'll like it.

This is one of the more modern strats that Fender has been producing. This is an attempt to help diversify their guitar line up and possibly pick up some guitarists they wouldn't otherwise get. It's also an attempt at trying to get some boutique collectors to look at their guitars. The guitar features an alder body with a quilted maple top, a maple neck with an ebony fretboard, 22 frets, dot inlays, a two point tremolo, HSS configuration, one volume, one tone and a five way switch. UTILIZATION The frets on this needed to be crowned better. They didn't crown them as much as they should have, and you could really tell once you started looking at it and playing it. For those who don't know, frets should look round on the top, but these were kind of flat. This can affect intonation and overall playing, although I didn't really experience those issues. The neck pocket on this was nice and tight, so no issues there. The ebony was super dark, and I almost wonder if they dyed it. I can't be sure one way or the other. The trem on this is pretty nice for light duty work, and it flutters decently, but don't expect some hardcore tuning stability like a floyd rose will provide. SOUNDS The guitar has SCN pickups in it with a DH-1 in the bridge. The DH-1 is a pretty bright pickup, and the ebony + maple top combo isn't really doing that any favors. There are rumors about what the DH-1 really is. Some say it's Fender's design, some say it's a Bill Lawrence pickup, others say it's a JB and some even say it's a Pearly Gates pickup. Regardless, it's a decent medium to high output pickup, but I'd like something a bit thicker in the bridge. The SCNs in the middle and neck are absolutely amazing for those super powerful lead lines. You can get one insane lead tone with these things, and you can even get a nice clean tone once you use the in between positions. They're modern sounding pickups, so if you're looking for something classic, look elsewhere. OVERALL OPINION The guitar is very high quality, and I like what Fender is doing. The prices are a bit much for what you get, but if you buy used, you should be able to get a pretty good deal. If I had to choose between this and one of the Suhr Pro series, I'd probably get the Suhr. They're a bit more consistent, they have a better neck, and I tend to like smaller operations like Suhr instead of huge companies like Fender. That said, the biggest issue that would prevent me from buying this would be the radius. Everything else is pretty good.

This seems to be an attempt at Fender trying to enter the more boutique market that they never truly tapped into. The guitar isn't really a true strat; it's more of a superstrat. It's a bit odd as it's not quite a Fender, and it doesn't sound exactly like a Fender, yet it still has that kind of Fender vibe going on. The guitar features an alder body with a flame maple top, a maple neck with an ebony fretboard, 22 medium frets, a 2 point tremolo, dot inlays, HSS configuration, one volume, one tone and a five way switch. UTILIZATION The flame top on this looked great. It could easily rival pretty much any other flame top you've ever seen on the boutique market. The finish on this was nice, as well. The frets were a bit of an issue, however. While they were level, there were some issues with them not being fully crowned. I would have liked to see them crowned a bit better and polished up some more. The ends were nicely beveled, so no issues there. The ebony on this was nice and dark without any streaks, and it didn't seem to have been dyed. The bridge on this is great, but don't expect it to hold tune like a floyd rose. It's great for minor to medium work. SOUNDS The guitar had a Duncan Custom Custom swapped into the bridge, but the singles were the standard SCNs that Fender utilizes in these guitars. The Duncan Custom Custom was super thick sounding. It was like EVH in a pickup, and you could get some awesome sounds out of this thing. It had enough output for metal, but it was spongy enough to do some great blues lead lines as well. The middle pickup split nicely with this, and I could get some great funk tones. The neck + middle was pure clean tone heaven, and it happens to be my favorite sound in this guitar. The neck was super powerful, and I had no issues playing metal lead lines with that pickup. It's not the most classic sound, but it delivered. OVERALL OPINION If you're looking for a traditional sounding strat, you won't want to be looking at this guitar. It doesn't sound like a normal strat, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that there's no pickguard. On top of that, the woods aren't the standard woods that Fender usually utilizes. If you're looking for a fairly high quality guitar, this is worth checking out. Just don't overpay for this as it may need some slight fretwork done to it.

Fender has been lagging a bit these past few years with their strats. People today are moving more and more towards flatter radii than before, and the solution to appease everyone was a proper compound radius. Companies like Suhr, Anderson, Tyler, etc. have all been doing this for years and years, and Fender has finally caught up with this new strat. The guitar features an alder body, a maple neck, 22 frets, dot inlays, two point tremolo, HSS configuration, one volume, two tones and a five way switch. UTILIZATION The guitar was pretty good, for the most part. The biggest thing people want to know about is how the compound radius neck feels, and I'm here to say that it feels great. The 9.5'' to 14'' radius transition is great, and bending with slammed action feels so nice on a Fender. Before, you could only go so low before you'd fret out, but now you can slam it to your hearts desire. The only real issues I had were that the nut could have been cut a bit better, and the frets needed to be polished a bit more. SOUNDS The pickups in this are fairly solid. The guitar features an HSS configuration, and it's one of my favorite configurations in a strat. The bridge is like a hot humbucker, and it does wonders in terms of getting that aggressive rhythm sound. It's not quite as dynamic as other humbuckers out there, but it does a good job. The neck and middle pickups are those Fender noiseless pickups, and they do great at clean tones, although I'd probably like a little more power for some super powerful lead tones. The blues tones with the pickups, however, is top notch, and I have a feeling that's what most people want when they play this guitar. OVERALL OPINION This neck is something that needs to be installed in every Fender out there. The compound radius makes all the difference in the world, and anybody who has ever played one will probably agree with me. There are very few out there today who enjoy that rounder radius like on the older Strats. The biggest issue with this guitar is that it's a bit expensive for what you're getting. You can get a higher quality Suhr for almost as much money...

Fender Stratocaster is an great American rock 'n roll guitar. It has a iconic look and feel and overall one of the most prestigious instruments and all of music. This instrument has been given such high praises from people that don't even play music as well as some of the best guitarist in the world. Just about every guitar player who's ever picked up a guitar has probably played Fender Stratocaster at some point or owns one. This is the guitar that really started it all for the electric guitar and it is a influential get guitar for many modern boutique guitar builders. UTILIZATION Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Ash Electric Guitar Specifications * Country of Origin: US * Body Shape: Stratocaster * Body Material: Ash * Fingerboard Radius: 9.5-14 inch Compound Radius (241-355.6mm) * Fingerboard: Rosewood or Maple * Fret Size: Medium Jumbo * Neck Material: Maple Neck * Neck Plate: 4-Bolt Neck Plate with Micro-Tilt * Neck Shape: Modern C Shape * Number of Frets: 22 * Nut Width: 1.6875 inches (43 mm) * Position Inlays: Pearl Dot Inlays * Scale Length: 25.5 inches (648mm) * Truss Rod Nut: 1/8 inch American Series Nut * Pickups: Noiseless N3 Single Coil Strat Pickups * Pickup Configuration: S/S/S SOUNDS The tone of his guitar is easily identifiable when hearing it compared to a Fender telecaster or a Gibson Les Paul. Those guitars are probably just as iconic as the Fender Strat but have a completely different feel and sound. The Fender Strat sounds the best to me in the neck pick up position. It has a great bluesy tone in really a allows the guitar to breath and play to its potential. For the most part the neck pick up is where I like to stay on this guitar. If I need to clean your sound or more high five sound or I just need more highs in my EQ and I usually use the bridge pick up. So if I want to hear a lot of good sparkling brighter tone the nest to pick up that are using this guitar. It is the these guitars overall sound fantastic with just about any amplifier use with. I prefer Fender amplifier with these guitars with a little bit of a overdrive from paddle such as an Ibanez tube screamer or some other distortion pedal. These guitar sound pretty much phenomenal in that setting and as a high gain amplifier. Overall this is a great user-friendly guitar and sounds just fantastic in a band or live setting. These are great for recording as well and will sound phenomenal in any application you put it in. OVERALL OPINION At new you can find these guitars for right around $1600 depending on the features of wood and paint job that is involved. Either way its a great well-balanced guitar and pretty inexpensive compared to a lot of boutique guitars that are doing essentially the same thing. This is a great American guitar a classic staple in rock 'n roll history. I highly recommend this guitar to every single guitar player out there.