Fender American Deluxe Fat Stratocaster HSS [1998-2003]

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

I ordered this guitar through ProSound in Litttleton, Colorado and paid $1,350 for it. The reason I purchased this guitar was that after decades of playing I just got pickier about sound quality and with the new SCN pickups and the LSR Nut and Deluxe Tremelo, and locking tuners and pickup combo, I finally found the sound I was looking for and finding Vintage sound too thin and Texas Special as too dirty as hot single coils (humbuckers preferred to the specials)

The two HOT wound single coil pickups are the perfect balance between the Vintage sound and Texas Specials and the DH-1 Humbucker is the only way to go. I bought this guitar to play CLASSIC Rock which it is ideally suited for. Also the LSR nut and Fender Deluxe Tremelo finally give a unit that doesn't go out of tune when using the tremelo. S-1 Switching gives you incredible tone options. This is the most versatile guitar I've ever owned and I love it. The sound of this guitar is totally unbelievably awesome!

Well the ONLY thing I can say is the Action on my American Deluxe Telecaster w/SCN pickups and S-1 also is a little better, but I think that's a price you pay for having the tremelo system.

I have a Three color sunburst Stratocaster that is beautiful and materials quality is topnotch the maple on the neck even has some birds-eye in it, premium wood!!! The whole construction is amazing and I must say, you get what you pay for!!

Until I bought this guitar, I was in love with my Les Paul, but not is has serious competition and each has it's place as far as sound goes, but this guitar has the crispest ringing overtones, and is just fat enough for rock but still has enough of the glassy Vintage sound, that I feel I finally found PERFECTION in an electric guitar, and two of my friends that work at Prosound and are in bands own this guitar and totally agree. This guitar is a guitar platyers dream!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought it @ Musiciansfriend.com for $699. Saw the same thing @ guitar center although for a lot more. I ordered a surf pearl with rosewood neck. Not really in tune with vintage pallettes of colors I saw pearl and automatically assumed white...well that funky mint green came in the mail and the color has really grown on me, now I wouldn't have it any other way.

I took a chance with the rosewood neck. I had never really played on rosewood with a fender always prefering maple on fenders. It really paid off though if you want a warmer mid punch, then rosewood pays dividends. All I can say about the Texas Specials is "incredible!", best pick-up ever, hands down, the harmonic nuance, especially w/ a clean tone, are unparalleled. The Pearly Gates pickup "named after Billy Gibbons guitar...'59 Les Paul" pulls off that type of tone PRS/Les Paul robust and glimmering while still sharp as a razor. I have .014-.050s on it and that feels lighter than the .012s that are on my other strat (whichs say it all about the playability); other strat is maple neck Blue Lace & Red Lace sensors & an EMG SA mid position but I placed it in the back for neck and bridge assignments in the fourth position. As much as it hurts to say, the Fat Strat sounds better that my "Frankesteined" Strat.

Not a damn thing, I'm an amateur when it comes to luthier shit. But the guitar came w/ 9s and I put 14s on it w/ a little clock wise turn of the truss, and adding a fourth and fifth spring to the back and tightening them slightly everything set up nicely, no change whatsoever in the perfect intonation. You can also make this thing work like a hardtail, which I recommend if you like to bend the shit out of strings like me. Just tighten the hell out of five springs in the back and presto no pull back on the tremelo. Overall I like it better like this. Intonation doesn't change on other strings no matter how many steps I bend its fellow comrades.

C'mon I practically "you know what" all over my self when I picked it up out of the case. Even though it feels like butter its tougher than nails a la no intonation change when bumping up the string guage by 5.

I would tell you to buy this guitar but I don't want all my fellow guitarist out there having as rich of a tone as me. So don't get one, it really sucks, I've changed my mind and I think it sounds like hail on a tin roof. Super thin sound, the neck feels like an arthritic Louisville Slugger. Damn it I can't do it, it is actually better than the $2-3 grand Les Pauls and PRSs that I have played. Good job Fender, now if they would just stop pawning off those damn tex-mex "caliente" pick-ups and being good...can't win them all.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this guitar for $1220.00 at zzounds.com, it is aged cherry sunburst with a maple neck.

It sounds really bright and agressive whether your playing trough an amp or without. But especially through the amp this guitar is really hot, it responds to pick attack like nothing else. It can sound very rich and full, or really bright and whiney, and the humbucker sounds really cool when put with the middle pickup. The nut rocks and looks really trick, and its SUPER easy to restring, the tuners are awesome. Beautiful bridge and saddles, the strap locks are nice too. This guitar basically screams with quality, it is really the best guitar with the best parts. The hot noisless pickups rule, you can turn your amp all the way up and you cant even tell its on, even when you arent touching the guitar. Pop in whammy bar and abolone inlays. Great neck shape and silky smooth finish on the back of it, 22 frets, beautiful headstock with just "Fender STRATOCASTER" written in chrome on it. Simple looking and super intracate. Perfectly in tune on every note, no buzzing, fast action, oh man, i could go on for pages about how great this thing is.

ABSOLUTLY NOTHING.

solid, light guitar with BEAUTIFUL finish, seriously, spend the extra 150 for the ash body, the blue that the ash comes in looks really neat, but the aged cherry sunburst almost makes you want to put the thing in a glass case and put it in the middle of your living room, because it looks AWESOME. very loud, solid guitar

get one, save up a lot of money, and get one

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com