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King Loudness « Cool high end Strat »
Published on 08/11/11 at 21:52The Fender American Deluxe is made in the Fender USA plant as a slightly high end alternative to the venerable American Standard. It was released in response to the custom builders like Suhr, Tom Anderson and many others who were releasing super high quality and decked out "super strats" that featured many different things like noiseless pickups, locking tuners, contoured heels and lighter weight bodies. Fender's American Deluxe Strat takes that boutique slate and runs with it... and the end result is a guitar that feels like a custom shop wonder, but it was made right in Corona baby! Here's the full list of specs:
Model Name:American Deluxe Stratocaster
Model Number:011-9000-(Color #) and 011-9002-(Color #)
Series:American Deluxe Series
Colors
700) 3-Color Sunburst,
(720) Amber,
(723) Olympic Pearl,
(759) Tungsten,
(770) Sunset Metallic,
(Urethane Finish)
Body:Select Alder
Neck:Maple, Modern C Shape,
(Satin Urethane Finish)
Fingerboard:Rosewood (P/N 011-9000) or Maple (P/N 011-9002), 9.5 to 14 Compound Radius (241 mm to 355.6 mm)
No. of Frets:22 Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups:3 New Noiseless N3 Strat Pickups (Neck/Middle/Bridge)
Controls:Master Volume (with S-1 Switch),
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. No-Load Tone Control (Middle and Bridge Pickups)
Pickup Switching:5-Position Blade and 2-Position Push/Push S-1:
S-1 Switch Up (Off):
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup in Parallel
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup in Parallel
Position 5. Neck Pickup
S-1 Switch Down (On):
Position 1. Bridge, Middle and Neck Pickups in Series
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup in Series
Position 3. Middle and Neck Pickup in Series
Position 4. Bridge and Neck Pickup Out-Of-Phase, and in Series with Special Tone Capacitor
Position 5. Bridge and Middle Pickup in Series and Out-Of-Phase, and in Parallel with Neck Pickup
Bridge:Fender Deluxe 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Pop in Arm
Machine Heads:Fender Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Locking Tuning Machines
Hardware:Chrome
Pickguard:3-Ply Mint Green on (700), (770),
4-Ply Brown Shell on (720, 723),
4-Ply Black on (759)
Scale Length:25.5 (648 mm)
Width at Nut:1.6875 (43 mm)
Unique Features:Copper Infused High Mass 100% Metal Bridge Block,
3 Tall, 3 Short Staggered Locking Tuning Machines,
S-1 Switching,
Aged Plastic Parts,
White Pearloid (Rosewood Fingerboard) or Black Pearloid (Maple Fingerboard) Dot Position Inlays,
Highly Detailed Fret and Nut Work,
4-Bolt Neck Attachment with Micro-Tilt Adjustment,
Bi-Flex Truss Rod System,
Parchment Knobs and Pickup Covers,
Rolled Fretboard Edges
Strings:Fender USA, Nickel Plated Steel,
Gauges: (.009, .011, .016, .024w, .032, .042)
Accessories:Fender/SKB Case, Cable, Strap, Polishing Cloth
Case:High-Tech, Molded Rectangular SKB Case
UTILIZATION
The American Deluxe Strat takes a lot of my personal pet peeves about the typical Strat, and does away with them altogther. Yay! Such improvements on the design included a contoured neck heel with redesigned neck bolt system for improved upper fret access, noiseless pickups with the unique S-1 switching system for a variety of different hum-free sounds, locking tuners, and a general penchant for lighter wood for the bodies. To me this takes the Strat perfectly into the modern age, and turns it from a guitar that I'd play once in a while to a guitar that I'd play all the time. Truly excellent.
The sounds of this guitar (and there are a myriad of them) are plentiful and all wonderful. It does everything from typical Strat type single coil tones to some thicker Gibson esque flavours, even dipping into some skimpy parallel single coil quack. Cool, right?
SOUNDS
I've tried the American Deluxe Strat through a variety of different amplifiers, mainly from Fender, Marshall and Mesa Boogie. The clean tones produced by this guitar are simply stellar. The crispness and general lush character of the Strat is not lost with the Fender pickups used here. The one trade off is that there is a bit more compression applied than with standard pickups... but you can't win 'em all. The guitar goes from jazz to blues to country to reggae to surf without any qualms... whatever style you throw at it, it'll do and smile right back at you.
The overdrive tones are just... excellent. The guitar goes from the nicest of broken up bluesier vibes to a downright obscene high gain rock roar, all without flinching once. The noiseless system really helps with gain, and using the S-1 switch allows for some really rad Gibson character to come through as well. It's really versatile and sits well in a band mix with humbucker loaded guitars quite well too. Just an all around killer ax, without question.
OVERALL OPINION
The Fender American Deluxe Strat is a wicked working man's guitar. There's really no faults with it, and for $1,500 new it's a bargain (and they can be had for as low as $800 used.) About the only thing I would consider over one for a great "super strat" would be a Suhr or perhaps Tom Anderson, just because I could pick my own specific specs. However, for a stock off the rack production line Strat, the American Deluxe is probably the best of the bunch.
Model Name:American Deluxe Stratocaster
Model Number:011-9000-(Color #) and 011-9002-(Color #)
Series:American Deluxe Series
Colors
700) 3-Color Sunburst,(720) Amber,
(723) Olympic Pearl,
(759) Tungsten,
(770) Sunset Metallic,
(Urethane Finish)
Body:Select Alder
Neck:Maple, Modern C Shape,
(Satin Urethane Finish)
Fingerboard:Rosewood (P/N 011-9000) or Maple (P/N 011-9002), 9.5 to 14 Compound Radius (241 mm to 355.6 mm)
No. of Frets:22 Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups:3 New Noiseless N3 Strat Pickups (Neck/Middle/Bridge)
Controls:Master Volume (with S-1 Switch),
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. No-Load Tone Control (Middle and Bridge Pickups)
Pickup Switching:5-Position Blade and 2-Position Push/Push S-1:
S-1 Switch Up (Off):
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup in Parallel
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup in Parallel
Position 5. Neck Pickup
S-1 Switch Down (On):
Position 1. Bridge, Middle and Neck Pickups in Series
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup in Series
Position 3. Middle and Neck Pickup in Series
Position 4. Bridge and Neck Pickup Out-Of-Phase, and in Series with Special Tone Capacitor
Position 5. Bridge and Middle Pickup in Series and Out-Of-Phase, and in Parallel with Neck Pickup
Bridge:Fender Deluxe 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Pop in Arm
Machine Heads:Fender Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Locking Tuning Machines
Hardware:Chrome
Pickguard:3-Ply Mint Green on (700), (770),
4-Ply Brown Shell on (720, 723),
4-Ply Black on (759)
Scale Length:25.5 (648 mm)
Width at Nut:1.6875 (43 mm)
Unique Features:Copper Infused High Mass 100% Metal Bridge Block,
3 Tall, 3 Short Staggered Locking Tuning Machines,
S-1 Switching,
Aged Plastic Parts,
White Pearloid (Rosewood Fingerboard) or Black Pearloid (Maple Fingerboard) Dot Position Inlays,
Highly Detailed Fret and Nut Work,
4-Bolt Neck Attachment with Micro-Tilt Adjustment,
Bi-Flex Truss Rod System,
Parchment Knobs and Pickup Covers,
Rolled Fretboard Edges
Strings:Fender USA, Nickel Plated Steel,
Gauges: (.009, .011, .016, .024w, .032, .042)
Accessories:Fender/SKB Case, Cable, Strap, Polishing Cloth
Case:High-Tech, Molded Rectangular SKB Case
UTILIZATION
The American Deluxe Strat takes a lot of my personal pet peeves about the typical Strat, and does away with them altogther. Yay! Such improvements on the design included a contoured neck heel with redesigned neck bolt system for improved upper fret access, noiseless pickups with the unique S-1 switching system for a variety of different hum-free sounds, locking tuners, and a general penchant for lighter wood for the bodies. To me this takes the Strat perfectly into the modern age, and turns it from a guitar that I'd play once in a while to a guitar that I'd play all the time. Truly excellent.
The sounds of this guitar (and there are a myriad of them) are plentiful and all wonderful. It does everything from typical Strat type single coil tones to some thicker Gibson esque flavours, even dipping into some skimpy parallel single coil quack. Cool, right?
SOUNDS
I've tried the American Deluxe Strat through a variety of different amplifiers, mainly from Fender, Marshall and Mesa Boogie. The clean tones produced by this guitar are simply stellar. The crispness and general lush character of the Strat is not lost with the Fender pickups used here. The one trade off is that there is a bit more compression applied than with standard pickups... but you can't win 'em all. The guitar goes from jazz to blues to country to reggae to surf without any qualms... whatever style you throw at it, it'll do and smile right back at you.
The overdrive tones are just... excellent. The guitar goes from the nicest of broken up bluesier vibes to a downright obscene high gain rock roar, all without flinching once. The noiseless system really helps with gain, and using the S-1 switch allows for some really rad Gibson character to come through as well. It's really versatile and sits well in a band mix with humbucker loaded guitars quite well too. Just an all around killer ax, without question.
OVERALL OPINION
The Fender American Deluxe Strat is a wicked working man's guitar. There's really no faults with it, and for $1,500 new it's a bargain (and they can be had for as low as $800 used.) About the only thing I would consider over one for a great "super strat" would be a Suhr or perhaps Tom Anderson, just because I could pick my own specific specs. However, for a stock off the rack production line Strat, the American Deluxe is probably the best of the bunch.