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Hatsubai « Quilt pops on this »
Published on 10/04/11 at 16:04This 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.
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.