Fender Custom Shop 2011 Custom Deluxe Stratocaster

- Noiseless pickups
- SSS configuration
- Locking tuners
- LSR roller nut
- Compound radius neck
- C profile
- Original contour body
- Alder body
- Birdseye maple neck and fretboard
- Controls for volume, tone, and tone
- 5 way switch
- Straplock ready
- Deluxe bridge
- Customshop backplate
- Made in the USA


UTILIZATION

In the Custom Deluxe, Fender have taken the classic Strat design and thrown in some of the most useful modern innovations available today. The result is a beautiful guitar that maintains tune and plays effortlessly. The LSR roller nut and locking tuners provide near perfect tuning stability. I’ve rarely had to tune in the middle of a set. The modern deluxe style bridge makes setup and intonation a breeze, much more intuitive and effective than the older style bridges. You will not be fretting out on the compound radius neck, and the pickups really are pretty much noiseless. Fantastic action, quite low, but no buzz.

SOUNDS

It is difficult to judge the sound of a guitar without taking into the account the amp it’s being paired with, but I’ll do my best. This guitar has been beautifully well built, and that comes out in the sound it produces. The intonation is pretty much perfect all the way up the neck, and it doesn’t go out of tune, so everything you play really sounds the way you mean it to. The pickups are a little light and airy, they sound better for more modern strat stuff, if you are really after a vintage strat sound I’d recommend swapping them with a Lollar blackface or BKP apache set. The guitars is SSS, so not really suitable for heavier material.

OVERALL OPINION

It is a pleasure to play. The Custom Shop guitars stand head and shoulder over anything else that Fender makes, and this is no exception. It’s apparent from a first glance that very part of it is clearly built with loving care and perfection. I was playing a deluxe strat when I came across this, which is a great guitar in its own right. But there is just no comparison. They aren’t cheap, but definitely well worth it, and used prices aren’t horrible. If you want something more vintage feeling/sounding the CS does some really good reissues. But if you want a beautiful guitar with modern features and convenience, the custom deluxe is a great way to go.