Fender Stratocaster Elite

Not sure how rare a lefty elite is. There is virtually no information on these guitars. Like they came form some other planet and nobody wants to own up to em. But Im sure the music store I bought it at in 91 was more than happy to get rid of it. Not sure what kind of wood I read its alder but Ive also been told its walnut, which would explain the weight. Mine came with the 3 single coils pickups but a standard 5 way switch, dont remember there being a dummy coil under the pick guard. Of course the originals are long gone. I cant complain about the neck wood all my other guitars have rosewood fretboards. But I do like how the neck plays Im not a fan of the tight radius usually found on fenders. And the tilting neck is a really nice feature makes you wonder why its not used more. Mine is still the original black it came in. Dont have a favorite guitar to play but I wouldnt part with it, where would I ever get another one. Ive never even seen another one, much less a lefty. Just wish it wasnt like strapping on a concrete block. The weight difference between a regular strat and this one is huge. I know this because that is how a tuner head got broke off, when somebody wasnt expecting me to hand them a cinder block.

Cant remember the original sound as the pickups were taken out long ago. Good luck finding a replacement if you ever need one. But a set of EMG humbuckers will fit if your willing to take out a little wood. And it already has the handy compartment for a battery. I read everybody else says they are no good for heavy metal I guess with the original pickups thats probably true. But with EMG 81 and 85 in it sounds really good. Not as bright as a regular strat which is good. I dont like em so bright. But really good for playing black sabbath.

Would I buy it again if I had the chance, oh yea. I do like the way it plays. And being a lefty nobody asks "can I try your guitar". The finish is really nice. Dont know what kind of finish they put on the neck but its murder to try to replicate. The bridge thats a whole different story. Im not much of a wammy bar user anyways, but the little notches the ball ends go under can be a real pain in the butt sometimes. I hear of people having trouble putting anything other than .09s on em. I use 10s and have to trouble with it. But as mine is a lefty and its such an odd ball bridge finding parts for it is just not possible. I do like the wider nut thats on it I have big fingers and they get jammed up near the nut but not on this one. And with the tilt neck its real easy to set the action really low. I have taken some of the screws out of the saddles on mine. Not so easy with a guitar you need to shim to set the neck angle. I did have to break down and replace the frets in it recently, went with stainless as I am really hard on fret wire(now you know why I said the neck finish is a bit hard to get right). Its no fault of fenders the frets went out I strangle the thing and have been playing it since 1991. I know this was one of the eras fender would rather forget ever existed. But this guitar is a really good one and has some really good features. I guess thats the way it works find something good people like and stop making it.

I've owned for about 10 years now. Been playing for 30. Would I buy one again? Not sure I'd pay what I see them going for now which is between $1000 - $2000. Apparently now that they're 20+ years old they've reached "vintage" status. But I do love the sound, love the feel and have zero desire to trade or sell. Took awhile to get use to the push buttom selectors playing live but I only use 2 or 3 settings so it's no big deal. Mine is pearl white with the gold hardware. Never use the tremelo though I've heard it's probably the guitars biggest drawback. I've owned other strats, teles and pauls but I've held on to this the longest. Very, very satisfied.

This one's red with a maple neck and I usually can't stand maple necks. I'd rather have rosewood or especially ebony, but the guitar sounds so good when it's plugged in that I can live with it. Strat body style of course, what kind of dumb question is that? Stock tuners, they work fine. Regular Fender strat scale, whatever it is. US made, excellent workmanship. Body must be ash, weighs a ton. Came with a crappy gig bag, I need to find a case. The electronics really make this guitar versatile, I'm not crazy about the unplugged sound but plugged in... It's alive! And so many different useable sounds.

I remember when these things first came out. I sneered at the push buttons, the battery that wears out, the heaviness and especially the price (about $1400, if you got a deal). A buddy showed up to band practice a couple of months ago and I didn't pay much attention until I heard the SOUND. Holy crap, that thing sounded unreal! About a month later he wanted to sell so his wife wouldn't castrate him for buying NOT ANOTHER GUITAR. It had to be mine. It was noisy at first but somebody had disconnected the dummy coil. They also replaced the pickups with lace sensors, so I don't know what it originally sounded like. Very quiet now. It's got bright, it's got mids, it's got bottom, it's got jazzy, it's got "acousticy". I'm still discovering what sounds it's got. I haven't used it onstage much yet, but it's got great blues sounds too. I use a fender super champ and a musicman RD 112 and it sounds great through them. I think you could use it with any style of music and make it sound great.

This poor thing was in pathetic shape when I got it (even though it sounded great), but it was used and abused. The action was pretty much good for slide only, the pickups were not only set in varying bizarre distances from the strings, but I think the bridge pickup was wired improperly because it was the only one that didn't sound good. It came with an Evans so I put that in and found the wiring discrepency. There was also some weird little capacitor/resistor circuit badly soldered in there which I ripped out. Also re-connected the dummy coil. Oh yeah, the original bridge was gone and a Floyd Rose put in, including the locking nut with the screws through the neck. It needed a lot of work but the original factory work was totally quality stuff. Very nice woodwork and the original electronics were fine, what was left anyways. The whole thing took a lot of work and I'm still tweaking it, but it's totally worth it. I'll give it a 4 because of all the abuse it's been given.

Built like a tank, very solid, heavy too. I don't think I'll have any problems unless I start smacking drunks with it. Actually, it would probably be pretty good for that too. The hardware seems fine so far, although I'm not crazy about the Floyd Rose thing. However, it's done now. Finish is very thick but well done. I don't know if the original owner used it much other than for insane late-night experiments, but the finish is good, you'd probably have to sandpaper it to wear it off. Strap buttons look original but I don't know if there's supposed to be locking parts that go with it. There not there if so, but they seem pretty solid. The only thing that might be undependable is the battery and I carry spare anyways. Speaking of the battery, the guitar started making the most bizarre noises, kind jumping between octaves and sounding like a really bad '60's synth. I thought it was my amp going. Then my other amp started doing it. After a lot of grief I finally figured out the battery.

Warranty is long, long gone and if it wasn't all the screwing around on this guitar would have the Fender people laughing it right out of the shop.

Been playing way longer than I care to admit, still learning though. Learning that the Elites are one of the best guitars Fender ever made, except for that crappy tremelo system I guess, that's why somebody put the Rose on this one. I barely use it myself. Other gear: homemade Tele-style with some custom mods, '62 Guild arch-top, Yamaha Pacifica with some mods, Yamaha AEX 500 with some mods (I love modifying Japanese guitars), Ovation acoustic, Fender 12-string. If it were stolen I'd definitely keep my eyes out for another, especially if I could get it for the same price. In fact I'll keep my eyes open anyways, my son wants one after playing mine. What do I hate about it? The push buttons take some getting used to, but I'm warming up to them. I always found that I hit the regular strat switch when I'm strumming and that doesn't happen with these. It's kind of heavy too, I don't know if I could play it all night, but that's OK - I switch guitars a fair bit. I guess the only thing I really hate is that I never appreciated these guitars until now. I didn't choose it, it choose me!

The finish is black paint chrome hardware.The neck is maple 21-frets skunk-stripe.Bi-flexi truss-rod with neck angle adjuster.Tuners are deluxe with Fender stamped on them.Tremelo is free-flyte wit snap in tremelo arm with the strings fed through the front of the guitar.The pick-ups are active with a seven function selector push button switches.

The guitar has a thicker fuller sound with good lows,mids,highs.Plenty of power through my Fender Pro 185 and my Jansen valve amp.No complaints

I bought the guitar second hand about ten years ago so wasn't able to see what its factory set-up was like.But found I had to set the tremelo and neck angle to suit my style which made the neck a very quick player and still good for playing chords.

Haven't gigged this guitar much,but would have to say everything on the guitar seems of a high quality.The finish on the body is outstanding and the schaller strat-locks where factory supplied.My only gripe is the out-put jacks seem to have a very short life and have replaced three in a ten year period.

Fender CBS where well gone when I bought this guitar

I have been playing guitar now for over 16 years and own a 87 american standard stratocaster.If the Elite was stolen it would be very hard to replace because they are quite a rare guitar now in New Zealand.I like the fact the Elite has a different look and features to any strat I've ever seen.I think these guitars have never been given the true recognition they deserve.

1983' USA made Stratocaster Elite.

Pros:
-Active electronics
-Three push button pickups selector. This might not be a hit with everyone because it would be clumsy trying to switch pickups in a live setting. This has never seemed to be a problem for me. And there are two settings which are impossible to do on a regular strat which are possible with the elite- Bridge and Neck activated, All three pickups activated.
-Neck- Im not sure what the finish is on the neck but to me it rivals high quality marine epoxy necks on some fretless basses I've played. The neck is fat, reminds me of the SRV's or the new Eric Johnson strats that are out there.
-Hardware is solid. One of the best built Fenders I've played.
-Dummy Coil- Eliminates alot of noise.

Cons
Bridge- 'Freeflyte' bridge looks cool but is absolute garbage. I stopped using it long ago. When I first got it I got some absolutely terrible spring noise from the bridge cavity. So I go to pad the springs and guess what;some genius down at Fender thought it would be a smart idea not to have a bridge cover plate on the back. I had to open her up from the front, remove the bridge pickup and pad it. A job that would take you 2 minutes on a regular strat took me the better part of 20 minutes.
Input jack on the side-Not a big deal but still.

Fantastic. Hands down the best sounding Strat I've played. Versatile as hell. I play it through a Keleey DS-1>Roalnd Gp-8>Marshall JCM2000>Marshall 412. I play in a wierd Rock/Electronica/Blues/Psychedilic/Metal type jam band and it gives me virtually every sound I could possibly want.

The bridge pickup is amazingley fat. It rivals many humbuckers I've heard and cuts through beautifully through heavy distortion. With the outer tone knob turned all the way down the neck pickup is ideal for that punchy, bright SRV blues tone. The best tone for clean I find is with the Neck and Bridge activated and the outer tone turned all the way down. This sound mimics an acoustic almost perfectly with an ideal blend of brightness and bass.

While its still alot more versatile than a standard strat it still has that distinct "strat" tone. Oddly enough, I would almost say it does the "strat" tone better than you stock American strat.

Action can get amazingly low on this guitar without buzzing out. I'm not sure why but i have my strings set incredibly low compared to my other strat and I get virtually no buzz

Hardware is solid. Finish is fantastic (3 tone sunburst). No complaints here.

Its coming on 25 years. I've owned it for the last 5 of those and it hasnt failed me once yet. This is definately a live player's guitar. Built like a tank. Everythings solid.

Never dealt with Fender. I'm sure they don't even remember these though.

Amazing guitar. Especially considering the price. 25 years later I guess these things are just starting to hit vintage value but 1983 to many(especially these vintage nuts) was a pretty dark year in Fender history. Its the year CBS decided to butcher the classic strat design and branch off into newer and often disastrous territory. Because of that I don't see these guitars ever appreciating in value like Pre CBS Fenders.

Thats why, I assume, I found it at such an unbeleivable price considering its a USA made strat (American Strats cost well into the $1500 range and barely lose their value, I got mine for less than half of that) . But corporate politics aside this is an amazing playing guitar that has been somewhat tarnished by the disgraced CBS name. However, if like me, you dont care about all that you can easily capitalize on vintage collectors' shallowness and pick yourself up a great deal.

Pickup features: Active single coil pickups
Impedence or other specs: N/A

Model of guitar or bass: Elite body with USA neck
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: N/A
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Ty Tabor
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: Good out put level
Tone: very good tone
Sonic evaluation: So far I find that unless the dummy coil is blown these pickups hum while playing just like any single coil strat pu! when distorted playing rock & roll. Playing clean is very nice almost sounds like an acoustic guitar. try using a noise gate hush or noise suppresser if you like the that much. If any one can let me know some advice on these pu's please do so and let me know if i replaced them with active emg singles would they work with the elite preamp and still be noisy.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: N/A

Comments: I have been playing and building guitars for very long about over thirty years now and i now a little and must say when you track these pickups down thinking you have found the holy grail of sound they are noisy or the preamp is so what worked for Ty is the same old lesson if i could give any advice it does not always work for some one else.

83 fender stratocaster with active electronics. deluxe free flyte trem for low string tension+12"? radius make this the easiest guitar to bend on. 21 frets. Alder. I have two one with V shaped neck one with thicker U shaped neck. 21 frets. Push buttons are cool becuase you can get any combination of the pickups unlike a 5 way switch. The trem does put it out of tune, but no more so than a normal strat. There is a graphtech replacement nut and saddle that fixes the tunning problems on these. I have it on one of mine and it makes a huge difference if you use the arm alot like I do.

This has to be the most versatile guitar ever built. With the tone controls set neutal it already has a nice ballanced full sound, not the thin sound I allways here from other strats. From there you can make it sound ballsier than any humbucker equipted guitar, or full and clean like a jazzmaster. The sustain is also much better than a standard trem strat. Has more output than any humbucker I've ever used but doesn't sound muddy. The tone can also get fatter than a humbucker by using the low-mid boost. Throw away your booster pedal because you won't need it. If anything you will need to turn down to avoid overdriving everything.

The pickups sound warm but defined not at all artificial or electronic the way I thought they might. They don't have any unpleasant upper mid resonant frequency spikes like most sigle coils, so you never get that ice pick in the ear overtone sound.

To me the guitar actually sounds vintage even though it is active, but hell it is vintage. Can active guitars have aged tone? I say yes, they still use electromagnetic pickups and those pickups are still subject to coil loosening and magnetic decay. I have a custom built hollow strat w/ the (much newer) dg20 gavid gilmour set and vintage trem. That guitar weight 3 pounds less but these guitars sound much better to my ear. I think the pickups are the key, not the most quiet, but the tone is just there.

As the battery dies the mid boost doesn't work and the tone gets week so make sure it has a good battery if you check one out, better yet convince the store the electronics are bad and get it for a song ;)

These guitars were a return to form for fender who had been suffering under inept management for over a decade. These where the first models from the new managemnt who later bought fender. The neck pockets are tight the neck shapes show thought to the players comfort unlike the baseball bats they made in the 70's. The fret work is top notch and the flat radius and low string tension let you play fast and bend with ease.

Some of the inovations of these guitars remain with use in the new fenders buy many where tossed with the next product cycle(just try to find an arm now!)still the elite and '83 standard are the begining of what would become the amaerican standard series. The action fit and finish are easily as good as anything fender has made since.

when the pots go it is a bad thing they are hard to find correct replacement, really they have been as reliable as my other fenders, just hard to find the parts when the time does come. I would use it withou buckup, but I'd change the battery before the gig incase.

Fenders support is not so hot, not to mention they probably don't even remember making these and the warranty ran out in 1985.

I have a lot of guitars and these are the most consitent from amp to amp and situation to situation. If you wanted to play with a death metal band one night and a country band the next you could sound great at both gigs. That is saying something. I can't imagine any guitar player not finding their tone with these.

My elite strat is a july 1983 model in sunburst with a white pickguard and maple neck. I purchased this guitar used from the original owner in 1985 for $375 with hard case.I blocked the tremelo after a few bad experiences with the very testy freeflyte trem. Active electronics, tbx etc.

This guitar is the king of rich, bluesy sound. It is very adaptable, with a wide range of sounds. It is quieter than most other strats thanks to dummy coil.

I have all my guitars professionally set up about once a year, and my tech says this is one of the nicest playing strats he's ever seen

I've gigged this guitar without backup numerous times. It is reliable and durable. After 21 years of hard playing, the guitar shows only minor finish wear on the back and sides of the neck in the lower registers.

dont use them

This is an outstanding sounding and playing guitar. My only complaint is that the three push button pickup selectors are a bit clumsy in live situations. You cant just reach down and throw the five way all the way up or back. I own two other strats(1995 strat plus), (1996 taco strat), and a les paul, and this one plays nicer than the rest. If you have a chance to buy a used elite, dont hesitate. Always make sure the guitar has a fresh nine volt battery inside. A weak battery makes for a terrible buzz and weak signal due to active elects.

2 of them, one in 1985 (pearl white), one in 1986 (burgandy mist)
Both have a 5 way, tap, volume and tone and s/s/h.
Both are all stock, one has a broken shoulder bolt on the nut. I have a paper clip holding it together. The only difference between the 2 years is the 1986 has a sealed 5 way.

Both sound awesome. I play a lot of Alex Lifeson using a GK 250ML and a Zoom 9150.

Both guitars needed no adjustments and have never been adjusted, but bought them both used. I have had them both since 1987.

Very well built guitars with exception of that little soulder bolt that broke on the 1985. Should've used a better metal and it wouldn't have broken

Never used it

Great feel, great sound, great build. What more can a guitar player ask for. The tremolo is somewhat limited in keepinga tune if it is dropped too far, but adjusting the bridge up about 1/4" off of the body fixes that, plus allows for pull backs, too.

Purchased in 1983 black with white pickguard, rosewood neck and all the other Strat Elite Features. Chrome hardware, though at the time I was looking for gold, would have liked the gold hardware with the black body, haven't seen one except for the one on the front cover of my user manual that came with the guitar. I had decided I wanted a Strat for the "sound" after having played gibsons most of my life, the time had come to purchase my dream guitar. Saw the promotions and advertisements on the back cover of "Guitar Player" magazine, 100% made in USA, this guitar looked so classy I just had to get one!! The fact that it was something truly original and that the folks at Fender were game enough to break from the mold and experiment
should be applauded. Sure they didn't get it 100% right first try, but it sure is a unique instrument and still remains well ahead of the pack of guitars that don't have an individual voice or character.

Like I said, I was a Gibson player and wasn't 100% sure I could get all those fat humbucker sounds I was used to. Well the first chance I got to play properly with my own rig after purchasing it I was just thrilled with all the sounds I was able to get with my new axe. The
guitar had all the grunt I needed plus those classic strat sounds and everything inbetween, I play jazz fusion and blues mostly. The "Bad Press" this guitar has received is totally not justified, all because the whammy bar is not great. I don't use it, so it's never been an issue for me.

One of the features of the Elite is the 4-bolt neck adjustment that allows you to set the angle to exactly the right position to suit your playing style. Once I adjusted the neck and bridge saddles to suit the lowered action setup I wanted, this guitar plays like a dream. A true combination of both Gibson and Strat worlds and some other planets thrown in too. The only reason I gave this an eight is because the much critisized tremolo can be a bit of a pain to set up for floating operation. However, it can be done!! I don't use tremolos so I have the bridge sitting nice and flat with no arm in it. I never have a tuning problem and never break strings. I really like being able to change the strings from the top, really quick to
change a whole set. The only modification I have made is to replace the plastic nut with a real bone one, and had to get the volume pot fixed as it developed a loud pop, similar to another review I read here, no big deal after 20 years of solid use.

This axe looks as good as the day I bought it, I look after it and don't let the grime build up. It is very well built, strong and durable. 20 years on and it is still in mint condition even
though it gets played all the time. Just put it back in the flight case when your finished and don't let anyone else near it!

Terrible, for some strange reason Fender don't even like to talk
about this beauty, nothing on their web site, like it never happened!. I picked up a book the other day on Fender Guitars, "50 years of Fenders" can you believe not one mention or photo of an Elite! are they serious!!! Lucky for us owners who know the true story and will end up having the last laugh!!

Ok, I tried to be critical about my all time favourite axe, but really there is nothing to complain about here. I suppose the only criticism I have is that Fender don't offer any support or spare parts!! I would never go back to Gibsons again and probably the only challenger would be a PRS which I think are great too. I am still waiting for the day when I can pick up a guitar mag and read an unbiased review about the many features of this guitar, and the incredible sounds you can make with it, not just focusing on the "Wang Bar" all the time!