Fender '54 40th Anniversary Stratocaster

I have t give strats high marks for versatility even in their stock mode. Teh five way switch really is a cool feature. This particular Strat is Olympic white and it came without any TBX circuitry which is fine by me. I've recently put it back together in a somewhat stock configuration with the main modification being the really excellent Fender Noiseless PU's. I'm not sure about body construction. I bought this used in '95 and it was my main guitar for a while but I ended up using it's killer neck on something else for a while so the body just sat. It now has a neck from an American Standard that is about the same as the original. The neck has had the Feiten tuning system installe as well as a graphite nut and Sperzel locking tuners.

I would hardly ever give a rating of 10 but the sound of this thing kills! It sounds like a sledgehammer hitting a giant anvil. the bottom is absolutely enormous which is way more than I can say for the several other strats I have owned. The noiseless pickups are perfect and perfectly noiseless which is very cool because there is a lot of hash in the AC lines at my regular gig with dimmer pots and freezers and who knows what else plugged in. Every time I pick it up it just blows me away. The sound with my Kendrick repro of a high powered twin tweed is perfect. Soul mates if you will. It's quite an experience and I can't seem to put this guitar down! Strats all seem to sound so different and I've owned a few that were pretty uninspiring so I feel pretty lucky about this one. If I bought another it would probably suck like another reviwers apparently did. Sorry for him, happy for me.

I remember looking for a Gibson something or other and while I was waiting for the music store owner I just picked the Strat up and started goofing off. He didn't have what I wanted so I left. On the hour and a half drive home it slowly dawned on me that I had been holding the finest uitar I had ever held in my life! I got home and phoned and told him to hold it for me. I'm sorry I didn't ressurect this sooner. the setup was good but I always maintain my own instruments so this is good. The ilntonation on this guitar is way above average and it holds it's tuning like a great white on a bay seal. I like the classic look of the white finish and besides being possibly the best sounding guitar I own, I feel very cool playing and holding it.

It's a Strat. They bounce very well.

Nothing to hate, everything to love. The body resonates like nothing else. It may be magic. I'll be holding on to this one.

Essentially, this is just an early 90s American Standard Strat with a cheap looking badge/flag on the headstock. This is a sunburst, maple neck model, it has the usual Fender control and pickup configuration with the exeption of a TBX tone circuit which has passive cut and boost for the middle and bridge pickups. The TBX was quite useful for rolling back some treble on the bridge pickup.
It has the newer style Fender 2 point fulcrum tremolo with a very short arm and it came with a moulded Fender badged hard case.

This guitar just never cut it for me sound wise, I tried completely changing the pickups twice (Seymour Duncan and then Rio Grande) but although it helped a little, it still sounded like a cheap copy.
I have other American and Japanese Strats and whatever I did, I just couldn't get this one to sound as good as them.
I did some research and I'm convinced it is all to do with the construction of the bodies on newer American Strats.
For a start, they are not solid Alder or Ash, despite what Fender try and tell you. You can tell this on sunburst models by looking at the back. All the contours are completely blacked out. This is done to camouflage the fact that the body has a paper thin veneer of Alder or Ash. This veneer is harmful to the overall tonality of the guitar.
The Glue that sits 1/64th of an inch below the surface of the veneer acts as a tone dampener. Glue doesn't resonate well.
The other tone killing factor is the way Fender route out the pickup cavity on newer Strats. Instead of the traditional method of cutting 3 seperate oval pickup cavities, they just tear out a massive square swimming pool. This is pure cost cutting on Fender's part and has a bad effect on the sound, less wood = less tone.
Also with the old method, each pickup was magnetically shielded from its neighbor thus maintaining its integrity.
All of the above is not true of the Japanese Strats and pre 90s American Strats. Jap Strats are far superior in every respect and although they are no longer made, you can still get them for a song on ebay. Do yourself a favour and buy a Jap Strat before everybody wises up and the prices go crazy.

Ironically, the neck on this is perfect. The finish on the body is OK but the body is actually the wrong shape, the top horn curves in too much making the whole guitar look kind of squashed up.I've checked this against a couple of older American Strats I have and it's not just my imagination. God only knows what that's all about, maybe it's more cost cutting.

It works fine

If you look around, you could buy 3 used Jap Strats for the price of this...........NO CONTEST!

This is a 1994 40th. Anniversary Strat. Cobalt Blue with great finish - real pretty. Nice rosewood neck with the 'skunk stripe' - 5 way switch and standard staggered pole piece pick ups. Typical Fender noisy but clean and solid sound and feel. Came with a Tweed case. Also has the cut/gain (I can't remember the right word!) bottom tone control.

I play Praise and Worship music and was raised playing rock/blues. This styling still pours through! I am currently using a Peavey Classic 410 and a custom pedal board with analog effects (chorus, delay thru the effects loop - Cry Baby, Vox ValveTone, Dano Grilled Cheese distortion and Dano octavizer in line. The Strat gives me plenty of versatility and quality with this kind of set up. I recently bought a Rocktron R50C amp that I want to work in.

This thing was set up OK - but I always tweak all my guitars, as I did this one. I like the microtilt neck adjustment! The pickups were set well and everything fit well - with the exception of the volume control knob which has loosened up recently - but I play the guitar a lot and use the control frequently.

I play this guitar live in churches and outside venues in all kinds of weather and humidity variances. It actually takes less maintenance than other Strats, Teles and even Pauls that I have had. I always replace the strap buttons with strap locks - and with this one I had to do a little 'shimming and stuffing' but they are now solid. This is a very reliable guitar and out of habit I bring a back-up, but I very seldom unpack it! I have great faith in this guitar.

Never had to use them with this one. I have in the past and they were always helpful, but I usually repair and update my own.

I have been playing over 25 years and have owned many guitars (some of which I had back!!) this is by far the best Strat I've had including my Plus with Lace Sensors. I really like the feel and tone I get, especially the semi-clean. It leaves a little to be desired for crunchy distortion, but I use a Dean Icon for that kind of stuff.

This guitar is one of the 1954 made in 1994 as a 40th anniversary model. Made in Fender's Corona USA factory, it has a very nice ash body finished in two colour sunburst nitro-cellulose lacquer. You can see the open grain of the ash and it looks like they have attempted to match the two halves. This one is very attractive looking, some of these did not have as nice wood as this one. Neck is maple with the thick 1954 profile but a 9.25" radius with "skunk stripe" on the back.. No fancy birdseye, but a clean piece of wood. Frets are vintage standard and well finished. The neck is polyurethane finished, and quite thickly applied to the playing surface. This has meant that after two years of fairly good use I have not worn the finish off, and this is OK by me. Tuners are copies of the original Klusons, not locking, and reliable so far. The pick-guard is a thin one layer white, and I now know why Fender put an extra screw in and went to the three ply pick guard, because this one seems flimsy and wants to buckle. I'd change it if I could be bothered. The pick-ups are bevelled edge staggered pole magnets, again copies of the original. Bridge is standard vintage, as are the controls. I changed the three position switch for a 5 position as fiddling to get the "in-between" sounds is a pain. The guitar came with a standard plastic case (except for a plate on the top which states 40th ann etc), and another case which is a copy of the original. Needless to say, the copy is stored away, along with the guff that came with the guitar. The copy of the original strap is a joke, and poorly made.

The guitar suits me just fine. I play mainly music from the sixties, some 50's and 70's, so the sound is right. I can get that Hank Marvin of the Shadows sound or even Clapton-ish and Knopfler sounds (shame I cant play as well as they do). The ash body gives a very clear crisp sound and it sustains very nicely. Previous to this I has a '62 re-issue, and that guitar was just not in the same class. Pick-ups are of course noisy, especially under fluorescent lighting, but, hey, that's normal with single coil pick-ups. They sound just like they are supposed to - very Fender and very clear, but rich and full. Love the sound! I dont use the tone controls, and keep volume on full. I do find that the tone suffers if the volume is cranked back on the guitar. I use a new Fender Vibrolux Reverb amplifier, split so direct in to the "Bright" channel, and echo delay added in the other. Tone controls about middle. So the sound is pure guitar, very clean, very nice, very, well I have to say it, very Fender.

The guitar was not that well set up when I bought it, seems to be quite common for some Fenders. Construction is excellent, as it should be for the price, but the heavy coating on the fret board put me off at first. Two of the bridge screws already had a bit of rust, and the plastic shipping cover was still over the pick-guard. After a clean up (It had been in the shop a while) it all came together very nicely. I take care not to let rust get a hold as I don't like rusty hardware! The neck has not shifted and has needed to be adjusted only once, and that was due to a long hot summer. Stability is great, which was more than I could say for my old '62 re-issue that changed when the weather did.

This is my main guitar, and I do not bother to take a back-up on gigs. It is built solid in the Fender tradition and should last me out. I could hide it at home and keep it for future "collectabilty" but (tho my wife may disagree) I don't suffer from GAS. (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). So, being a working guitar means the odd bump and scrape no matter how careful you try to be, so I can tell you the paint finish is thick! But it will chip, and I have a couple of little nicks to prove it.

Have not had any warranty claims, my local dealer is great, but that does not tell me anything about Fender. Warranty was pathetic and I am glad I didn't need to claim against it.

I have been playing on and off for many years, and still have my own band. We work about four times a month which is fine by me. I argued with myself for ages before I bought this guitar, as I had just had my '62 re-issue re-fretted and set-up. But I kept going back to try it, which was fatal in the finish. I saw a couple of others which were not as nice, and I worried about the thick neck and the shiny thick finish on the surface of the neck. I finally took the plunge and I was very glad I did. This is a great sounding guitar. It even sounds strong without amplification, it really resonates an an open A string, and it shows in the sustain that this guitar has. I compared all the Fenders I could, and nearly bought a Strat Plus, but the sound of this one convinced me in the end. Now I am used to it, the thick neck is an advantage. It holds it's tuning, and gives you a good grip, even for fast playing once you adjust. I think most of the older style stratocasters require you to work at them, they all buzz a bit on the thick "E" string, but this one is as good as any. There are easier to play instruments out there, but if you want a Fender then you get used to their idiosyncrasies. The thin pick-guard spoils the guitar, but I ignore it for the sake of the authentic "look".
I guess I made a right choice, because second-hand ones seem to have increased in value, if the market here is any indication. I plan to keep mine!