Fender 60's Reissue Stratocaster

Mine was a 2001 Lake Placid blue model. I had jumbo frets put on it and thats all that I did to it, everything else was stock. Really nice aged hardware and a really excellent feel to the neck. It can handle any gauge of string. It came with 3 60's re-issue alnico pickups and all vintage chrome hardware. It was made in Mexico but was of stellar quality. Really nails the 60's style Strat well as far as this column goes.

Well, here's the tricky part. I did not like the sound at all, the bridge pickup had awesome output but it was way to trebly and the neck pickup was the same way except it had horrible output. I ran it through a Marshall JCM 800 and I could'nt get the sound I desires from a Strat, quite frankly I have'nt been able to get a good sound from a Strat in a long time and I am losing faith in Fender's quality control. It just was not a 60's strat sound, trust me I have played a '62 and that was beautiful this was not even close. Not very nice, all I wanted to do was play a little Jimi and it sounded nothing close to that.

Action was awesome, finnish was beautiful and the guitar did not have a single flaw on the neck, body or the hardware. Great quality instrument.

Built like a tank, I had bought an American after I got rid of this one and I wish the hardware, neck and body were of this same quality because then Iwould'nt have gotten rid of it. As for using it on a gig without a backup, no way I always have a backup, if you break a string thats not the guitars fault (most of the time anyway) but if strings were unbreakable and I enjoyed the sound of this guitar then yes I would use it without a backup because it was so solid.

No problems, did'nt deal with them.

I really wish these pickups sounded better because I would have kept the guitar then. It was a great guitar to look at and play but just did not have my sound, but to each his own, so I traded it on my American (which also sucked, but in every way as apposed to just pickups on this guitar). If Fender had the same guitar with noiseless pickups or Texas Specials (which sound very similar to the overwound 60's pickups) I would buy it but not these pickups, no way. They have no balls or chunk to them. Try it, you may or may not like it but I sure did'nt.

M.Y. 2000, MIM Sunburst over Alder body. features the one thing it should TONE. Pre-CBS greatness.

Mine unfortunatley came with a mis-fit tortoiseshell pickgaurd and a HORRID set-up!!! Not to mention TINY ernie ball slinky's(eeew!)...9's on a strat..never!!! Not a perfect finish...which is cool..kinda a vintage vibe I was lookin for anyway. Great C neck shape, tinted neck, awesome early "Spagetti" logo on the early headstock. No one can tell its mexican until they are within inches, I've played REAL 60's fenders, and I've played lots of AMERICAN Fender RI stuff..and I really like this guitar, for the vintage vibe and the price...very tough to beat.

No wonder the last owner got rid of it, they OBVIOUSLY didn't know how to play it judging by not being able to bend the high E more than 1 step above the 15th fret! Fixed that REAL quick!

Its what it says it is...a 60's rehash from mexico. I might add most of the parts are the same as the american..and this things cost me 1/4 the cost and has GREAT 60's tone. Looks early 60s, sounds early 60's...nice job over at Fender...

Now if Fender could do something that even COMPARES to G&L in the American lime I'd be happy to buy something more expensive, you guys are DREAMING if you think those US *assembled* reiusses are worth even 300$ more than the mexican *assembled* ones...let alone 1000$ more.

Great...sounds like I 60's strat..no need to elaborate, read the other reviews. I like it better than most of the american strats that are out now...they sound dull, and cost waaay too much for a dull sounding guitar.

Thank god the last owner(s) didn't touch too much other than the pickguard and the bridge saddles.

trem is still set up well....

None of the Fualts were fenders, I played these new before I bought the used one!
From the factory they are usually set up well, everybody has things they like to fine tune.

Great, it survived that last owner! It's a fender isn't it...

I use it to play around, if I gigged I'd alternate it with my G&L ASAT, depending on the sound I was going for.

Everything is solid...

Never had to deal with em.

Great little guitar if you can find one used. Hopefully if you do find one used, it will come from a previous owner who appreciated it and didn't mess it up! Now I'm gonna go spend money to make it all "correct" again, and add a little touch of my own.

Beware of the "'62 pickgaurd" that comes on these..not standard issue.

2002 Fender 60's Reissue Stratocaster in Lake Placid Blue. I literally scoped this guitar out on the wall of the music store my son goes to for music lessons for 4 years. The flame on the maple neck back side is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Custom shop one off quality all the way. Fender's UK website also took a tour of the Ensenada facility and revealed that the necks for the 50's reissue and 60's reissue are made in Corona California and shipped to Mexico for final finish and assembly. It's funny because I kept thinking " how come only the Lake Placid Blue 60's Strat's have this incredible neck figuring", duh it was the same guitar! And nobody bought it. It was always hanging in the nose bleed rack on the wall of the store. So I took it down 3 weeks ago and it played, felt and sounded great even with the original black and rusty strings. not a mark or a ding on it. I asked the dealer about a good buddy deal and walked out the door with that day. The Lake placid blue finish is very cool.

The neck feels great, the vintage frets seem to play better on a rosewood board for me. I'm an old blues R&B kind of guy so I'm sure this guitar will do me well, especially through my Blues Junior. I really haven't had a chance to put this puppy through its paces; but I will before New Years. I wish it had medium jumbo frets though.

The dealer put new strings on it and set it up the day I bought it. Finish is spotless.

I've been a big fan of the hipshot tremsetter and the newer smaller roller nut. I have another Strat setup like that and use it exclusively, no backup. I will probably have a back up for this guitar until I'm comfortable with it's performance.

I have had warranty service in the past and Fender has stepped up to the plate.

I've been playing a long time and have lot's of gear. But I am a minimalist when it comes to gigging. Guitar and amp does it for me. Blues Junior, Brown Deluxe w/JBL and my main axe. I love the feel of the neck and the overall looks, I prefer transparent/translucent finishes but the lake placid blue and highly figured neck makes this a real sweetheart. I wish it had med-jumbo frets, hip shot tremsetter and roller nut. After I've paced it in the next few months I'll decide which options I'll have installed then or maybe none installed. I will most likely leave the frets alone.

3 color burst...2002 MIM, Alder body blah blah blah

After a I set up the action and the crappy bridge i pluged in to my Roland Cube 40..The old orange ones...thinking i bought this new in 1980...sounded great, very little noise, love the 2 and 4 sets. I play mostly blues so this is a good fit for me. Would rank higher but theres better pups on the market...but for stock this baby sounds sweet.

I got mine used if ebay, first off the neck was loose, no big deal, I think the Ping bridge is chit....works ok i guess but i'm used to playing a 64 Frankenstien start with a real bridge. Spend the extra money for the 3 color sunburst, mine awesome, for a mexican made guitar the baby is pretty nice...I played alot of American made Strats and this is equal or better.

Play it every day and gig with, yeah i have a back up charvel but just in case i break a sting.

bought used no warranty

Been playing 30 years, own a 1980 Heritage Les Paul, Charvel, 64 Strat with Mighty Might Body, ES-335 dot board Mesa Boogie 60 watt stack and too many effects. This is now my main axe i really love it...cept the bridge but i'm just being anal there.

Standard for this model. Improve as noted above.

A fine sound stock, great platform for improvement with carefully chosen custom pick-up set, such as S.D. SSL series, Antiquity series, Fenders own Custom Shop sets, L. Fralin and other Vintage winds.
Also, balance the electronic choice with available string type and gauge. Fenders 150 series are warmer and more correct for this model than 250s', excellent against Texas Specials P.U. set, and so on.

Action set-up is generally good on these(I own three), but like the originals must be personally tailored to player.
Buzzing must be traced out carefully, and resides in the nut, saddles, bridge assy, trem block and neck relief. This should not deter purchase; a guitar that fits the player is made, not bought.
Spend the time to make the guitar yours.

These are as sturdy as this instrument design can be. The polyester finish will give more service than lacquer. Excess abuse will
eventually take its toll.
I do recommend replacing the bridge weight block screws. Factory used metric M4-4mm which are too short. Replace with stainless M4-12mm from Ace hardware bins.
This anchors the block to the plate, increasing sustain to very high degree.

N/A

Excellent. No better product can be had short of expensive handmade custom work.

Used 2001 Mexican reissue Lake Flacid Blue (more on this in Fit-n-Finish below) Strat: alder body, maple neck w/ dark rosewood (nice grain btw) fretboard, 21 frets, bone nut (?) w/ that aged butterscotch tinting Fender loves sooo much --- s/s/s pickup config, blah, blah, blah...standard reissue Strat stuff here except for the pickups. Previous/original owner swapped out the original neck & bridge pups for a set of Lindy Fralins...(nice); glad he did, 'cause I played every other Mexi Strat there (@GC) and the stock stuff is nice for the price but will leave your ears seriously unfulfilled.

I give this rating category a 10 --- not because it has all the best features, but because the features are quintessential Strat features. If you want something other than, get a Paul.

I give this an 8 only because w/o the upgraded pups it would rate a 6; almost Strat but no cigar. The Lindys help bring this baby to life, but it's no CS or SRV or Clapton or any-other-overpriced showboat. It's all-Strat, all the time and seems to work best through a nicely enhanced tube amp.

Just to torture myself, I took down one of the $2,300+ Fender Custom Shop 60s reissues and compared it side-by-side to this little Mexi. Then I grabbed a few more down and played to my ear's delight. Yes, there IS a difference. Huge...(but certainly not $2,000-huge)...which is why I waltzed out of there with the Mexi while the CS hangs indefinitely awaiting a visit from Trump or Gates. Yeah, 8's a fair rating, although, considering the price...it might deserve a 9...but that's my wallet talking.

Bought this bad boy used and abused. Previous owner was a blues player; played for sound, not for show. Dings, marks, scratches, rubbed, scared; yes, blemishes abound with this beast. Even looks like he may have either played it to death or put it through his own special belt-sanding, drag it behind the wife's Buick home-relic torture test. Not too bad, but enough to give it plenty of character. Other than the abuse, the neck pocket is virgin-tight.

Action was another story: HORRIBLE...for me, at least. Was set up very strange w/ every string at an ever-increasing distance from the frets w/ the 9-gauge E-string what seemed to be about a foot of clearance...and here's where I do my fellow Strat-brothers a favor...(hopefully). Now, I thought I had every Allen-wrench God ever inspired, but I was wrong as I couldn't find anything to fit the incredibly small saddle adjustment screws on this reissue bridge. They were even smaller than all the other Mexi Strats at GC. Was very weird and almost thought I'd have to invest in new saddles until an old friend and guitar gu-ru set me on the path of wrench enlightenment --- (.050 allen wrench is the answer boys, just in case you've been battling the same dilemma).

With that out of the way, WHY am I giving it a 9??? Two reasons: a) the saddles were easily adjusted once I got the right wrench, and 2) while I consider relic-ing totally poser, I am diggin' the look and well-worn in feel of this guitar. Just something about laying one's hands on a guitar that has sung it's heart out. I simply wouldn't refinish it all perty for anything.

Hey, if you read the above Fit-n-Finish comment, you know what my response here will be. For those of you who didn't, here it is: It's already been through hell, beer and who knows what else. I think it's proved itself in this department.

They're Fender. They make...what? ...like a bazillion guitars every hour? Never dealt with 'em and don't know that I ever would. I put more trust in my local guitar techs than in corporate Fender or corporate anybody else. "No opinion" on this one.

Been playing awhile and seem to know my way around guitars. Mostly own high-priced hand-made acoustics and a custom jazz guitar or two --- with one old vintage Tele just to keep me honest.

If it were stolen, I wouldn't buy a new one and upgrade the pickups; too much money. I guess I'd just wait for Mr. Fate & Ms. Kismet to get together and let another used-n-abused one like this fall into my lap. Either that or buy a used one on the cheap, run down the original owner of this one and get him to beat the sh!t out of it for me; worked on this one anyway ;-)

For $250, yeah...awesome value! For too much more...naaa.

Unlike a lot of the other reviews, I will be looking at this guitar a bit critical. It's a 2005 Fender Classic 60's Stratocaster in Olympic White with limegreen scratchplate and tinted knobs. This guitar was Made In Mexico. The body is alder like a real Fender, rosewood fretboard og maple neck. Vintage 6 point tremolo, and a 5 way switch(although the 3 way switch was the standard in the 60's). 3 single coil pickups, vintage tuners. Basically this is a Mexico Strat made to fit the 60's standards.

The frets are vintage and are rather small which is good for some players, but not so good for others. I don't really mind the small frets.

This is a cheaper version of the American Vintage 62 Strat, but the differences are minor. The tuners on the AV are Gotohs, if I remember correctly, and the ones on this one are Pings.

I give the features an 8 for overall, but 9 for the price. You have to pay over double for the AV 62 Strat, so you get a lot of bang for the buck on this one.

The stock pickups weren't mindblowing but decent. The neck and middle pickups where decent and the bridge was bad. They're alright, no doubt about it, but if you're concerned about tone you can get some new pickups. The bridge pickup was quite thin and annoying to the ear, but very country sounding. The middle pickup was more mellow, having a bit more bass and mid to it compared to the bridge pickup. The neck was the best sounding of the three. Very warm sound, great for blues. Since they're all single coil pickups there will be hum, but you don't really hear it when you're playing. The pickups aren't the best in the world, but are pretty decent. They are a bit muddy if you playing with overdrive or distortion.

I wasn't satisfied with the bridge pickup and changed it to a Seymour Duncan SSL-3 hot, which has a lot more output and therefor more ideal for rock music with overdrive and distortion. I also decided on putting an Antiguity Texas Hot in the neck which gives it a lot more warmth and clarity when played clean. I don't use the middle pickup that much, so it's still stock.

I play various types of music but this guitar is used for rock(hard), and blues. I play it through a Marshall TSL 100 watt head and a 1936 cab, and a Fender Blues Jr. With the Marshalls dirty sound and the bridge pickup you get the nicest sound. A lot of bite and bark, ideal for earlier Foo Fighters, Green Day, Pearl Jam etc.

With the upgrade of pickups you have an incredible sounding guitar depending on your own taste. Personally I would upgrade them because after you have a worldclass guitar!

Without the mods I would give it 7?, but after 9?.

The action is normal, a tad too high for my personal likings, but a trip to a tech and it's done. I'm just too lazy to do it myself. The intonation was great out of the box. The only thing really to complain about is that the thin E string a bit out of place on the fretboard on the higher frets. It has a tendency to "fall out" of the fretboard, but a Strat isn't an easy guitar to play on, and it wouldn't have its charm if it was.

I'm very confident in the mexicans craftmanship. They want to prove the "real" Fender in the US that they can make as good instruments as they can. The finish is nice and seems very durable. It would have been cool if they had a nitrocellulose lacquer like the AV series, but then the price would have been different. Basically this guitar is very well built.

I haven't dealt with them, but the store I got it at had a salesperson who specialized in Fender equipment and made me feel comfortably in buying one.

This is an excellent guitar for the money. I wouldn't trade it for a more expensive US Standard. In my opinion, this is superior to the US Standard, and is cheaper. If you have the extra cash I would buy an American Vintage 62 reissue instead and get the full treatment, but this is definately awesome!

I've been playing for 11 or 12 years now, and own a Fender Jaguar from Japan, an Ibanez Talman TC-720, a Morgan Acoustic, 2 different amps, and a new guitar coming soon.

I love the fact that it's made in Mexico and plays so nicely! I was a bit scared of the "Made In Mexico" tag, but after playing it I'm convinced that the reason why the US Standard series costs so much is because of the "Made In USA" tag.

I chose this after playing the US Standard. I hope you will do too.

Stock it's about 7, but if you change the pickups, you have a guitar at about 8-9. For the buck it's 10!

Who needs a USA '60s Re-issue which will cost double of a Mex '60s Re-issue? I bought a '60s Mex re-issue for #389 yesterday and, at themoment, have no regrets. It's the spitting image of John Frusciantes '60s strat, for those of you who dont knw he's the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist. All control knobs, pickup selector cover and scrath board are vintage tinted. All hardware is standard fender and who needs better? Standard Fender hardware is more then enough. 21 Fret rosewood neck fits my lead guitar playing needs. When I picked up this guitar I just knew it was the one for me, the feeling you get where you just know this guitar is made for you.

I play Rock, Punk, Metal, just about anything and it fits every style I've tried to play. This is the gutar everyone can use. I run it through a Marshall 200W Silver Jubilee full stack with a BOSS GT8. Come on, whats a '60s Strat without noise? If you are complaining about a '60s Strat being noisy then go back to Guitar School. Kick your distortion pedal on, play the chord of E and just stand infront of your amp and let that chord ring! Rich, Full and Bright, hyou get it all from a Strat. There is endless variety from this guitar. Get it, experiment and enjoy! Thats what guitar playing is about. Explore this beauty! If you had a dislike about this guitar then why buy it in the first place!!!

Come on, it was made by Fender!!!

Live playing a Fender is what it's all about. Hardware is spot on. Finish, a guitar looks just as beautiful worn out as it does brand new. Strap buttons, with a new guitar you should buy Schaller strap locks, you don't have to worry about dropping your guitar whilst you jump around on stage, but that depends on the player themselves. Can you depend on a Brand new Jag (car)? You could gig your whole life with this guitar and not have a backup.

There is no need to deal with Fender once you've bought the guitar itself. Follow all the tips to keep your guitar in tip top shape and you'll never have to deal with Fender again, unless you buy another guitar from them, which I definately will!

Been playing 15 years. I own a Gibson Les Paul, Fende '60s Mex Telecaster, Martin Acoustic 000-15. I would never put this guitar in a position were it could be stolen or lost. I love all of it!!! You wouldn't compare a Strat to anything else, you'd be comapring other guitars to the Strat. I wish it came with a Marshall JTM45 100W full stack, but I'm not in heaven yet!!!

2002 Mexican, 21 frets, alder body, sunburst finish, rosewood fretboard, vintage hardware, purchased on Ebay, came with Fender Noiseless PUPS installed with original PUPS and pots extra. Have to give it a 10 for features because it is exactly what it is: a vintage style Strat.

Great for all styles but I play primarily Blues and Rock. Gear: '66 Vibro Champ, '70 Champ, '64 Gibson Falcon, '56 Magnatone Troubadour, Alesis Microverb, Ibanez DL-10 Delay, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive and Tokai Compressor. After using it with the noiseless PUPS, I felt there was something missing so I re-installed the originals. This made a big difference in tone, esp. on overdrive. The originals were smoother and it was easier to get pinch harmonics. The noiseless were basically the opposite. Also, I didn't find the originals overly noisy so if a classic Strat sound is what you want, give the original PUPS a chance before spending $$$ on expensive replacements.

Guitar was in new condition when I got it a few months ago. Eveything was great except the nut needed to be recut on the G string which kept popping out of its slot. Otherwise, it was near perfect.

Time will tell but it should still be around after I'm gone [I'm 42]. Fenders seem to last forever.

Haven't dealt with Fender but I all my Fenders were bought used anyway.

Playing for 15 years, still a beginner LOL. Aside from the gear mentioned above, I have a Phoenix [Japan] '52 Tele lawsuit copy, '83 Squier Japan '70's Strat, Highway One Tele. If stolen, I'd kill the thief, if I lost it I'd kill myself for being so stupid. Love everything about it. esp. the chunky "C" neck. I've played the Mex. '50's Strat and Tele also and would recommend any of these guitars from this series.

awesome feel and finish, hard to believe its brand-new. feels broke in from the start, all vintage aged hardware. very stable klusons, aged knobs pickup covers switch cover and pickguard. Awesome! definately not a toy

i dont know if it came from the factory with custom shop pickups in it, but mine has them. staggered poles, vintage sound. kinda noisy in front of computer monitors or too close to fluorescent lights but you can move away from them. the tone is incredible. it is so easy to get that SRV sound even with light gauge strings. this guitar loves vintage distortion sounds and tremolo effects. a real bluesy sound! this is not for the metal guys!

the action is typical of an older strat but is surprisingly comfortable. i prefer the vintage frets. they arent too tall so they are easy on the fingers. the finish is impeccable, you have to love the vintage tinted maple neck. it looks like a guitar that was well-cared for while playing in smoky old blues lounges. the fretboard has rolled edges that make it feel broken in right out of the box. the neck joint is perfect. i couldnt find one flaw in the guitar and i can be picky

do i even need to answer this question? come on its a fender! this is easily capable of being your every gig main guitar.

never dealt with them, i fix my own problems, have no patience to wait for my guitar to come out of the shop

i have been playing 18 years and i am giving this a perfect 10 because i just cannot see the point in spending so much more money just to see made in usa written on my guitar. this thing plays better than EVERY usa fender i picked up at the store, no exaggeration! BUY ONE

1986 Fender Japan 60's (62) re-issue Strat, alder, 5-way, volume ,tone, and tone.knobs. 3 stock singles and vintage trem. Black w/ the best neck Fender ever put on a guitar! Neck heel serial number. Vintage slotted tuners. This was how I got it, beat to shit but the neck was perfect. I'll give it an 8 the way it WAS.

Sounds great, a little bit of hum, I run it tru a 5150 w/ a Randall XL 4X12 w/60 watt Vintage 30's or a Soldano 50 watt R.O.S.

Everything was great involving the fit, finish and action but....I couldn't leave well enough alone so I hot rodded it. Added Van Zandt Strat Blues pick-ups, a Wilkinson Trem w/string savers and a beautiful C.A.R paintjob. Also added distressed knobs 5-way and pick-guard.Now it's the best sounding strat I've ever owned......which says alot since I've been playing since 1968!

This guitar is eye candy yet will hold up to anything thrown at it though I baby it. I would definatley gig with out a back up...she's just so damn reliable! Put strap locks on it ant the slotted tuners are just awesome, very stable with ZERO slippage. She's my #1.

Who needs it?

I put $300 into all the modifications and paint job it it will rival CS Strats and many high end axes. It was a jewel in the rough, all she needed was some TLC. Been playin' since 68 and I will never part with it, she's just a flat out tone machine! I love everting about it especially the neck, it is just a joy to play. Fits like a glove.

'04, Mexican, 3 Singles, etc.

Bzzzzz-note-zzzz-note-zzzzzz-chord-zzzz Yup, it's a strat. I like the single coil bite, not the buzzzzzz. It's okay through an amp, but I can't record direct.

As one other mentioned, the high E string is quite close to the edge of the fretboard. I re-aligned the neck for some improvement, but it takes some awareness not to slip over the side. I lowered the action and it plays quicker and smother than I do. The low frets are what sold me this guitar.

The pots feel like cheap crap. They work as intended, just don't feel very smooth. The trem stays in tune for days.

I wish I'd have shopped more before buying this one. It's a good guitar, but I don't like it.

OK, I laughed when I started reading some of the reviews about these Mexican 60's strats because I felt the exact same way, too. I couldn't believe I was playing a Mexican strat. In fact, they had a REAL 1962 strat at Guitar Center and i got to play it side by side with this little import... I couldn't tell the difference!!! The workers in Mexico are out to prove something. This guitar has the jumbo frets, 60's rosewood neck, flawless sunburst finish, and is heavy as hell. In fact, heavier than the USA reissue or the real 1962 strat I played. Maybe that's why it has such tone.

I played every friggin' strat at Guitar Center and this Mexican has the best tone bar none. Rich full strat sound... the sound that made Fender famous. I am still shocked.

I can not tell the difference between this guitar and an American strat. Factory settings were right on. The quality of the wood showing through the sunburst finish is awesome. Did I mention it's heavy!!!!

It's a strat... I'll be leaving it to my grandkids. LOL

Never had to use it.

Unbelievable value... just wish it would come with a hard case instead of a gig bag. All those things people are writing about this guitar is true. Better watch out Corona, CA because your cousins are trying to outdo you!

Japan made 60's stratocaster, bought new in the summer of 1986 at Sound Side in Stockholm, Sweden. Rosewood fingerboard. Don't know the wood of the body, but it's very lightweight. A sticker on the body advertised it has US made pickups. Seems very true to the 60's original. It's olympic white and all plastic parts have aged nicely into a yellowish colour.

I just couldn't resist the sound and feel of this guitar. It has a loud and warm sound when played unplugged.
I've played it through several different amps and it always sounds great.

The setup was really good from the start, but over that years I've had to adjust the neck and action a couple of times. But once that's done it plays great.

No problems, except I had to clean the 5 way switch and volume pot.
The guitar seems very reliable.

Never needed any support.

I've been playing 30 years, nowadays I play mostly steelstring acoustic fingerstyle. I would replace it if it got stolen or lost.
I went into the store to get a Telecaster with maple fingerboard and got out with this. I fell in love with it right away. I've played custom shop and relic Strats but I fail to see the greatness of them. However fender quality seems to differ from guitar to guitar so be sure to try out a lot of them to find that special one.
How anyone can buy a guitar through internet without even trying it I can't understand.

60's Mexican Strat? This is the damndest guitar I've seen recently! It's new, ash body (natural color), maple neck with HUGE slab rosewood board, dot markers (positioned correctly for an early sixties strat), and a skunk stripe on the back of neck! ( Iwas under the impression these were only on necks with maple fingerboards! ) It's a 4-bolter, and has the small peghead, with seventies style shallers. It says "Limited Edition" on back of peghead. Front of peghead says MADE IN MEXICO. What the hell is this??? Has big fat 50's style neck, with a nice concave (rounded fingerboard), and medium jumbo frets. It also has a huge tremelo block, and a real bone nut! Have the Mexicans started their own "custom Shop"???

This thing is awsome! I was so confused looking at it, I had to try it out for shits and giggles. I currently own 46 guitars, and most are vintage strats, LP's, and various Gibsons. I pluged it into a re-issue plexi and cranked it clean. This is the second Mex guitar that blew me away! ( the first being the Jimmy Vaughan)....If I knew what the hell it was I'd be happy, as I havent seen another one. As I said, it's new, and was just purchased frm (OK, no scowling), Guitar Center in Warwick, R.I. This thing rocks!

Where is it written that Mex strats are supposed to be perfect????? Do you have any idea how embarrasing this is after spending half a lifetime, and thousands of dollars on the real things! I'm guessing, after taking the damn thing apart,(and finding ALL AMERICAN PARTS!), that the Mexicans are trying to prove something to their cousins 22 miles away at the U.S. plant! Hey, live and learn!

Surprise, for all you blue-noses out there who think that the real 50's and 60's strats were all that. BULLSHIT! I have 'em, and there are good ones, and not so good ones. This is going to be hard to swallow, but this Mex job is built just as durable, sounds better, and even feels better! (OK, so I would have said "youre full of shit too!"

I've had to deal with Mike at the Fender custom shop twice in the past 3 years. He was very helpful, and resolved problems with custom shop models I've bought. (You'll have better luck dealing with Fender than Gibson....sorry Chuck, ya know I luv you guys too....

33 years already??? But seriously, I wasnt kidding when I said that I think these Mexican workers are out to prove something! Take a look at the tuners..(no more PING) take a look at the bridges, no more crap!, and the're routing the bodys s/s/s Makes you wonder doesnt it???? This guitar may be a one-off, I dont know, but pics available on request.

Mexican made 3 tone sunburst, mint green pickguard, vintage style hardware, and aged parts. Alder body which only applies to the sunburst I believe. Simple and what a strat should be.

I have a Victoria amp and pretty much anything even a squier would sound cool in one way or another through my amp. I have owned 3 different american vintage reissues and this is pretty much right on with them. I know the electronics are probably crap along with the pickups, but I didn't like the pickups in the american vintage series either because I have sold every one of them. This should sound great with some new pots and texas specials or CS 69's, but until then this gets an 8. Try adjusting the pickup height and this might work great for you.

I had to do some adjustments at home with the bridge, but it was pretty decent from the store. Everything looks ok, but it takes about a year for a guitar to show it's true colors after a little sweat and a few beatings.

I think it will last for a while, but I will have to change the electronics. I have used a Jap strat which led me to buying a bunch of american guitars because the electronics are cheap and crap out when you least expect it. This is backup for right now until I have the money to make it my #1. Get a new input jack to for it too-infact replace everything that has a wire going to it and you should be fine.

I have been playing for about 15 years. I own a great amp and a few great pedals. I will tell you that tone is in your hands, but good guitars make our lives easier. I own an Ibanez 70's LP knock off which is great, a National Resolectric (super cool), and now this. This will round out all of the tones I should ever need. Like I said I have owned a American vintage RI 57 black strat, a 62 RI telecaster 3 tone sunburst with double binding, and various amercian standard strats. They are a nice guitar if you are shopping for the real thing and have to have an american guitar, but don't have the $$. I don't like buying from Mexico or from Japan, but I really had to. I can't afford to buy a $1200 reissue only to drop another bit of cash for new pickups and then it really isn't what I paid for to begin with and I don't like the hardware and neck on the American standard strat. This was the best option of classic looks, feel, and tone and I won't feel bad doing mods to it. Play this back to back with the reissue or the real thing with your eyes closed and you probably won't notice too much difference unplugged, but plugged in you will. I will give it an 8 for now, but it should get a 9 or 10 after I do some upgrades. It's fair because this is how most of you will hear this guitar and buy it this way. It's worth the money.

This is a Vintage look a like 1962-65 Strat. MIM but done extreamly well. My Axe is three color sunburst on a alder body. These have all american hardware, Ping topload tuners, Ping vintage bridge, Bone nut,
21 fret's on a 7.5" rad slab rosewood board, Truss rod adjusts from the body side, Special wound pickups to give the vintage 60's sound,
Mint green pickguard, Aged plastic covers and switch tips, Even the trem arm is a diferent threading than standard strats, And all in a high gloss finish including the neck. The decals are also vintage 60's. All in All it realy an supurbly made Axe.

I am in love with this guitar for the way it was made. I dont like the sound at all. I have three other fenders that would out do this axe in a NY minute. These vintage pickups are not for me and I've already been searching E-bay for a set of Standard Mexican strat standard ceramic pickups from a 90's model. They are realy the best sounding Strat pickups ever ( I play Jazz and Blues ). If your into surf music then maybe you will like the vintage pickups, but too me they sound awfull and weak. I have to preamp them alot more than any of my other guitars. I have gold lace sensor strat Pretty good and a Tex Mex strat nice, but my Standard 98 strat rules for sound and power
as these 98 pickups are designed after Fraylin pickups.

Action Great except the High E is a little close to the Edged. I tried to move the saddels but they go right back. Its playable though.
other than that fit and finnish are about as good as it gets. Thats why I am keeping this axe and will just go for some new pickups.

As with all fenders this is my fourth and I never had a problem.
These are not prone to trouble.

I never had to call on fender for anything.

I have been playing since 1957. I play by ear mostly to smooth Jazz and Modern Blues.
I have more equiptment and guitars than anybody deserves. 21 guitars and 7 amps. I use Boss and sometimes toneworks (Korg) effects. My favorite amps are Crate, and my best guitars are Gibson, Fender, and Yamaha.
Most of the new fenders sound weak to my ears anyhow I feel fender the go the same route as Gibson in the future, and give you the very best pickups even on the least expensive models if they want to continue to survive in this competitive world.

Mine is a MIM Lake Placid Blue '60s Classic Strat made around 1999/2000 according to the s/n. As others have noted it has all the vintage appointments right down to the notch in the pickguard where the truss rod is. The only modern "upgrade" is a 5-way selector switch, which I don't particularly like. (I can't stand that Robert Cray/Mark Knopfler out of phase Strat tone.) That is really the only negative thing I can say about it!

I bought this guitar shortly after purchasing an original 1964 Fender Reverb unit to go with my '63 Bandmaster. The Reverb inspired me to want to play some surf music! Aside from that, my band does mostly authentic '60s garage and British Beat type stuff. I immediately strung this Strat with a set of .011 Thomastik Infeld Swing Series flatwounds for that genuine '50s/'60s tone, and was pleased to find it still effortless to bend strings (which is not usually the case with flatwounds). They say that if an electric guitar has a good sound unplugged, that it will likely sound great when amplified. That is definitely the case with this guitar. Unplugged it already has a rich, sparkling tone, and I kind of dig the way the vibrato springs give it a bit of a natural reverb effect! Plugged in, I was blown away by how rich it sounds. The bridge PU on its own is a bit too shrill for my taste, and the neck PU has that rich SRV/Hendrix blues tone. I mainly use it in the middle positon (bridge + middle PU), which has that classic rockin' Strat sound. Played through the aforementioned '64 Reverb + '63 Bandmaster, it's as if you're channeling 50 years of rock'n'roll history. It really has the VIBE. The first time I used it with the band, I started playing like Johnny Meeks, Buddy Holly, Carl Wilson, Hank Marvin, and all the other Stratomasters of yore. It's as if the spirit of all those great guitarists is embedded in the guitar itself! I know, it sounds corny, but I really found that playing this guitar brought me back to another ara.

I can't imagine how the US-made Strats can be much better made than this guitar. I've heard that the internal electronics are dookie, but until they fail, I'm leaving it alone. The guitar plays extremely fast, and everything seems rock solid. The Lake Placid Blue metallic finish is gorgeous (and I'm thinking of getting a gold lucite pickguard to really bring it out). The amigos in Ensenada who built this guitar did a superb job in every way. Even Leo would be proud.

This guitar is built like a tank!

I've never had to deal with Fender, as their products are not usually prone to failure.

As I've said, I was looking to buy an inexpensive Strat, but after just paying $800 for the '64 Reverb, I didn't have much $$ left over. One day I went into the Guitar Center to buy some accessories, and saw this guitar on the rack with a $250 price tag! Why was it so cheap? There's a 1-1/2" gash on the lower horn. For that price, I wasn't gonna complain! (The GC even threw in a brand new vibrato arm, as the guitar didn't have one when it came in.) Mostly I've owned Rickenbackers, and I now also have a Tele, Gretsch Tennessean and a Gibson J-160E, but I didn't really "know" Strats. Now I see why they are so beloved. The modern Fender company is making what may well be the best guitars the company has made since Leo's time, and the Mexican division is doing a superb job of making high quality, affordable instruments.

All the features a strat should have. Two Tone nobs,a volume a 5way selector switch. 22 fret.

The sound i thought was very nice on clean but kinda muffled on distortion. I am sure this could be fixed with a new set of pickups or a distortion box but i like the distortion my amp gets and im not willing to spend money on new pickups. I say if the stock stuff aint good enough it's not for you. Unless you have the money.

The body was nice and all and the hardware was alright, but this is weere we had problems. The Neck!!!!! The neck was the slowest piece of garbage i have ever played on, atleast in my opinion, it may work for some people but for me, this thing was slow, slipery, and very hard.

its reliability is good but the sound to me is not the best for on stage or live performances.

No but i heard fender is good

I have been playing for two years and My live gear and home set is top notch. MY guitars include a Fender Strat(american made) a Gibson es-333 and fender telecaster('72thinline)MY favourtite guitar is the es-333. My effects are: a digitech hyper phase, a dunlope hendrix wah a echo/delay unit and a clean to overdrive switch. I use planet waves cables and my amps include: a vox ac30 for clean sounds and a marshall 50dfx for overdriven. I love all my gear.

In my opinion this is a good guitar but.... for me it wasn't. The only problem was the neck but that is a very big problem, i would have thought it would be a fast neck because its a sixties strat and it's made for the rockin lead guitar players, but for 1500 it is not agood enough neck. And the strings suck.

For a collector i recomend it and for a rythem guitar player i suggest it but for a lead, go for a highway 1 strat or a american series strat, much faster necks.

this is a faithful reproduction of a 1960 three tone sunburst strat.
it features a five way switch and three single coil pups and a rosewood on maple vintage 60's style neck with a vintage fender stamped bridge as well klusion tunners.

I have a usa fender 3 tone sunburst alder body and though the sound on it is crystal clear so is my new 60's reissue.and it responds better to the both overdrive and fuzz tone settings.

this guitar was setup and ready to play right out of the box.
the body was flawless. the action is great though you might want to tweak it for your own use.

this is my new number one. i love the guitar and bank on it during any gig without a back up. though the strap buttons are sutable for factory standards i have replaced mine with the schaller strap locks.
the hardware semms to be just fine they are a good sub for true vintage items.

a little about me i build solid body elctrics and i have been playing for fifteen years. over the past fifteen yeras i have owned just about every guitar out there or i have built a close copy.

Fender 60's Strat w/ 3 tone sunburst alder body, thin frets, nice c shape neck, ping vintage style tuners and ping strat bridge.

I bought it because of the individual pickup routing and because it is the poor man's US 62 reissue.

I found the guitar in stock condition to be a great player and set up pretty well. It sounded classic, the pickups were rich and do not need replacing for standard strat sounds. It had a smooth sound on the neck and middle pickups.

I found the action to be set up great and the finish is superb. I have always wanted a classic 3 tone sunburst alder body guitar. I got that for a great price. No flaws, great sound.

This guitar is great the way it is stock. I played it for about 2 months that way and I then I went ahead with some changes for strictly cosmetic reasons and sound changes. I did add Schaller strap locks. I always do.

Fender is a huge company. I am sure guitar to guitar, sales rep to sales rep, store to store everyone has a different opinion. I have never had a problem with one of their products. I'll go in the middle on this one.

This is a great strat for someone who wants features and not status. If you really want to make a change for looks, get a Fender 62 reissue tortoise shell pickguard, a pickguard shielding plate and a set of texas special pickups. It sounds awesome and looks even more classic. I think it's a great guitar, I may buy another one just so my friends can jam with me.

mine is a 60's reissue japanese stratocaster. basswood body, c-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard.

well, it's certainly not the best sounding guitar but since i'm a blues guitarist and it's mostly all about the player, it does the job quite well. i usually use a blues driver (i like the whole thing with going from overdriven to crunh to clean with just the volume knob on my guitar) and a booster tube screamer ts-5 modified into ts-808(can't find the real thing here). a rich neck sound and a bright mid to bridge. additional sustain would make it perfect for me though.

nice action, almost perfect intonation.

this is my main guitar aside from my 1969 gibson sg deluxe and greco guitar. i think this will be my last stratocaster.

i've been playing for around 13 years. i don't buy hardware that has'nt been tried and tested. i worked in a music store here in manila so i have a good idea of which is hot or not.

I believe this to be an '02 model Classic '60s Stratocaster, 3-tone sunburst w/ C-shaped maple neck and rosewood fretboard, vintage-style tuners and hi-gloss clear finish on the back of the neck. The rosewood fretboard is a very dark with nice grain. I believe the body to be Alder (at least according to Fender's specs) and has some really beautiful wood grain. The pick-ups are Fender's "Vintage Staggered" (passive). The Classic '60s Strats come stock from the factory with triple-ply Mint Green pickguards and aged plastic accessories (i.e. p'up covers, knobs, etc.) which really stand out against the 3-tone sunburst finish and rosewood fretboard, it looks kewl as all get-out...real vintagey and almost soulful. It also came with a *deluxe* Fender gig-bag (nice bag, actually).

This guitar really nails the sound that I have in mind when I think of an old Strat (hum and all). It does a great job at laying down some blues licks and can get GOOD & RAUNCHY with a little overdrive yet still retains chord definition with even heaping amounts of distortion.

This thing really sings through my Hot Rod Deluxe; also, the clean tones are just crisp, clear, and bell-like with a fat, warm, roundness sound to it. IMHO, it just doesn't get better than a good Strat played through a Fender Hot Rod series amplifier (and maybe a TS9 to add a little more sustain and bite to the drive channel).

My other Strat has been hot-rodded with a DiMarzio PAF Pro full-size humbucker in the bridge and Texas Specials in the neck and middle positions, but the DiMarzio can, at times, have too much bottom end and muddiness for some old-school roadhouse grit. Not this Classic '60s. It can be quite punchy, enough to cut through the mix yet doesn't sound too high and brittle which kinda surprised me because I was actually expecting it to sound harsh, shrill, and thin through distortion, but this hasn't been the case at all. Because of these expectations I had, I was planning on swapping out the stock p'ups with a set of Custom Shop '69s, but now I'm not so sure. The stock p'ups are really growing on me, they've got a nice warm, fat sound when under distortion which is actually the most important area of tone for me.

I do all my own set-up and re-wiring on my guitars and I have to say that I wasn't too impressed with the factory set-up on this guitar. Who knows, it may have been the store's set-up, but at any rate it wasn't anything to write home about. I'll give some big kudos to the sales guy that I usually deal with when I go to this particular store. When I called to let him know that I was enroute to pick it up, he went over the guitar real good and adjusted the truss rod and wiped down the fretboard with some lemon-oil. It felt great when I showed up to get it.

As for fit and finish, it was just perfect. I went over this guitar several times prior to buying it and I just could not find anything wrong with it, whatsoever. It's really kind of surprising when you hold one of these Classic '60s next to a MIM Standard Strat. The difference in fit/finish, grade of woodscomponents, and sound is just not even in the same universe. Kinda hard to believe that their both made in the same Mexico plant. I'd rate this guitar a 10 if I hadn't had to adjust the string saddles myself, but other than that one thing this is just one magnificent guitar. Personally, I only expected this kind attention and grade of woods to come on more expensive guitars.

I just picked this guitar up so I can't really comment, however, I've played Strats for years now and I've never had any problems with any of them, workmanship or materials. They seem to be real workhorses.

No expeience here.

Overall, I am quite ecstatic with this guitar, so much so that when I look at it I have to pick it up and start playing, and it sounds so damned good. Even unplugged the tone just resonates through the body and sounds awesome. I can't express how nice it is, really...and I'm particular as hell with my stuff. There aren't too many guitars that I would even give a "10-rating" in only one category, but this one is just that good. Hell, I wouldn't even have given my Les Paul Classic a "10" when I first got it, but that speaks for Gibson's QA/QC here in recent years. At any rate, I think Fender hit a grand-slam with these Classic '60 Strats. It's almost mind-boggling how they make and market such an outstanding guitar for waaaay under a thousand dollars. Try one...and enjoy!!!!

If you put this guitar on the right settings its amazing. It has a rich and full sound. It makes a great harmony

This is one of the most reliable K mart brands I have ever strummed in my life. Im not I guitar smasher though so I wouldn't know if your able to play baseball with it.

I have been playing since 1995. I own a Vox amp, and I use a Marshall Shredmaster. I also enjoy playing my Martin in my off tour time. If someone were to steal my guitar I would commit sicide. Just kidding, but thats how close my guitar and I are. I love its cool sounds and how its not overly noisy so you can play with friends. I bought this guitar off my second uncle Paul McCartney.

MIM 2003 Lake Placid Blue Strat. Finish is beautiful. At first I thought the aged pickguard looked tacky, but it's grown on me. Rosewood fingerboard. Frets aren't completely sanded down across the neck, but it'll do for now. Plays beautifully. Precise Fender twang from the bridge p-ups. Clean neck tone (through an HRD 112 tweed Limited Edition if you're wondering). I can't get enough of this baby.

Clean Fender sound through a HRD 112. Just what I'm going for. Newer Clapton blues sound on the neck. Albert King type feel on the bridge. Amazing. Not much hum compared to most single coils. No effects, just a Boss RC-20 looper and the Drive/More Drive footswitch on the HRD. Sounds just like I wanted/expected.

Factory setup was fine. I'm not much a stickler for what it's setup like. As long as it has strings and it's in tune, I'll play it. I opened up the back panel to tighten the trem down however (I rarely use the trem and I got it clamped down since I use .013s) and the inside was rather dirty. Lots of white residue (I have no idea what it is, but I didn't clean it out in case it was supposed to be there). The screw holes weren't finished or sanded so it looked kind of workmanlike, but you don't expact a Stradivarius for $500.

Built like a tank. That's all you need to know. I'd absolutely gig without a backup. If a string breaks, I'll fix it and keep going.

No interaction with Fender yet.

I've been playing for 5 years, but mostly acoustic. This is my first real electric and it nails the sounds I'm going for. I'm not big into pedals yet, but I see using the HRD tweed Limited Edition, a Sparkle Drive, and my two hands to get all the sounds I want out of this puppy. This will absolutely be one of the 2 or 3 guitars I use and gig with for the rest of my life.