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.

2001-2 Mexican made 60's re-issue sunburst 100% stock alder body, 5 position switch, staggered pol pu's heavy gloss finish on neck, you know, a strat. They more or less got it right. decal dates the guitar to 1960. Nicely matches everyones concept of a vintage strat. Easily as nice as the u.s. made 62 ri's i've played. tone pots actually work unlike most strats. Thankfully, no "features" or improvements except the 5 way switch which is historically incorrect but oh well.

This sounds like what you think a vintage strat sounds like, not actually what a vintage strat would sound like in your house through your amp etc. Which is good because vintage guitars are usually high maintainance white elephants. I play through Fender tube combos or a crate half stack depending on the job. Has that high thin bright strat thing down pat. does a nice 70's punk tone when distorted. It can get chunky enough that i use it to backup my Les Paul when I play heavy music. Be willing to play with the knobs.

For the money its the best appointed strat on the market. I despise satin finishes on guitar necks and the thick vintage style gloss on this had a lot to do with the purchase. The sunburst versions have an alder boy which makes it well worth the extra cash as my experience with basswood Fenders has been negative. I got mine from a good store so I have no idea what the factory set up was like but thats usually the waekest link. the quality is as good as my old American Standard and better than the cbs era strats i've had.

very well built. withstands live playing nicely. not quite as heavy as some other strats i've had but the finish is such a plus. The electronics are much improved over the MIM standard and I would use it exclusively if necessary. This guitar proves what Fender is capable of when they wanna. ONe complaint, the chrome parts are

I've stopped buying new Fender products on principle. enough said.

I have a (very battered) '59 strat and I sold a '62 supro martinique reso-glass (ala the white stripes) to buy this because reliability and consistantcy have to be worth something. This is pprobably the best mid point between price and quality in the current lineup.

1990 made in Japan
21 frets
5 way switch with standard strat layout
3 single coils
unknown replacement vintage upgrade pickups
Basswood body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard
sonic blue which has faded nicely into seafoam green
typically great Strat vibrato
Kluson knock-off tuners

Sounds like a Strat...These Japanese reissues are the bomb for Strat values...Collectors are hoarding them, but they can still be found in small shops and pawn shops for a steal. Replace the Japanese pickups with some decent vintage style pickups and you've got the classic thick glassy Strat tone. Given an 8 only because of the stock pickups.

The Japanese quality is legendary. It's my opinion that Fender stopped importing these because they are SUPERIOR to their USA made stuff. This guitar is solid, tight and correct. The C neck feels like a genuine '60's neck and the guitar is nice and light, unlike most USA reissues which are an overpriced joke. The finish is not as cool as an old nitro job, but what the hell.

This guitar is solid and reliable.

N/A

I own many vintage guitars and this is a great jam night guitar that I dnot have to worry about that looks cool and sounds great.

This is going to be a review of two 60's reissues. One is a 1985 or 1986 japanese strat and the other is a recent mexican model. I bought both guitars used and each model cost me $350. The japanese model is made from basswood and the mexican model is poplar. The finish on the neck of the japanese is softer and can be buffed off rather easily to give one that classic old guitar feel. The mexican model has a finish on it that is so difficult to remove, if at all. I don't know what fender uses but if I ever wanted to be mummified I'd by a couple cans of this stuff. Generally, I sand the backs of the necks with a green pan cleaner to remove the gummy finish. If you do this properly the neck will become so smooth, much like a old guitar; just don't sand down to the bare wood, you need to leave a protective coat on the neck. This thin layer helps to prevent warping and keeps the oils of the skin from absorbing into the exposed wood. Both models have the same features but the mexican's body is thicker than the japanese model. Both models are little on the heavy side but interestingly enough most of the recent mexican models that I played and liked were the heavier ones. When I bought these guitars both models had different pickups in them than stock. I ended up with '62 model kinmans in the jap model and the mexican has gold lace sensors. Both models have rosewood necks. I like the standard models and with the right set up these guitars have all the features need.

Both guitars sound good to me but that wasn't always the case. The jap reissue took a lot of work until it was really a happening guitar. I had to have the nut replaced and the frets, along with that I changed the pickups from seymor duncan alnico 2's to kinmans. I also bought a callaham bridge assembly which really is possibly the best thing you could ever do to improve the sound.
To me strats sound the best when you set the necks straight and slightly float the bridge. I usually have the bridge floating so I can pull up on the bar and the low E can be raised a half step. When I set the screws for the bridge I raise the inner screws off the plate entirely about 1/32nd. With the bar pulled so the bridge is flat against the body I set the outside screws so the just touch the plate. This takes a little bit of trial and error but when it is set right the resonance of the guitar will dramatically increase. I think that the mexican model has a little more spank to it and the jap model is mellower. It also seems that the mexican model has a greater change in sound when playing from the bridge area to the neck. Without all the modifications I would rate these guitars a 5 but with the changes it could be a 10.

This is where Fender takes a beating. Essentially this model should be sold as a kit because the set up is a load of crap. Fender is only really interested in what sells guitars not what makes them sound great. Sure the paint job was good on the mexican model and the neck seems alright, but what I'm talking about are things that set people like Tom Anderson, Suhr, Tyler and Grosh apart are the details that fender totally overlooks. I'm sorry but fender sucks in this area, even their custom shop stuff is a joke when it comes to this catagory. Basically, I had to press all the tuning ferrules back into place, and super glue one of them. I don't think it's going to hold it looks like the hole was made slightly too large. I'll probably have to fill it some how, maybe a layer of tape. The back of the neck had stickers on it and a little shim. How is a guitar supposed to sound good when the guitar neck is not properly seated? I peeled off the sticker and removed the shim. I also sanded the raised areas where the screws came through to help give the guitar a better face to face seat. Just about every guitar I see at the stores has a crappy set up, most off them are not even close to being useable. Fender could at least have something to shoot for as far as consistancy goes. The surgical tubing for the pickups is too short and so when you adjust the pickups farther down they loose tension and just bounce around moving up and down. I had to remove the pickguard and cut longer pieces for all the pickups. The difference in the new tubing is about a 1/16th of an inch not much but at least the pickups can be adjusted. I'm sorry but unless you plan to spend money or have the ability to fix these things yourself buy a different brand of guitar. Check out any G&L they kill Fender as far as set up from the guitars.

They are reliable but at this time the mexican model seems to have some tuning stability problems. I think the nut is piching the string and will have to be touched up. Generally, where they save money is on the hardware the trem blocks are made from pot metal(cheaper) and the pots and pickups are of lower quality than should be used. The hardware will not last and I would recommend to any sreious player the Callaham replacement bridge for a start. They have other stuff but start here.

Why would I bother I can do most everything myself and if I can't I know people who can.

Overall with all the changes I did to the jap model and the couple I may do with the mexican model I like these guitars a lot. Out of the box neither of these guitars is very good in relation to real instruments ie..Suhr, Tyler etc... I guess I don't mind taking something with potential and fixing it up. I was able to buy both of these guitars fairly cheaply and with a little bit of time and effort make something good of it. I like the pickups in both guitars and am happy with the difference in sound between them. I would not pay for one new because to me at that price the G&L guitars are far superior. If you find one used and can do the modifications and or repairs I would recommend either style of guitar. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll see if I can help you.

50th Anniversary Japanese model, 21 vintage frets, alder with maple neck, rosewood fretboard. Standard S/S/S pickup and controls, came stock with Texas Specials. The neck is really thick, and feels great. It's a reissue and has all the features of the originals...

I was looking for a traditional Strat sound, and this is it. I replaced the stock TexSpecial at the bridge with a Fralin SP43...This is a little thicker and fatter...makes the guitar perfect.

I bought it used--previous owner had it set up very different from what I wanted...however, it was easy for me to set the guitar up just like I want because all of the parts were in excellent shape. I replaced the bridge saddles with Graph Tech.

Because it is 6 or 7 years old, and has held up so well, it deserves a 10.

Excellent!

This is a 60's re-issue made in Japan Strat. I believe it was made in the late 80's. Standard vintage Strat features. You know them. I believe it has U.S. made pickups. Finish is a creamy white...could be yellowed a bit by 13 or 14 years on the planet.

The sound of this sweetheart is like smooth running water. When a Strat is right, it's right. And nothing else sounds like a great Strat. I've got a number of guitars. The Pauls sound very similar to other Humbucker axes, and the Teles sound somewhat like other single-coil guitars (not P90's though). But only a Strat is a Strat. And still, a it's probably the most eclectic guitar on the block.

The guitar was purchased used, so I have no factory setup info. But I understand that MIJ guitars are set up quite well from the factory. The pickups are matched very well to one another in sound and output. Fit amd finish of the guitar overall (paint, nut, neckset, tuner placement, etc..) is all flawless. This axe looks like somebody hand-made it. It's as good or better than any Strat I've ever owned. (Many, many! Pre CBS's to Custom Shop's).

I've had 60's Strats, and played 50's Strats. This design holds up well. There are always problems with bolt-on necks, such as string/fingerboard alignment. Keep those neck screws torqued, and you don't have problems.

Fender has been OK with support since the late 80's. Then again, a Strat is kind of like an old Jaguar XKE. Super simple design. Made to be worked on. Made to be adjusted. If you can't work on 'em yourself, you probably shouldn't own one. (Get a Les Paul. All glued together and stable as a concrete block. And Gibson support is great!)

I've been playing for 44 years (since I was 5). Pro for 35. I own many guitars (PRS, Gibson, Fender, Harmony, etc...) and many amps (Matchless, Naylor, Fender, Airline, etc...) I would certainly replace this one if lost. These MIJ Strats are the very best from Fender. I got a new MIJ Squire in '83, the first in the MIJ series. I've been sold ever since. After living through the garbage Fenders of the late 70's and early 80's, this Squire blew me away. Fender Japan raised the bar again with the 50's and 60's issues a few years later. Prices are skyrocketing lately. The secret is out, darnit! Ebay is generating 5 hundred and up now for these. A Vegas dealer told me he's getting up to 9 for blue and pink models in Exc Cond. When will it stop? These are still a great value at 5 to 6 hundred, but a grand is off the hook. Get 'em now!! This 10 value rating will probably drop to 6 in less than a year.

3 tone sunburst finish and features out the ass as with any Strat. The only thing different here is the additional vintage vibe it gives off.

I played it through a Fender Cyber Twin and a Marshall AVT150 half stack. Amazing! It sounded good on all the pre sets on the Cyber Twin and smoked on the AVT. It sounded beutiful when using the acoustic simulator channel on the AVT as well. i wouldn't replace the pickups at all. They are voiced like a vintage pickup and they are quiet for single coils. I played some Hendrix and some off the cuff blues, old Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and some Nirvana. It handled it well.

Setup, fit and finish were all top notch. The shop set it up before putting on the shelf. It stays in tune perfectly. The tuners are vintage as well. I like em. Near Mesiah like perfect.

I've seen many a Strat slammed into pieces on stage. I saw Kurt Cobain smash one and it took him a few tries. He could still play it after he was done. I have had Strats from my first guitar to now and they have fallen off stands, fell off of straps and have been dropped. They can take the abuse, but are not invinceable. Good stuff.

Slipknot kids need not apply. This guitar was not designed for aggressive metal. Buy one if you want a killer Strat sound with a vintage vibe. I own an Ibanez 7 stringer, several Fenders, Jacksons, Kramers, Gibsons and some misc. stuff that I found in pawn shops. I would have to say this is one of my favorites. Amp wise I have a Marshall JCM800, CRATE Blue VooDoo, Randall RG75 and an old Gorilla Tube Stack. Pedals are all BOSS..Heavy Metal Dist. Chorus, Flange, Delay, Super Shifter, Phaser, Auto Wah, EQ, NR, and Sustainer. I am trying the blues out right now. I hope to come as close as I can. I'm into everything from Jefferson Starship to Korn. I have been playing since 1982.

2002 mexicano
Lake Placid blue
By now you mostlikly know the rest.

First off this guitar is one of the best sounding stats that I have herd. Normaly I dont like strats but this one was just sounded to damn good. You could play just about any classic rock song you can imagine. Blues, Country pop-rock ANYTHING! Well not Death metal but then you'd look pretty stupid in some grotesqe mask sporting a strat. If your a fan of the Vines you would like this guitar Creig Nicoles plays a strat and on mny of their songs I can pick out the Strat's very stingy dry single coil sound cackling out at you. Its also good for Gunge Nirvana type stuff.

Well the thing that drew me to this guitar was the looks. The sound and all that crap came later. Basicly I went walking into guitar center looking for some kind of grunge machine like a Cyclone or something. Then off in the corner I caught a shot of that Lake Palcid Blue and my minde istantly thought MUSTANG! When I Saw the strat I was slightly dissapinted but not much here was this 60's reissue in Lake Placid Blue and its slightly aged. Good stuff. Well 500 dollers later I bagan to worry about the sound but that turned out fine. And as for the uniuqeness well, it must have laied re-issue eggs or something cause gutar center just got three more . Grrrrrr

I dont know about durability but its pretty tough i guess. I would definately gig with it.

Havent delt with em. Guitar center suck though,for my five Bengies all I got was the guitar no gig bag,not even a whammi bar. All I got was the crap hanging on the guitar. But it was well worth it.

Great overall guitar. Love it to peices. If it was stolen I'd run down the theif. And send him to mexico to make more of them. Or I'd send him to steal some from guitar center seing as they have three of them. Any think I wish it had? Racing stripes, yeah racing stripes and maybe a mathcing headstock. Well hell its a great guitar and I love it

Standard features, 3 single coils trem, rosewood fretboard, etc. Lovely lake placid Blue finish.

I don't understand these peope who complain about the lack of sustain and how thin and therefore naff it sounds. They obviously can't play it properly and need hot pickups and pedals to make it sound good (Hendrix didn't need Seymours!)

Strats and teles make you work for the tone. I play gibsons as well, and although they sustain forever and give an insta-meaty sound they're one trick ponies. That's why I got a Strat. If you get decent gauge strings on it and work with it for a while you can get great classic, soulful tones. Ok I'll admit there are better pickups that offer more clarity. and less noise, but if you want a clinical modern sound why are you buying a '60's reissue?
All in all this guitar is only as good as the guitarist playing it.

Pretty well set up by the shop, changed the strings , altered the action a bit. The guitar is put together really well, i have seen one with a mis aligned neck but this is a goodun!

Don't know what it is, maybe 'cause the staggered pole pieces are a bit grubby, and the aged scratchplate but it looks like it's been played around for a few years...and I like worn in guitars.

Built like a tank.

n/a

Been playing for 15 years, owned various different guitars. I really like the fact that I can do just about anything with this guitar, really opens up different doors for playing for a gibson to Fender convert. Also own a P90 Les paul

This is an update, check Northslide's comments. We're always happy with a guitar when we get it, but the newness wears off. MIM, 21 fret, non locking Fender tuners, Strat '60 body, string through trem, alder slab, passive pickups. Rosewood on maple neck, s/s/s/, the vintage jobs. Standard Strat features

I had it set up by a Fender authorized luthier. Still, it just does not sustain on it's own. You need a pedal. Very rich, full sound, but it just plain dies! I don't think it's the pickups, but the metal they used in the bridge, because it's uniform loss of sound. I use it with a Marshall mg practice amp and a Peavey roadmaster half-stack.

Most unfortunately, it is a superb intrument in fit, finish, looks. The bridge does not appear to be aligned properly, not by the luthier, but what he had to work with in the first place. I also don't like the action on the E. B, and G strings. Too high.

I'll use it for practice only. I am buying a '60 Strat NOS, and I'll trade this in. I wouldn't use it on stage, but that's my opinion.

Daddy's people ae okay, no problems. Had to deal with one wiseass.

Described in the previous report. Its a beautiful instrument to look at on the rack, but I always reach for my Washburn BT-2 with the Seymours in it. THAT guitar resonates and sustains, unlike the Fender. I love Fenders, too. The MIMs in my opinion are gorgeous, but once wired, their true lack of quality shows. Custom Shop, I'm on my way.

Vintage to the bone. 3 single coils, aged plastic parts, beutiful sunburst finish, alder body, maple neck, 21 thin frets on a rosewood board, C shape neck profile and very comfortable. 6 point vintage trem is as usual, needs alot of work to set up fo it to actualy be usable, but who cares, thats why the locking tremelo was invented. This Strat doesn't need a Floyd any way, it's a vintage 60's reissue!

Sounds like a 60's reissue. Compared it to a real vintage 60's model Strat and they sound close enough. I'd like to buy the brainstorm responsable for this a beer. Good job! I played it through a Cyber Twin and dialed through every channel. KILLER! I couldn't stand it any more and had to buy it. I will not be changing anything on this baby1 she's got everything you could want in a vintage reissue. I can even get some screaming Metal tones out of her with my distortion pedal ( BOSS Metal Zone ). Killer blues guitar too.

As near perfect as you can get. This one was set up at the store. I have 9's on her and will be leaving her that way. I just don't like 10's. Everything is top notch. Good job amigos at Fender-Ensenada Mexico. You guys are realy on top of things.

Things happen. I have carted as many as 10 guitars with me while touring. Sometimes you need a backup and sometimes you need versitility. A Strat is not my main axe, but I do use her alot. Strats do have string breakage problems from time to time.

For a killer vintage reissue Strat with what i think is the best neck profile in existance, the C shape. I use it for Cinderella covers and clean balad stuff. I own 3 other fenders, MIM Tom Delong Strat, 50's Telecaster reissue, Jackson DK2, BC Rich bolt on Warlock USA, Gibson LP Standard and an Epiphone Flying V. I play through a CRATE GX 65 with a Marshall AVT 4X12 cab and a DOD Delay, BOSS Metal Zone and a Morely Pro Series Wah. I have been playing since 1982 and have had alot of killer guitars over the years. Now all I need is an old Charvel Model 2 and I'm set. If you want vintage, comfort and good tone, buy a 60's reissue.

MIM, 2002, purchased from Daddy's Junky Shop. Alder slab, double cut, 21 vintage frets, S/S/S vintage passive pickups, you know, traditional Strat stuff. String thru trem, tri-color sunburst, U neck, rosewood fretboard. Non locking Fender tuners. Transparent Urethane. Nice gig bag came with it.

Blues is what I use it for. Pickups are a little weak but expected to be so being single coil. Sound is very bright and rich, pickups are quiet. I use a Marshal MG. Very authentic out-of-phase vintage Strat tones. No need to customize this baby. It sounds great. Just turn up the volume. There isn't one thing I dislike about this guitar or its sound.

Action was good, but high. Pickups were low. One of the bridge saddle screws is loose. It's still under warranty, so it's minor. Switch, pots, and pickups are all quiet and work perfectly. Magnificent fretwork. This guitar's neck is a work of art, a la the old Hagstrom I's. Fit and finish are superb. Not one flaw on the guitar. 4 bolt neck brace. Consider that before you shell out extra bucks for a '70s model, which is only tri-bolt. Wood quality is very good, glued perfectly. Pegs, nut, all excellent, simulate the vintage '60s guitar.

Fender is "live." The finish is very good, hardware excellent but machine stamped, and it should easily hold up to regular wear. trap buttons sufficient, old style. Dependable, but if I'd gig, I'd always bring my other guitar.

Fine warranty. Just have to bring it in the shop and they handle it.

I have a customized Washburn BT-2 besides this guitar, which is awesome. Daddy's people unanimously agreed that the '60s Strat Reissue is the best MIM on the racks right now. The American Standards are overpriced and the quality just isn't worth the extra money, doing my own side by side comparison. When I went in the shop, I had the money and planned to by an American Standard or Deluxe (which they didn't have in stock), but this guitar was a big step up quality-wise, and less money. This is a really nice guitar for the money. It has all the old features, a really spectacular sound, and the modern quality control. My favorite feature is the neck. Lost, stolen, I'd by another in a heartbeat. The only thing I wish it had was slightly more gutsy p/u s, like Texas Specials, as an option. But I guess I'll just have to suffer through this magnificent instrument in the meantime, right?

Japanese Fender '60s reissue Stratocaster, made back in 1987. I got it used from a store. It has been refretted by a previous owner and now it has 21 of the fattest frets I've ever seen. It has the usual 5-way pickup selector, volume control and tone controls. It has three low output passive singlecoil pickups. I don't know what wood it's made of (probably basswood) but the three pieces the body is made of can be seen if you examine the back of the guitar in normal daylight.

It has some kind of blue metallic finish, maybe a lake placid blue that has turned a bit greenish after years of exposure to sunlight. The finish is not as thick as the finish on most american Fenders.

The bridge is your usual vintage-style synchronized trem with stamped saddles. It's a shame that it didn't come with an "ashtray" or an arm. I'm planning to replace the trem with a steelblock trem as the previous owner had stripped all the screws when adjusting the bridge. I have replaced the stock tuners with a set of Gotoh locking vintage replacements. I also got a Graphtech TUSQ nut for it.

I can't define my music style, I play a little bit of everything. The stuff I write doesn't really fit into a genre. Except from my own songs I like to play songs by Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Buckley, MC5, The Beatles, Joy Division, The Stooges and Radiohead. I don't use any effects except from my amplifiers built-in reverb at the moment but I'm planning to get some effects soon (chorus and delay for a start). Like most singlecoil guitars it's a bit noisy but I don't care. My sound is as much in my amplifiers as in my guitar. I can get all sounds I desire except from meaty humbucker tones. This strat goes from thin to thick with the turning of a few knobs of the flick of a switch. Good enough for me. I know of a guy who makes excellent pickups by hand really cheap so I might just replace all the pickups. Not because they suck or anything it's just that handwound pickups made to suit your desires will always be cooler than stock pickups. And remember people, don't whine about strats until you've played one through a cranked tube amplifier of decent quality.

This guitar is fifteen years old and it has been played a lot and even refretted since it left the factory. But some things will always remain like the perfect neckpocket and the resonant woods used. During the years the bridge has rusted a little bit and the finish has a lot of dents and scratches in it. I just think that it adds some character to the guitar. This is the best playing strat I've ever come across. The neck fits my hand perfectly. That's why I bought it.

Just like people say, it's a strat. Even the shittiest strat tend to hold up pretty well in the long run. And this is a pretty good one. I have replaced the tuners, the nut and I will replace the bridge in short. But it's not because of shitty quality it's because I love modifying guitars, it's plain fun! This guitar will hold up for as long as I like.

I've never contacted Fender.

The japanese reissues are the coolest guitars Fender has ever produced. I haven't been playing for that long but I know a lot about guitars that some of my friends who have been playing for ten to twenty years don't know. The MIJ reissues are the best strats for the player on a budget. Considering the playability this guitar was dirtcheap. If I will ever lose it somehow I'd try to find another MIJ Fender. I recommend the japanese Fenders to players on all levels. You don't have to spend a shitload of cash to get a good sounding and great playing guitar.

Fender 60's Re-Issue Stratocaster in three color sunburst. The whole "vintage" vibe of this guitar is such a turn on, Looking at it it looks like a vintage 62' in mint condition. Just beutiful. Paid $560.00 for the guitar and got a Fender hardshell case for another $90.00. If you are to buy one of these guitars, be sure to get it in this same finish, it is the only one made with an alder body, all the solid color bodies are of either basswood or poplar, both are far less superior tone woods and far less durability. The reason the 3color is the only alder body is because basswood and poplar both have nasty greenish yeelow streaks in the wood grain which become very present to the eye even when the stain is applied, so to hide it they give them full solid color finishes and can use a more cost efficient wood . The 3 color burst is only another 35$ more but worth every penny. The poplar and basswood are also much softer woods and screw holes strip out very quickly when doing any repairs or mods. Purchase date for this guitar was 4/26/02, I don't know what year it is yet because I have'nt done a search on the serial yet, but I'm sure it is no more than a year old if that even. As far as features for a Strat, well I think we all know by now. Don't we? Ok, lets be redundant then. Three single coils, vintage style tremelo, bridge/saddles, tuners and 5 way pickup selector. All of the components are manufactured in the Corona Ca. facility and then shipped to the Ensenada Mexica plant for cheap labor assembly as well as saving money on it then becoming an export of Mexico. However, regardless of where it was assembled, what got me to buy this guitar was the incredible feel of the neck and body, especially the neck on this guitar, and I also own an Amer. Series Fat Strat TX Special. The craftsmanship is at least as good as anything I have seen come out of the US facility, maybe better in some exceptions. Has to be one of the tightest neck joints I have ever seen, you have to really squint to even see the joining seem. The rosewood neck has such a rich color I almost thought it was ebony, but knew better. The playabilty is so damn smooth you may wet yourself. As said I have an American Fat Strat, and I love it completely and would never part with it, but I will never part with this one either.

Ok, now if you read the above statement you know by now that I like the guitar, however I did not buy it for sound alone. I play most of the time through a THD Univale (amazing amp). The pickups are not that bad for what they are. There are some really pleasing tones from positions 1 through 4, however like many strats it is plagued by a not so great bridge pickup. Don't get me wrong you can get some fair tone out of it alone, but it is a bit on the thin side and not much for output. My plan is to remedy this with a full set of Texas Specials and then shield the entire cavity. I have those in my Fat Strat(neck and middle) and being pleased with them there I will get the whole set for the 60's, as I want a bit of a hotter signal and they will improve the bridge tones considerably as well as give a bit more added sustain to the overall configuration. However as I said this guitar does have many pleasing tones as it is, but could benefit from some better pickups especially the bridge. I am really giving it a 7.5 rating, but with the TX Specials and some shielding work it should be a 10 when I'm done. Other than that there is nothing to complain about.

Well the guitar came strung with Fenders 250's. I use Ernie Ball Power Slinky's 11-48. When I got the guitar home the first thing I did was check all the adjustments from the factory to see how close they were to my preferances. Well, the intonation was off quite a bit even for the factory strings and the pick up hieght was way to low across all three pickups, and the tremolo was raised higher than it should be. So after this assesment I basically tore the thing apart. I restrung it the Pwer Slinkys, adjudted the tremelo to 1/8" inch off the body, set the intonation as it should be and adjusted the pickup hieght, then fine tuned the whole thing. The action and the truss rod alignment were fine I did not have to make any changes to either. The vintage tuners are excellent, nice and tight, stay in tune and real easy to lace in the strings as well as having that lovely vintage vibe. Before I made the adjustments I would give this category a rating of maybe a 5 or 6. After I did the setup, it is a justified 10! Again the playabilty is just beutiful. String bends are effortless across the vintage frets! As far as fit and finish, like I said in the features, the quality is there hands down, as good as anything coming out of Corona Ca.

Again a 5 or 6 before setup and a perfect 10 after I did the setup.
You should figure in too that inshipping the guitars get exposed to different climates and storage enviroments, and things can get a little out of whack.

Once I install the Texas Specials, there is nothing I would'nt do with this guitar. It sounds really good as it is now, and will sound fantastic with the TX Specials, the construction, fit and finish is excellent, and the hardware is great. I have never owned or even condidered owning a Mexican made Fender, I always wanted American made and payed for it, but when I picked this thing up, I knew immediately I would be buying it. It was just so comfortable and inspecting the guitar found the quality to be superb.

I have never had a problem with any of Fenders products, so I can not justify any rating as I have no experience with this department of Fender.

I have always been scheptical of buying overseas made instruments from American made companies for several valid reasons. Study Fender history and you'll know what I am talking about. Anyway, I was and still am completly impressed with the top notch quality of this instrument. You can not beat the price for this guitar with anything else around. It could use a little improvement in the pickups, but overall this guitar has the quality of guitars selling for $1000.00 or more. To me the Strat is the most versatile weapon available, given its standard layout and the options available for hot rodding Strats, you can virtually turn a Strat into anything you like for any type of sound you wish. I now have two of them and will never part with them.

Mine is a 1996 Japanese-made Fender that i got new as a gift. standard fare here, 21 frets, 1 vol, 2 tone, 5 way yada, yada, yada, ya know, a strat. honestly, this is my favorite guitar of all that i've owned, nice, fat neck, heavy, but not too heavy, and great sounding pickups. i've had two other strats, both american made and neither of them sounded this good.

well, i've played a little of everything on this guitar, from punk to blues to metal to country and jazz, and it does everything well. nowadays, its mostly country and jazz/blues stuff, and the strat holds up against any i've ever heard. i usually play it through my fender blues deville or my harmony practice amp, both are tube amps and the combination of tubes and single coils makes for some noise, but oh what a glorious tone! no complaints in this department.

the only problem i've ever had with this guitar is the trem arm breaking off in the bridge, other than that it stays in tune and was set up beautifully at the factory and at heart of texas music in austin. i suppose the wood could have been bookmatched a bit better, but i play it, i don't stare at it.

as i've said, i've never had any problems with this guitar, and i work 'em hard. this one's been thrown around, bashed, stood on, and bent in all kinds of directions and it still plays and sounds true. i've used it a probably over a hundred gigs since i got it and it's always come through. nuff said.

i dealt with fender when i snapped the headstock off of my last strat, they're alright, but they didn't want to send me a new neck without getting the old one first. i didn't want to do that, so that's that. now you can buy the necks just like that, so i suppose that's all well and good. they also repaired an amp of mine a while back and returned it good as new in a relatively short period of time. kudos!

after 12 years, 8 guitars, and too many beers, i can honestly say this is probably one of the best guitars i've played, no joke. the japan thing was kinda iffy at first, but once it got settled in it feels like home. if i lost it i would probably eventually get another strat, but it'd be more likely that i get a tele or a gretsch before cause i've never owned one of them. in the end, if you like strats but aren't crazy about the prices, one of these is great whether you're startin' out or if you wanna mod one (they're cheap enough), or just leave it alone like i did and put some 13-56 gauge wires on it a get to rumblin'.

Fender Japan Vintage "60's" (1962) Stratocaster Reissue - "Celebrating 50 Years of Fender Excellence" Logo in Gold on reverse of headstock.

Dated 12/03/96 on underside of pickguard.

Contoured basswood body with bolt on maple neck (thin "C" shape) and rosewood slab fretboard - neck adjustment at body. Very tight neck socket.
Shell pink polyester finish (reasonable match in appearance to original 1961 Duco nitrocellulose finish).
Scale length of 25.5"
Radius of neck 7.25"
Headstock contour reasonably close to original - vintage style logo decals as well.
Vintage Kluson style nickel-plated enclosed steel machine heads.
Vintage style string guard.
Nut - cyclovac resin - width 1.25"
21 vintage style (thin) nickel alloy frets.
Standard controls - 5 position selector switch, 1 volume & 2 tone controls - all aged plastic hardware mounted to an 11 screw, 3 ply pre-1965 vintage style "greenish" pickguard.
3 vintage Alnico V magnet single coil pickups in standard combination with staggered poles and aged covers.
Chrome plated steel vintage style tremolo bridge.
Stamped case hardened nickel-plated steel adjustable vintage style saddles (with the "Fender" stamped on them).
Older Fender vintage reissue tremolo bar added - bar included not very close to original - also changed selector switch tip to Fender vintage style replacement as it was too small.
1 ply white plastic 6-screw backplate.

Fender vintage style 2" wide tweed strap.
Fender vintage style tweed case with red plush interior.
Fender Schaller nickel strap buttons added.

I admire (in no order) Reeves Gabrels, David Gilmour, Jonny G and James Iha/Billy Corgan.
I play this guitar through a Fender Frontman 25 Reverb amp with (in this order) a tuner, a Boss noise reducer, a Boss Metal Zone, a Boss Flanger and a Boss DD-5 Digital Delay. I imagine/hope I play some sort of hybrid of that sort of stuff...astral..
I use Fender original ball end nickel 150's (9-42) - with 3 springs from claw to block - and a 3/16 bridge gap.
I find the sound a bit muddy (especially when compared to the Mexican Strats - but I do not like those) although those crisp biting highs are there when needed. Not noisy or crackly in any way. The sound of this guitar can be (and often is) called "thin" when compared to other Strats but you can change the pickups if you desire - many sounds are available if you look for them. I have not needed to change the pickups. They are rich enough and quite full as long as you do not over-use effects but that can be said of any guitar. The sustain is fine as well. Overall, ?Fender tone? is present.

Factory set up was perfect - every specification was within 1/64" of the optimum. I was amazed.
The action is set low and can be lowered.
The pickups were adjusted to the proper height.
HOWEVER, The bridge and ?feel? seemed a bit strange when the tremolo was engaged. This led to a VERY extensive hardware stripdown and repeated examination of the entire guitar to find the problem(s). It was, ultimately, excess polyester finish under the bridgeplate that ran down into the cavity, causing it to actually catch on the bridge block when using the tremolo - this problem was "adjusted" somewhere along the line before I got it (yes, I bought it new) by slightly loosening the three screws that hold the bridgeplate to the block. This ?solution? made it impossible to intonate the high E. At the very first it appeared the holes drilled for the block were slightly off but I could not believe that. Once I re-tightened these three screws the excess finish was apparent, as the bridge and block no longer fit into the cavity properly - the solution I was not sanguine about - taking a file to my guitar. However, as someone had to do it I wanted it to be me. After VERY careful removal of the excess finish and much adjustment of the 6 bridgeplate screws (which apparently were sent stripped and were fixed by me and re-adjusted to allow the proper bend both up and down), the guitar works FINE!
Other than that major problem, the guitar is TRULY incredible. Obvious careful craftsmanship with the fretwork and ALL else (NO - I do not know how it got out with the problem described but, ever since I found the solution and fixed it, I would not part with it!).
The only real flaws still extant - well, the machine heads stay in tune for SURE - but are not as good as on the Mexican reissues. The basswood body seems to strip regarding screws quickly as in my repairs and the strap exchange - use hardwood toothpicks, glue etc...
If it were not for the problem described, I would unhesitatingly give this a 10! It is now a 10 and will remain so - it stays in perfect tune and intonation no matter what. Considering the severity of the problem I have to give it a 3 :(

The guitar will obviously withstand live performance.
The hardware will certainly last - the easy strip factor of the basswood re screws concerns me from time to time but I have not actually had to repair any of my repairs so?
The saddles are starting to rust, as are the pickguard screws - much to my satisfaction.
The finish seems quite durable (it IS polyester after all) and takes a good shine.
The strap buttons were changed to Fender Schaller locking buttons ? these holes were also stripped.
I would perform live with this guitar without ANY worry (now!).

I have dealt with the customer service guy and he/they are great. Very helpful and willing to share information.
Please note - I dealt with them before buying - they answered all my questions without problem and were great. I chose to deal with the problem I found later by myself - I just do not like the idea if shipping my guitar somewhere or having work done I can't watch. No bad inference regarding Fender Customer Support there.
I have no idea regarding the warranty, as I never get around to filling out those little cards. I am sure they'd help as I am the original owner.

I have been playing for about 10 years. I have owned several other Fender guitars.
I did a huge amount of research before buying this guitar and was armed with machinists calipers, depth and feeler gauges when I was called that it was in so I could check it out.
If it were stolen I would simply find it.
I love the reliability - the fact that it stays within factory specs without trouble and with such low action.
I hated the problem I described.
My favorite feature is it's vintage look and feel - the fact that it is pretty close to the specs of the original in so many ways and yet so cost efficient. Unbelievable value!
I do not play anything but Fender so I can't comment on other guitars.
I chose it for reputation and for its vintage features.

I WISH THIS HAD AN ASHTRAY!!!

Yes, a final word. Please do not be turned off by my bad experience regarding the repair and all - this guitar is awesome! It gets my overall highest accolades in spite of the problem - which says something!

Well you should no by now. Also mine is the 3-tone sunburst which means Alder body not the other cheapo wood they use.

This guitar suits my music style perfectly because I play blues and this axe does blues hands down. When I first got it I loved the stock pickups.. but in my quest for the holy SRV sound i put in some texas specials. Well that was a mistake, I think, because I really did love those stock pickups. So I put them in my old beater squier II strat. Now I have two kick ass axes, and I not going to ever give up my squier now!!! not even for a million bucks! Anyway the texas specials give the reissue a good improvement but really over do the mid's.

When I first got it I found the action to be way to high!! Anyway I sent it to a tech to have 11's put on it and the tremlo blocked. In my honest opinion you should definatly put on bigger guage strings if you want tone!! Just going from 10's to 11's makes one hell of a difference. Although it is really hard to play but if you tune down a half step it makes it better. Moving on to the fret-work, this is one area that could use a big improvment. The stock frets are way small, but after a while you will get used to them, but it makes playing hard especially bar chords. I give it a nine because a simple setup will make it way better.

Uh I guess this guitar is will with stand the tourtures of giging. I have actually done some at home test, by way of beating the hell out if it and it still plays just as good.

I dunno?

Well I havn't been playing for verey long about a year or so, but I have done lots of research as well as comparing with many other high price customs and american made fenders and found that the MIM reissue was the best for its price range, it offered the same as all the other strats and better than some. So overall I give it a 10.

Made in Mexico 60'reissue Strat, three tone sunburst, so it has the alder body. Rest of the features should be known right now.

It took me a long time to decide which guitar to buy. I only knew it had to be a Strat. So, I went to the nearest guitar store, tried al the Strats I could find, without looking at prices, colours, features or whatever. This one came out the best sounding. Looking in my Fender catalogue, found out I had been playing a Mexican 60's Strat. (Which
wasn't that much of a surprise, cause thats the one which seemed the pest choice after reading all of the Fender reviews on this site :)

It's hard to describe sounds, but this guitar has what I see as "the" Fender sound: A very rich, deep sound, sparkling highs and a nice, distant, mid-range "bite" to it. It's very easy to achieve a Hendrix / Vaughan sort of sound. The second position (neck/middle)is almost Tin Pan Alley. Only minor flaw: pickups are a bit weak.

In short: this is what a vintage 60's reissue should sound like

I play this guitar mostly through a Fender Deluxe 112 Plus, which is an ideal partner for this guitar (on the clean channel). For overdrive I use a TS 10 Tubescreamer.

I give this guitar an 9, with the right pickups it might be a 10.

I'm usually not interested in this one, but this guitar feels really well built. Better than one would expect of a Mexican built guitar. Perhaps the American made reissue is better than this, but not $ 1000 better...

The action is good, even a little to low for me, as I'm used to playing crappy guitars sofar.

Have owned it for three months now (bought it new), and I'm extremely carefull whith this thing, so can't really tell.

Never had to deal whith, yet.

I've been playing for ten years now, all cheap Strat-imitations till now. I think it sound almost perfect. So if it were stolen, I would buy a new one the same day.

I compared it to a lot of other strats, and especially to a friend's
American standard. This guitar is almost as solidly built as the Am St. But, as one might have guessed, I bought this guitar because of the sound.

This is a MIJ strat from the late nineties before moving the production to Mexico. Its has the standard features of a 60's strat.
21 frets, vintage style tuners and a vintage style bridge. 3 passive alnico single coil pickups. The neck is a really nice c shape maple one, and the body seems to be a three wood alder with a sunburst finish. I think its alder because this guitar it more heavy then the poplar(MIM)and basswood(MIJ)strats i've tried.

I play everything, pop rock and blues and this guitar is really versatile. I use a cheap zoom 2020 board for fx and a marshall blues driver for overdrive. My amp is a 30 watts class A laney lc30. The guitar has pretty much sustain but mine has also got the tremolo blocked. The stock pickups was wery thin sounding. Upper mids was just too ear piercing and i had to turn the mids and treble down but then the sound lacked presence. Fortunately I had some pickups from a navigator strat (ESP guitar from Japan)which i bought from a friend who changes them to some active ones.
With these pickups the guitar sounds good. Still got the classical strat tone (not the honky texas specials tone) but not thin sounding.

The guitar was really set up good. Its was set up by the shop i bought the guitar at. Mine was used but looked brand new.

this guitar seems very sturdy and will withstand many years of playing. the frets would probably get changed after a couple off years and the bridge saddles as well but for the price of the guitar i can complain.

I never needed to contact fender

I am 25 and have been playing for 10 years, and i am really pleased with this guitar. But i am replacing the bridge pickup with a seymour duncan little 59 because i need one axe to do it all but i love the single coil sound also the ones from position 2 and 4. Pos 4 is really good for clean pop and with the 59 i can get more hard rock tones out of this guitar for the 70' and 80' rock lead. Dont bye a high output dark sounding brigde pickup (hot rail) because they will not scream and will lack sonic personality. I own a Hohner rtx guitar and the humbucker played clean was dark and useless, it could handle distortion but sounded sterile.

I own a 60's stratocaster. A japan model. 5-way selector with vintage pickgaurd and cosmetics. Vintage tremelo as well. The neck is the 60's style C-shape. The frets how ever i think are too small. I go for srv tone and its hard to get sustain(I use 12's so it really digs on the frets) or a good feel with such small frets. The neck is fat and has a big feel which i do like.

I havent researched all the woods in this model. The neck is maple with a rose wood fretboard. U definitely get that vintage style growl that stevie had. I dont know if its the wood in the body or the pickups but i love the tone from this guitar.

Its black so it abviously looks cool. It had the puke green vintage pickguard and yellow staind pickup covers but i switched them out with my american std. Good action but once again the frets are way to small.

Its a fender!

I bought it use so there is no warranty but i do have one on my '98 american std and fender is always cool to deal with.

I have been playin 4 years and play professional in a band. I mostly dont like the frets. I have jumbos on my american std and love them. But i dont get a real gutsy feel with the ones on this strat. But the fat neck was a big plus and it was in good shape. I wasnt going to argue at $350.

Made in Japan, 1988. Surf Green finish (gotta love the colour) with white pickguard. Body is probably basswood. Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Standard strat hardware and electronics (5-w switch)...
Came with a hard case.

Everything you would expect from a Strat. Fancier bodywood might be nice, but I'm not sure if it's basswood anyway.

Forget about the basswood... the thing rings and resonates so beautifully that I don't really care what's underneath the nitro finish. Plugged in ... well, the MIJ electronics could be better, but they are easily upradable. Through VOX AC30 this thing sounded heavenly (but what wouldn't :). This strat made also my friends Marshall stack come alive.

The overall construction is better than my friends MIA strat. There really are no construction flaws. The trem makes the guitar out of tune.

This is an expectionally good strat, and with the price (about 400USD) I just had to buy it. Originally I was going to the shop to buy an used 80's Tokai Strat copy but this one beat it hands down. Now I play it more than my Warwick basses and my bandmates are getting mad.

Made in Japan, 1996, color is Surf Green (I guess). 3 single coils,
21 frets, volume & 2 x tone (for neck and middle pickups), Rosewood fingerboard. It has all I need, and looks and sounds good.

Sounds really good, I play it with Vox Cambridge 30 Reverb (the Korean reissue model) and occasionally with DanElectro CoolCat chorus, and DanElectro French Toast fuzz. The pickups aren't noisy at all for single coils. Usually I use the neck pickup, or positions 2 & 4 in the switch (neck/middle as humbucker, middle/bridge pickups as humbucker). Very versatile, sounds good acoustically too.

The factory set-up was good, and the finish is fine.

My guitar hasn't gone through extreme condititions really, but it seems like a 'from father to son' model. I think it will last.

Haven't had any need for customer support.

I just love the feel of this guitar, it's easy to play but challenging ;) For the money, it's great.

- 3 Tone Sunburst
- Alder Body
- Rosewood Neck
- Made in Mexico (I don't care where the guitar is made as long as it sounds and feels good and this one sounds/ feels great)
- Vintage Style Harware (which is really not bad at all !!)
- 3 Vintage Single Coils (very noisy); 5 way pickup selection
- Mintgreen (Vintage white) pickguard, pickup covers & tone/volume

This is a great looking guitar.It looks very vintage and I love the color!

The pickups sound pretty good but I have to say that they are too noisy. I pulled out the neck and bridge pickup and replaced them with DiMarzio YJM (neck) and HS-3 (bridge) pickups. MAN....no noise what so ever and GREAT sound. Now with my new pickups I give it a 10, but because of the noise I give them a "6". I play different styles of music and I wanted a guitar with a warm tone yet powerful. This guitar is all that an more. It is great for Rock, Metal, Jazz. I wouldn't use it for Blues and Funk (I have a Fender SRV signature model for that)

The acction is great however I'm currently having problems with the high e-string. Somehow when I bend the string at the 14th fret over one whole step the tone disappears. I think I will have to re-adjust the action or the neck. But no big deal.

The finish is great and the guitar stays in tune.

Hasn't broken yet.

N/A

BUY THIS GUITAR!!! I've been playing now 15 yrs and own a Fender SRV signature model, Ibanez RG 560 (with DiMarzio Tone Zone & HS-3 pickups), Hamer Archtop in Aztec Gold (with Seymour Duncan 59 & JB zebra look, looks just like Carlos Santana's PRS), Ovation Accoustic/ Electic and this Fender 60s Classic Reissue. This guitar is one of my favorites. I play this guitar through a Furman Power Conditioner -> Korg DT1 Rack Tuner -> Digitech Harmonizer -> Alesis Midiverb III -> ADA MP1 Pre-amp -> ADA Microtube 100 Poweramp. It just sounds great. Once it is time to re-fret the guitar I will go with Jumbo Frets.

I had bought originally the 70s reissue which SUCKS big time. The tuners are very weak. When I returned it and got this one instead. I love it. If this guitar was stolen I would save up some money and get the same guitar again. It is a great guitar for the price you are paying!

MIM,21 fret,beautiful 3 tone sunburst(no not lake placid blue..hehe) with rosewood(very john frusciante'ish)vintage hardware,3 single coils.This guitar is beautiful,ive played atleast a hundred american strats and several vintage...ive played an all origonal 55 and the neck felt so comfortable as if you were stroking a *&#%$*#@!anyway i would definitly compare the 60's reissue's more to the vintage than the american standards..personal preference i guess.mexican made or not its just not a cheap guitar...it feels vintage...now im not saying go out and buy a mexican standard...those are very cheaply made i once smashed one out of anger because the intonation was fucked the bridge was weak the neck felt like crap,the pickups came ungrounded from the factory!...its like they just dont care...but 60's reissue are nicely made..very good guitar

a strat can suit virtually any musical style.fits mine perfect though...im into funk,blues,rock,jazz,classical,hard rock,rap shit you name it...pretty much anything besides limp bizket or slipknot sounding bands..i dont like the metal.My favorite guitarist and biggest influence is john frusciante(everyone go buy "to record only water for 10 days" its his new solo album its GREAT)john has a 55 strat 3 tone with rosewood.This guitar reminds me alot of it even though its a 55 and this is a 60's reissue they werent changed THAT much.In the studio i use a 69 blackface super reverb,75 silverface twin,55 tweed champ,a 59 showman,a 59 bassman a mesa boogie simul-class,and a mesa heartbreaker.guitar sounds GREAT through all of those.live i use marshall jcm900 with 2 4x12 cabs for lead and crunch tones..and a vox ac30 for clean tones.sounds great through those also...my 60's reissue is one of three guitars i use on stage...a use a les paul standard,a american standard tele,and my strat...its my favorite to use though.Its not noisy...sounds great bridge pickup is very bright..neck is very warm..the guitar can make twangy percussive funk tones with ease...with my vintage pro co rat and my marshall the thing can cause crunch tones that would give hetfield a run for his money with EMG's...im pretty confident in the thing

it was set up allright from the factory...it came with .009's i set it up for 11's tweaked the neck.adjusted the intonation.The pickups were grounded right the pickup height was perfect...no flaws at all..the finish is beautiful...i sometimes find myself just staring at it on my wall sometimes

fender guitars,wether mexican made japanese or american ARE TOUGH...i once smashed a mexican standard cause it pissed me off...and it didnt come apart easy...i slammed it three times before the neck came apart from the body...pretty impressive beings how i smashed a les paul in one try..and those are suppose to be nice!

good guys at fender...ive delt with them alot...not with this strat but with previous fenders ive owned...they once helped me date a old musicmaster that had been refinished and painted over the headstock(and serial number) free of charge..real nice guys.The gods of fine american luthiery

ive been playing guitar for 11 years...im a total guitar junky listing all my stuff would be a waste of time noone wants to read it...ni would definitly buy another one of these..i love everything about it...dont really hate anything bout it..but it would be allitle nicer if it were american made with the same spec's.my favorite feater is the the neck.

I have two of these guitars and they are wonderful items for a musician (bed-room or professional) that wants the vintage vibe and feel but doesn't want to pay the outstanding prices for PRE-CBS Strats. One of mine is an early 90's Japanese with a Lake Placid Blue Finish. The other is a 98 Mexican with a Burgandy Misy finish. I love the feel of a big fat-ass "C" chaped neck, and I think these are a little more chunky than the American R.I.'s... The only problem I had was the factory set-up which was fixed in a matter of minutes.

I mainly play blues, rock, folk, etc.. I use a lot of toys and I'm still adding things to the list but as of right now I'm using A Roger Mayer Octavia, Fulltone '69, Fulltone Clyde Wah, Klon Centaur, Fulltone Fulldrive 2, Fulltone Supa-Trem, Fulltone Deja-Vibe, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, Line 6 Delay Modulator annd connected with George L's and running through a Vox AC-15 and a Hot Rod Deluxe (This is to hold me over until I can get a Super Reverb). Now back to the guitar's, The saddles and pick-up's are horrible... The saddles do nothing but break strings without fail. The pick-up's are thin, lifeless, and low out-put. In the Burgandy Mist I put a set of Fender Fat 50's and it's got a great vintage sound that's full and creamy... It's got a sound that is similiar to SRV's version of "Leave My Little Girl Alone" on the Austin City Limit's tape.. The Lake Placid Blue Strat, I decided on Texas Specials, and I like the mid-range honk it gives and they distort quite nicely.. As with all of my Strat's, they have Graphite Saddles which I highly recommend. The rating I'm giving for this category is with the pick-up's being replaced, otherwise it would get a 3.

Factory Set-up was shitty, period. The finish is great on the guitar's... Neck's are wonderful even though I do like a little beefier fret wire... All of these "problems" can be easily fixed in a matter of minutes. The only reason I'm ratting this section high is because of the neck, weight and finish of the guitar.

I would drop them down a flight of stairs without a worry in the world... Might need to tune it afterwards but that's about it. . I like beat up things anyways.. =] I use strap lock's because I've had it slip before on stage... It's not that I'm worried about the guitar, it just makes you look like an idiot.. =]

Fender has their moments....

I've only been playing guitar for about 4 years but I can't stop.. It's worse than drugs.. What other gear?! Oh man... I have a 50's Mex. RI Tele in Blonde, 50's Jap. RI Strat in Sunburst, 60's Jap. RI Strat in Copper with a LH 70's RW Neck, '79 USA Strat in Trans. Red with a RW Neck, '58 Harmony Strat-O-Tone in Sunburst (Hollow-Body, with Falt-Wounds), '64 Gibson SG Jr. in Heritage Cherry, '38 Gibson L-50 Archtop Acoustic in Sunburst, '78 Mustand Bass in Trans. Red, and a Mid-60's Airline Parlor Acoustic in Sunburst.

I'd recommend this type of guitar to anyone that like's vintage style Strat's.. I've compared it to the newer models and the american vintage series and I liked it over both of them.

I wish it had the Ashtray, I don't know why but I like them for some reason...

Guitar purchased new in December 2000. I wanted a guitar built this century! Lake Placed Blue with mint pickguard and aged plasteic parts, rosewood board, maple neck is finished in a honey laquer that faithfully reproduces the look of an older Fender. (The 'yellowing' is less dramatic than my '71 Telecaster.) The guitar is equipped with a five position switch, I was happy to see this as that would have been an essential mod. for me. I am a die-hard Strataholic, this one is number five. I've owned two others that were sold in hard times. These five stay! The tuners are very nice reproductions of the old pre-F style slotted machines. I use no others. Can't get used to anything without the slot. The fretwire is the old style skinny stuff. My '71 Tele sports jumbo wire.

I play guitar in a church Praise and Worship group. Before you laugh, realize that we do much contemporary music and this entails all the rock, blues, and pop guitar sounds used foir the past thirty years. This '60's reissue came with the vinatge type pickups that are sweet and clean, but do not want to drive any distortion unit in my arsenal. As the volume control is lowered from the full up 10, the output drops to the point where the sound cleans up. I run all my guitars through my Fender Hot Rod DeVille (soon to be replaced by a Deluxe, as it is too much amp for the room) with the controls set Main 4, treb 8, mid 6, bass 8. I use a Blues Driver distortion rather than the hot channel as I can't bring the master up past 2 and not injure innocent congregants. For nasty distortion, I'll use my 70's reissue with three Texas Specials installed. But I digress. The thing about this guitar that I love are the two and four pickup positions. These yield the traditional duckier sound, but with alot of character. Good for real world, not just interesting sound effects. The guiatr has single coil hum worse than my other Strats -- it will soon be shielded. My greatest fault lies in the output. It is traditional, so I can't fault Fender. This guitar delivers exactly what it says it will -- vintage sound and feel

The set-up was excellent, though I personally can't stomach 9's -- I prefer the tactile 'fight' of tens. Also, nines sound thinner and 'rubber band'-like. Pickups were adjusted not to my taste. The finish was flawless, unlike my other Mexican Strat which had a few unsightly blems in the neck finish -- obvious dings that were laquered and smoother. This guitar is beautiful. I like the Mexican Strats more than some of the Americans I've owned.

This guitar is obviously new, so I can't say how well it will stand up. My other Mexicam Strats have withstood all the abuse playing three services a week (about an hour per service) at my ham-fisted input. My Tele I've owned for almost thirty years and I've refretted it twice (jumbo wire for maximum numbers of grinds). I foresee similar service. My other Mexican-built Fenders have stood up wonderfully. You can fight your way out of a third world revolution swinging a Strat and still be in tune for the next set.

Strap buttons were replaced immediately with Dunlop lockers. I've had too many accidents.

I sue this guitar with a backup since I need a good distorting guitar for about thirty per cent of our material. Aside from that, the tone is awesomeand I'd use it constantly

Fender has always been very user-friendly to me though I've never had to deal with them for a warranty problem. I've owned Fenders for thirty years and have never had anything but wear-related issues, which isn't their fault!

I've been playing guitar for thirty-two years and I've owned just about everything. I loved Fenders -- the feel, the tone, the reliability, etc. since I first played one. I own a '58 Les Paul for those moods when a dark, lush sound is needed, but the thing is to fragile (and $$$$) these days to use much out. If this guitar were stolen (the Strat) I'd sulk and pout for a month and try to find another one just like it. The only thing I hate about this guitar is the perception that other guitarists have regarding the Mexican built Fenders. Those that own them don't have this problem, only those who haven't played one. These detractors might have something against Mexicans in general, or they merely perceive the price as a gauge of quality. If people wouldn't equate the price with my ability, I wouldn't have any issues.