Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

S1 switch!

S1 switch will develop a fault.

Guitar is nice, BUT NOT THE S1 SWITCH.

S1 switch is un-reliable so i warn you DO NOT BUY ONE!

i don't think they even replaced my faulty switch?

RUBBISH! . . .CRAP!

'09 American Deluxe Stratocaster - alder body, rosewood fingerboard. Tremolo. Three SCN singles. Your typical Am Dlx Strat. Bone stock. Got it off eBay, and the guitar arrived set up well. The only modification I did was to swap the cheap ceramic cap in the S-1 switching system ("z" family capacitors are rated at a pathetic 85% tolerance sweep - not cool) for a good film cap of the same value.

I wouldn't bother to review this guitar at all, because it's all been said, except for the fact that the Bill Lawrence Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups confused me at first. The tone was okay, but it didn't have any of the typical Strat shimmer in the upper mids. Lower midrange frequencies were obnoxiously dominant. There was just a hint of the hollow "throaty" timbre and high-end sparkle we have come to expect from a good Stratocaster pickup, but not nearly enough of it to suit me. It wasn't until I moved the pickups much farther away from the strings that the tone really came alive.

I've used Bill Lawrence "AirGap" Noiseless single-coil pickups for years. They're great. I have them in several "Partsocasters" that I play regularly, and they work for me.

Yet the SCN is very different from Bill's previous units. Higher output signal, even though the SCNs still don't have any of the typical "mag-drag" of generic single-coil pickups. That's what threw me. Set up in a way that works well for the Bill Lawrence L-200 and L-280, with the six poles cuddled up against the strings, the SCNs get a signal that overloads them. There's no telltale warble or blurring of the notes, and none of that annoying mutation of the harmonics against the fretted notes that forces a player to get his generic single-coils away from the strings. That proximity-factor is only apparent in the way the sound flattens out. It was a disappointment to me -- until I backed the pickups down (to over an eighth of an inch from the strings at the E poles) and then they sounded great...as good as any noiseless single-coils out there.

I would give the pickups a 7 in this category, except for the fact that I found a way to get the most out of them (more on that below). So they're a part of this 9 rating. They deserve it. I'm very happy with 'em now.

The guitar sounds great. Does everything I want it to do. The S-1 is pure genius. The added five tones are very useful to me. The pickups in parallel are a real kick -- the volume boost is like hitting a 2nd channel in the amp. Lots of fun there.

Well...okay...I'll confess to another mod. I don't necessarily recommend it, but I've been doing this with Bill's pickups for years. It always struck me as odd that a designer who went to such an effort to calibrate the width of the poles for the three respective positions would completely ignore staggering the height of the polepieces. The pickups work fine with the poles flat, of course. But if you look underneath a L-200 or a SCN, which are built very much the same, the polepieces stick out of the bottom plate about three/sixteenths of an inch.

I was experimenting with one of the L-200s one day (trying to track down a grounding issue) and decided to get those poles off that brass ground plate, so I simply tapped them up from the bottom to create a radius that matched the neck. It solved the grounding problem, AND the difference sounded great to me. Since then, I've done that to all my Lawrence NF singles.

And, of course, I did the same thing to the SCNs, which I believe helped to punch up the response of the pickup even more.

I left the two E poles alone, and I used a plastic screwdriver t-handle to tap the inside pairs of the poles into a 9 1/2" stagger. I wouldn't hit them with anything metal. I'm not sure whether or not the magnets would react to that in a way I wouldn't like.

The only reason I bring it up is because so many players of this model guitar complain about the pickups. And, yeah, I can understand why. But with the pickups backed away from the strings -- something that a lot of players might not do since it's not necessary to do so to cure a typical case of "Stratitis" that comes from putting those generic single-coil AlNiCo magnets too close to the strings -- the tone changed drastically -- for the BETTER.

Add to that the effect of putting a radius on the polepieces, and those SCNs are sweet and articulate. Very responsive. They have that sparkly upper-midrange magic that we all hope for in a good Strat pickup. The sound of the pick scraping the string-windings is just right. Notes combine in just the right way. The bass and lower mids don't suffer at all. The SCNs just sound better that way.

The magnets in those SCNs are amazingly effective, even though they don't pull the harmonics of the strings off target at all. And therein lies the main mystery of the Samarium Cobalt design. Bill is simply a whole step ahead of the pack there (again). I was lucky to stumble on a solution I liked.

I went so far as to put the L-200/L-280/L-298 set from one of my other Strats into this Am Dlx, just to A/B the tones, and the SCNs whipped their butts. It's almost scary that Bill threw us all such a curve with these things. They simply outperform everything else, in a way that often hides their true beauty from a lot of players.

Upon hearing the difference after curing the "proximity factor," it took me a while to believe it. I'd play, put it down, play again later, put it down. There's always the suspicion that I'm just hearing what I want to hear. You know how that goes. But, yeah, they're a whole different beast when they're pulled away from the strings. Kinda like having that glad-to-see-ya Pit Bull on a leash out back, instead of right in your face. Much easier to control.

Oh, yeah...I use a single-channel hand-wired EL-84 head that a friend of mine built, through a ratty old Marshall 4x12 straight-front cab with greenbacks in it. All I want from an amp is total honesty. Whatever textural mojo I might need comes from a bunch of Mike Fuller stuff. I stick with Fulltone just to avoid the "option anxiety" that can set in. I never use time-based effects. Not even reverb. (It's a blues thang. Ha ha ha.)

I give it a 9 cuz there ain't no 10s...

It's a finely built Stratocaster, with the added features of staying in tune, no annoying 60-cycle hum, and a bridge that won't hurt my right hand when I get going good. The missing corner of the neck-mount is not really noticeable, until I realize that it's not there. The neck is dead straight -- lowering the action doesn't reveal any high frets; once the strings get too low, every single fret starts buzzing at the same time. I leave the action up high, but brought it down to test the neck. I love the neck a lot. Very comfy. It's one of those ergonomic totalities that works its magic without the player even thinking about it. It's just so easy to get around on it. Very cool.

I prefer this model to any of the oldies or the "Custom Shop" babies. Just because of the technical advances. It works better for me. 'Nuff said.

Quality parts all around. I'm sure this thing will hang for the long haul.

I always bring several guitars when I play out. It relaxes me to have them nearby. Besides, whatever might go wrong will go wrong: pop a string, blow a tube, or step on a cord and rip the connector loose. We gotta be ready for any of that stuff.

I've never called Fender for anything. Not sure how that might work out. I would probably go through a local dealer to get to the Fender rep who stops by now and then. That's the way to get something resolved. As far as that goes, the reps always do what they gotta do. So I'll rate them on that.

I started to play before the Beatles showed up. We had the Ventures. We had the Kingsmen. And we had Paul Butterfield. So I started out playing blues. I lived and died for Mike Bloomfield. He was the KING back then.

Since then, it's been a long rocky road, but I always came back to the blues. And now that's where I live full-time.

I got two Peavey U.S. Predator AXs, two Peavey Wolfgangs (just to be that way), two homemade parts Strats and one homemade Tele, all with Warmoth wood, good hardware, and Bill & Becky electronics. And a bunch of weird guitars that I don't play much.

This American Deluxe Strat is everything I hoped it would be. Great sustain. Can feel the notes in the neck and body. Amazing tone, thanks to my old pal, Bill Lawrence. My mongrel Strats don't like that this purebred "Best in Show" is here now, but that's just too bad. I couldn't build this guitar if I had all the time and money in the world. When I saw all the wiring inside this thing, I choked on my tongue. GAAH! Forget it. This thing is way past me.

I told a friend that this guitar is too good for me -- said I was going to donate it to charity. And then I laughed at the look on her face. You would have laughed too. It was hilarious.

Anyway -- before you swap out those wacky SCNs, go ahead and sacrifice some signal strength for the extra tone. Get in there and bang out a polepiece radius, of you feel up to it. A local shop repairman will probably think you're crazy or stupid or both if you ask for it. But it worked for me.

Again: there ain't no 10s in this world...so I give this baby a 9.

This is a guitar that can essentially cover all styles. It is designed in a way that you need not worry about your amp settings, because there is a wide range of tones accessible with just the pickup switch. Yes, the pickups are absolutely noiseless and can have no personality, if you have no personality of a guitar player. But, when you play this guitar, your pickups won't determine your sound as much as you as the player and that is amazing. The Amer. Deluxe I have is the works. HSS, S-1 switching, LSR Roller Nut, Locking Tuners, etc. In addition to the usual 5 way switching, with the S-1 you have four more tonal options. That's 9 different tones by the flick of a switch or push of a button. Name any guitar that has more. With the switch down and on the middle pickup, congratulations you are running your guitar on all three pickups, and no hum. Amazing!

I wish the humbucker bridge would be a bit brighter. It breaks up very easily, which is good for most uses, but sometimes you want a clean twang. Other than that, this guitar "sounds" amazing. I use quotes because this is a players instrument. If you suck, you won't sound good on this guitar. THe pickups don't do work for you, they just enable you to find your sound.

My favorite thing about this guitar .... I've played many strats, LPs, teles. I love all of them soundwise, but no guitar feels like this one does in my hands. It's a light guitar, but when you hold the neck it just feels so secure. It's hard to explain, and while MIM strats may be a good value, I've noticed that the MIA necks and fit just feel "right". Changing action is a breeze. UNlike Les Pauls where you might need a wrench, if you have the right set of tools you can change the action and intonation to your liking on the fly. And yes, this guitar never goes out of tune.

THe input (or output) jack has come loose a number of times. This is not good.

n/a

This is my guitar. I own many, but this is my number one. I will always be a strat guy, and this is the best strat I own. I'm sure there are better ones, but I can play anything with this guitar.

SCN switching system
Noiseless Samarium Cobalt pickups
Maple neck
Fender locking tuners
Contoured heel
Abalone inlays
Snap in whammy bar
Schaller strap locks
Deluxe contoured case

Playing it through a new Princeton reverb and a new deluxe reverb.
This guitar brings these reissue amps to life.Shimmering piano like sounds .Full bodied .Plays like a jem.Each note is like a diamond.

Needed to adjust truss rod right out of box
Fret ends still stick out when the humidity goes down in winter.Fender has to address this as this is a big turn off for me.
Also the abalone dots should have replaced the black dots on the top side of the neck as there are totypes of dots and for a marquee guitar this is a bit scabby.
The locking tuners are average.
The fretwire on the neck is very exciting and playable ,a nickel/steel combination.
The maple neck is awesome ,fast/solid/artistic looking and nice touch with the spaghetti fender logo.
Body wood is flawless and excellent finish.

Schaller strap locks are the way to go.
Nice poly finish /fast neck/plays very well.
Unless you do the old Who thing you don't need a backup.

I deal directly with the dealer giovanni and they give lifetime set ups on their American Strats.

Got this guitar at a great price.
Have an American strat but the samarium pickups blow it away .
The SCN switching system is awesome for variety and flexibility of sound.
Why pay more for a Japanese Ibanez /Gretsch/Dean/EPS/ or Gibson Les Paul with thicker uncomfortably necks and dark sounding pickups.
Wish it had abalone dots on the side of neck .
Wish the had some caps or binding over fret ends.
Wish it came with the Clapton TBX system.

This is a 2006 American Deluxe Strat in two-tone sunburst, maple fretboard, SCN pickups and the S-1 switching system. The guitar plays like a dream. The fretwork is awesome, it stays in tune and intonates very well. As far as features, I have to give an 8 for the quality of the work. It loses 2 points for the pickups.

When I pick up a Strat, I want to hear SRV or Hendrix. This is where this guitar falls short. The SCN pickups sound fender-ish. The way that they achieve noiseless operation does something to the magnetic field of the pickup that just kills their tone. While they are dead quiet and sound something like a Strat of yesteryear (which is a feat, I'll admit), they have little vintage quality to them and next to no chime. The neck pickup is muddy and the bridge is too bright. Too much treble and not enough clarity to the bass. I have tried height adjustments and different strings, but cannot find a pleasant spot. This is all with the clean channel on an EL-34 Shiva into an Avatar 2x12 loaded once with a V30 and G12H30 and now with two WGS Veteran 30s. I have also used on a Fender Blues DeVille 4x10. Still no luck.

Not absolutely perfect, but very nice for the price. That is why I bought it. The guitar plays flawlessly and the fretwork is very nice. I love to play this guitar save for the tone.

I've never had a problem with this guitar. Stays in tune, easy to play, no electronics failures. Can't really ask for more from a reliability standpoint.

No experience in this department.

To sum up. Love playing it, not satisfied with the tone.

2007 Strat Deluxe (US made), 22 Frets, very playable all maple C neck with well rounded frets, stunning cherry sunburst finish. The locking tuners are the best and means i hardly ever have to tune. The Noiseless pickups are great for practicing in front of pc screen without buzz. S1 gives a lot of tonal options which is like having 2 guitars.Having the straplocks already fitted was great as this investment needs protecting.

This is my Blues guitar but i bring this out for a number of Classic Rock songs. The sound always cuts through. Ive played it through a Selmer Zodiac 50, a Messa Boogie Triple Rec, a Holden 50 a couple of JCM's and it really brings to life my modded Peavey VK100 and Marshall 1960a cab. The neck pickup is very Vaughn with warm lows and the bridge has tons of bite. Middle pickup is not really my thing but still sound great.

I didn't get a chance to play it out of the factory as it had been set up by a legendary guitar tech before I touched it. This baby plays like a dream and I havn't played anthing better.

This guitar is pretty heavy but it gives it a very nice tone. Ive had a few run in with bits of wall, sharp objects ect and there is only a single scuff on the very top which is remarkable. The finish looks so light but its quite strong. I never go to a gig without this thing and I know it wont let me down.

I havnt had to deal with customer support

Ive been playing for about 6 years and my current rig is:
Fender Strat D with backup Modded Epiphone 56 Goldtop
Bad Monkey
Expandora
Lovepedal Vibe
Jim Dunlop Wah
Peavy Vk100 with Marshall 4X12 cab (sometimes Selmer Zodiac 50)

If this guitar was stolen I would buy one again without a second thought. The only thing ive played that has come close was a custom made Weta Telecaster (which are excellent).

Details listed elsewhere, but the key features are the sommarium cobalt noiseless pick-ups, the extra five positions with the S-1 button in the volume switch, and the superb whammy bar. Mine is in a deep candy apple red with a maple neck. looks great.
it has classic strat sounds plus five extra, making it a truly versatile guitar.

The pick-ups sound great. This tone issue is always very subjective, and there is no small amount of snobbery, but the reality is that noisy single coils are a pain, and result of 1950's technology. Plug this Strat into a decent valve amp and you have a superb Fender sound without the hum. End of story. With S-1 engaged you get various fuller sounds, all of which are very usable.

Bought mine second hand, so don't know if it was the original factory set-up. Mine plays great. Lovely neck and very nicely finished frets. These USA made strats really are very high quality nowadays, I find.

its a strat, it will last forever, and get better.

I have a lot of guitars, including some vintage and boutique gear. i play this strat the most of all, which says it all really. I bought mine second hand from a guitar store, and without any haggling got it for 750 bucks. That is a stone cold bargain. It is one guitar that you can wear all night and cover any style of music. I recommend without hesitation. Look at the other reviews. Even with the tedious people who insist on spoiling the site with spiteful and silly 1 point scores this is still amongst the highest rated mainstream guitars on the market.

I purchased an 2008 American Deluxe Strat a few months ago. It has 22 medium jumbo frets on a C shaped mapel neck with a rosewood fretboard. It is a sunburst finish and has three Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups with the S1 switching system which gives you a lot of versatility. It comes with a real smooth two point tremlo with locking tuners.

I love the blues and also play rock and clasic rock. I play it mostly through my fender Blues Jr. with a tube screemer -808. The noisless pickups live up to their name and are really quiet. I play it mostly without the S1 system enabled but you can press it and add a little heat to what you are playing. Usually a strat has 5 pickup selections but with the S1 you have an additional 5 giving you a total of 10 choices. A very usable addition.

The action was pretty good out of the factory but I did do a set up on it myself and change the string gauge to get to to exactly what I wanted. You also have to set the bridge to what you want. The only problem I have is that the volume knob sticks a bit and doesn't roll smooth. It is a simple fix.

I have played with this guitar fo some gigs and it has help up well. i have gigged with it alone but I usually do try to bring one back up guitar with me just in case. It is a very dependable guitar with a strong finish.

I have had no experience with the company or warranty.

i have been playing guitar for over 10 years now and also Own a Hagstrom Super Swede, as well as an Epiphone 335. My Fender is my number one guitar now and i use it more than the rest. My favorite features are the tremlo with the pop in arm and the locking tuning machines. Its playability and sound are great. It is my favorite guitar purchase.

Mine is from 2005, bought new at a Fender distributor. It could be the ash version due to the color options only available to that strat, but this could be an exception. It is Aged Cherry Burst with a maple finished neck. Very nice pickups. The SCN really add a nice tone to it, giving this guitar some real character. When the s-1 switch is pushed the real tonal possibilities from this guitar become apparent. You can really dial in any tone you want with this guitar. It is so versatile. The tremolo bar on this start is not like the other ones, it seems to be a different model as it is push in instead of screw in, but it works beautifully and this guitar rarely goes out of tune because of its use. The finish is amazing, and the tuner locks add an extra nice feature. Every aspect of this guitar seems to have been thought out by Fender to really make it a deluxe stratocaster.

I play classic and progressive rock, stretching out to jazz or Zappa jams. This guitar can reach any sound you want it to. There is no noise from these pickups (SCN). I play through an early 90s Fender Super 210, and it sounds wonderful. With the pickups used without the S-1, there i a bright classic single coil tone. With the switch down everything generally becomes more full and bassy. The variety is incredible. If you are looking for a strat that can do it all, this is for you.

This is the only drawback. Fender does not want you to play this out of the box apparently. When I got the guitar it was in dire need of neck adjustment and the frets were dressed to increase playability. I also adjusted the action to make it perfect. By tweaking the neck a little bit this guitar plays absolutely perfectly, and a friend of mine who used to work in a Fender shop told me this is one of the nicest playing strats around. Do yourself a favor and DRESS THE FRETS when you get this. You may not think it needs it, but let me tell you it makes a world of difference. You will notice it in the long run. Trust me...

This guitar can handle extreme changes in climate. I am a college student and I am constantly leaving my hot humid dorm to the cold dry northeast air with this guitar in my hands. The tuning locks prevent any drastic change in tuning. This guitar is very dependable.

Have not had to deal with them yet... but I can't imagine Fender being an evil corporation.

I have played many custom guitars over the years and I must say that if you are looking for a classic strat that does everything a strat should do, and more, this is for you. THE PERFECT STRATOCASTER

Bought this guitar from Ralph and Sandy??s custom guitar shop in Florida. Nice looking guitar, came with modified pick ups, (check their website for details), locking machine heads, Jumbo frets, ash body, etc..not ad at all. Came with custom case, standard cheap strap and some picks and polish rag. But really, not alot to mention there. For what I paid, not worth it, I bought it over the internet, the guitar can be found easiloy enough on ebay, if you dare.

The sound is ok in some pot positions, but the wiring is buggered and they wont reply to my mails. One of the pots does absolutely nothing! Nothing, just turns! so therefore, for me, doesnt have full range of use and really doesnt do what it is supposed to do.

the guitar feels good. the shop apparently does a bit of a touch up, the stuff that they dont do in the fender shop, but as above, came with dodgy wiring, and no support from Ralh and Sandys custom shop. I think they must use the neighbours computer on Sundays after lunch only for 10 minutes.

I cant use it at a gig cos from 0 to about 7, there is no or little volume, then right at the end, from 8 thru to 10, I get volume! One of the tone pots doesnt even do that, from 0 to 10, its ineffective. Quite a dodgy place to buy a guitar, this is teh second review on here and the review of this shop that has all 10s, seems to be a very suss review, probably done in house! No surprise there.

Customer, support, I had to beg to get mails replied, before ended up getting no response at all, and so, well, hi sandy and ralph! Good to finally see you got to see this.

I have a gretsch white falcon, 2001 American Strat, with Kinman woodstock, a Mini Maton (australian guitars) 12 string diesel special, amazing guitar. and a tanglewood, cant remember make, but yeah, a great beefy dreadnaught I have had as my acoustic workhorse. and this heap of dead wood, the (Un)satisfaction telecaster from RALPH AND SANDY??s CUSTOM GUITAR SHOP on ebay and based in Florida. I wish I could get a response and my problem attended to. But they wont even give me a start. If it was lost or stolen , I would be thousands of out of pocket and woulkdnt go near them for a re purchase. Teh guitar is deemed almost worthless as its function is made useless due to teh tone and volume pots being wired with rubber bands, well, it seems like that anyway. Dont want to buigger up any warranty, if I even have one. due to opening up the guitar. I may get fender to have a look at it. (more cost to me)