Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

2005 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, 3-Color Sunburst, Rosewood fretboard, standard S-S-S pickup configuration with S-1 switching. All the other stantndard features noted in other reviews. I give this category a 10 for features because, all things considered this is probagbly the most "feature-loaded" Strat out there that doesn;t come from the Custom Shop with the Custom Shop price tag: S-1 switching system, nice pick-ups, locking tuners, strap locks, very nice hardware and detail work, etc. The only thing it doesn't have is a locking nut and locking tremelo.

With the pickup switching system, this guitar will make all the usual Fender sounds (ranging from clear and bright to snarly and raunchy) plus some fatter ones, too. Not Gibson PAF fat. Not metal-fat. But, pretty darned fat for a single-coil Strat. More like jazzy-fat. When you either have to or want to play just one guitar for a wide ranging set list, this one works very well.

Again, for a non-Custom Shop Strat, this is the best. When I bought mine, I was lucky enough to be able to look through a bunch of them and pick the best but, all of them were nice.

It is my go-to guitar for gigs, rehearsals, whatever. Our rehearsal space is actually harder on equipment than gigs (tight quarters). It has been dropped, fallen off its stand (onto concrete), had various adult beverages spilled on it. It's a brick house.

No need for this yet.

Playing 30-odd years. Other guitars: American Deluxe Tele (another nice guitar but not nearly as versatile), Les Paul Standard (neck-breaker) and an ES-335 (sweet). All played through various low-powered Fender tube amps. I love this guitar. Period.

2006 or 2007 American Deluxe Strat. This has an "alder body, modern C-shape maple neck with satin polyurethane finish (maple or rosewood fingerboard), three Samarium Cobalt Noiseless??? Strat pickups, S-1??? switching system, two-point synchronized tremolo with stainless steel saddles, abalone inlays and 22 medium jumbo frets." (from Fender website)

Mine has a maple fingerboard. The S-1 series adds usable vesatility. Locking tuners are convenient and work well. Came with strap locks.

I love the way this strat sounds. Very warm, clear, and strong. Records really well, too. I don't play live. The noiselss pickups help a lot; they're really quiet. I play classic-style rock and a smattering of other styles, too. This is great for even jazz, imo. I tried a few fat strats, but though the bridge pickup may have been cool in those, the configuration detracted from the sound of the neck and middle pickups slightly, I thought, so I went for the usual 3 single-coil configuration because I'm mainly intersted in the basic strat sound. I have a Gretsch Country Gentleman I think sounds better (though very different), but this is the nicest sounding strat I've owned.

Very nice frework. The Highway 1s I tried seemed rough and ragged in comparison. The rounded frets make for very smooth playing. I set it up with 10 gauge strings, so I had to reset the tremolo, which is a little dicey, but not a real problem. I also reset the action and pickups and intonation, and don't recall the original setup. The finish and abalone this and that look very nice, and I do like the finish on the neck better than the normal satin finish, but that's just me. Mine has the sunburst finish.

I don't gig, only record. It seems solid, though.

No experience.

I played when I was a teeneager in the 1970s, and owned a 1967-ish Strat at the time. I only play as a hobby now, but I've gone through a number of Les Pauls, Strats and Teles, Guild Starfire, and only have the Gretsch Country Gentleman 1962 reissue and this Strat now. I currently use Mesa Rocket 44 and Vox AC30cc2x amps. This guitar sounds great trhough both.

Beautiful Sunburst Alder Body, Looks like 1p Maple neck (or 2?), SSS with 2 point tremolo bridge, 5 way selector, 3 knobs (as usual).
VERY QUIET SCN Pickups, S-1, CRAPPY Case. although the case- this is the most featured start I tried (and I under stood that the new VG sounds like CRAP). Locking Tuners by Scaller (Great Feature).
I play with 0.10.
Installed Dunlop Straplocks. But the Nut is plastic. Medium Jumbo Frets, 22.

I play classic rock with Diamond Memory Lane and T-Rex Mudhoney.
this is probably THE BEST STRAT I EVER TRIED!
Even through a 25R Frontman it sounds great. the pickups are so quiet and dynamic! The S-1 (On evrey select- exept bridge + middle that I'm sure sounds wonderful but I di not use this position) SOUND FANTASTIC! The only anoying this is that the tremolo arm keep going out of the bridge hole (but the guitar stay in tune when I use it through the locking tuner).

I guess it is fine.

So far so good.

Well, the guitar has no problen (thank god), but I bought the guitar from a private dealer and thank's to the costumer support (and the serial number) I found out that the guitar body is Alder and not Ash as the dealer said- and got a 100 USD Reduce! But I waited 1 week for the answer..

on 7 words?
THE BEST GUITAR I EVER PLAYED ON.

This is a 2000 model American Deluxe Strat. It has a transparent green finish on an ash body. It has the faded "green" style pickguard. Three vintage noiseless pickups and a rosewood fingerboard with the typical 9 1/2 in. radius neck. Locking Sperzel tuners and the standard trem system were found on most of these models. It came with the standard molded case(since replaced), strap, cable and polishing cloth.

For the longest time, this was my favorite "all purpose" guitar. It had most of the Fender "bite" that a Strat is famous for, none of the buzz with the noiseless pickups and a somewhat more rounded tone which made it sound a bit fuller than a standard single coil model. I have used it mostly with Fender tube and modeling amps and the match works out quite well. It never quite sounded as good when I used it through a Marshall TSL 601 combo amp but I didn't use that amp for too long. The best part of the noiseless pickups is the ability to use all the pickup selector positions without any sign of hum.

This guitar has seen a lot of use and it still looks really good. The action has always been just right as I tend to like it on the low side. All the knobs, pickup switch, tunig machines and other hardware have never been a problem. I love locking tuners as they keep the guitar in tune for extended periods.

I have used it as my main guitar for the past seven years now and it has fallen off the guitar stand a few times without major damage. The finish is solid, the hardware is as good as new and it has survived some very cold and hot venues! It's a tank!

Never needed it for this guitar.

I traded in a Gibson SG Standard and a 1987 American Standard Strat for this guitar in 2000. It has been my main guitar up until this year when I purchased an American Deluxe V-Neck Strat to add to the collection. The S-1 switching system with the SCN pickups on that guitar are even more versitile than this guitar and I now play them both a lot. This being the older Strat with the older noiseless pickups is a bit mellower sounding and that works fine for most of the playing my classic rock band does. I'm a rhythm player primarily and the sound needs to cut through a bunch of other instruments(keyboard/horns/lead guitar) and it does that really well.

Okay, it's a USA made Strat from 2004. 22 fret, 9/5" radius, C neck, locking tuners, Med Jumbo frets, rosewood board, SCN pups (SSS). Nothing outrageous, just a combination that makes it right.

I play classic blues rock and blues through a Rivera Clubster. The SCNs offer a little more flexibility on the sound variations that allow the single coils to play some more biting riffs. But it still is a little short on the single coil scream that you can get from some of the older strat single coils.

They are so much quieter though, its a good trade off.

The finish was flawless. The sunburst had others drooling. From the factory it had action a little higher than I'd prefer, and a set of 9s. NOTE TO FENDER: You have to stop putting 9s on your higher grade equipment, we just swap them for 10s or higher anyway! After adjusting the action, its pure...

Why a 10? Because to me, there's a reason the strat is the most copied guitar style ever! The body contours make it comfortable to play for hours, the neck fits like a glove, and you can make it do just about anything you want. It is the ultimate guitar after all.

Again, its a strat, and a good one. This thing will play into my senior years. It will handle gigs without backups if I'd want to risk it, but that would call ol' Murphy into striking it with lightning or something. Always have a backup!

Fender has gotten some bad raps on support. I had a issue with another guitar and although they didn't break their neck getting it right, they were helpful.

Played too long to count, and owned a few other axes (Gibbys - too heavy and too expensive, Schecter - nice at first, but didn't keep my interest, some Mex strats and Teles - solid gear at a cheap price).

I would have to say the best thing about a strat is its comfortable to play and as dependable as your best dog. I honestly can't come up with a thing I don't like about it, except I don't have another one in white!

One word of warning, if you steal this - I'm armed...

I have two of these guitars, both with the standard features--trem, SCN pickups, S-1 switching. Both have maple fretboards. One of them is the "v-neck" model. Locking tuners. One was made in 2004, and the other 2005. They are both in the standard s-s-s pickup configuration. The features on these guitars are great. They are extremely stable, tuning-wise, and amazingly versatile--especially with the S-1 switching. The S-1 switch basically re-configures the wiring of the pickups. From a sound perspective, it does this: each pickup retains its characteristic sound, but becomes thicker. For me, it's especially useful for solos, etc. Even though I don't use the S-1 that much, it's nice to have.

The sound of this guitar is amazing. I waited two years to do this review, to give myself time to really sample what the guitar could do. The SCN pickups are silent. They are slightly fuller sounding than regular Strat pickups. They also have a much more even response across all of the strings. Still, they are very "stratty", and bright. They seem a little hotter than typical Strat pickups, and are much better for controlled feedback. My main disappointment with Strats (and they are my favorite guitar) was never that the pickups weren't clear enough, but that for some things they just didn't have enough "substance". That has been resolved with the SCN pickups. I recently completed a "project guitar" featuring Lindy Fralin pickups. Sadly, in my opinion, the Fralins don't measure up to the SCN's. The Fralins are MUCH better than stock Strat pickups, but I always find myself gravitating toward the American Deluxe.

I ordered my guitar from Fender, so when it got to the store, no one had touched it except at the Fender factory. It needed to be set up (action was a little high, and I block the trem.), but otherwise, everything was good, and worked well together. The only problem was that the neck was a little loose, but Fender might ship them that way, and leave it to the dealer to tighten some of those things up. The frets and finish work were beautiful.

I have used this guitar quite a bit for two years now, and sometimes I play it fairly hard. It's tough and reliable. The finish and all of the hardware is great--bulletproof. If it weren't for occasionally breaking a string (maybe 3 in two years), I'd have no problem going without a backup. HOWEVER...beware of the S-1 switch. About a month after I got it, the switch went out, and the guitar didn't work well. Fortunately, Fender replaced it (see below) and there hasn't been a problem since. I have been told that Fender had a bad batch of switches, and I have no reason to doubt it, since I haven't had any trouble with the switch in my other American Deluxe. Outside of that switch, it's very tough.

When my switch went out, I took it back to the local store, and they dealt with Fender. Fender was very good about it, and actually replaced the whole wiring harness. Both the local store and Fender were great. There's a lesson here, though: if you're buying a nice guitar, buy it locally, so that someone can actually help you if something goes wrong.

I've been playing for 20+ years. I've owned many different guitars, mostly Strats & Teles. I do mostly original stuff--reggae to Clapton-esque type music. This guitar is better all-around than anything I've owned or tried. It is simply the most musical and versatile guitar around. I guess the best testimony I could give would be that after buying this guitar a couple years ago, all of my "backup" guitars seemed REALLY lame. So...I sold them and bought another American Deluxe Strat (used and cheaper). It drove me nuts to play those guitars again, and a couple of them were supposed to be pretty nice. My favorite feaures on this guitar are the SCN pickups, and the neck, which is perfectly shaped and finished. If it were stolen or lost, I would (thankfully) have my backup American Deluxe Strat. I can't imagine going back to a regular Strat. The ONLY complaint I have is that I wish Fender made a HARDTAIL American Deluxe Strat. If you're wondering whether to buy this or a different Strat-type-thing, save yourself some years of frustration and irritation. Spend the extra money and get one of these.

'06 am dlx strat 3tsb, locking tuners, 2-point trem, rosewood 'board wot 9.5" radius and med. jumbo fretwire. Select alder body, modern (fatter) c-shape neck. Cme witha junk plastic molded case with polystyrene inside. Passive electronics. Tone controls fr all pup's and a no-load for the bridge.

Great for my musical tastes (blues, rock, jazz) and has a nice jazz tone thanks to the S-1 switch. Great outta phase sounds it and sounds excellent straight into my hotrod deluxe. Dead quiet thanks to the SCN's but, IMHO they are a bit muddy and lack low end definition. Great with high levels of distortion. Very full sounding neck and mid, and you can get some nice twangy-countryish tones from the bridge pup. IMHO it is one of, if not the most versatile strat with the S-1 switching and the SCN's are great for recording purposes.

My guitar was set up with a med-low action and played like it was strung with rubber bands with the 9's it came with. After raising the action (fo tone and sustains sake) and stringing it up with 11's
i can get a nice full, rich sounding bluesy tone with a hint of drive on my amp. Pups definietly needed tweaking... once i took the screws out to get rid of the stupid plastic on the 'guard. Nice bookmatching of grain and a great 3tsb paint-job. Only flaw is that the nut slots are a bit narrow and some string hitching occurs on the third string with trem use. I also installed 5 spring in the trem cavity and ste the bridge flush.It now stays in tune properly. I Absolutely love the neck on this thing!

This guitar could withstand anything but my only concern is the S1 switching device, I don't know how long mine will last because the one i played in the shop was busted. Came with schaller strap locks and they will not come off (hopefully). Would definetly gig without a backup.

N/O

Been playing about 6 years and own a cort acoustic, a Hot rod deluxe amp, Larivee om-03re acoustic, Hondo II 'special' LP copy (not so special, actually), and a washburn nylon string.
If stolen or lost (Heaven frobid!) I would probably get an Eric Johnson Sig. strat although this is a fantastic guitar and i think it's a great buy. I love all the great modern features. I just wish it had true single coil pup's about '59 spec.

Mine is a 2006 model. Specifically it is a American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster Aged Cherry Burst Maple (fretboard) model. It has SCN pickups with s-1 switching. It is tonally very versatile. The S-1 switching gives it warmer tones that standard single coil wiring. I comes with locking tuners.

There is not have a Floyd Rose trem nor a roller nut so I'll knock off a point for freatures. It has the typical Strat limits on how much you can use the trem before you get tuning inconsistencies. It's been that way for decades and I can live with it.

This guitar sounds awesome tonally. It covers alot of sonic territory. It is a very high quality instrument and has no hums hisses given it's design type. It sound beautiful clean and distorts well with the s1 switch engaged.

Unlike alot of other solid body guitars that are derived from LesPauls, this guitar can do both rythem and lead well. Many electrics sound good only in lead roles.

I got mine from Sweetwater and it came ready to tune and play out of the box. It took far longer to get the protective film off the the pickguard than to make it playable. The trem as mentioned above CAN knock the guitar out of tune if used too much, but is useful for vibrato and bending within half-step intervals. It fills the needs of 99% of all songs that I play. I have a rather wicked guitar with a Floyd Rose that I can use for the rest.

I've owned a American Strat before and expect this one to be consistently high quality.

Never used cust support.

I've been playing over 15 years. This guitar is in my mind, the perfect Strat. I've owned a American Strat in the mid 90's that though fine, was not as high as quality as this guitar. I love the finish also. It was a little pricey though, but I guess you get what you pay for.

2001 model crimson red lefty- 1 piece maple neck- noiseless pickups(pencil thin and shrill sounding pickups-at least in my guitar-but that is more to blame on poor tonewood selection than anything else) came with a case, strap, and a cable. Came with everything you need to play except-- a pick, and good vintage tone. Decent guitar for anyone wanting clean tone though or death metal maybe. Definitley not for fat sounds of yesteryear. Tonewood (body) is a feature that is poor on (mine not your's or all I'm sure) the guitar so that should explain the 5 ok.

the guitar does nice cleans and it is ok on a modern high gain amp but severly lacks that vintage strat vibe and won't push natural distortion on a tube amp. The place I bought it from is shady though. He sells a lot of scratch and dent stuff. I did'nt find out till later on that-- after 2 bad guitars that cost a lot from him. But I was younger then too. I play blues and classic rock but not on this guitar mine won't do the natural distortion thing although I'm sure a lot of others sound better than mine. Try before you buy if possible and if you are lefty like me then good luck finding a store with decent lefties in stock!!! I have had it for 6 years now till I traded it on a grosh last week and if there was much tone in it I would have found it a long time ago!!! Massed produced CRAP!!! All I bought was a name!!!

It plays like a dream- Much better than my gibson les paul custom. I wish it sounded as good as it looks. Although the body is 3 pieces of wood. (wide lot laminated) and grain does not match at all looks a little weird on the back less noticeable on the front.

seems tough- sounds kinda bad.I might play a clean tune on stage with it maybe but it is not a main versatile guitar by any means. Finish looks nice but it looks like many coats of polyurethane and surely clogs every pore and weakens tone even further. who cares if laquer comes off a little over time? nitro laquer is tonally supreme. Besides an old worn in strat is a thing of beauty. neat perfectionist types need to get into cars not guitars if finish durability and perfection is that big a deal to them- Me, I'm about tone and a used guitar is ok to look a little used. Trust me if your axe sounds good not too many people will care what it looks like anyway. Wore off paint must mean it got played a lot for a reason huh?

never dealt with them -- never want to try. I won't ever buy another fender. they are inconsistent from one to the next.

I'd give the guitar high marks if it sounded better. I wish mine had the vintage vibe the fender catalog said it did!!. The guy I bought it from is shady - and only sells crap he can get cheap for full price.(I found out after the fact) He acted like I was stupid when I kindly told him the guitar only did about a fourth of what I needed in a strat(he was dumb enough to ask how I liked it-He knew). Now I only shop music at fat sound in cary, NC they got their act together there. Give them a try you'll be pleasently surprised and treated like you should be. Stuart the owner there is a great guy!

born 2003 in america, standard 22 frets maple neck , 9.5 radius,alder-- sunburst, pearloid dots, fender locking tuners. non s-1 switching config. medium frets. passive noiseless pup's.

the strat has it's sound and it's place, but not beneath my fingers. the noiseless were just that-- noiseless and boring, thin, tinny, that is speaking of the bridge. the neck pup's fine and warm. very useable. for the bridge , i'm trying a dimarzio fast track 2. seems to be working great, very thick and powerful, great for powerchords and leads. i love the guitar, but not the single coils, hence the new pup.

bought it used, action was great, for the maybe 1 person that might read this out there in guitar land. a 2 year old could set a strat up, so i always get a kick out of some reviewers needing assistance from a tech to do it. lol. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: DON'T WASTE YOUR $$ BUYING ANY OTHER STRAT THAN A DELUXE, THE FACTORY SIMPLY DOESN'T SPEND THE TIME ON THE LITTLE THINGS AS THE DO ON THE DELUXE OR HIGHER.

this thing will last forever, rock solid, time tested. no visual wear yet, but even if it does-------GREAT.

no need, why nit pick and bother fender night and day when you should be able to fix it yourself. BUT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DONUTS LIKE THAT IN THIS WORLD.

46 years old, playing 33 years now, i'm no slouch and quite revered in vancouver. i've owned all sorts of gear, and this unit will remain hands down. i keep an ibanez for the 80's stuff when requested. this is a no frills, solid workhorse that'll do almost anything, dependable, reliable, great sound. no need to pay almost double for an anderson or sure. but people will, their gullable