Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

2004 deluxe montego black rosewood fingerboard, scn pickups. Stupid fender standard tremolo(which should be an option because the hardtail has 10 times the sustain, save that for another day).Bought this guitar new had it for three weeks noticed that there was severe shrinkage in the body causing cracks in the finish.

Sounds really nice like the s-1 lot of guys dont like it it beefs up the sound pretty good.Disappointed I have to bring it back because of the shrinkage probably get another

Poor setup as all fenders are out of the box .Always I have owned 6 different american strats (3 teles , 3 Strats) everyone was virtually unplayable out of the box, nothing a bit of tweaking cant fix.But to the poor guy who cant do his own work it can be costly. Also you pretty much have to strip the guitar apart to get the stupid plastic off the g-d pickguard. for this I will rate it a 5

As I have mentioned the body has shrunk substantially. I think fender is having a real hard time getting quality wood for their instruments.The shrinkage on this guitar is so bad that I have a hard time keeping it in tune. Shrinkage starts in the neck pocket and travels the whole length of the guitar and its gettin worse.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. If it wasnt for the music store I probably would be stuck with this guitar.

Been playing 12 years owned 6 different american fenders ,acharvel 650 xl custom(AWESOME GUITAR!!!) and a gibson les paul custom.This guitar sounds good but the finish and quality control is poor .Nowadays if you want a real quality fender go buy a G&L its the only real fender . Leo would roll over if he say what was being sold under his name

2004 Model. Made in USA. Two-color (vintage yellow with black burst edge), solid alder body, maple V neck and fretboard (we'll get to that later), mint-green pickguard, S-1 pickup switching (S-S-S) and two-point tremolo. Basically, a nice but run-of-the-mill Strat that you can pick up at any Guitar Center. I purchased mine off of eBay for $900 bucks. Not a great deal, but it was practically new and it included a set of Texas Specials installed along with the original noiseless pickups on the side. I rate it a 7 because for the price (retail would have cost even more) the fit and finish of the neck could have been a lot better. The frets were polished, but definitely could have used a light milling to be smoother. Not a great deal when you consider that you can pick up a new Carvin whose quality spanks it (sorry, Fender fans, it's often too true) for less money and with more options.

I like to play blues, 70's rock, SRV and Hendrix type stuff, so a Strat is the way to go. I play through a 1999 model 100W Fender Twin Amp ("Evil Twin") beast that provides beautiful Fender clean tones and reverb with a passable Marshall crunch through the dirty channel. As I got it with the Texas Specials, it sounded great, producing all the typical tones you'd expect from a Strat, including the occasional hum when I turned to face the wrong direction. That's life with a Strat, so I don't face that direction and I make sure all major appliances and sources of electrical noise are off when I'm practicing at home. Someday I'll swap out the Specials for the original noiseless pickups to compare, but for now, I really dig the tone of the Texas Specials, noise and all.

For the price (I see these things retail for $999 at GC), I would expect a much better set up. No, this isn't a PRS, but a decent set up isn't rocket science either. The frets should have been smoother. I have to give credit, however, to the wood and the finish used on the body. The alder is nicely and evenly figured, almost like ash, and the color is beautiful. The quality of the finish is excellent.

Now for the modifications...I installed a Hipshot Tremsetter on it because it wouldn't stay in tune. I play with GHS Boomers in 11-50, and I use the tremelo a lot, but I don't dive bomb it or get wacky with it. I like to use it for subtle stuff like SRV's "Lenny" or the occasional surf tune. Without the tremsetter, the guitar was frustrating at best. After installing the tremsetter it stayed in tune MUCH better and had a greatly improved (though firmer) feel in the tremelo arm. I'm still tweaking it to get the best action and feel out of it, but so far it's been worth every penny and is highly recommended. For 35 bucks it's worth a try.

Now about the neck...I chose the V neck because it had a beefy feel. I guess it wasn't beefy enough, so I replaced it with an older 90's Jeff Beck baseball-bat neck that I also got off of eBay. I had a professional do it so that all would be done properly. When I got the guitar back, I couldn't believe the difference. Holy crap, the thing sounded TONS better (clearer, more sparkling, more definition) and sustained MUCH better. I chose the neck mainly because of ergonomic reasons, but now have also learned that what people say about bigger necks improving the sound is true, at least in this case. One more thing about the Jeff Beck Strats: Judging from what people say on the internet about the size of them, you'd think that maple forests thoughout the world are endangered in order to produce them. Yes, the neck is definitely big, but it's not much fatter than a '59 Les Paul neck. If you like big necks, give it a try if you can find one. It's well worth it for the improvement in the sound alone. After all the money, time and effort invested in setting up the guitar to my liking, I give the action, fit & finish a 10. Keep in mind that this is a Strat, which from its inception was designed to be mass produced inexpensively. It will always have its flaws, but it gives you a lot to work with. Put in the proper effort and you'll be rewarded. I just wish that Fender put more effort into the overall set up of their instrumemts. After all, this one is the American Deluxe model. No, it's not a custom-shop model, but it is something they're still making healthy margins on. A little of that profit should be invested in better fretwork and finish.

I don't have much to say here that hasn't already been said by everyone else on Harmoney Central. The Strat is very reliable and should last for decades. I could probably get by just fine playing live without a backup, but I would never take that chance. It ain't worth it. Another beauty of the Strat is that there are exactly a zillion different replacement parts available for it (last time I counted). If any part of it breaks or wears out, just buy a new one. You can't do that with your PRS.

Never dealt with customer support. Never had to.

I've been playing for 24 years and have owned a couple dozen guitars in my life. The Strat is a "must have" item if you're into the type of music I like to play. If it were lost, I'd replace it with another Strat, probably a 90's Jeff Beck model because of the great neck.

2004 year model, USA AM. Dlx, 22 frets, Alder body, Maple board, translucent ampber color. I thought it was ash, but it is indeed alder. S/S/S Samarium cobalt pickup arangements, 2 tones, one volume knob with s-1 switching. Fender 2 point fulcrum tremelo, with pop in bar. The tuners are locking variety. Came with case, polish cloth, bottle of polish, various tools. The neck has softened, rolled neck edges. The finish was perfect.

I play lots of blues, funk and jazzy stuff. I have even used the guitar into a high gain amp and it sounded ok to me. I use it with a Marshall DSL 100, and a crybaby. It is a bright bubbly sounding guitar with no discernable noise from the pickups. When they say noisless, they mean it. The s-1 can pop when engaged, this is probably due to a capacitor in it. I cannot find any flaws with the sound of this guitar.

The guitar came with a pretty good setup from the factory with .009's. I use .10's so i left it at the dealer after i bought it. This guitar came with the neck slightly off and was covered/corrected under warranty. This guitar responds well to changing pickup heights, and they do not exhibit a powerfull pull on the strings, and do not affect sustain. I will add that I had the trem screwed down tight to the body and use it like a hardtail. I did use the trem for a little while before I changed it, and it stayed in perfect tune. I wanted this guitar in a hardtail and Fender doesn't make it that way. The string height and intonation of this guitar was perfect. I have never had a guitar that played in tune and intonated as well as this guitar. With the .009's the action was low, and my heavy handed playing made the strings buzz, so when it was set up, I specified a medium high action. I really do love this guitar wholeheartedly but........I'm taking 2 points off for the neck issue. $1100 is way too much to pay for a guitar that needs the neck recentered.

I have been gigging this guitar for 2 months now. The hardware hasn't rusted and no chrome has peeled of the bridge. The fish is pretty robust, but I've managed to dent and ding it here and there. My guitars all end up looking pretty rough after about a year or two worth of use, so I'm not worried. I'm not into relicing, but I'm not babying this guitar either. A guitar is just a tool to me, ands tools get dented and scratched. The strap locks supplied with the guitar keep comming loose. This is a negative with me. I'm going to toss them and use standard oversize strap buttons. Subrct 2 for straplock issues. This has been a constant problem with these guitars and Fender does nothing about it.

Fender warranty has been perfect. The guys I purchased my strat from are Professional, Helpfull, Courteous, and knowledgeable. I will likely purchase another strat from them. This department tops the list in my book.

Overall, I would give it a 9 because nothing is perfect. I never use the S-1, love the sound, and it is pretty darned durable to boot!

If it were lost or stolen, I'd go back to Kelley's and order a new one just like it! These guitars are fantastic in my opinion, with a few minor flaws, that are easily enough worked out.

2004 model

V neck - it's great that Fender put out a production line model with this neck last year. I bought this to replace my 17 year old much modified clapton strat which needs a 2nd fret job, hums a bit (great pus though - got them off an old Tokai) and breaks strings at the bridge after approx 3 weeks. I had to have another V - my hands really like this type of neck. I wanted a guitar for heavy gigging and wanted to retire my old one

ROLLED EDGES - yeah for Fender again - feels broken in

WEIGHT - a little heavier than my old one - I like a heavy guitar - I rely on it for my vibrato style. I use a wide strap to compensate. I like alder tone - throaty - ash is no good for me.

New Heel Shape - great change - give just a little room for playing up hi - that's all I needed - a little

strap locks - nice - lots of playing - don't have to worry

cosmetics - nice sunburst with toned maple neck (not a cap ) aged plastic - pretty green guard - thick - oveall a nice 'old' look without being a relic.

pickups - this is the part that amazes me - perfect strat chime with great sustain - very little hum. I've done lots of side by side comparison with my old strat ( wonderful tone ) These new SCN pickups are divine. I can't believe fender got it so right - the first generation "vintage noiseless" PUs were not acceptable. For once I picked up a strat that I didn't have to run out and put new PUs on it. - unlike even the custom shop stuff - I've replace PUs on 2 custom shop teles.

FRET WORK - smooth - perfect intonation AS IS FROM THE SHOP. I needed to adjust it to set it up for hybrids ( 10 on bottom - 9 on top) - it was easy to adjust and it's right on

TREM - I was always a snob and wanted the vintage bridge - so glad I gave in - the new ones are great - for once - a trem I can leave floating and stays in tune - I also like the free swinging arm on these.

Schallers - never had these before - They're fine - I'm accustomed to them now.

S1 switching - use it especially in position 2 (middle - bridge ) - thick enough tone to play slide straight up. Strats are notorious for difficulty with slide tone - this does it. The reviews below are right on - the S1 is "not quite" humbucker tone. What it is is an almost perfect P90 tone - it sounds like my '59 junior - what a nice additional tone to have on a strat.

Have played 40 years - I'm a fan of STRAT + EL84s - I use a badcat cub II. - Carl Martin compressor (subtle amount of compression ) - BUDDA PHATMAN for crunch in bridge position. - sparkle drive for 'woman tone" - drive hi with tone on guitar rolled back - this Fender will sustain notes endlessly - moves into great feedback. I play in poprock - R+B - cover band - dance music. I wanted a strat that will gig heavy. Once more - I'm blown away by these PUs.

I did not have to run straight to my tech with this one - no need - wonderful intonation and playability.

It's held up well. I take a backup. I'm so pleased that this is a regular production model with the neck I like.

don't know - have not needed it

I would replace this one. May have trouble replacing strings in dark but have not needed to unlike my old strat. Thanks - fender.

2004 American Deluxe Candy Tangerine with 50th aniversary neck plate. Nice touch for this year. This guitar is loaded with features. It is the nicest fender I have ever played. Select Alder body, Rolled edges on the neck, Lawrence noiseless pickups, locking tuners, stainless steel saddles, pop in tremelo bar. Everything you'd ever want in a strat. I also liked the extras, like the polish, cable, and strap locks. Plus the lifetime warranty. I never heard of that before.

I usually play a Tom Anderson drop top for hard rock and classic rock, and a Somewhat rare 1989 Ibanez Artstar AM400 semi-hollow body. I wanted a Fender Strat to capture that Fender Strat sound, like David Gilmour and John Frusciante. This guitar does exactly what I wanted it to do, without any noise from the pickups. Even on high gain settings, but I wouldn't recommend it for Metallica styles, because there is no humbucker. But I did not buy it for that reason anyway.

The factory set up was fine. I played about 7 of these guitars new and most were set up fine, and each had it's own character. The one I purchased had the action a little high for my preference, but I have heard from others that the action was set up a little low. So it might be a personal preference. Everything else was flawless. I can's stop admiring the guitar and it's quality.

I just bought it, but it does have a lifetime warranty. I am pretty sure that I or someone will be playing this guitar 40 years from now. I could use it without backup, but I have too many other guitars and styles to just gig with this guitar alone.

Never had to deal with Fender except the artist relations department, and they are very helpful.

I am just in awe of this guitar. I used to think that it was impossible to buy a quality guitar with no flaws, unless you had it custom built. I think that during the last 10 or 15 years the industry used to produce crap. But Fender changed all of my thinking with this guitar. This is hands down the best standard non-custom type guitar that I have ever played.

Bought from Sam Ash-2004-USA made - S1 pickup switching, noisless pickups. S/S/S pickup configuration. locking tuners, non-locking trem, but its the good Fender trem, not the one that pokes your hands when you play. Rosewood fretboard. Came with a case. Aged cherry sunburst. Gave it a 10 because compared to my tex mex, it has tons of features. One cool example of a hand-made strat vs a factory made strat...the knob by the bridge pickkup just isn't in my way. I dont know how they do that, but everytime I've ever played a knock-off strat I am painfully aware of the know being right in the way of my muting hand on the bridge. The expensive hand made strats?...the knob is not in the way. Its right there, yes...its just not in the way. Awsome!

Sounds incredible. It really is a work of art. The pickup switching lets you choose all 3 pickups at once, or any variatey of combinations. Its also dead quiet. Not one single bit of noise. It's funny, this guitar is so perfectly balanced in tone and timber, that when I put chorus on it, it only "blurs" the sound and makes it odd sounding and seem out of tune. The mexican strat I have only begins to sound remotely decent when I have dumped chorus on it. This guitar has a huge, perfect sound on its own. Another thing I noticed was that it really rings out acoustically on its own. I've read other reviewers when they said this and experienced it for myself finally.
Pickups are gutsy and unique in every setting. It really nails that quack sound of Sultans of Swing or Run like Hell by PFloyd.

perfect. Every chord, in every register on the neck, is perfectly in tune. Perfect fret work, neck fit, finish. The action was perfect for me. Not a flaw on the guitar. Feels balanced when holding it in my lap or while its around my neck.
My only complaint - and this is very minor and it applies to ALL guitar makers. When I spend $1100+ for a guitar, I really do expect to be able to take off the protective plastic without removing the knobs. The last thing I want to do to anything expensive, is take it apart in any way.

I dont know if I'll play live anytime soon or not, but I imagine it will hold up just fine if I do. Feels solid as a rock. Nothing cheap or plastic feeling about it at all.

Never had to deal with support before. It has a limited life time warrantly. Its a Fender.

I've been playing since I was about 13. I'm 38 now. I've owed myself a good guitar for a long time and always had an excuse not to get one. I'm so glad I finally did. I used to alwasy brag about my tex-mex. After playing my new one for a while, I went back to the tex mex. It was a joke. Some stranger could have taken it from my hands at that moment and thrown it into the trash and I'd have just left it there. There simply is N.O. going back to a cheap guitar once you've tasted the good life. Its worth every penny. A quality strat will play ANY music that you want to play....from Stevie Ray to Godsmack.

This guitar is a 2004 Am. Dlx. Stratocaster, 22 frets, maple neck & board, and 3 samarium cobalt pickups (SMC). The volume and tone controls are fender standard fare that comprises of 2 tone and one volume knob. It is made of 3 pieces of alder, regaurdless of what the salesman said about it being ash, it is alder. All Am. Dlx. Strats in 2004 come stock with tremolo bridge and locking tuners. As of this review, a hardtail isn't available in Am. Dlx. Trimmings. The frets are larger than older fenders, but not so large as to cause intonation problems from pressing too hard. Mine came with a form fitting case, leather strap & straplocks, and a bottle of polish and a cleaning cloth. Nice extras IMHO.

When I tried this guitar at the store, I plunked a few chords on it and had the salesman put it up for me. After bringing it home, I put it thru it's paces with the .009 Fender Bullets, then sent it back to the store for setup with .010's. I have stumps for fingers, and nines feel like thread under my fingers. I play southern rock and swamp music, and geezer rock. I even dabble in some Ingwie type stuffe rarely. I have found this guitar is just the ticket for my style, which usually always reverts to blues based stuff. This guitar is just as advertised-NOISLESS! The (SMC) exhibit little magnetic pull on the strings, and sustain isn't affected as adversley as with regular high output humbuckers and such. Every note frome these pickups sounds like it could explode when pick attack is heavy, and picking lightly rewards me with softer acoustic tones. The pickups are well balanced to me, but I could see how someone might call them bright due to their acoustic sounding nature. While I'm at it, I want to discuss the S-1 switching system. It allows the single coils to be paired up in threee ways, bridge and middle, bridge and middle out of phase, all three at once, neck and middle & neck and middle out of phase. It can pop a little when engaged, because there are capacitors involved and the store electricity. I find this annoying but not to the point of uslessnes as some other reviwers describe. Engaging the S-1 fattens up the tone for leads ect, but it isn't a true humbucker sound. It is a little weaker, ad some what unfocused. I am using this guitar with a Marshall DSL 100, and a JCM 900 1936, 2x12 speaker cabinet. I usually always play on the greeen channel without the crunch engaged. It rewards me with the bluesy tones I like. Think clean and qucky in positions 2 and 4 as usual. I want to describe the SMC pickups a little as well here. The SMC's are a very articulate pickup, that tranlate every little nuance of your playing into the amplified sound. From raking your fingers along the unplucked strings, or nto silencing unplayed strings, it will show. Each string and individual note seems like it has its own, individual pickup and is defined clearly within chords ect. Harmonics seem to be present in this guitar in a form that I have never experienced, and it is a joy to hear a chord ring with such clarity as it does in this guitar.

Factory setup was alright, but not to my liking. It came with a thin .009 Fender bullets strings. I immediately had that changed. Also, I had the tremelo screwed down tight, and flush to the body, so it would not move under double stop bends-(I wanted a hardtail). The guitar body was made of three pieces of wouud and you really cant tell untill you flip it on end and look at it. I know the corksniffers and screwcounters prefer 1 piece bodies, but it doesn't make that much difference to me. I did have a problem with the neck being a tiny bit off kilter and sent the guitar back to the dealer, where this was promptly covered under Fender's warranty. Mine came with the clear finish and I think they called it amber? Either way, it really shows the grain of the wood, and I like it. The finish seems durable, but I've managed to scratch it somehow. This isn't a big deal to me, as most of my guitars look reliced in a year or two, just from me using them. I feel guitars are for playing, and not for polishing.

I've already gigged this guitar three times, and haven't exprerienced any string breakage or any tuning problems. It holds tune well and intonates chords better than any guitar I have ever owned. The finish is pretty tough. I like the straplocks, and they seem solid. I definetely can depend on this guitar, but keep one of my trusty teles onhand fo a backup.

My guitar dealer, handled a neck adjustment issue for me, and said it was under Fender's warranty.

Overall, this is one nice Stratocaster in my opinion. Being a guy that played mostly set neck Jacksons and acoustics, I didn't fully understand the Stratocaster and all of it's sonic possibilities to start with, but now can appreciate the usefullness of each position on the 5 way switch. If it werer lost or stolen, i would purchase another of the same. I love this guitar period. I love all the sounds it can make and the cleanliness of the sounds, and tones. I wish it were a genuine hardtail, but it is working great for me in it's current setup. I am satisfied 99%!

An 2002 American Deluxe Strat with 3 vintage noiseless pickup(s/s/s)
22 frets maple fingerboard (I love that)
3-colour sunburst which is the most famous in the Fender line
Deluxe tremolo system with pop-in arm which is simple to use
Comes with Standard Hardcase, cable, strap and strap lock

A lovely guitar, a lovely face

I play blues, classic rock and this axe is a perfect one to me. The noiseless pickups works like a gentleman and it is a execllent blues machine. It generate clean sound which is better than some custom shop model. I always use it with a Boss overdrive pedal, and the result, you can have a Clapton sound. Blues, classic rock, this guitar always stands by your side.

The fast action neck works and I feel very comfortable. Custom looking, custom sounds, just like a custom-made model. The only thing I dislike is the 3-piece alder for the body.

How can I comment on an orginal strat style guitar? Anyway, it is a good partner when I was on the stage. It is reliable and I think I will use it for my coming years.

Since I live in Hong Kong, no direct support is provided from Fender

I have been playing it for 6 months. Besides, I got a Seagull S6 with L.R.Bagg for unplugged.
I was looking for a new guitar since I have sold my steinberger, and I could only find this colour in the store so I just took my wallet and married the guitar home. I hate the standard hardcase and I always ask "Should it be a deluxe tweed case?"
I wish to have a Parker Deluxe Fly and a PRS Custom for my collection. If it were stolen...............uh...come on......

2004 American Deluxe Stratocaster, 22 frets, maple fretboard, three samarium cobalt noiseless single coil pickups. Alder body, maple neck, Montego black finish with gold pickguard. S1 switching system. Locking tuners and standard nut, Schaller security locks and a vintage style vibrato.

I was originally looking for a sunburst 50th anniversary model, but this one felt and sounded perfect, so I accepted the montego black finish which also looks great with the little sparkling pieces in the finish. The neck on the Deluxe Stratocasters feels great, very smooth and fast. I love the abalone dot inlays.

The body is light compared to a Les Paul or the PRS that I own. The tremolo bridge looks solid, but I would say it is better on a PRS or a G&L.

I play blues based music and the Strat is perfect for the job, very authentical Stratocaster sound, the SCN pickups are really noiseless, I do not really use the S1 switch a lot. Engaging the S1 makes the sounds thicker, but personally I prefer my PRS if I needed humbucker sounds.

The guitar was set up by the shop, I instantly changed them to 10's and had them set up. I can not believe all manufacturers put 9's on their guitars, I have 11's on them now and have a higher action.

The guitar as it comes from Fender, Corona was perfect in execution, but that's what I would expect from a renowned manufacturer.

I love Stratocasters, Leo did a great job when he came up with that design, you can not beat it, the Deluxe Strats feel even better.

This baby is build rock solid, Fender guitars are working man's guitars, so I do not worry about it.
Deluxe's come with strap locks, that's how it should be !

Never gig without a backup because strings always break when you expect the least.

Never had to deal with Fender and I doubt I will ever need to.

I am playing for two years now, I own a Fenix PRS copy, a Taylor 414-CE, a PRS Custom 24, an Ibanez AS73 and this baby which is my main guitar now. I found this guitar hanging in the shop and for 850 USD I thought it was a steal, given the fantastic feel, sound and the upgraded features in comparison to the American Strats.

If it was stolen I would try to find the guy who stole it and apply some serious bashing on him with my bass. I would definitely get a Deluxe again.

This is absolutely great value for the price and there is really nothing that I dislike about it - sound, feel, reliability, price, everything is perfect.

This is a 2004 American Deluxe Stratocaster that literally came in the door while I was trying out the Standard American Strats in the store. I fell in love with it and bought it within 20 minutes of trying it out. It has the locking tuners, the knife-edge tremolo system, maple fretboard, alder body, noiseless cobalt pickups, S1 switching system for the new pickup combinations, abalone inlays and 22 frets. The finish is standard tobacco sunburst. What immediately caught my eye was how sturdy it felt (especially compared to the Standard American Strats) and how the magnetic poles of the pickups lined up with the strings (believe or not the Standard Strats I tried were random in this aspect), and the immediate playability of it (the 'comfort factor'). I currently own a '64 strat as well as 12 other various Gibson, Fender Ibanez and Hamer guitars and have been playing professionally for 35 years.

I had decided to buy this guitar before I had even plugged it into an amp (my philosophy is if it feels and sounds good acoustically it will sound great amplified). Once I did plug it in the sound was quite spectacular. While it took some getting used to the different pickup combinations via the S1 switching system, the new sounds have become standard for me on stage. I especially like the bridge pickup setting with the S1 switch 'in'. It comes as close to a double-coil sound as I've heard and gives great sustain for soloing. The new pickup combinations give an overall beefier sound and the standard pickup combinations have the classic Strat sounds intact. The 'noiseless' feature of the cobalt pickups is a dream come true! I play pretty much every style of music from country to heavy metal and I am able to get pretty much any tone I want with this guitar from a clean, bright chicken-pickin' sound to a thick rock sound, with my pedals on. My guitar signal currently goes through the following pedals; RAT, Tokai metal, IBANEZ tube screamer, BOSS Harmonist, BOSS analog delay and then into a BOSS CE-1 stereo chorus pedal which splits the signal into a Fender Blues Deville 2x12 amp and a Roland Cube 60. While I still also use a Godin electric guitar on stage for certain 'double-coil' sounds, since buying this Strat I am using the Godin less and less.

From the factory this guitar was pretty much setup the way I like it although it was strung with lights instead of regulars. Since I liked it the way it was I've gotten used to the light-guage strings. I did have to raise the high e-string and lower the low E string slightly. The action was great and what I especially liked was the lack of fret noise along the entire neck length, other than the above mention, no immediate adjustments were necessary. HOWEVER;
1. Right off the bat I found the floating tremelo system a nightmare to play in tune. I already have a Hamer with a Floyd Rose which I use for any whammy bar gymnastics so I didn't really want or require an extensive whammy bar system and I found that my style of playing (resting my wrist on the bridge) caused major playing-in-tune problems. The solution was to put an extra spring on the system to 'lock' it down and that worked great.
2. I've been playing professional guitar for 35 years and I stopped breaking strings about 33 years ago but I couldn't get a 1st or 2nd string to last more than 2 nights before it would break with this guitar!! They would always break at the same point on the saddle and I tried using emery cloth on the saddles and replaced both saddles twice with the same replacement saddles from the dealer, to no avail. I finally got fed up and replaced the e and b saddles with graphite ones and that resolved the problem, but I don't feel I should have had to do that with a new guitar. I'm not an agressive player!! I didn't notice any other flaws in the workmanship of the guitar itself but the string breakage problem was very frustrating.
3. Although the locking strap nuts, strap and polish were a nice touch to the bought package, the case that it comes with it I found to be cheaply made and has alignment problems and not near enough room in it to store extra strings, tools etc.

Now that I have locked down the tremolo system and resolved the string breakage problem with the graphite saddles, I feel the guitar is very reliable at gigs. One nagging POTENTIAL problem I see however is the mechanism for the S1 switch. I love the sounds it gives but mechanically I can't see it lasting long on the road before it's going to get dirty and start 'sticking' in the down position. I guess I'll deal with that problem when it comes up.

I've gotten good support from the dealer with the problems I had. I haven't tried dealing with Fender themselves.

Overall I'm very happy with this guitar and the 2 best things I've found is the extensive tone combinations and the noiseless pickups. I'm not happy with having to put the graphite saddles but I can live with it and it didn't change the tone too drastically. As mentioned earlier I also have a '64 Strat which was my main guitar until it required it's 4th fret job and this Strat has replaced it on stage for me.