Fender American Standard Strat

1991 Fender American Strat. I bought it new and it has been my main axe since. Gun Metal Blue with a maple neck. I did'nt like the stock pickups so I changed to Van Zant Blues in the neck and middle and recently pit a Seymour Duncan in the bridge. I dont like the bathtub routing or the stock piickups. After the changein pickups, it sounds much better.

I play a Blues/Rock/Outlaw country variety and this guitar suits me perfectly. I have a 60 watt all tube Gibson Falcon that I used with thie guitar for years and recently purchaced a 1979 Acoustic 124 amp with 4 10s and 100 watts to give the Falcon a Break (Needs Repair) and the guitar sounds great through both amps.

The only effect I use is a light overdrive with a Tubescreamer and maybe some reverb.

I dont use the trem bar and I wished I would have bought a hardtail.

I have played every musical style with this guitar. Sweet.

With the changed pickups thie guitar has TONE. The frets have worn over the years and may need a re fret job.

Action was sweet straight from the store. Nice Paint Job. No Known Flaws.

This guitar stays in tune nicely. I have worn the neck silly. The maple neck has numerous battle scars and wear marks and I think it looks cool. This guitar has led me through countless gigs and I have gigged without a backup. This has been my main axe since 1991 and I love it. Her name is Minerva.

Never needed customer support.

Ive been playing for 17 years and own a Charvel 525 D acoustic electric, Fender Gemini II Classical and have recently am having a custom built Heritage 535. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would Buy another Fender Strat (but maybe a roadhouse). I dont regret buying this guitar but would rather buy one with great sounding pickups to begin with.

Maple neck and fretboard, sky blue finish, 2 pt. tromolo, blabla...Came with a hardcase. The lining seems to be perfumed. Guitar always smells sort of like vanilla when you pull it out of the case.

I play metal, punk a little bit of blues through a Mesa F-50 plugged into a homebrew 4X12 cab. Absolutely no complaints, except that I had to get a Gibson SG to rip off Iommi's riffs and have them sound right. The Fender sound is maybe a little thin for covering Black Sabbath. What would I expect, though? The Fender has single-coil pickups, and is a signifigantly different guitar design. With the 5 position switch in the first or fifth positions, there's a hum. To be expected. You're only using one single coil. It becomes inaudible when you actually play. It'll get me anything from a vaguely Hendrix-like tone to harsh and metallic, for bashing away at 3 chords and the 7 words you aren't supposed to say on the air.

Perfect, except that it was sort of toneless with the stock strings. Changed to heavy guage, adjusted the tension on the bridge to get the gap between it and the body back into spec., and it started to sound marvelous. Very easy to play. I was surprised to see that this guitar got an overall lower rating than the SG Special I have did. It's definitely a better guitar. Played through the clean channel on my amp, it gives a much better sound. Maybe even 2 C-notes better, which was the price difference. There are just a couple of sounds I can't get it to do for me, which is why I have that SG.

Wouldn't use anything without a backup. Why make somebody watch me fuck with a broken string? The rest of the guitar seems like it would survive being dropped off a 5 story building. If used heavily, the tremolo will make it go out of tune. Unless you're completely deaf, and if you are, can't afford a tuner, it takes maybe a minute to put it back. Strap buttons are great. Much nicer than those on the SG Special. The finish is nicer than the Gibson's as well. Of course, that's just my particular low-end Gibson. An LP Standard will likely have a better finish than my Fender.

It hasn't broken.

Total of about 6 years playing. Started playing again a couple of years ago after a long hiatus. I'd buy this guitar again in a heartbeat. I'd also try to find the guy that made re-purchase necessary in order to beat his face absolutely flat. I don't finger pick, so breaking my right hand again might not be too inconvenient. When I bought it, it was the first guitar I looked at. I played it, it just felt right. It was also American made, which may or may not be a stupid reason for buying something, depending on your point of view.

It's a 1990 american std strat.

Lifeless poplar body with the "bath tub" routing.
Will never know how many pieces of wood was used...
Maple neck/ satin finish/ 22 frets
Sustainless two point tremolo (now blocked...)
Texas specials (rather WRONG choice) replaced the original PU's
Push-pull tone pot for two extra sounds (cool) /had the TBX control removed. It was never really useful anyway...

The neck is very well built, highly detailed and it plays well with any amount of action.
Although i prefer the vintage style radius and width, it's still a good one for me.

The overall construction of the instrument is perfect.
After 13+ years of use it is still in mint condition.
That's the only thing i can't complain about, so i rate it a 9

Even from day one this guitar sounded weak and thin and sustainless.
When i jammed with others the difference in output was more than obvious.

I tried heavier string gauges, to get a small improvement.

Then i installed the Texas Specials to get a hotter output.
OK, the output got stronger, but the harsh sounding pickups along with the trebly empty sound of the multi-piece poplar body give a strange result...
It is not always a bad sound to my ears, especially with a little tweaking with the controls on the guitar and the pedals and the amps.
But it surely lacks the resonance of a higher quality body.
Fundamentally the sound is empty, shrill, trebly and midrangy (?...)

After blocking the tremolo with a piece of wood, the sustain seems endless compared to what it used to be.

For some time in the past i installed iron plates under the pickups to roll-off the highs and get some more output (it really worked) but
i had enough of the "sterilized" feel (there is no "air" in the sound) and i had them removed.

I think that the problem with this guitar is the body and the bridge.
Low quality multi-piece poplar with "bath tub" pickup routing and the two-point tremolo, just kill the tone!
Add the thick "anti-resonant" urethane finish, and you get the picture...

I seriously think about buying a high quality body with a six-screw trem and a normal SSS pickup routing.
(This time it will be one-piece alder with nitro-cellulose finish)
If i change the frets, the nut and the tuners, it will be ok...
(these are the only worn out parts of my guitar after almost 14 years)

I know, it feels like i will cange almost everything, so why not buy a new one?
Tonewise, i think it will be better because new Fenders don't have one-piece bodies (even the vintage RI), and if you order a custom shop guitar (which i cannot do in the country i live in) you will have to pay quite a lot...

So maybe i'll do it and re-review the guitar... :)

Concluding, i rate it a (generous)5 because the guys in Fender have done a terrible job trying to suppress the cost of the strat back in the 90'ies...

As i mentioned above, the action, the fit and the finish are Excellent!

Absolutely no copmlaints about the setup!

It's a US Fender...

After almost 14 years of every day use (ok, and good care)
it is in MINT CONDITION!

Beautiful and shiny like the first day!...
The neck has tinted a little over the years, so it looks even better!

I THINK FENDER USA HAS MADE A VERY BAD CHOICE IN THEIR DEALER FOR MY COUNTRY.
IT'S A PITY FOR SUCH A HISTORIC BRAND TO HAVE SUCH INCOMPETENT DEALERS!!!!

Of course, whenever i needed to contact the company in the US, their response was immediate and really helpful.
Even in the snail-mail years they responded immediately (regarding the distance...)

A 10 for the US and a big 0 for the ones in my country.

A very well built guitar with a very poor sound.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MARKETING AND FINANCE DEPARTMENTS GET INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION...

the rating is up to you... :)

1995 American Standard Strat (bought Jan 1996). Made in USA (Arizona factory at the time?) High gloss Poly 'Lipstick Red' (color no longer avail?) Standard features for that year's model - White S/S/S pickups, knobs and three-ply WBW pick guard. C-shpaed, Maple skunk-sripe neck with 22 frets on Rosewood fret board. Med-Jumbo frets good for bending. 'Fender'-scripted logo on neck plate (no 'Corona'). Satin finish on neck. Fender sealed tuners. Truss rod channel on headstock. 2 string trees (D/G and B/E). 5 way switch, 2-pole 'knife-edged' floating tremolo unit.

I think the American strat has evolved over time and implements many improvements over the 'vintage' strat. If you want the vintage-vibe go for the reissue, but if you want one of the best 'working' guitars being played, get the newer 'American' version.

I currenly play part-time in several groups that range from 30s-40s standards to cajun fiddle music and country to 50s oldies to 60s-70s dance rock. Currently I go straight into a HotRod Fender Deluxe or a small Marshall Valvetronix (line out to the PA). No effects just a hint of overdrive and reverb. My strat is great because it is so versatile. 1-2 positions are great for comp-chording and the 3 to 5 positions are good for rock leads and country picking. Of course a Les Paul and a Tele would do a better job for particular styles, but this strat seems to be a good 'jack of all trades' guitar. I will say that my only knock on the general strat sound is that straight into the amp with no effects, it does have a thin almost transparent tone. I do play a Tele on occassions when I want more balls (... don't really like humbuckers). But again, if you doing a 'mystery date', the strat is your best bet. To summarize: Versatility is the best thing about this or any strat.

I use a standard 10-based set so I initally changed from the 9s and lowerd the action accordingly. I have played the guitar for about 7 years without any adjustments. I have heard knocks on the tuners, but these tuners stay in tune, even with a lot of half-step bends and light whammy bar usage. The guitar has no defects in the way of workmanship. It is virtually perfect. The finish is probably a poly-based finish. In spite of some brutal handling from time to time, the body is relatively unscratched and is sort of 'bullet proof'. I will say that I believe the heavy finish does reduce some of the sustain though. I recently bought a HWY1 Tele and I have to say the thinner Lacquer finish seems to allow for better sustain overall, but I still love this strat. It's a keeper.

I have used this guitar for about 7 years and felt abliged to get another guitar to give this one a 'breather'. It is a real workhorse. I only had to tighten the volume knob once. I do not have a very aggressive style and so this guitar NEVER breaks strings (but note that I change them every week if I am gigging 4-5 nights a week). Also, I use lemon-oil on the fret board during string changes to help preserve the fret board. The frets have some worn areas but are still usable. Summary: Very dependable.

I have never contacted Fender - never had to.

I have been playing off and on since mid-60s. I am not particularly fast or flashy but I am a decent player and get paid to play on a regular, part-time basis. All the gigs are small clubs. I can play a reasonable facsimilie of light jazz, blues, rock and country. I use a combination of pick and fingerstyle playing. My bending in more in the half-step range. I mainly use a HotRod Fender Deluxe or a small Marshall valuetronix (w/ tube preamp). I own an Epiphone Sheraton II (with Seth Lover PUs and Grover replacements), an autographed (Semie Mosley) Venture's model Mosrite that is a real treasure, and recently bought a new 2003 HW1 Tele. However, this strat is my 'main axe'. It is very dependable. If I could only own one guitar, it would be this one. It does a reasonable job adpating to any style. I realize the price of the American version is now over $800 but my investment of $540 was worth it. You might want to try the HW1 strat. I have never played one but it might be the way to go.

1999 fender standard strat with a natural ash finish and rosewood neck. The only thing I changed is I replaced the 2nd pickup with a seymour duncan. A little more ummph to it.

I think the natural ash weighs a little more and gives this guitar a little more smoother sound. You can just feel the vibration through the guitar itself if you play unplugged. Perfect harmonics

the action fit and finish is great. The only thing I wish I ordered was a hard tail.This guitar is flawless though. Why of course, it's an american fender strat. The natural finish really shows itself off. I think the dude I bought it off of really didn't know how to play or handle the tremelo, so I went and had it adjusted and now it's like new.

This guitar would probrably outlast most of us. You can switch guitars, go to the new fancy ones-which I myself will admit, have done-but returned to the original rock guitar. Don't fix what doesn't need fixing.

Bought from a personal seller. Solid as a rock. Never repaired, just adjusted since the idiot didn't know how to handle the tremelo. It's perfect now though. Got it for $400.00-I did tell you he was an idiot, didn't I.

I've been playing 30 years and I will have this one another 30(I hope) As I stated earlier, the only thing I would change is to have a hard tail instead of the tremelo. But since I bought it off a private owner, I'll settle for this one.

1997 American Standard ..American Standard Pickups, and 5 way selecter switch...Basic Strat stuff

Live sound is awesome but studio sound was a bit dirty with this guitar. Had to use another guitar for studio work.

Action was a little high and I had to have it adjusted by a luthier because the tension rod nut was almost stripped.. this was because the tension rod was very hard to adjust. My Luthier friend adjusted it for me and its better but still a little high anyway Fenders tension nut on this model turn both ways so you cant loosen it and replace it...be carefull adjusting your neck!!!

Well Im not a rockstar but Ive gigged with it and its very nice..I used it with a jap tele for back up and I switched over to the Tele and put this one in the case

Never called

Ive played for 25 years on 71 Strat,Aria Pro 2 ( cool cheap guitar!)2 more Fender strats and a gibson SG, a Robin(made in Houston)

1998 olympic white/ rosewood fretboard.usa standard 22 fret.sss delta-tone. Purchased online(ebay) used for $550.00.Has been re-fretted.No dings, scratches, or finish wear(damn!)Original case with red square with logo. New style two point tremolo. Pretty normal..

My main guitar is now a Les Paul Custom,but I've played strats and strat style guitars since 1980, until I jonesed for a paul and sold my then #1 strat for my Custom.I missed my strat after selling it because I play alot of SRV,Clapton,Hendrix and such,and missed the comfort of my familiar rig( and nothing sounds like a strat!) So I looked for a used one.This one was not very good sounding(compared to my old ones) due mainly to the shitty pickups.I then played many strats to try different pickups. The SRV strat neck was my favorite but didn't like the Texas specials, I found them to be too hot and mid-rangy to do clean strat tones, but wanted more heat than the 54's.With lighter strings, the Texas Specials sound good but I use GHS nickle rockers 11-58's.A friend told me about the Fat 50's, which were modeled after the 1958's hotter windings.I bought them used (ebay) and must say that they are PERFECT for me! Just hot enough to howl and wail, but clean up beautifully with the volume nob.Classic strat tones will flow from these pickups, and are better than any of my old strats!Woke this guitar right the hell up!Also, I prefer the vintage tremolos for sustain.My way around this was to replace the 3 black springs with 5 vintage silver springs( extras from my old strat) I always keep parts like this.They have 45 degree angles on the block end.I set my neck dead flat,(as all my necks) and set the spring tension so the bridge sets fairly firmly on the body, but not too tightly.Gives me the sustain I desire,returns firmly to original note when using the whammy,nice stiff feal for accuracy, and the added reverb that a strat should have.Takes a minute to thread in the tremolo arm, but this one rarely sees a case anyway. A minor inconvenience for excellent tone!Try this setup on yours and you'll see what I mean. I also bought a Jimi neck plate and installed it for a little personal MOJO! cool!

The only thing I don't like is the cookie cutter body that has the routing for humbuckers.Strats should be single coil eguipped so they can do their thing-clean to medium gain! They should be able to make bodies with and without the route, depending on what pickups are desired.I don't know if it really changes the tone but I think it must to some degree.Also, my guitar looks new and thats not a good thing!I like a strat to look beat! Like it's been in a few bar fights,or maybe used to row a boat across the East River.This is too nice!I hate to relic it but I may have to do it.(getting too old for bar fights!)Unless I start an SRV tribute band and play my old seedy dives for free beer!............not a bad idea......................

This guitar NEVER goes out of tune.Really. Have to depend on it, it's my only strat!I can't play Texas Flood on my Les Paul! If I break a string, I'll play without it if I can, or everyone can wait till I re-string!

No warranty. Never delt with them...

I own the strat, my Les Paul, an old Charvel model 4, and run them through a boogie Mark 3head and 2, 1-12" thiele cabs.I also have a 1968 Gibson Hawk 1-10" amp that sounds sweet with my strat and a modded TS9( get one of these online from ANALOGMAN.com) Outstanding!Have a cry baby, and a Boss tremolo, and DD-6.Now looking for a blackface Fender amp to complete my strat rig....I don't know why fender doesn't put the fat 50's on a strat from the factory. They only come as standard equipment on their crappy showmaster series.WHY???

Bought new in 1987. 22 frets. Typical strat setup. Rosewood fingerboard.

Changed all the pickups to Dimarzio humbucker rail styles. Fast-track I at neck, Chopper in middle, Fast-track II at bridge. Fabulous sound. No single-coil hum.

Guitar was set up well. Tried out more than a dozen before settling on this one. Considered buying a used "vintage" one. They are a rip-off. Overpriced. Buy a new one...it'll be "vintage" eventually.

Used live with no problems for 16 years now. No backup necessary.

After purchasing, I discovered an imperfection/buzz on the low e-string around the 15th fret. Brought it back where I bought it and had it back a week later with the frets perfect.

Been playing almost 40 years. I have 7 guitars and a bass. This is my primary electric. Play primarily through a Hot Rod Deluxe.

After Submitting a mostrous review only to be cut offline...let's just say that it's the best thing I've ever played....2002 American Standard...2 tone sunburst..swampash body..maple neck and fingerboard

Mine is a 1998 Sunburst model.
Still has all the original features that made the strat such a classic guitar.

I play alot of rock, hard rock and blues, and I will give my opinion on the sound of the american standard coming from someone who is looking for the classic strat tone. Of course other people maybe looking for something different and the tone that this produces maybe adequate for some.

I have always loved the classic strat sound from the 50's/60's, and out of the box this guitar required alot of work and tinkering to get the sound I was after. Straight from the factory this strat sounds completely different to older vintage strats... basically because of the pickups and the bridge.

The pickups are terribly muddy (the bridge pickup is absolutely terrible, the others are not much better though I can live with them) and after many hours of pickup height adjustment I was convinced that these pickups will never sound good regardless of where they are set. I eventually replaced the pickups with a set of Kinman pickups (Neck Avn 52, Middle Avn 62, Bridge Avn 62) and these remarkable pickups improved the sound 100% and was actually starting to sound like a 'strat', reminicent of John Frusciante, Hendrix, or Knopfler.

Another thing that I dislike about the american standard is the two-pivot bridge. I feel that the bridge is responsible for preventing the strings to resonate through the body, since it has only minor points of contact with it. I investigated replacing the bridge with a vintage style bridge but I read on the internet that someone had simply added an extra spring to the tremelo and set the bridge near to the surface of the body. I tried this and my strat now has an extra twang and warm tone that now makes it a pleasure to play. The extra spring and the fact that more of the bridge is on the surface of the body means the strings are resonating through the body more so then before giving it extra twang and sustain. Adding the extra spring tightened the tremelo and made it heavy to use but it doesn't take long to get used to.

After making these changes, as well as others like changing the gauge of the strings, I find that I'm 98% happy with the sound I'm getting. I can actually play a Frusciante riff and actually have it sound like the vintage strat that he uses. Perhaps if changed the bridge altogether the sound will improve even further.

So straight of the factory I give the sound of this guitar a 4, now after a pickup replacement and adjustments I give it a 10. I guess this goes to show how easy it is to setup a strat exactly the way you want it, which was one of the features that made it popular in the first place.

Fantastic, the neck on these guitars are great, compared to much earlier models. Some might be asking why didn't I just buy a 57 reissue if I was after the vintage sound, well it is simply because I don't like the neck on them.. to me it's like playing a baseball bat. I must say I love the neck on this guitar and the finish is superb. Unfortunately though Fender need to improve consistency.. I was lucky enough to get a good one, I've seen some pretty dodgy finishes and wood used in the neck in some guitars I've seen in stores.

I've never had any problems with it so far. I can definately depend on this guitar when playing gigs and it hasn't failed me yet.

After setting it up the way I want it I give the overall rating a 9. One major problem I have is how expensive these guitars are (especially in Australia!!).. particuarly with the terrible pickups they included. It makes you wonder why do they have to tamper with a classic? If the pickups were great in 1962, why change them??