Fender American Standard Strat

Made in 94 (40th anniversary). Well documented spec.

The stock pick-ups are very good. People write such rubbish about pick-ups and seem obsessed with upgrading?? I have replaced the bridge pick-up with a SD 59 trembucker, not because there was anything wrong with the original but because for a while it was my only guitar (hard times) and I needed a humbucker. Sounds good through all the amps I have owned (JCM 900, JCM 2000 TSL, Peavey Classic 50/410, Fender Pro Junior @ Sovtek Mig50). Stays in tune very well even when using trem (set floating 10-46 Slinkys). Basically sounds like a good Strat should. Covers a lot of ground musically.

Factory set up was very good but still improved with a pro set up and change of strings. The guitar is a masterpeice of modern manufacturing over poor quality materials. CNC routing and thick plastic finish's hide all manor of evils. One of the bridge locating pins started to wobble after about a year of use. This had to be re-inforced with Araldite. The original sunburst finnish over the 2 pce veneer hides a a low quality 5 YES 5 Peice body made of alder off cuts that were probably rejected as fence posts. There are no end of #200 guitars out there useing far higher quality materials. I found this out when the original finnish became damaged and I had to refinish the guitar. I feel RIPPED OFF and will never buy another Fender guitar. If only they had used aproper 2 pce Alder body od good quality this would have been one of the best Strats ever. It is a testamount to Leo's orignal design that such a crap guitar can sound and play so good. For this money do yourself a favour and buy a Gibson Les paul Special.

See above notes on fit and finish.

Never used them, never will now its too late. This is not an honest product. Like many people I thought I was buying a quality guitar with a 2 pce Alder body and a higher quality product than the Fender/Squire far eastern products.

I have been playing 30 years and play mostly Rock and Blues. I have owned many guitars Fenders, Gibsons, Lowdens etc. For the reasons stated above I will never buy another Fender.

1998 make,cali/corona

Features 4 a strat??? com'on this is a classic. mine is natural finish which has turned out to be ma fav, after i bought mine. action, great.no floyd rose? if you need it! to be frank i need to tune the guitar from one string change to the other (i don't use the vibrato bar anyhow?!) case is an off-road hell blaster. been through rain and all that and NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. dropped mine once (f***ng strap) few scratches. a tortoise shell pickguard would be better i say.

it's the best for r'n'roll, blues and funk:))) i use it through a marshall 65r VS and only a BOSS comp/sust. need nothing else at all. sound is damn rich, twangs like a tele (high pickup settingsss) some hissing on 1-3-5 positions, but 2-4 are great. i think some pickup modi is needed?!?!

no faults on intonation, neck adjustment nor factory set-up. thanks to the cali factory for all?!

no backup needed if you can neglect broken strings !!!

never needed any, it takes are o'itself ;)

itz been like 18 years i've been playing the guitar. i would like to have a gibson les paul for the tone only. played like hundreds of guitars, none of them sound, feel, look, play like this one actually.

Made 1997, somewhere in California, Usa. 22-frets, volume, 2 tones, 5-way selector. Original pickups passive S/S/S, model? Maple body and neck, rosewwod fretboard with jumbo frets. American stantard bridge and fender tuners. Came with Fender cheap-plastic-case.

It's a strat god damnit! Need I say more. I use with Line 6 Pod-pro and studio monitor system. It's not noisy but not too quiet too. Hums a bit becouse of the pickups. It plays the whole rainbow of typical strat sounds well but will not get that fat, juicy mahogany-body guitar sound out of it. I personally adore the sound of good-old strat.

The finnish was really great for a guitar this cheap. Factory set-ups were all-good. For this price range almost fabulous but can't compare it with 2000$ custom-made instrument. Does not hold the tune if you use the trem.

Not only you can drop them on their heads, with this guitar, it sounds good too. Well, maybe not! Doesn't keep the tune verywell. The tuners suck. Two of the tuners keep the tune allways what ever you do. Two of the tuners doesn't hold the tune at all.

What?

Been playing about 3 years. Study to be a music technician. I also own a handmade tube combo don't know the make, Line 6 Pod-pro, Morley badhorsie wah-wah and some other effect pedals I test a lot gear in school. I replaced the original pickups with Seymour-Duncan Duckbucker humbucking in single-coil-size pickups. Allso replaced the tuners with Fender locking tuners and I stronly advice anyone who owns this guitar to do the same replacements. Otherwise a great guitar.

What can you say? It's a Strat. 3 single coils, 5-way switch, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, alder body, etc.

I've been playing for about 10 years(rockabilly, blues, punk, you name it), and I've always played various Mexican, Japanese, and Squier Strats. This puppy smokes 'em all. I use a Crate VC-50 with a 410 cab and a Tube Factor. Incredible tone!

I bought it used so I don't know if it has been re-setup or not. I've been playing it with nines ever since I got it though. The pickups are every thing Fender stock single coils should be. It has a gorgeous three color sunburst finish with no flaws that I can detect. It has the most incredible neck of any guitar I've ever owned.

The guitar didn't have the whammy bar with it, so I bought an official Fender replacement bar. It broke off in my hand and so far I haven't been able to get the rest of it out, but that was just a defective bar.

Never dealt with them, but I've owned lots of Fenders and never had to.

If this guitar was stolen, I would cry. Even replacing it with the exact same make and model would not be the same, although that is exactly what I would do. I really don't care for sunburst, but this guitar sounds and plays so good that everything is is superficial

1988 American Standard Strat - 22-fret, sunburst alder body, super straight maple neck, maple fingerboard, 3 stock single coils, wilkinson trem, non-locking tuners (at this point). very standard, nothing special at all but it's the design that I prefer to all guitar shapes and styles - common as they are, I love strats. Mine came with Fender's classy tweed hardshell case.

The sound is great and it doesnt go out of tune too often, but maybe one day I will upgrade by punking down some dollars on locking tuners and new PU's.

I play funk, rock, rockabilly, punk, jazz, experimental crazy prog rock and anything else that's in my mind at that moment, and a good American Strat plays can play it ALL. That's the beauty of a good strat: versatility. Metal-type music is alyways better on a humbucker, but let's face it: if you're playing metal, you're probably 13 and reading the latest ibanez or ESP reviews, if any, right now.

5-way selector switch affords a surprising number of sounds. thick n bluesy with the neck PU, sharp n twangy for country with the bridge, and everything in between. Of course Single Coils are noisy, but if that's a big problem for you, just drop in a set of Noiseless or Lace Sensors and you'll have humbucker-quiet. I was going to immediately drop in a set of Noiselss PUs when I got it, but have really learned to like the stock jobs. noisy and not very loud, but with tons of character.

I play fender amps b/c they have great sound and aren't insanely expensive. A strat through a bassman or a twin is killer guitar tone. I'm pretty minimalist - I stick a wah, delay and a few other effects in front and it's a little noisy, but overall I am very happy.

I bought mine used so I can't complain about typical Fender factory setup, but I'm well aware of the horror stories and have shaken my head more than a few times playing off the rack strats at Guitar Center and Sam Ash. Mine was 13 years old when I bought it, which means there are predictable nicks and use, but that's just more character to me. A guitar without any marks just doesn't look right. Chrome isn't showing any rust and the wood is all very straight and solid.

Live paying is fine, and I do it without a backup. I am considering upgrading PU's for extra quiet and reliability, but I'm fine for now. All knobs and buttons are solid and secure. Non-locking tuners keep tune fairly well, but if you beat on it, well, it's gonna go out of tune. Strats are built like tanks, and if not destroyed, should last 30 years. I depend upon it as if my sanity depended on it. and it does.

Never dealt with Fender.

Does anyone really care how long I've been playing and what other equipment I own? I've been playing 15 years and own very little in the way of stuff. You try living in Greenwich Village and see how much stuff you can fit into your closet-sized apartment, forced to shove everything into a taxi every time you have a gig. You learn to keep it to a minimum. One guitar, a pedal board and small powerful combo amps are the best for me.

When I play it, I want to CREATE, not just emulate. With my strat, I can play cover tunes, the band's tunes and noodle for hours. The neck begs to be held. I can strum Jimmy Nolan funk rhythms or slam SRV solos. all crazy like. Pick up a les paul and tell me you feel creative. Stick to the studio.

For me, it was worth it to buy a used American Strat over a new Mexican. The sound and sustain an alder body affords is worth it for me. the mexican is durable and just as well constructed, but in the end, poplar just kidna sucks. I paid 5 bills for mine - one helluva value.

THE MINE IS BORN IN MEXICO IN 19XX,SOLID BODY 21 FRETS
CONTROLS ARE STANDARD:1 VOLUME,2 TONE,A 5 POSITION SWITCH
PICK-UPS ARE S/S/S STANDARD STRAT,BUT MORE WARM THAN AMERICAN'S STRAT
ELECTRONICS PASSIVE (I HATE ACTIVE THAT SUCKS!)
FINISH:PURPLE SATIN
BRIDGE ARE '54 VINTAGE (SO LOVELY...) AND TUNERS STANDARD..

PERFECT FOR BLUES AND 70'S ROCK
I PLAY IN MANY AMPS:JCM2000 TSL,VOX AC-30 JANNINGS,VOX PATH-FINDER,VALVESTATE 65R,ACOUSTIC SOLOIST AS100D,AND MORE...
BEST IS AC-30,PATH-FINDER,JCM 2000.
PICK-UPS ARE A BIT NOISY WHEN SINGLE,BUT I'VE SHIELD
SOUND IS GRASS AND DARK,AS I LIKE IT.
IS A VERY VERSATILE GUITAR,REALLY!
LIKES?I HAVE GET AFTER 7 YEARS.IS MY MINE NOW!HAHAHAHAHA!
DISLIKES?FUCK!

THE SET-UP IS STRANGE....
I'VE EVER PLAY WITH LOW ACTIONS,THIS ONE HAVE A HIGH ACTION BUT,I DON'T NEED TO LOW....IT'S STRANGE.
I LIKE THE HIGH SUSTAIN OF THIS INSTRUMENT...
LIUTERY IS OK!
WOODS ARE VERY GOOD AND FINISH

FENDER!!!

FUCK METAL,PUNK,HARD CORE,CROSSOVER AND OTHER SHIT!
THIS IS A BLUES-ROCK GUITAR,BOYS!

Made in US of A in 1988. First year for Corona, Calif. factory, after they got rid of all the spare parts from the previous years. 22 frets. Volume, tone and regular 5-way selector. Someone installed a Seymour Duncan Hotstack (bar magnet) in the bridge position w/ a DPDT switch mounted on the pickguard. The pickup is basically a "stacked humbucker". I rewired the new toggle for series/parallel and series/split/parallel. I get an awesome boost when switched. And its so quiet you can hear a mouse pissing on a cotton ball. But still get 60 cycle background noise with the other 2 pickups.

Nice big slab for a maple neck with medium jumbo frets. And the grain! My gawd, the wood grain is awesome in that neck! Aquamarine metallic finish, only one chip on the bottom edge where you can see some wood. I bought a trem bar for it, tried it out and then couldn't be bothered, nice to have anyway. Goes out of tune a little (sharp) when using the whammy bar. Maybe a bit of graphite in the nut slots will cure that.

The way the pickups are set up on this guitar gives much more options than a regular 3-single coil strat. I play through a mid 70's Musicman 210 Sixty-five which is loud and clean and REALLY brings out the sound of this guitar. Perfect combo I'd say.

Don't know about factory settings, I usually set them up the way I like'em. But the action is great using medium strings, I do all my own adjustments, pickup heights to factory specs. etc. No flaws, this guitar is purrrrfect.

This guitar can take anything. Its the working man's machine , no doubt. Bullet proof and would probably make a good weapon if one was so inclined.

Warranty long gone, I guess. But who cares?

Been playing nigh on 28 yrs. I also have a 67 Hagstrom III, Fender Gemini II acoustic, Fender Newporter 3/4 acoustic, 70's Teisco tube amp, EKO archtop acoustic set up for slide playing, no-name classical and just gave my Dad an Ibanez Roadstar that I rebuilt.

Nothing else I needed to ask when buying this guitar, I knew what I was getting. I only went in to buy some strings. I asked the guy if he had any deals on strats and he went to the rack right away and yanked this guitar out. I plugged it into a Fender Twin and I gues I must've blacked out for a little while. Because the next thing I know, I hauling out my credit card, LOL.

If this guitar was stolen or lost I would definitely replace it with another of similar vintage, if I could. Anyone caught stealing up or messing up with this instrument is taking his life in his own hands. I might just black out again.

Its not possible to hate anything on this guitar. I've seen some other reviews from people who called their strats a POS. Well...they must've screwed things up in some manufacturing years. As far as I'm concerned 1988 was a good year for American Stds.

I took my garden variety American Standard with 3 single coil pickups and added an acoustic sound to it...installed the graph-tech F.A.S.S. system and it is a big time improvement. Of course, the install was tricky but after the guitar is plugged into the right amp, I cannot believe my ears. There isn't an acoustic guitar with a pickup that sounds more acoustic than this baby. Unfortunately, the "right amp" turned out to be a SWR strawberry blonde. My '65 deluxe reisue didn't cut it at all.

UN***BELIEVABLE...I am in awe.

Guitar had usual set up stuff goin on...I redid it per the book and it works just like it outta now. My guitar was pretty well made but it ain't no custom shop...tonation was perfect however.

You could run this over with a truck and play a gig right after...this guitar is the humvee of music instruments.

Is Fender still in business? I liked it better when Leo was cranking these babys out in a garage.

Been playing since time began...when I added this baby to my guitar, a new sonic door to heaven opened up for me.

It has every features the others have, except the case.

As I read in another review, my guitar also doesn't stay in tune. The pickups are very very noisy... And when I turn the distortion on, it gets worst... I called a luthier to see the guitar and he said that the pickups are very strong and he told me to lower the pickups. I did it and it's better but not good. So he gave me another solution, change the string gauge from 0.09 to 0.10. I didn't tried it, but I will leave the guitar in his own hands to take care of it and re-setup the guitar. If after the setup the guitar keeps out of tune I will sell it or trade it. I'm having a lot of trouble with this guitar.

I wish I had my money back and give back this shit to those suckers. I've been playing for 6 years and I had a Hurricane Stratocaster (that was much better than this shit), an Ibanez GRX 20 (blargh! dont even think about it... It's a sin and you're gonna pay!), Golden GH-88 DX (same shit as the GRX20...), 2 Ibanez RG 470 (this one is very good for the price), Washburn Dime 333 (Very good guitar... Like a Gibson with hot pickups and floyd rose... Perfect for metalheads!), Jackson King V Standard (the best guitar I've had), Fender Stratocaster Am. Standard 50th Anniversary Celebration (Trouble... Double Trouble). I think the guy who made/setup my guitar was pretty drunk... Motherfucker...

This is a 1994 left-handed American standard strat which is black with
3layers(WBW) white pick guard,22 frets,3 Am. St. singel coil pickups,a volume a tone and a TBX knobs,Am. St. bridge,rosewood fretboard,5-way pickup selector,Am. St. machine head(tuners)

It sounds good specialy for classical rock and bluse and for playing the Henrix,Claptone,Beck and Yngwie stuff.
Althougt I use an old FBT amp (probably from the first world war!)the clean sound is cool specially in second posision of pickup selector(bridge & middle pickups).But it isn't good enought for the high gain works specially when you are going to use the amp distortions.(in this case a humbuker pickup in the bridge posision is highly recommended.)
But because of the BOSS SE-70 effect that I use,I haven't had any problem till now even when I play the Vai's fire works.

For some reasons I had to set-up this guitar by myself and I couldn't see the factory set-up.the set-up is pretty easy specially when you read it's catalog carefully.any way the action is very good and it's a very comfortable and playable guitar.
the finish is very nice and it will be clean easily.

Take a look at the steve ray vaughn's guitar...should I write more?!!

I didn't need any supports and I won't need any supports for the feuture to come.
...all supports had done by creating this guitar.

I play the guitar for about 10 years and I always wanted to have a left-handed strat.actually I love it's shape.
I think it doesn't matter how many other guitars do you have.you need a strat too!
If it were stolen,I could able to find the thife in a moment...HOW?!!
..It's easy because the thife must be a left-handed guitarist!! How many left-handed guitarist do you know in your town?!!

made in 1996, sunburst, Seymour Duncan '59 pickups . 400 quid used but virtually mint condition.

It sounds great!!!!!! I have a Laney HCM60R and it has a fantastic warm, clean sound through the clean channel and through the the overdriv channel it creates an amazing crunch sound. Very Much like that of Guns 'N' Roses. OVERALL FANTASTIC!!!!!

Mine had a few scratches from the previous owner. But is justifiably fine. Not 10 'cos nothing os perfect in finish (except Paul Reed Smith).

Strap buttons a bit wobbly but apart from that it is as solid as a rock.

WHO GIVES A DAMN!

I am 14 and have been playing for four years and i have only just got it recntly to replace my old Epiphone Les Paul. Before tat i had a Squier equivalent of this one and you can tell the difference from when you first see it! If someone stole it! i would be really pissed off! I COMPLETLY AND UTTERLY RECOMMEND THIS FINE BIT OF MUSICAL GENIUS!

1997 American Standard Strat, three tone sunburst, 3-ply white pickguard, Fender standard tuners, and a maple neck featuring a S/S/S configuration (with Fender's standard single coils), 22 medium jumbo frets, 5-way switch, one volume and two tone knobs, and a standard floating bridge. This badboy came with an ugly harshell case that can't fit more than the guitar itself and therefore isn't worth the weight to drag around. Also, it came with Schaller strap lock buttons as a standard feature, but did not include the actually locks themselves. I will say, whoever decided upon that was an idiot, although I ended up shelling out $10 for the locks themselves (which ALSO came with buttons, too - if anyone needs some Schaller buttons, give a holler, and I'll give em to you for free!).

I've been playing Strats for the last 8 years, so I pretty much knew what I was getting into with this one. Like every other strat that I've played or owned, I knew that the single coils would buzz...a lot. Yes, it's annoying, but you can't beat the clean from a single coil pick-up, compared to any humbucker out there!! I play this strat through a Fender Twin Amp, and the clean sounds amazing. It can go from warm, for almost a simulated acoustic sound, to twangy, for more funky material. It's pretty verstile in the respect from going anywhere between really bright to quite mellow. I use a BOSS OS-2, as my distortion effect, and the strat does okay, although I also own a Fender American Double Fat Strat, and that does a lot better. Needless to say, the single coils only do so well once the crunch and overdrive is kicked on.

Initially, the guitar was actually well setup. However, Fender puts 9 gauge strings as their standard for showcasing, which I find too light. Obviously, due to the pressure change from 9 gauge strings to 10, the guitar had to be re setup, which ended up fine. Later on, I get fed up with the floating bridge, and since I never use the whammy bar, I ended up fixing down the bridge by installing two more springs. Once again, I had to reset the guitar. Through out all of this, though, the neck on this guitar is amazing. Even the repair guy said, "You have a righteous strat! The neck rocks!" By fixing the bridge, I got much better sustain and this guitar has been staying in much better tune.

This guitar is great for live playing. However, I do use another guitar, just because I generally only use my Strat for stuff that's clean. Either way, I could still play a live show without a back up because I've hardly ever had a string snap on me when I change my strings regularly. The finish still looks new, and I think I'll probably keep this guitar until the day I die. I have Schaller strap locks on it, which keeps me stress free about dropping or losing my guitar.

Never had to deal with it, and probably never will, but Fender includes a limited lifetime warranty. Yep. Whatever that means.

I've been playing for close to 9 years now, and the reason I choose Fender instruments was because of several factors outside of those listed above: price and comfort to play. I'm a girl, so naturally I have smaller hands and I'm not as willing to hold up a heavy Les Paul for a three hour set, persay. Fender necks are thinner than any LP's I've played, so the instrument itself I find VERY comfortable. At the same time, when I was shopping for my first guitar (which was a Standard Mexican Strat), I wanted a guitar that could take me a long way, that I knew I wouldn't be ashamed of playing if I decided to keep it ten years down the road (which didn't end up happening, since I upgraded to an American Strat). In the same reasoning, I'll keep this strat until the day I die, and if something happens to it, I'll try to find another one just like it, although, I'll always keep in mind that guitars are like wines; there's good years, and bad years, it's all about testing the waters for yourself. The Fender American Strat is a terrific guitar that has helped make history. I wouldn't recommend it for thrash and death metal, but it definitely upholds it's great reputation.

This guitar was USA made around 1997, is equipped with the Delta Tone electronics system, 5-way pickup switch, new American Standard bridge saddles, 9 inch radius maple neck, and 22 fret fingerboard, tremelo bridge, Alder body, regular Schaller tuners, chrome/nickel plated hardware, with Schaller strap lock system included. I paid close to $50.00 extra for a Fender tweed case instead of the black molded plastic "poodle" case. The finish is metallic candy apple red, and the guitar has a 3-ply white pick guard.

This guitar satisfies my appetite for the Stratocaster sound. It rocks, it surfs, achieves jazz and blues tones, and is probably the best all around electric guitar that one could purchase. I plug it into a Fender Deluxe Reverb II tube amplifier, and the sound is pure classic strat. This is an exceptional amplifier that I am using, but after pluging the guitar directly into my soundcard, and recording it direct without any amplification, I would have to say that the guitar's tone is authentic, and very soulful. The pickups are acceptable, but are noisy except for the in between positions. The bridge pickup is not too brash or bright, the neck pickup is full and rich, the middle pickup is seldom used alone, but the in between positions are the best of all combinations. I would like to eventually get some Lindy Fralin pickups for this guitar, but what I have will easily do for now. I have compared this guitar to the new and improved American Series Stratocaster, and although that guitar has some slight physical differences that have improved the overall strat design, to my ears my American Standard is sonically the same. The overall sound of the American Standard guitar is very good.

Quality construction and the perfect working man's guitar. All for around $750.00 dollars. Makes it hard to even consider a Gibson. The original set-up was not right for me. The slinky feeling .009s had to go and were replaced with .010s right away. This was a major improvement but the guitar had to be tweaked due to increased string tension. The set-up instructions in the manual provided all of the information that I needed for a professional feel, and to get the superb action that I expected. This guitar plays excellent. I tried moving up to .011s since they are used on my Cortley Strat Copy (Japan-late 70s), but the Cortley has a longer scale which makes it easier to bend the .011s. I will stick with .010s on the American Standard. Excellent finish, hardware, and feel, with good pickups. The pickups are the weakest link on this guitar, but are still okay if you are short on cash and cannot afford the Fralin replacements right away.

A solid and dependable guitar. It stays in tune even when using the tremelo. My guitar is set-up so that I can use the palm of my hand to activate the tremelo by pressing on the string saddles. The tremelo is only used to color certain notes. Dive bombers may need to tune more frequently. Great strap lock system that will never fail. No backup is needed. This guitar will last a lifetime if treated with resonable care.

Never needed for the guitar. Have notified Fender for amp information and they responded fairly well.

I have been playing for 30 years. I have always wanted an American Standard Stratocaster. I you could only own one electric guitar, this is the one. It is the most versatile guitar made, and can be used in so many ways, and achieves so many different sounds. Fender should offer Fralin pickups at a fair upcharge, that can be fitted in the model of your choice. I like the new improvements on the American Series. Mainly the approach to less routing in the body cavity to make room for the pickups. This guitar is a great value for the dollar. (See my Fender Deluxe Reverb II amp & Ovation Patriot reviews)

I have a 2001 Fender American Standard Stratocaster. It was made in the USA, Corona, California baby. It has the regular 22 frets. I have the volume, tone, and the 3 way selector on this one. Standard pickup configuration. Active electronics. Maple nec. Hot Rod Red finish. It has a string through body, which is standard. I got a free case with mine and anyone who buys a american fender stratocaster will get a free case.

It suits my musical stile because I play blues, metal, rock, and it all sounds great. I have a 70 watt Peavy Envoy 110 which is very good with this. I have a Digitech RP100, a boss ds-1, and a vox wah. I like the guitar because it never gives out the scratchy crap that sucks major. Basically I love the sound and the way i have variety

The guitar was set up dissent at the factory but the guitar shop finished the rest. The pickups were a little high but the guitar shop done them for free. The bridge was properly routed. The guitar did have any flaws when i got it from the factory or from the guitar shop.

This is a 1996 American Standard Strat made in the USA (hence the name I assume)Its got the standard 22 frets. Maple neck, 5 way pick up selector, 3 single coil pickups. Straigh Black finish with white pick guard and pickup covers. It has the American Standard bridge and it originally came with the American Standard tuners, but I replaced those with locking tuners. It also came with a hardshell case. Its a strat how much more could you ask for

With this guitar I play rock/reggae/punk/ska/hardcore and it sounds awesome. With one of my old amp setups, I could even play metal with this guitar. Right now, I use a Roland JC-120 with a Electro-Harmonix Big Muff PI, as well as a Crybaby wah, a Boss OC-2 Octave and whatever else I feel like using at any given time. I love how this guitar handles everything you put it through. The octave pedal sounds kinda weird through it, but it even says it works better with humbuckers. I've found ways to get around that though. I also have noticed that when you have the pick up selector on one pickup its a little noisy, but thats what the humcancelling middle pickup is for. All in all, its one of the sweetest sounding guitars clean and distorted I've heard

I traded for this guitar from a friend and he had the guitar set up beautifully. I'm not sure of how it came from the factory. I've played a few of these in music stores and they are set up aweful, but mine is now perfect, its the best feeling guitar I've ever owned. Some of the frets are getting a little worn, but I think its just the finish on them. I also noticed the cable jack likes to get loose a lot, I've noticed that on almost all Fender guitars though

I beat the crap out of this guitar, plain and simple. I don't take care of this guitar when I'm playing, I punch it, drop it, hit it, and it takes it all and yells for more. I've played with out a back up to this guitar a while ago and I never broke a string during a show. This is mostly a back up guitar now, but I break it out on a few songs. I've put some dings in the neck, fretboard, and the body, but its all very solid, I've never had a problem with how it was made. I just had to replace the tuners because I didn't like those. I snapped on of the strap buttons off one day so I had to drill a new hole. I always have a back up guitar so I can't say I wouldn't use a back up but I can say I can depend on it

I've never had to deal with them

I've been playing for about 5 years. I also have a Gibson Les Paul Junior Special, and Epiphone SG-310 and I've a had a lot of guitars over the years, but this is by far my favorite. If it were stolen, I would find the jerk (putting it lightly) who stole it and put them in a world of pain. But if I couldn't do that, I would attempt to find a new one, but that would be impossible. I love the fact that this guitar keeps making me happy even though I beat it so much, it keeps coming back. I hated the original tuners, thats about it

This 2000 Strat was made in America (duh). 22 medium-jumbo frets. Has 3 single coil pickups, and a 5 way selector switch. 3 knobs; volume knob, tone knob for neck, and another tone knob for the middle and bridge pickups. Uses the standard Stratocaster pickups. My guitar has a 2-tone Sunburst Finish with a Ash body and Maple neck. Uses an American Standard Bridge with Tremolo action! Non-Locking American Standard Tuners. I came into the the store wanting a Strat with an Ash body, Maple Neck, and Sunburst Finish (you would be surprised how hard this is to find without going to the Fender Custom Shop) and found exactly what I was looking for with the American Standard.

I play Bluesy rock (Jimi Hendrix, Cream, etc.) and this does a pretty good job getting the sound I want. It has a nice bass pickup, too, that is great for playing Hendrix. I practice on a dinky 8-watt Crate Vintage Series Amp and it sounds good. My only complaint is that the Standard Strat pickups are a little weak and I am planning on buying some Seymour Duncans for it in the future.

Well, to my surprise, it was set up pretty well. There was a little problem with some of the frets but I had them shaved down a bit and it plays fine now. Also, the tremolo bar is kinda high and you have a tendency to push on the tremolo bar when you areresting your palm on it. I had the tremolo bar bend down a little bit so I could palm it while playing and not have it move. Besides that, the guitar has absolutly no flaws and works perfectly.

I can see this guitar lasting a long time. It is a rugged and tough. It really shows how good the quality of American Fender guitars are. I would probably use a back up guitar if I was playing live. The reason or this is the fact that using the tremolo makes the guitar go out of tune a bit. There is really no noticable difference in the sound only if you don't do any divebombs or pull the tremolo hard backwards. But this is usually something that comes with owning a Strat so it isn't a flaw. This guitar can withstand a lot of abuse.

Never had to deal with Fender or Guitar Center.

I love this guitar, it sounds great, plays great and looks great. Pickups could be stronger but it is still a pretty awesome guitar. It is everything I expected in a Stratocaster. I would definatly buy another if I had it stolen.

Standard strat body, 2 tone knobs for specific pickups, volume knob, standard bridge, 3 single coils, standard neck. I don't usually try to force my opinion on people, but I had to clear up the confusion in that American Standard forum. The American Standard has no doo-dads and thats why I bought the thing. I wanted a guitar with no floyd-rose and no silly puddy body, I wanted a strat, so I am going to have to rate the features as a 9, why? because Schultz doesn't try to hide anything from you, he says here's a guitar, buy it if you like the features, don't if you don't.

I'm using the strat with a blues junior, and I get a great rich full-toned bright yet thick bluesy sound on the neck pickup, I gotta say the bridge pickup is a bit thin for me, but then again I never use it because I never shred. Again I gotta rate the sound a 9 because I played the guitar before I bought it, and it is what I wanted for blues/jazz. Don't buy it if you want to play death-metal, for that you need some humbuckers.

The guitar was set up fine, and I understand why they use 9's from the factory. Personally I don't like 9's I like 10's or 11's so that takes a bit of adjusting. It fits, has a nice low action, and a good looking finish.

This one is durable, as is a lot of Fenderware. It comes with a lifetime limited warranty, don't know how good that is though, never had to use it. I've never had any problems with the guitar.

Lifetime Limited Warranty

Ok guys, this is what I really wanted to say ... go play the thing, see if it fits you ... it's not an increadibly versatil axe. You can't go from blues to death metal in the flick of a switch, but you can get some very good sounding jazzy/bluesy notes outta it. I hate to see people buy a guitar and then knock it over here on harmony because they didn't test it out enough. I'm gonna rate it a 9 because it's what I wanted, no surprises, no let downs. Also, the differences between this one and the mexican strats? They're subtle ... certainly the sound quality on the American is noticeable, but body construction (upon inspection) is more meticulous.

I bought this guitar in 1997 from a local dealer. It was made in America, has 22 frets, and is a nice looking blue-green color that has since been discontinued. All the parts are stock: 3 single coils, factory tuners and bridge (with tremlo), blah blah blah. You get the jist. When I bought it, it came with a really nice hard case which I consider more valuable than the guitar itself.

I play this beastly machine out of a Peavey Bandit 112, which is a beastly machine unto itself. However, when I say beastly machine, I am not praising the guitar. I am more or less refering to its primitive and crappy sound. When I play clean, this junker always seems out of tune, especially the G string. That G string is always out of tune and there is nothing I can do about it. I am pretty sure that the tuners are just horrible, but I am not buying new ones. When I play this guitar distorted, it sounds like I am playing in a garbage can or something. Pure rubbish. If you pick the strings individually with the dustortion on, they either sound muffled or the string next to it will automatically vibrate, creating this annoying side-effect noise. Oh yeah, and the single coils buzz like crazy when you are only set on one of them, but I expected that. But, golly, it doesn't even sound good clean.

The factory set up was ok. Nothing to be ashamed of except for the fact that the tremlo was raised about an inch off the guitar! What is up with that? At any rate, I lowered the tremlo, but I still like to tune the guitar down a half step for two reasons: It keeps the bridge flat to the guitar and I like Weezer. Who uses a whammy bar anyway? Posers, that is who! People who wish they were Jimmy Hendrix but aren't.

This guitar looks brand new even after four years. However, that is probably related to the fact that I take exceptional care of the guitar, despite the fact that the guitar does not deserve good care. I am just a nice, caring person and I couldn't, with a clear conscience, let the guitar go to hell (where it probably belongs) by not taking care of it. Sometimes the connection between the power chord and the guitar gives out, as a result of the guitar being worthless. Believe me, it is not the chord because I have tried numerous chords and the same thing always happens.

I have never dealt with the Fender people, but I will just assume they are morons.

I wish I had not bought this guitar. It was not too expensive, but still was definitely not worth the price. In fact, I would dare say that I utterly hate the guitar. It just does not sound good at all. I'm sorry, but that is the truth. I wish I had some nice humbuckers to reduce all that buzzing. Ughhh, the buzzing! It kills, I swear. And let's not forget about the worst feature of the guitar: It NEVER is in tune. Every ten seconds it is literally flying out of tune. It hates being in tune and I feel it hates me too. My stupid guitar hates me! Ughhh! My advice is this: get one of those warmouth copies and you will be much better off. Peace.

This is a 1997 USA Strat that I picked up used, has a standard 22fret neck, all the normal controls. I do like the maple neck and fret board...this is the first guitar that I have does not have a rosewood fretboard. It's lake placid blue, kind of a shitty color, but I spiced it up by putting on a pearloid pick guard....It looks much much better!!

I knew single coils were noisy, but Jeez! This thing is out of control! I think a set of Lace Sensors or even a set of Hotrails for the Neck and Bridge would sound much better. My standard getup is a Peavey Classic 50 head w/ 410E open back cab...Depending on the song, I'll use the Peavey's overdrive, or I'll keep it clean and use a Korg 104d (great pedal)and a Danelectro Cool Cat (peice of shit, but I got it for free...and it works!!) The Strat sounds fantastic through a tube amp...It has a nice fat tone, and I love the response I get out of it, but I hate the noise. Variety wise, the Strat is great with a clean tone...the single coils are not bad without the OD. It has a great clean quality to it.

I got it in pretty nasty shape...I think that's why it was so cheap. I do most of my own repairs, so I set the bridge (which was almost 1/4 of an inch off the body) and intonation (that was the worst part), did a little truss rod adjustment, cleaned all the dust and shit off it,and it was ok...the frets needed to be leveled, so I had a freind do that and now it plays great! The only thing on the guitar was that there was a chip on the back of the neck, looks like the original owner leaned it against an amp or table or something, but no real harm done. All hardware was in good working order.

This thing is built like a brick shithouse. That's what I like Fender for....They really make a decent product...I don't know if I'd buy a new one though...800 bucks for this is way overpriced...that's what they run for at Guitar Center...even more at a Mom and Pop shop. The way I see it, used is the way to go with Fender. These things will survive a nuclear blast and stil come out with only a few scratches...so a used one is just as good as a new one. I can definatly depend on it...I used it live a few times already, and I really like it for the lighter rock/blues type stuff. It hasn't failed me yet...I've had it now for almost 6 months. I will NEVER play a gig without a back up....I don't care if I had a custom Fender Gibson Hybrid Lesacater made by Leo and Les' baby....no way will I go on stage without a backup.

Never dealt with them...although their website is pretty cool...so they'll get some points for that!!

Overall...I gues I couldn't get a better used guitar for the price. A little bit of work, and I have a fully functional Strat, and I can now join the masses of people who own one. I have to say the one thing I love about it is it's versatlity. You can play so many genres of music with it...it's not classifed and being a blues, metal, country guitar..you can use it for any one of these types and much more and get away with it,and that's not easily said with many other companies. I hate the friggin noise. I understand the why and how of the single coil...but Strats are really nasty with the buzzing. I have an Ibenez RG270 with a mid single coil, and a Washburn BT8 with a SSH, neither one has an "out of contol" buzzing problem. Other than that, the Strat is a good sounding, reliable guitar that can hold it's own. I havn't tried anything other than fender Strat, but I'd like to take a shot at a Tele some day....used, of course.

2000 Model Made in USA 3 color suburst Vibrato Tailpiece 3 single coil pickups

These new strats seem to need some tweaking right out of the box. They come from the factory set up with 9-42's but since that's too light for me I changed immediately to 10-46's. Bending strings now makes unbent but sounding strings go flat so I've tried adding another spring to the tailpiece. These guitars are without a doubt a tweakers dream but can be maddening to set up properly. Action must be kept fairly high to avoid buzz and to glean that bell-like tone from the unit. This particular guitar needs the recommended 12 thousandths relief at the seventh fret or the souhd gets messy. I only mention this because it's difficult to ascertain this guitar's playability when it comes strung with 9's. These guitars are very versatile and work very well for me (blues, pop, country, etc.) but need to be altered to suit your style. I play through a Savage Rohr 15 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and find I can get proper Strat tones. Both the neck and middle pickups seem fine but the bridge is nasty. If I set the EQ to work on the bridge the others are too muddy and vice-verse, a common problem and one leading to the lining of the pockets of aftermarket pickup manutacturers.

Action was set fine for 9's but changing to 10's requires a bit of work. Obviously the claw needs adjusting but the truss rod does as well. I would highly recommend Dan Erlewine's books as a guide if you like working on your own instraments. Everything else about the guitar was as it should be and there were no surprises.

The nut seems tight for 10's as perhaps it should, certain strings stick when the vibrato tailpiece is employed and benefit from some lubricant. I changed the strap buttons to schaller locks. Fit and finish are fine but this guitar seems to need more seasonal truss-rod adjustment than other guitars I own.No

No contact

35 years playing. I also play a 52 Reissue Tele, a ES-135, a Martin D-16 and an Epiphone Sorrento. If I had it to do over I would possibly buy a Mexican built strat and find a set of better aftermarket pickups for the same money.

Year : 1997, US-made American Standard Strat, 22 frets, bookmatched alder body (suspect it has laminated veneeer?) 5 way pickup selector with no-load setting on bridge tone pot. Pickup config. S/S/S stock.
Solid maple neck, sunburst finish. American Standard tremolo.

Price w/ case US$ 680, purchased in 1997 at Guitar Center

I play a variety of styles usually blues, clean R&B stuff and occasional hard rock. I have played it through a Peavey Transtube Studio Pro 112, a Line 6 Flextone and a Fender Prince (2x25).

I use a little bit of delay with some chorus. For the slightly overdriven stuff I use a TS-9 Tube screamer reissue. I really hate
the American Standard pickups because I found that they are very
shrill and trebly sounding, overly bright. So I changed all the pickups, in the neck position I installed a Seymour Duncan APS II
pickup which has very nice smooth sound, although it really has a lot
of output(quite loud).

I find that it really sounds great in the neck position with the
Tubescreamer turned on. WHen I plug it into the Line6 with the Black Panel model, I can get a very, very crisp and sweet Fender clean tone
especially in the bridge & middle pickup setting (setting four).

Bear in mind I did change my bridge pickup to a DImarzio HS-2 and the
middle to a HS-1 because I couldn't stand the Hiss in pickup positions 3 and 5 using the stock american standard pickups.

I find that the guitar is really suitable more for dirty blues or
clean rhythm type work. In my opinion nothing beats a humbucker in the bridge position for a straight-ahead rock sound.

again it really sounds great with the neck pickup but then again
I changed it to a Seymour DUncan. I think the tone is a little more
full because I use .010 to .046 rather than the regular .009s to .042s.

So overall I am not too impressed with the stock pickups. That is
why I changed them to try to reduce the brightness that is already
inherently there with a maple neck.

I walked into the store with the intent of getting a rosewood neck.
After trying 5 different American Standard I walked out with the maple neck one, primarily because it sounded the best, also the other
four were SO badly setup. On most of them the neck was way out of
adjustment which made them really difficult to play. Also the fretwork
was not polished enough also I supposed this would have taken care of itself once the guitar was broken in. I found that the bridge was really floating too high above the guitar body.

I like the bridge to be flush with the body, so in the end I made
all the neck, saddle and bridge adjustments myself, having put in
an extra spring in the tremolo cavity, adjusting the saddle and bridge height and straightening the neck a bit. I like a slightly high
action and I have to say after adjusting the guitar, it played
very well.

Problem is, I went to one of those guitar warehouse places that sell
guitars so quick they really have no time to adjust them. I found that
in smaller stores, almost every Strat I played was set up well and played well when I picked it up. However the price was also 150 dollars more.

Regarding the fit, the neck sits very snugly in the pocket, there is
no movement/looseness at all. The neck finish is superb and this
makes the playability really good. Also the sunburst finish on the body was very good from the start. Four years later, it's still very good. THe bookmatching is very good.

I noticed that in the tropical Malaysian climate, the metal parts
ie. bridge, screws, etc have really suffered. After I moved back
from the US to Malaysia, I could really start to notice the corrision/
wear on the bridge parts, primarily because I sweat so much.

Reliability wise, this guitar is really very tough, I have dinged
the neck a few times. Also I find that if I stretch the srings right
after a putting on a new set, my strat stays in tune very well (I bend strings a lot since I play blues). So no complains about the tuning, even with only about 5 wraps on the post for each wound string.

I would say this guitar is reliable for live playing. However once
in a while you would need to clean the pots, switches, jacks, etc.
This has become my main live guitar so I feel realibility is not
an issue.

i have been playing more than 10 years so i feel that finally I have
managed to develop some taste as far as finding a good guitar and
listening for tone, etc.

I also own various effects, Tube screamer, chorus, Korg, Roland stuff
and a Studio Pro 112.

If I lost it I would definitely buy a Strat again but I would go for the Rosewood neck one since I am looking for a slightly warmer tone.

I love the tone, playability and reliability the most.

I hate the fact that you really have to adjust the setup a few times
before you are comfortable with it. I have found that this situation
exists with many Strats especially the foreign made ones. I find that the Strat copies made by other companies are generally better setup than a Fender-made Strat.

My advice to those lookng to buy a Strat -- it's a really versatile
guitar because you have a whole bunch of tones, as compared to a Les
Paul type guitar which basically has the straight-ahead humbucker tone.

Also make sure you try all the Strats in the store before you get
one--hey, it's your $$, not theirs!!. And if you're not cash strapped
and are not too sure how to set up your guitar, it's better to go
to a smaller store where you get better service, and also you can probably keep going back to the store if you need free guitar adjustments. However you also have to pay more.

US made standard, so not much to add than Standard.

Well, burn me! I don't like the sound through my Marshall Amp!
I have a Les Paul that I can't make sound bad, yet this Fender seems to be a muddy mess when using distortion. OK for the clean and twangy sounds but thats it.

Beatifullt set up and a joy to play.

I think so, don't you - but it will be tested by another owner as I will sell it.

I think the name Fender drew me to the purchase. Now after a few years I know a little more and really don't see the premium tag is justified for a Fender. They are SIMPLY guitars with crap trems.
I really believe many other guitars at the price of a strat offer better value.

I,ve been playing guitar for about 12 years now,8 of those playing an Ibenez R.G. Through a fender stage amp and a Yamaha GW10 pedel at the time i was mainly playing hard rock , metal then once i started playing live gigs i found that i never had a very versatile axe which made me lean towards the standerd strat.

The only thing i have thought about changing are the pickups i have found that they have a little too much treble and not enough low down punch, so I think i'll go the humbuckers .

Mine is a 2000 American Series Standard strat. s/s/s with sync tremolo. Maple neck and fingerboard 22 frets, volume and two tones, with 5 way selector.

I've played a couple of strats before, and I think that the american strat truly lives up to its legend. The sound ranges from warm and fat to the classic fender twang. No fret buzz at all, with an extremely bright sound. I play it on my roland jc-120, and you will not find a more vibrant tone in any other guitar. Definitely one of the best guitars ive played, and i'd recommend to anyone.

Perfect spick and span finish. 100% quality from the start.

I think it'll last me my whole life, and im bettin ill be passin it to my grandchildren.

Haven't tried it out yet... cuz .. well... no need to!

I've been playin for about three years and i have two other strats. I'd definitely buy another if stolen... except... i heard they stopped production of this model!!

i love this guitar it is my favorite!

i play a mixture of funk matal rock and sca and i love this guitar anthing i want it to do it does it goes from treble funk in the bridge pickup to bassie blues in the neck pickup

the only problem i had was the neck is slightly bent but that is b/c it is used and it doesnt make a difference

never had to call

cmon its fender