Fender American Standard Stratocaster

Playing it from a friend's house, i'd say it's a 90's model,USA,Black with a white pickguard and a maple neck 22 frets, stock controls, stock everything. The most useful feature is definately the neck,it's nice and slim,the american series are the slimmest most comfortable necks to play,not too flat like a jackson,has some back depth to grab onto.If you have small hands like me,not many guitars feel as good.

Slim maple neck, not too fat, just right.twangy and perfect for surf or blues.Probably sounds best with fender amps,particularly a dual showman head with some nice reverb.the tone knobs are pretty useless unless you like to do some odd experimenting.A fourth spring should be inserted in the rear for better tuning control. For The best sound results you could just listen to any recording by Hendrix, Clapton, or SRV whom in fact really push the instrument to unheard of territory....But for a REAL mind blowing example, listen to The Mermen's "Emmy Lou Rides Clarence West And Then South" in which Fender Strat-Slinger/Surfer/Bad-Ass Jim Thomas Portray's The Instrument's posibilities not as a singer's accomidator,or as a cheesy, predictable "Look At Me" blues solo machine, but as it was made to be used, in it's true nature..Art..Sheer Art..And boy does he play it!The Song is most recognizable as one of the tracks on Playstation's "Road Rash 3D" in which The Mermen also Jam Out to other titles such as "Sponge Cookie", "Miki's Lush Beehive" and "Driving The Cow". To simply characterize this band as a "Surf Band" would be like Characterizing Hendrix as a "Blues Guy". Sure that's where their roots came from, but they're SO MUCH more than that. When you listen to the Mermen, you can't help but think:
It's almost like what country music SHOULD'VE sounded like. Anyways, This band isn't that easy to get a hold of, so if you're thinking of getting a USA Strat, but aren't sure and have a ps1,then find Road Rash 3D and listen to what's REALLY possible with this guitar and then decide. Trust me, PURE vintage tone.

The action is perfect, if not you can adjust it.It fits perfect in my hands.The finsh is Black.

It seems very well crafted, it should last a long time.

I've been playing for 5 years, I own an ibanez seven string that i got tired of, and a small johnson amp with spring reverb. If i owned one,and it were stolen i would get pissed and definately try to buy another.It's the guitar i TRULY feel comfortable playing.I love everything about it.The only drawback is that it doesn't stay in tune with heavy use of the whammy bar, but anyone who plays guitars knows that shouldn't come as a surprise. In my opinion guitar playing isn't about the fastest solo or just pure strumming, it's about taking the instrument as your own, as a part of you're body,heart, and soul. And bands like The Mermen,really portray how guitar playing and music in general should be like.to some it all up in a statement...it's like what josh's chess teacher told his dad in "searching for bobby fischer" those who play for fun simply dismis it as a game, and those who take it seriuosly consider it a science, it is neither, it is an artform."

Fast-action maple neck, comfort-contoured body, three single-coil pickups and standard synchronized tremolo, ocean turquoise color, 22 frets, pretty much all you would expect from a standard strat.

Nice clean sound, lots of sustain. Somebody once said that as strat is the colour white. You use it as a background and add other colours to it. That makes sense. It has so much flexibility in sound. I use it with a tubescreamer mostly, for hendrix.

I bought mine second hand so these were the only real problems with the guitar. But it is seven years old. After a professional set-up she plays like straight out of the factory. about a mid range action, not too low, not too high. Everything still feels solid, even with a couple of superficial paint chips.

No real problems so far. Seems solid enough.

Not dealt with yet.

I've been playing for a year or so and wanted to replace my squire with something gig worthy. I wish that I had the chance to give the guitar a one over before buying, but the price was so low I couldn't help myself.
If it were stolen, I'd claim on the insurance and buy a new japanese tele. I might sell this puppy soon and do that anyway.

My Strat is a 1998, ocean turquoise color, 22 frets, rosewood fretboard, 2 point tremolo, and all what you already know. No complaint for the finish, still looking new and very glossy. The action is great. I bought it used, but look never played or very little. No fret wear, nothing... Surprising !!! The fender moulded hardshell case was included.

There's where this guitar is particular... I don't know in wich wood it's built, but I never had a guitar with so much sustain, even unplugged. It's wonderful...I have 3 strat...a Made in Mexico, that I found really great for the price, a 2004 American HH with S-1 switch that really desapointed me and now that gorgeous 1998 that cut my breath...This axe makes no hum, sounds clear, It's like it would be perfect. I'm playing it on a Fender hotrod DeVille 4X10 for gigs and a Crate GT 212 por home and practicing. On both amps, it's unbelievable. Let say I was lucky !!!

The action is perfect...how could a guitar action could be wrong with 9-42 strings...The guitar is gorgeous...the finish is perfect,the fit is perfect. The fender technician that built that one should have a raise :-)

As the guitar have already 7 y.o. , I presume it would last for life (and hope so). I always gig with 3 guitars, my made in mexico strat, and a nice Godin exit22. You can't take chance to play a gig without back up...Just a string breaking will throw you in shit if you don't have a back up. That strat replace my 2004 HH as main guitar. I always use that one now.

Fender is in US...I live in Canada...it's like we are NOT EXISTING...They don't care about us... We must be to small...Every countries have there Fender web site. In our case, we are depending on the US web site, and they are not selling parts to Canada. IT GETS THE SHIT OUT OF ME...I have to pass true Ebay to find parts and accessory...

I'am playing guitar fo nearly 40 years. I still gig, and playing Classic Rock. I palyed a lot of guitar during my life...Fender is Fender...some are good, somme are better, some are not to bad etc...
I have a splendid one right now...so I will keep that one for long.
The only thing I hate from fender is: YOO HOO...THERE'S A COUNTRY CALLED CANADA JUST NORTH OF YOU...And we certainly deserve a better attitude from this company...

1999 Madein the U.S. bought it used for a little $700.00 and worth every penny. This guitar had some alterations made such as Sperzel locking tuner, EMG Active pickupsm H/S/S Graphite nut and saddles. the former owner also added a pearloid pick guard that actualy looks pretty good with the Sage green finish. I thought I got ripped off at first because it had a real dead tone. turns out the guy who owned it previously didnt know it took a battery to operate the active pickups.. that was an easy fix plus there was a filter cap that came unsoldered. I was never crazy about acive electronics but now I am a believer. anyways i love the guitar.. dont know th exact model of EMG pickup.. wish I did

I play from heavy rock to melodic blues. distorted and clean.. and I get every tone I want from this guitar.. with 5 pickup configurations i can normally dial in the sound I want. No buzz sounds. I play through two different amps .. an older Fender Ultra Chorus amp and a Flextone 3 both sound great

Bought it used so I had it setup first thing by a pro.. and asked him to chek it out for me after removing the neck just to let me know the shape it was in. He told me it was a fine instrument. I have had Fenders in the past but they were made in Mexico.. I can only speak for myself, there is a difference. the action is awesome I could play it all night The finish is nice for a metallic sage green.. Not a color I would have picked but it grows on you

oh yeah. The guitar is a solid instrument,, quality you dont see these guitars on HSN or QVC with Zorro trying to sell it!!

never had to

Playing about 15 years,, The first guitar I bought was a Montoya Les Paul copy .. it is no longer in action. the first new guitar was a Fender made in Mexico I like it but not like this, I had an SG loved it but had to sell under hard times.. I still cry... Presently own Peavy EXP Quilt top, Epiphone Dot hollw body, Ibanez S470, an Esp(Ltd) ec 300(junk) and a Yahmaha acoustic.. The Fender is my favorite by far.. If somebody where to steal it I would have to track them down and feed them to my 180lb timber wolf named Zues.
I would buy another one (U.S.) some day I hope to buy a brand new Les Paul Custom. White in color.. a thing of beauty I say ..

1995 Made in U.S.A Stratocaster

Chrome Blue gloss body with maple neck and fretboard. Totally standard. Came with original hard shell case.

Standard Strat fare, everything you need and nothing you don't. That's why you buy one of these though isn't it.

I've tried many Strats in music shops and decided that a US model would be the best investment and give me the best sound. Three single coil pickups give me exactly what I want. Punchy Strat sound, a bit noisy but that's part of the charm. Not sure what merit the TBX control has, but will continue to experiment with it. I find the pickups to be much more responsive, full sounding and rich than any other Strat I've tried. I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and it sounds incredible. Makes me sound good (almost).

This guitar is 10 years old, and apart from 3 or 4 very small laquer flakes on the fretboard, this guitar could pass as brand new. The body is immaculate and all pots etc work perfectly. Typical Fender, built to last. Neck fits well, and apart from needing a small truss-rod adjustment is just fantastic. The chrome blue is a beautiful colour. I intend to add a pearl scratchplate which I think will make it look even better.

I really look after my gear and believe that if you do, it will look after you. All my gear is gigged regularly and still looks as good as new. Every ding I've ever put in a guitar hurts me more than it does the guitar, however this guitar could withstand a bomb blast and still sound great.

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One of 7 Fender guitars I own, but my first Strat. It's my favourite, which may be down to it being the most recent purchase, however I do think it will remain so. If you use it for the purpose it was intended, this guitar is peerless. I was beginning to think that the U.S ones weren't 'that' much better, but I do think that this guitar sounds, feels and looks much better than the Mexican or Japanese reissues etc. Paid a good price for it on eBay, given that new ones are still #600+. Has its original h/s case and will not let this one go.

Mine was made in 1995 in USA. I think the older ones are better than the newer models. All the features have been covered, so I won't go through all that shit again. Mine is white, with a maple fretboard. Great guitar. I can max it out with no bad conscience whatsoever.

Well, I have a lot of guitars. I've been collecting them for 20 years now, so I have them broken down to where I use certain guitars for certain kinds of music. You can play anything on this fuckin strat. I mostly play things like Cream, Hendrix, Sabbath or Zeppelin and a lot of things that just jump out of my head. This guitar does it all from country, blues, rock to metal. I only use Marshall Amps. I have a little MG10CD in my bedroom, I have an MG15RCD in my living room and I have an AVT 50 in my music room and that's the amp I gig with. Not much on effects, but I do use a boss distortion pedal and occasionally a ZOOM 707 effects pedal. Not noisy at all because I put those Vintage Noiseless pickups in it and they are fuckin awesome, it was awesome before, but even better now. Nice bright twangy sound on the bridge pickup, mellow bluesy sound on the neck. Don't ever use the in between. Very versatile guitar. I can also max this out with no conscience pangs whatsofuckin ever.

Flawless on all counts.

Yes to all except I won't gig without a backup.

Never had to deal with Fender cuz I never had one fuck up.

I've been playing since the late 60's. I have this Stratocaster, I also have a Fender American Standard Stratocaster Telecaster. I've got an Epiphone Les Paul Standard and I've got a Rockstar Solid Body Les Paul Copy as well as a Rockstar Semi-Hollow Body Les Paul copy, as well as a Rockstar Fat Strat Copy and Telecaster Copy which I put a humbucker off of a wrecked Gibson 335 at the neck position. I also have a Fernando Stratocaster Copy and a Fernando Copy of a Kramer 1984 Eddie Van Halen model, with a Floyd Rose, locking tuners, single humbucker and only a volume control (which is one of my favorite guitars) all of which are good guitars and I will do a review on them. I have an old Harmony Acoustic Guitar made in 1945, the year I was born which is a great guitar, as well as an Epiphone Hummingbird and an AJ18 Epiphone Acoustic Guitar. I've got a shitload of other guitars, but it would take up most of Harmony Central's space to put it all here. I plan on reviewing about 20 of my favorite guitars on here though. This is definitely the best guitar I own and I can max it out totally and not feel guilty about it at all.

1999 bought in 2000 as new, Made in the USA
S/S/S pick ups
Black with White pick guard/ maple neck
changed out the stock pick guard, knobs, back plate to black with the black moto pick guard. Very cool looking.
Also changed out the stock saddles for Graph Tech string savers and installed roller string trees.

The Strat can cover about any genre of music. I play for recreation now, but I played extensively at church at one time. The Strat was very capable.I use a Fender Stage 1000 amp and no external F/X's. This amp created a whole new sounding Strat for me.
When I first started playing this guitar, I had to overcome a couple of Strat traits:
1. The location of the pick up selector switch / Strumming interference
2. The floating tremolo / Had to work on different palm muting technique.

The guitar was set up well from the factory, of course that all changed when I swapped out the saddles, pick guard, etc.

I've owned this ax for 5 years with "0" problems.
Rock solid as far as I'm concerned.

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I've been playing off and on for 25 years. I own a couple of acoustics and a Fender American Standard Tele which I love as well as my Strat. If the Strat were gone I'd be in the market to replace it without question.

American 2004.it's got a 5 way selector, 1 volume, 2 tone.s/s/s.the neck and body is maple.its got a new style strat tremelo.i dont use the whammy bar that much, but when i do go on it it feels great! the tuners arent anything special (non-locking) but they do the job fine.the necks maple and quie fat.it feels like the best in the worled with its rooled edges.the frets ate normal.it included a fender hard case with a fender cable, strap, and tools (alan key ect.).

i use the strat with a marshall mg50dfx.they sound brillant together.i can get any sound out of the the marshall and strat.i mostly use the neck pick up with the overdrive channel.it sounds like guns n roses intro to sweet child of mine , which is what i want.i mostly play rock and with the marshalls overdrive channel WOW!!!!!there are no dislikes, but i do wish the strat had fenders s-1 switching system.also the amps great.

i havnt adjusted the fender in any way so far.the guitar contained no flaws its well built with not one thing wrong with it.its all superbly well built.i pollish after evey time i play it with a lint free cloth and some water.it polishes up great.

this guitar will withstand playing live with out a doubt.it seems like everything will last.its nearly 1 year old and there is not one thing wrong with it.i havent played the strat that much as i think its so special.the strap buttons are solid as a rock.i think its 100% reliable.i would use it without a back up.

i have no opinion with customer support because i havent had to deal with them.thank god.

i have been playing since march 2004 i got my strat in june 2004.i love it to pices.im totally fender.i love my strat because it sounds great , looks a million dollars and is relitavily cheap.when i bought it i diddnt know a humbucker to a single coil.i bought it because hebdrix and clapton played them among with many other great guitarists.but id still buy it because of there connection.if i could give you one piece of advice it would be to get this guitar its the best.

American 2004 Model - it has the 50th anniversary neck plate, but it's a "standard" standard. Rosewood board, 3 colour sunburst and all the other odds and sods associated with this particular line. As most folks say - it's a stratocaster, it has stratocaster bits. Came with moulded case (I never realised how compact these cases were - excellent design), strap, lead, cloth and tools. Overall, felt very good carrying it out of the shop - a real sense of having bought value for money.
By the way, traded two guitars in for this - a korean epiphone casino (ok but nothing special) and a Godin SD - beautiful guitar, highly recommended - I was sad to see that one go..... but I had to try a Fender (and I thought I'd never say that!)

I've been trying to learn to play guitar for about 25 years off and on (mainly off) and it's the blues that stirs my soul. Slowish, melodic, occasional screaming blues. SRV et al. I always thought I was a Gibson person - les paul meat - until recently when I realised that most of the guitarists I enjoy the most use Fenders. I've always loved Fender amps, but could never see the beauty of a stratocaster. And then I woke up! Still love Gibsons, but I've finally succombed to the Fender steamroller.
This guitar is wonderful; why people knock it is a mystery to me. I use a Fender Hotrod deluxe and a Wasabi overdrive, and all the sounds that have stirred my emotions over the years are here - crystal clear is beautiful, overdriven is enough - you can still hear the notes, but it's dirty - wonderful, and not a Gibson in sight!
The 5 positions each have their own voice, and the tone controls actually work. The volume pot is perhaps a little abrupt, and it can rob the tone a little if you roll it back too much - this may be a trait of Fenders - not sure.
So, overall the guitar is a gem - I can't understand why people on here seem to want to buy a guitar and then change everything about it - the pick-ups are fine, the tuners are fine - the sound is wonderful - use the tone controls (they're there for a reason and they change the sound a hell of a lot quicker than changing the pick-ups!). I'm not a guitar guru, but if, like me, you want a guitar that you can plug straight into your amp, set the amp on neutral, and get sounds that you recognise from the great records you listen to - get an American Standard

The shop I bought it from had not messed with it (I asked) and I picked it up, tuned it and it played better than anything I'd tried before. The lower e string has the merest hint of fret rattle, but I'll play the guitar in for a while before I fiddle. Fit and finish in general seems very good, the neck is absolutely to die for - even I can play pretty quickly on it(and believe me that's saying something!) The sunburst finish is excellent, the body is a 3 piece but you wouldn't realise from the front, just discernable on the back. All the controls are spot on, no noise, and they feel good. This has travelled a long long way to get to me here in the UK, and yet it feels spot on, almost "played in" yet new.

I don't play gigs, but this thing will live in the back of my car - the case is solid, and so is the guitar.
If you look at the number of the wee beasties out there helping their owners to earn a living, wouldn't you be confident?!

Not dealt with them - any issues would be dealt with by the shop

As I said above I've been trying to play for many many years - perhaps this wonderful guitar will finally make me take it seriously!
I think I'm now a confirmed Fender person (weird that!) so I'd buy another if lost etc.
The guitar feels like a working class instrument, but is still beautiful - how can that be beaten.

I tried mexican standard strats, highway 1, the 50's classic - all were good but this had the extra quality. I've had several guitars over the years some more expensive, most less, and this gives me more pleasure than any of them.

2004 Made in USA, 22 frets (the fingerboard extends over the body just a bit to get that 22nd one on there. Volume, tone and Delta Tone with 5 way switch. Three VERY NOISY single coils. Mine is a three color sunburst over a really pretty piece of flamed wood. I think that it is alder on the three color ones. This strat has tuners that get shorter as they move away from the body of the guitar. I haven't owned many Strats, so that may not be anything "new", but it is a new twist to me. I really like the rolled edges of the neck and frets, it really makes for a fast neck. Mine has a rosewood fingerboard. I got it for Christmas 2004 from my kids!! Wow, about time the old man got a cool tou for Christmas (I have lost track of how many new guitars my kids have gotten for Christmas and birthdays....Thanks for thinking of old dad.

It sounds like a Strat. I have a MIM strat with a maple fingerboard and this one sounds a lot different. Better? BUT IT IS REALLY NOISY!!!!! I play it through either a Marshall DSL 2000 (50 watt) 1/2 stack, a Crate "Blue Voodoo" (100watt) 1/2 stack, or a full stack of Marshall (old style)Valvestate 100 cabs and head. It is noisy in all setting on all amps. But I have to say that this strat can really produce the honk and quack that strats used to make. I've played "classic Rock" since it was "new."

My son set the guitar up before putting it in the casr under the tree. I don't know what it came like from the factory. It is perfect. NO FLAWS, NO MISMATCHING of the flamed top, just BEAUTIFUL!
GREAT ACTION (but my son knows what I like and set it up for me)

I changed the buttons to straplocks prior to even playing it on Christmas day. Fender strats are usually trustworthy, but I'd never gig without a different brand of guitar (can you say GIBSON?) due to the noise. What happens if they use a light show? --- too noisy for my Gibson ears. I think the finish is soild and will last well.

Customer Support?????? From FENDER????? HaHaHaHaHaHa! In the mid 60's I was a founding member of a nationaly known recording act. When we had gold records Fender loved us and tried to give us gear several times. Only the bass player ever took anything from them (if we took it, we had to play it...) Oh, yeah, I was the bass player.
Now I'm NOBODY, and Leo is dead. So Fender is mainly CUSTOMER NONSERVICE. Too bad.

This year (2005) I will have played about 45 years (several of them professionally --your grandmother might have bought the records when she was young?) I've owned or do own one of everything Gibson ever made (and several of the fun ones), Rickenbackers, Gretch (original company, not the new copies), Martin, and Vox guitars and Several Vox, Fender, Sunn, Marshall, Ampeg, and Kustom (the old tuck and roll) amps. I love the Fender 'cause my kids gave it to me so it will never leave...one of them will inherit it when I croak.