Fender American Standard Stratocaster

2008 American Standard Stratocaster - Corona, CA
Tinted maple neck - Chrome red alder body
S/S/S pickup configuration with Delta no-load
Bent steel saddles and copper-infused inertia block

Came with the newer Fender/SKS so-called "flight" style rectangular case w decent latches, cord, allen wrenches, Fender strap.

Suitable for any style of music. I use it for everything from Jazz, Blues, Country, Rock, and even Showtunes and BigBand.

I use Tech 21 Trademark 60 and TM 300 amps generally, though sometimes a tweed Deluxe clone. Generally no effects except sometimes some amp distortion, depending. It records well through a rack POD to Pro-Tools too.

Humbucking noise reduction is available in switch positions #2 & 4.

The pickups are moderately strong sounding enough for more modern Rock sounds, but not overwound to the point where highs are compromised.

The general sound is a single-coil crisp and bright signature, and the pot tapers work well to take the high end off when desired.

The Delta system denotes a hotter bridge pickup and the No-Load lowest pot also has the bridge pickup wired through it as well as the middle pu.

Close to Tele sounds are available, and it still has some "sweetness" to the tone available, though not quite as much as softer 57/62 pickup sets.

For high distortion use I like to combine bridge and middle pu for noise reduction and roll off quite a bit of the highs. There's still enough left for pinch harmonics and through almost any amp I sound like what I'm after. No surprizes or bad tones lurking in there that I stumble across when I'm going for something else.

It sounds like a modern Strat with single coils and modern wiring, which I find plenty versatile for all the styles I want to play.

Flawless.

Durable by design.

The new strap buttons have a relieved area that the strap drops into very securely, though they look just like normal old generic Fender style strap buttons.

Lifetime warranty.

I've never needed anything from Fender on any of their guitars.

49 years experience.
This is my #1 workhorse guitar for sideman jobs in several catagories and also around the house grabbing for pleasure or practice.
There is also a self-assembled partsocaster kicking around the house for when I want humbucker sounds, which is rare. I can usually get what I need over a wide range with the s/s/s Strat.

I love the neck. It's perfect for how I play and feels great.

I have had the AV '62 RI Strat in the past, and though I like those too I appreciate the refinements and improvement schemes onboard this more modern take on the same idea. It's more versatile sounding and the neck fights me a bit less and flows more. Sustain seems the same between the big vintage block and the new copper infused block, and I like the bent steel saddles over most die-cast, though the stainless and chrome plated brass on some models are fine.

I had an AmSeries hardtail with a second pickguard loaded with humbuckers -and GraphTech saddles- I sometimes used in the past for Jazz gigs, but I don't bother with that stuff anymore. The pots work well enough on this Standard.

I use GHS Nickel Rockers: 0.011" - 0.050" strings.

Oly white, rosewood board 2006 model good tuners crap electronics, frets are way to soft, neck shape is great I love the original contoured body

I have owned a few strats and i must say this one dissapointed me first the pick-ups I found the stock ones were lacking sustain, no power so I replaced them with a set of DiMarzio virtual vintage noisless, that helped. I bought this guitar in 2006 and i'm already looking at having the frets crowned, I can't beleive how fast they are wearing i'm only a hobby player I guess there are differant hardnesses of frets and i would suggest if someone pays good money for a guitar find out what kind on junk they used for frets. Other than that i guess i'm happy! My next one won't be a standard! Iown several guitars with more miles than my strat and no visible wear

everything about this guitars look and finish is great. my only problem really is the fret issue. I think the medium jumbo frets are too round if they were flatter like gibson frets they make last longer.

sounds great(now)frets wont last another year

fret wear is not coverd under warranty

not worth the money!!!!! With a few upgrades fender could hold their heads high

This is a 2008 model with 22 medium jumbo frets.5 way selector switch, volume, tone for the neck and middle pickups, and a "Delta" tone control for the bridge pickup. Three single coil Fender pickups, The body is made fron Alder and the neck is maple with a maple fingerboard too. The finish is Blizzard Pearl. This guitar comes with an excellent new style Fender case.

I play in local pubs and clubs as a one man band using backing tracks. I play everything from Country, Pop, Irish, Rock, you name it,and in typical Strat fashion this guitar covers it all with ease. I use a AwardSession JD10 pre-amp straight into my Peavey XR600 PA Amp. Can be a little noisy on high gain settings though not that much more than my other guitar that has Gold Lace Sensors. This guitar is very versatile. Played clean the neck is very full and classy without ever being muddy,i.e like a humbucker. The middle is a little brighter again and I dont really use the bridge for anything other than high gain sounds which is where it excels having a bit more body and gain than expected and certainly more than my Strat Plus with its lace sensors. I like everything about this guitar.

The guitar came with 9 guage strings which I changed to 10's. The factory set up was pretty good though I made minor adjustments to the truss rod and string heights to suit my own tastes, and had the nut grooves lowered slightly, I screwed the pickups a little higher to the strings. One small thing about all the latest American Standards I've noticed, is that there is a small gap between the bridge just at the angle where the tremelo arm screws in, and the body routing for the bridge. Its quite tiny and I suspect the routing is very slightly over large to accomodate the larger bridge on the Deluxe Strats. This makes not one bit of difference to the sound or playabilty of this otherwise excellently made guitar, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Built to last a life time. I use only this instrument when I play now. My other guitar, a 1989 USA Strat plus has had 20 years of hard playing and is still going strong, though I've put it away now for safe keeping. It has a rosewood board and I fancied a maple, so bought this new Standard and was surprised to find it knocked the socks off my old guitar in every department. Its quite a bit lighter in weight than my old guitar too.

Never had to use it.

Have been playing for 37 years. As previously stated I have a 1989 Fender Strat plus, and I also have a Squier Precision Bass fitted with a Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounder pickup. If it were stolen I would buy the same model again straight away without hesitation. I love everything about this guitar.

It's a standard U.S.A. Fender Stratocaster made in 2007 in black finish, alder body, c shape maple neck & fretboard (22 frets)w/ white pickguard & knobs etc., 5 way selector switch two tone and one volume knobs 3 american strat single coils and a 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with the new changes they made to it plus a hardshell case, a strap and a fender cable, bought brand new for about $ 900 shipping included.

It suits me more than well in the music I play wich goes from blues, to 70's rock like led zeppelin, 80's glam rock/metal like motley crue, hanoi rocks, poison, guns n' roses, skid row etc. and also 80's metal like metallica, megadeth, and all metal in general such as pantera, lamb of god, nevermore etc. and also 90's nirvana, alice in chains, pearl jam, smashing pumpkings, and even offspring, so you see, I cover A LOT of genres and the srat doesn't stand out, but does the job well, I use it with a Zoom GT9.2tt (wich is in grand part responsable for me being able to play almost anything) through a Fender '77 Twin Reverb 2X12, it isn't noisy on any kind of distortion/overdrive because of the pedalboard, wich yet again allows for any setting, it does have a brighter more bitting edge to it than the rosewood fretboard ones, and in clean mode it's just heavenly, but it doesn't have as much sustain as I would like and the tremolo does detune it when used, as a tip for the tremolo I read in an interview to Jeff Beck that a Fender factory worker told him to set the bridge at 45 degrees of inclination because it's designed to go back into position and reduce strain and wear as well as keeping the tuning, I tried it, and it works! again, not as well as desired or possible, but it works.

It came perfectly set-up from the factory, the action I already described above, The pickups are fine but I raised them to have them closer to the strings, properly routed and without any factory flaw.

In my experience it does withstand live playing, it's my only guitar and I even change tunings from song to song sometimes and it comes through, the hardware seems durable, I depend on it 100% and as I said it's my only axe in gigs, no backups and no need for them so far.

I've been playing for 8 years, I've owned mexican strats, peavy predator, a U.S.A. Jackson, a schecter C-1 and an epiphone L.P. custom, presently it's just the strat and a washburn D10SCEDL electric/acoustic dreadnought style, if it got lost or stolen I'd probably buy the new Ibanez RG1550M prestige series guitar, wich is basically a strat on steroids.

2007 USA 22 fret Fender Stratocaster ( The real deal!)
volume and 2 tone knobs, S/S/S
One piece solid body, maple neck.
Arctic White (classic Hendrix look)
Standard bridge, the new models have rolled saddles which apparently sound more vintage and add to the stability of the instrument.
New molded hard case.

I normally play Classic/Psychedelic/Progressive rock and overall it suites my style of playing very well.
I put the guitar through an Orange Tiny Terror head, through an Epiphone valve junior cab (Eminence Lady Luck speakers)< Not bad for ??60
It sounds really raunchy and wild, a LOT of crunch. The standard pickups are really hot and I would not recommend changing them.
I have played an American standard with noiseless pickups, (kinmans Woodstocks) and it sounded way too thin and lifeless compared to the standard pickups.
mind you the hum from the bridge and neck pickups can be annoying.
you can never win can you?!
There is a lot of variety on the sounds you can get out of this beast, without using any pedals, I cant get glassy clean on the neck pickup with the volume knob on 7, then turn it up to get some serious bluesy crunch. with high gain sounds you can get some serious vintage tone from the the mid and bridge mixed. then flick to the neck for solos. it is a very versatile guitar.
The bridge pickup is to die for!

The setup was okay from the factory, but i had to get it setup by my local guitar guy (Les - the roadie from Venom)
It plays really well after being set up.

I have to say that the hardware had absolutely no problems what so ever.

I have recorded, practised and gigged this guitar for over a year now and it has had absolutely no problems.

however... uhh there's is always a however!
I did take everything off the body ( even the neck) about a month ago and stripped the paint off completely using a power sander...

now let's forget that this was absolutely crazy and irresponsible.

I put everything back together and had it set up by Les again ( he nearly killed me when he saw what I had done)
And now it plays just as good as when i got it, even a little better cuz the neck is now worn in.

And it looks the dog's bollocks... ( It's a good thing btw!)

iunno!?!?!?!

I have been playing for a year and a half.
This was the first electric guitar I bought.
If it was stolen i would definatly buy one again.
possibly a red one, then i'd get bored of the paint job and strip it again. :)

Just purchased a "brand new" 87 Stratocaster, the first of the American Standards, and it is NICE. Usual 22 frets, 5 way selector, 3 single coil pups, has two string trees, which is not found on the later Strats. Body is alder, I guess, standard tuners, rosewood fretboard, original molded case which is sweet!

Oh, the sound. Is as glassy and clean as you would want a classic Strat to be, and then some. Play essentially everything from rock to country and this axe can handle most anything. Use this with a Roland Cube 20x at home and Fender Twin on stage. Is noisy on 1 3 and 5 settings, but on 2 and 4, quiet as a mouse. The sound is, well, a Strat sound! Chimey and glassy on the out of phase settings, and full on the bridge and neck settings. Want to put noiseless pups in this, but will screw the value up, so will deal with it. All around tone monster!

Action is pretty good, I figure someone in 20 some years would have taken this thing to get setup, but action is fine as it is. Pups had to be lowered initially, as they were pulling on the strings magnetically. Now, tone is better. This thing is fairly old, and it has hardly any problems with rust or otherwise. For all the reviewers with newer purchases, rest assured that your axe will last a LONG time...

This thing will withstand a great deal of punishment, though I will not do such a thing :> This guitar is made with quality in mind, and will last a very long time. Finish is glossy, and appears to be made to withstand more than regular usage. I could depend on this thing on stage without reservation, period. I would gig with this w/out backup, but I bring my Tele just for the heck of it.

Support for an oldie like this is nonexistent (virtually). Still, was able to download a manual from fender.com for this particular year. No warranty, dont need one

Playing for app. 20 years, have a Gibson LP and Mexican Tele. If this were stolen, would hunt the perp down, and he would be toast. Would buy another one of similar vintage, but this is the one for me. Love the sound, is dead on Strat goodness. Only dislike is the hum, can rectify, but am gonna live with it. Compared to new Highway One Strat, and 08 American Strat, but with the price I got it at, it was totally a done deal! Strats RULE!

Well after all my odd japanese fenders, I was told to get a strat by everyone I knew. White USA Standard Maple neck rosewood fretboard. 21 frets - not enough, The knobs hit my hand every time I pick a note which is annoying. rosewood fretboard because thats just how I roll. The bridge is standard strat of course and the little screws tear up my and when I do some crazy palm muting thing. 3 single pickups - no interesting sounds. The body is contoured which I hate also it is wide and square-bottomed unlike my Jag-Stang. The neck too big for me, I prefer shortscale for shredding. also the neck is flat and you get RSI after 10 minutes of playing. Tuners are too close together too. It comes with some fancy accessories - nice case and stuff.

I play lots of metal and there is just no way this could compete with my jagstang. There is just no range on this guitar, it is not heavy enough and all the pickup settings sound the same. One thing that really bugs me is that there is no tone control for the bridge!

In conlusion, it sounds good but not right for me. This is just a blues guitar and cant take any distortion.

Well its a one year old guitar so no damage or decay but it is well made and fairly reliable. Having three pickups and that 5 way selector switch I wouldn't dare mod it

This guitar is solid, no doubt about that. It will probably survive till the apes take over the earth. I know it would survive a gig, no doubt about that. The finish thogh is easy to scratch

10 year warranty, don't know the details

If this was stolen, i'd think oh crap there goes ??700. To me it is worthless as a guitar because it is so mediocre and dull.

My other guitars are Fender jagstang and an eastwood Hi- flier, both of which are better than this. Strats just don't have that capacity to 'blow you away'.

June 2008 American Standard Stratocaster, made in Corona, CA, 22 frets. Solid one-piece body alder body with Blizzard Pearl finish, rosewood fretboard, S/S/S with american standard strat pups, Volume, Tone, Tone controls. Comes with the new molded SBK case (case itself is fantastics) and all sorts of case candy.

I mostly play progressive pop--so, Trever Rabin Yes, Asia, late Rush, Boston. Plus classic rock like Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers, etc. I run this through a Zoom G7.UT modeler with a 12AX7 tube preamp, and run that output to a Hughes and Kettner 15 watt that has a Celestion 10" speaker. Going through that H&K cab, the guitar sounds fantastic. It can go from very clean, to a funky clean-with-flange or clean-with-chorus for fast-strum chording, to somewhat heavy rhythm, to soaring leads to great clean leads. The single-coils can be a little bit noisy some times, but nothing compared to the MIM Strat I had before this. More importantly, you can get a more balanced lead tone from the American than from the Mexican. The only thing is that the pups could be just a little bit hotter. But that can be dealt with by cranking the speaker volume...

The fit and finish were flawless. (Just one note about the fit and finish--someone below said that they saw poor bookmatching on a Sienna Sunburst model. But the body is actually a single piece of wood--I took a close look at a Sienna in the store the other day, and that's also a single slab. That doesn't address, though, the complaint about poorly figured wood, which could still be an issue--the model I looked at had rather plain figuring, FWIW.) The setup out of the box was very good, too.

The guitar should be fine on stage--hardware, finish, components, all seem built to last. In terms of reliability, I would gig without a backup (but as I like different sound textures, I would still bring the Tele and LP...)

N/A

I've been playing for 25 years, although I hadn't been very active for about a span of about 10 years, before starting to play very much again 3 years ago. If it were lost or stolen I would get a new one as soon as possible. It feels great to play, and to hold, and even sounds great unplugged. I get every strat sound I want from it, and it responds very well.

2008 Model made in '08 as well, in California (nothing beats American quality). 22 Frets, solid alber body in Olympic white with maple fretboard. Volume pot, 2 tones (one with a detent at 10 to remove all filtering), 3 single coil pickup (considering putting in a JB at the bridge). Single coils are standard passive AlNiCo V pickups from the factory. String thru body style. Came with kick *** molded flight case from Fender.

I play everything from Goo Goo Dolls to Bon Jovi, to Van Halen, to Hinder, Black Crowes, to music from RENT. This is the most versatile guitar I have EVER played. My old guitar was an Ibanez RG 550 hot rodded with a Tone Zone. The thing screamed with distortion, but on cleany sounded way too brown. With a strat, each pickup configuration is it's own distinct rich sound. It's phenomenal. The only thing that bothers me, and I knew about it when I bought it, was the bridge pick-up gets too bright for me...that can be fixed with some tweaking on the amp, etc. or with replacing the pickup. It's just my opinion though.

Perfect. The only one in white in the GTA. The tech at the guitar shop threw on 11's for me, and the thing booms and roars. It's amazing. I wish I had gotten one 5 years ago.

It's a Fender. 'Nuff said.

I've been playing guitar for over 10 years. I've toured the country, playing in a different town every night. I've played a number of guitars over the years, but only ever stuck to my old tried and true Ibanez. I've got a Line 6 spider but that's going to be getting upgraded soon as I pay off this bad boy. If this guitar was stolen I would hunt down the bastard that took it, beat the **** out of him, take my guitar back, and then slash the guys tires. This is an outstandig guitar.

The finish is great. It's white, it's simple, yet it's just got this shine and gloss to it that makes it jump out at you. I wish it had a floyd on it just because I like the locking systems out of years of having one on my Ibanez, but to be honest, this thing stays in tune considerably well given how hard I'm playing it.

I played an HSS strat and found that there wasnt much of a difference. For the same price, I wanted the traditional strat look. I thought about buying an Ibanez JEM but it sounded way too similar to my RG. I chose this guitar because of it's beautiful tone, and it's absolute versatility.

Buy Fender, you won't be disappointed.

2008 american standard stratocaster mad in USA.
22 frets maple fretboard, 3 single coils. floating tremolo
includes case, cable, strap, cloth, and all the tools and manuals.

Its a good guitar but the floating tremolos are something to get used to. I really dont like them

The action was good right out of the case.

The case bolts on mine are really loose and look and feel like they are going to break.

didnt deal with them.

its ok. If it were stolen i would get a american vintage 57 reissue stratocaster:):)

The NEW American Standard Strat, 2008 (s/s/s) model. Made in USA in surprisingly enough ..... 2008 !
This is the slightly more expensive Sienna Sunburst finish on an Ash body (the solid colours are made with Alder), maple neck and fingerboard (gloss finish on fingerboard, satin on the back of the neck). I'll come back to finish later, and if you're thinking of buying a 'transparent' finish it'll make important reading.
22 medium jumbo frets, solid all the way through, 3 American strat single coil pick-ups, Fender Deluxe staggered tuning machines, and 'Delta' tone circuit. New style Fender SKB hardcase which is fantastic, so much better than the case that came with the previous model.

I've been playing just over 18 months (and I'm 36, not some kid who doesn't know what he's talking about) so I'm still learning, but I know my guitars, and this one sounds great. I play blues, rock, pop, and funk mainly. I play this through a Marshall JCM DSL401 all valve combo.
This guitar sounds fantastic, it's range is better than any strat I've played, even my Blade which has the VSC circuit. Using the Delta tone you can range from really bright texas twang through to some pretty full-on grunt with no problem. You can even get a pretty good acoustic tone out of it on a clean channel. I compared this to a new 2008 USA Standard Tele and the 2008 USA Standard H/S/S strat and I found that this one had more versatility and bite.
My only dislike is that I wish Fender would swallow their pride and add on something like the excellent Blade VSC, because a VSC cicuit on this guitar, coupled with the Delta tone would make it perfect !

Action was a little high, but I always hardtail my strats so by the time I'd taken the slack out of the trem it was fine. The pick-ups were fine and all the hardware appears flawless. The 'hand-rolled' fingerboard edges are a dream to play. As for the finish, this is the important bit I mentioned earlier.
I knew I wanted this finish and I went out to buy expecting all the guitars I saw to look pretty similar, this was NOT the case. I must have looked at six Sienna Sunburst guitars and this was the only one I would have considered buying. Fender charge an extra hundred pounds for the transparent finish on Ash because they say the wood costs more, and I guess that's fair enough if you think they have to find an attractive piece of wood 'cos its gonna show through the finish. Of the ones I looked at they hadn't bothered with the wood at all, I'm amazed they even got through quality control. The grain had major flaws, the joins were awful, and the wood looked cheap. I was about to give up but the store I was in at the time said they had a boxed one out the back so I asked them to get it. The salesman opened the case and there it was, the guitar I had set out to buy.
This one is perfect. If there are any joins in the wood you can't see them (and I've looked hard), the grain is beautiful and rich and it shows perfctly through the clear finish, PRS eat your heart out!
PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS GUITAR ONLINE - You need to see what you are getting, some of the examples I looked at were awful, they were so bad they could have been 'B' stock (they weren't). If you want a 2008 Fender with a transparent finish SHOP AROUND !
I'm scoring this catagory 10 for my guitar, but overall based on what I saw it should really be a 2 or 3.

It's a USA Fender so of course it's a gigging guitar. I wouldn't doubt any aspect of this guitar.
The case is BRILLIANT, really tough and so much better than anything Fender have offered before.

I've been playing eighteen months. I currently own this Fender, a Blade Texas Pro, a Peavey Generation EX (my travelling guitar), and a Taylor acoustic. In the past I have owned the previous USA standard strat, a Les Paul, a Mex strat and a Tele.
If it were stolen I would definately buy it again as long as I could find another one this good ..... which I doubt. I love the playability and the wealth of tones available. I miss the VSC of my Blade, but it's there when I want it.
The finish on mine is perfect, something to drool over, real guitar ****! But as I said earlier they aren't all like this so shop carefully.

Brand new Fender Amercan Standard Strat in Black with rosewood fretboard plus case

Tool kit and cloth ,included also a comprehensive hand book [take note Gibson]

The delta tone is very trebly at max setting. I run this Guitar through a Boss DS1 into a Marshall DSL50 head to a 1936 2x12 cab

I usualy set the tone knob on the guitar to 8 which sounds less spikey ,the bridge pickup is quite powerfull and sounds quite humbuckey for a single coil .The neck pickup sounds all strat ,very Robin Trower ,exellent

I work on all my guitars myself. Out of the box It played and felt good, allbeit with a high action,and quite an under bow on the neck.

I flattend the neck and lowered the action a bit, it felt a lot better.
I dont use the trem so I blocked it off with two small taylor made mahogany blocks. its now rock solid and feels 100 percent better

I also own a mid 80`s Japanese standard Strat which is the nicest strat I have ever played,It feels good against that

I have used my Jap strat for 20 odd years live with no problems at all.

I have used the American on a couple of gigs so far and it was great.
It will outlast me no problem

Rock solid tuneability is all I ask for live, It past with flying colours

The hardware is solid ,the new bridge saddles in particular. I am more used to the old fashiond bridge and saddle assy ,but I soon got used to it

Never delt with Fender ,But Peter Cooks from London Are exellent

Guitar wise I own an 80`s Jap Standard Strat, a Gibson SG Classic,a Gordon Smith GSI thick body,and now the new American Standard

A Marshall DSL50 Head with a 1936 2x 12 cab

Overall the American Standard compares well with my other guitars

I will use it all the time

Standard Strat configuration, Olympic white alder body with a 22 fret maple neck, Fender tuners, new American Standard Tremolo, really nice SKB style case.

The sound is typical for a Strat. The stock neck and middle pick ups have enough output for most types of music. I especially like the tone I can get on the neck pu for the Los Lonely Boys tune "Heaven", nice and rich. The bridge PU was not ballsy enough. I replaced it with a Seymour Duncan Lil' 59 humbucker, and now the guitar sounds just right. Very quiet for a Strat, with virtually no 60 cycle hum evident. I play in a cover band doing everything from Pretenders to Green Day to Blink 182, so the versatility of the Strat can't be beat. I play through a Fender Supersonic, with a Fulltone Fulldrive pedal, and use a Maxxon OD808 overdive pedal for leads. I also have an old Boss stereo chorus and a couple of homemade boost pedals.

I absolutely love the feel of the neck of this guitar. This is my 4th Strat, and by far the fit and finish out of the box was the BEST! The guitar was set up with .009's, which I changed out to .010's. All that was required was a minor neck adjustment and tremolo adjustment, and it was good to go. The new Fender neck finish is terrific. It is a satin finish on the back of the neck, and a shiny finish on the fingerboard, and exhibits none of the "stickyness" that some maple neck guitars have. The frets are nicely finished, with no rough edges anywhere. The Olympic white finish is flawless.

Is it durable? Well, I have an 83 Strat that I've used for 25 years, and I think this new one is built better than the old one! The hardware is the standard Fender issue, and I have no doubt that it will last for a long time.
I would not play ANY gig without a backup, but this guitar has already become my main gig axe, and I play it for more than 85% of the tunes we do.

No opinion.

I've been playing for about 30 years. I own an '83 1962 Vintage Strat re-issue, a 2005 Eric Johnson strat, a '97 Les Paul Classic, a '91 PRS Custom 24 and a custom built Telecaster. I also have a 1967 Fender Bandmaster.
If this axe was stolen, I'd have to go get another one.
The best feature is the feel of the neck. For me, it is the most comfortable neck I own. Sometimes you don't choose the guitar, it chooses you. All it took was 5 minutes playing this one and I was sold. The great case is an added benefit, too!

USA made 2008 (new redesign) Fender American Standard HSS - Sienna Sunburst finish. Normal fender 5 way switch, 2 tones, 1 volume. Includes hardshell case, strap, 10' cable, misc wrenches. The new redeign includes the addition of a small spring that fits in the tremelo arm hole, which helps to "tighten" the tremelo arm connection with the block. I read about this modification a couple years ago in a guitar repair book - and thought it made sense. But...one small annoyance is the spring falls out if you don't remember to cover the hole when the trem arm is out. I remembered, but my setup tech didn't and lost the spring. The problem is - dealers don't seem to have them or know how to order them. I e-mailed fender and after 11 days have had no response. I e-mailed them again...we'll see.

Features-wise, its an american strat.

Its good for for crunchy blues. The tone is excellent and that's a result of the wood, pickups, etc. Worth the price by comparison to a couple other guitars I have at lower price points. Generally, I'm happy with the purchase.

The HSS pickup is a bit tinny sounding - a bit harsh - but can be accomodated through amp tone controls or EQ pedal.

Bascially though - it sounds like an american strat. It's tinnier sounding than say...the SRV with Mongo gauge strings and different pickups - I had one of those home for a while but the neck is a bit too fat for my tastes. So American Standard HSS it was.

The factory set-up sucked. Intonation was way off, neck needed adjustment, pickups needed adjustment. But with a $75 set-up at a quality repair shop - its good.

I've seen better wood on a couple other "identical" guitars since I bought mine - I'm a little annoyed now at the lack of quality control in selecting the wood for consistently, but I could see it when I bought it, so that's my own deal.

Too new to comment but stratocasters seem to have the reputation of being pretty indestructible unless you squirt lighter fluid on them and light them on fire on stage. :)

The finish is good, strap butons are solid, I don't gig but if I did I'm sure I'd take more than one axe. However, I have no doubt this product will be durable and reliable.

As noted above, I e-mailed Fender regarding the tremelo arm spring (not the tensions springs, the one that goes in the block hole with the trem arm, to help secure it and also to prevent overtightening and damaging the block.

11 days later - no response.
The dealers don't stock or know how to order the part. I have tried Guitar Center and 3 other local quality stores that carry the fender line. So -- really poor preparation for launch of this newly redesigned product. Fender obviously knew it would be an issue as their literature warns about losing the spring. I remembered, but my tech didn't and lost it. So how come they didn't include a part number for re-order, or better yet, include 5 of these 2 cent springs with the thousand dollar axe...and a part number to order more.

What do I say, the Fender Stratocaster is the absolute perfect guitar. Leo Fender just got it perfectly right

I use a Marshall 50 Watt transistor amp with Genesis effects and this baby just sings its hear out. It has a rich full sound and heaps of sustain

The action on this beautiful baby which has a sunburst finish is absolutely perfect with Light strings fitted but its cool with any size strings I'm using D'addario, the wood finished is perfectly bookmatched and the clear satin finish is perfect. The tuning pegs are perfect and it never goes out of tune. I was especially impressed with the moulded flight case it came in which protects my baby and keeps it just right, you pull her out of the case and it is rarely out of tune, I just love this 1999

Customer support is via Kosmic sound in Osborne Park Perth Western Australia but I've never needed it but I've heard it's A1

You simply cannot go wrong with a fender stratocaster

Made in 2006/7. 22 medium jumbo frets, Rosewood fretboard, satin finish on neck, sealed non-locking fender machineheads (the ones for the 5th and 6th strings have longer posts for optimised string pull angle which is great attention to detail), 2-pivot post standard bridge / vibrato, master volume, tone for neck pickup and shared tone for bridge and middle pickups, 5-way selector switch, sunburst alder 2-piece body, routing for H-S-H (factory standard) though comes with S-S-S configuration on a white 3-ply scratchplate. Pickup cavity painted with conductive paint for shielding. Fitted Fender case included.

They say they have improved the strat and they really have, in all the right areas. It's really refined yet still feels like a Fender Strat.

Ok, I bought this model over the deluxe because the SCN pickups are horrible. I mean really really poor. They sound really hard and unmusical. They might have no noise but they have no tone that I would be happy with. The stock standard pickups sound nice and stratty and would be great if you wanted a traditional strat sound. For me however they were a little weak and being standard singlecoils were too noisy so I replaced them with Kinmans (Woodstock plus if you're interested!). Other than that this a great sounding guitar. The bridge is excellent for subtle vibrato when setup correctly (see below).

The refinements they have made have retained the whole strat feel. As soon as you start using carbon fibre reinforced necks, graphite nuts, wilkinson trems, locking tuners, S-1 switching etc etc you completely lose the soul of the instrument. It ceases to be a Strat and that's why I think the latest standard Stratocaster is right on the money. Rating 8 with the stock pickups, 10 with Kinmans!

The neck on this guitar is great. Perfect C profile (no disgusting V's of clubby D's here!) and perfect radius which allows for easy chording and fluid soloing, helped by the perfect size of fretwire! The finish on these is generally excellent. The build quality is superb, the paint is perfect, the neck pocket is perfect, the cavities are shielded very well with conductive paint. Although I'm not a huge fan of satin finishes (only because they look cheap to me) the feel and quality of the satin neck finish is great.

From my perspective the downsides are as follows;

The bridge is really really good but because of the length of the trem block, the springs rub on the backplate (and no, I don't have the bridge set stupidly low or anything) causing it to snag slightly and go out of tune. Here's a tip for you - put Big Bends Nut Sauce on all string contact points and the bridge pivot points. Set the bridge up so that it is floating about 1mm from the body at the pivot end so that it is clear of the body and then raise the backplate to give the springs more clearance. I just used several layers of PVC tape around the perimiter of the underside of the backplate for this and belive me the difference is unreal. You'll have a strat that really holds it's tuning and has a beautifully responsive bridge rather than the sort of on / off feel vibrato you get from the factory. Now I can do real nice vibrato like you can on wilkinson trems and the G&L Dual Fulcrum trem but without the issues particularly the latter has.

The wiring in these things is really really neat and the electronics are almost totally free of grounding buzz when you take your hands off the guitar.

The cases are SHIT. Really cheap feeling and the aluminium extrusion bends way too easily so the case is awkward to shut. The catches are cheap too.

Fender - have a look at Gibson cases, understand why they are so much better than yours and rethink! The last good cases you made for standard starts which I have experience of were from the 60s!

I've owned the following Strat guitars and I will compare them to this guitar to substantiate my ratings!!!:

Mexican Strat - great starter guitar but tuning issues and generally cheap feeling (but then, they ARE cheap!)

USA Strat Plus Deluxe - had a Fender / Floyd Rose bridge (quite like the bridge of this standard but with string clamps), locking tuners, LSR roller nut etc etc and still didn't hold it's tuning as well is these guitar when set up well. It also had horrible flat jumbo frets and a generally awkward neck to play, plus 3 different types of Lace Sensor which didn't sound great. This was nowhere near as playable as this strat.

G&L Legacy USA - very very well made guitar with a really nice feeling bridge but the thing was awful for staying in tune and had a really clubby neck with sharp edges

Mid 80's Jap Strat - Had a similar profile neck to this which was really nice but skinny frets and a quite small fretboard radius made it very hard to solo on.

Fender have honestly got this strat close to perfect. It's just SO playable. Highly recommended.

This Strat is an American made Standard with the silver 60th anniv. emblem on the back of the headstock. NOT a Brown emblem like the Fender 60th Anniversay Commemorative American Stratocaster. The 60th Mexican made also has the silver emblem, but this guitar clearly says "Made in USA" on the front of the headstock! Also the neck plate says Corona, California. I bought this because of the sound and not where it was made!

I got this '06 Strat from Guitar Center in 7-07 and all I know is that it has the "delta tone" wiring on it and I'm trying to fiqure out if the pickups are Delta Tone's, American or American Vintage. The Mexican made has the Tex-Mex pickups. Otherwise this guitar has a Alder 3-tone sunburst/maple modern C shape neck and parchment pickguard. Classic.

Usually I dont write reviews because I think everything about playing guitar is so differant from everyone else's way of playing. So much depends on other things like Amps, guitar wood, cable's, room size. How can you justify anyboby's review, even mine. I play from clean to slightly distorted and I use differant picks and pick attack to get my tone's. So there may as well be reviews for $0.35 picks out there, hehe. But for know let's talk about this Fender Strat!

THE SOUND, this is why I'm here. When I went into Guitar Center I was looking for a Amp. Lately I've been playing with my Tele's but the Amp I was going to try had this strat already connected to it so I thought I'd try the strat first and then try a Tele later. The moment I played that guitar completely satisfied my strat tone quest I've been searching for all these years. I played for 10 minutes thinking it was the amp that sound so good. So I grabed a Tele and played awhile, it sounded ok. The salesman brought over a couple more Tele's to try. Some sounded good, some sounded bad. Then I decieded to play the strat again. It was the most open musical snapping sound I ever heard from a strat. So I thought that this amp must love strats, I must have tried 5 other strats priced around $1300.00 with the amp, NONE sounded as good!
I needed this guitar sound but hated the 3 tone sunburst color since I already have 2 strats that look just like it. I put it on layaway and waited til the next weekend to bring in my best playing strat to compare it too. The 60th made my other guitar sound like the tone knobs were turned down halfway! Not even a close fight, thats why I switched to the tele lately, to get more snap and I but all gave up on getting a great strat sound, Until Now!!
As it turns out I didn't know this guitar had the Delta Tone in it. It is a No-Load on the middle and bridge pickup when the tone knob is dimed. And it gives the pickups a bright sound. If you love the 2nd position on a strat as much as I do but what more clarity, you'll like this alot! Yes it may be too bright on the bridge pickup and I'm going to try a Fralin in the bridge position for a warmer, hotter tone. But the other pickups are awsome!! For classic rock and bluz, u can't loose!

I love to work on my guitars so other than a warped neck anything can be adjusted. After taking off the .009 strings and putting on .010's, tighting the tremolo springs for the heavier strings and raising the action a bit. I like it a little higher than most people for better bending and NO BUZZ!(hate the buzz). There were no problems, it is new. Intonation is very impotant to me and it was spot on from the factory.

Fender dependability!

Not for me, don't care.

After about 20 years of playing at this time I own around 26 guitars, I fix and sell some. 7 of the usual keepers are Strats (Clapton, USA Strat Plus, another USA standard, '94 Mexican, 50th annvi. Custom Shop '54 and 50th annvi American Deluxe with the S1 switching). The reason I got this guitar was because of the sound! But it does feel and play like a nice broken guitar which is always nice. I will wire up another Strat with the Delta Tone knob to see if it helps on other pickups, but I think the vibe of guitar with the electronic's and the tone woods made it the best strat for me. I feel lucky that I finally found a musical weapon!
Played guitar thru amps I own, Cyber Twin SE, Bassman RI, '65 Deluxe RI, THD Univalve and tried it thru a Fender Super-Sonic (Real nice!), Vox AC 15 and Blues Deluxe. Sounded great with all. High gain seekers need not apply, they make other guitars for that.

2005 American Standard Strat. Candy Cola red with a maple neck. Came with 3 stock single coils. Ash body.

The neck pickup gets a really nice warm tone, great for alot of clean tone stuff. I replaced the stock bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan Hotrail. This thing really wails now!! I love the sound of the neck pickup. I can only rate the sound of it a 9 because I put the Hotrail in.

Action is amazing.

Only had it 1-1/2 years so I have no complaints as of yet. I changed the original knobs and put chrome bell knobs on it.

1993 American Standard Stratocaster - Three-Toned Sunburst.

Typical stratocaster setup, you know the deal. Three pickups, 5-way switch, floating bridge/trem. Nice machined bridge saddles to help fine tune the setup. Maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Has the high-tech looking plastic and metal string trees. The guitar looks nice. Looks like what it is: An icon of rock 'n' roll! Tuners are fine. No need to upgrade. Neck profile, I believe, is a soft V. I'm not certain but it's certainly not as chuncky as the 50's style necks. Think the frets are medium-jumbo. Pickups, single-coil of course. No frills. Still, it's art. Not sure what the body is, maybe ash, alder? Has some heft to it--a beefy feeling guitar. Noticeably heavier than my son's Mexi Satin strat. Feels great in my hands! We've had a relationship for years.

IMHO, this guitar has the widest useful sonic range of any electric.

To start out, my guitar even sounds good "unplugged"! The tones are accurate and true. I rarely plug in at home, unless I'm working on a technique or something that needs the amped signal.
Electrified, it gives an even, single-coil sound. Not dark, shrill or sterile. Just a nice 'balanced' sound that can be greatly adjusted via the various controls. It's not as plunky or spanky as a Tele (have one, 2001). It's more compressed, mid-rangy--the sound of rock 'n' roll (and, ... pop, funk, the blues, etc., etc., etc.) It's beefier than the thin Jag (have 1962 'original'). Way brighter than a Gibson (had a 1967 SG and played others) and with more versatility (and, ... perhaps, personality?). Much of the strat's sonic rainbow depends on the guitar's settings. There are sooooo many variations. That's part of what makes it so versatile. I like the lower tone knob way up. I keep the middle one down, and tweak it up for more cut and punch. I noodle the 5-way a bit too, often putting it in the in-between positions (out of phase), particularly the one towards the neck. I'm not one of these that leaves all settings the same all the time. I experiment. The stock pickups are entirely adequate and not noisy with my tube amps (Fender Blues Deluxe, Crate V58, Ampeg SR212-RT, Mesa-Boogie Nomad-55, Peavey Classic-50 410, ToneMaster 261 High-Fidelity). The guitar takes pedals and other outboard gear well too. But, you know what they say, ... start out with a "great guitar" and put in "great pickups" and, ... BAM!! Tones to die for. I may experiment some day. My friend has changed his pups at least three times on his 50th Anniversary strat. In a store not long ago I played a white, early 1980's strat with a locking trem setup. Lots 'o hardware. It felt like it weighed twenty pounds. It had coil taps and some space-aged looking double-wide (humbuckers?) pickups and a mini toggle. When I plugged it in it sounded pure in-your-face metal. Like a Jackson Randy-Rhodes through a Big-Muff. Crazy over the top gain. The guy in the music store said it was a Fender model back then. You could order it. That shows how most solid-body guitars will be what you want them to be. Look at Eddie's FrankenStrat. I love my Stratocaster guitar.

Can't say how it was new, but the guitar was setup reasonably well when I bought it, around 2000-2001. But a few years later I took it to a local luthier/guitar wizard in Milwaukee, Jim Ianelli. Awsome work. Rock solid setup. He knows his Fender strats. Talk to Greg Koch on that. Jim builds amps too. He changed the volume knob on mine, which was acting flaky. The volume knob could be all the way down but you could still hear a little volume bleeding through. He put another pot in, along with the setup and 11's. He set the bridge to float just off the body. The way it should be for standard trem usage. The trem has pretty firm springs. I think I have three in there (can't remember removing any). The guitar stays so 'on' I can use strings for months and and they still sound good. And I play nearly every day and gig once or twice a month. I do use D'addarios (XL's 11 to 49) and they're pretty good. Heavier strings last. I must say though, Jim in Milwaukee did a masterful setup for me. Jim you're GREAT!

This guitar is tough. I mean, didn't Hendrix and Stevie stand on theirs? I dropped mine while carrying it down stairs. Slipped right out of my sweaty hand. Carrying too much at once! Only bent the end-pin (strap peg). By setting the guitar down kind of hard in the softshell case (tweed gigbag) that same endpin screw finally broke. I unscrewed the broken screw with a pliers and put another screw in there. Gotta get a hard case for her. The end-pin was somewhat stripped when I bought the guitar. Had that fixed (dowel and paint work) early on. Still, the body and paint are in great shape. This guitar is very sound. It will have it's small maintenance issues like any guitar that is well used. No major failures or serious issues here though. It should last as long as me. That's all that matters.

Never called Fender. Why would I, with the wealth of good techs and luthiers around. My guitar was bought used and is over ten years old.

Brother, it's a Rock ICON. How can you go wrong. And I got mine cheap. You want something more raw and in-your-face? ... change the pickups dude! Buy an HSS strat. Put a high-tech whammy on it, ... whatever! It's adaptable. Stock, this guitar is the best choice for modern electric-guitar tones. It covers the most bases. God, look at everyone who's ever played a strat, for every type of music. I play it through tube amps mainly, but I've played it through PA's and it still sounded good. My favorite is with a lower wattage tube amp. Blues heaven. I'm 46 and have had played many guitars. I own seven electrics, including a Yamaha arch-top and a Samick semi-hollow (335 style) and have to say, if I was stranded on the proverbial desert island and could have only one electric, it would be the Fender American Standard Stratocaster. Did I say I like Rock music?

PS - Reviewers who give ones, especially all ones, are major a-holes. I've occasionally seen that in these reviews. Shameful BS. It's like they have an emotional need or urge to try to discredit a brand, model, etc. ... like some demented, disgruntled ex employee trying harm a company. Well, this site is not the place. I'm sure others agree with me.

Mine was a black 1993 USA Strat with a white pikguard. It was just your basic, stock Fender American Standard Strat with 3 single coils. It came with a beautiful American molded case (best case ever) and Fender American tuning keys rock as does the American standard tremelo. Very nice.

I don't know what it is but I could'nt get this guitar to sound like the American Strat I had owned before. No matter what I did it was super glassy, like way to trebly and not enough out put even when I raised the pickups. I have owned an American Standard Strat before and it was my favorite guitar, stuff happened and I had to sell it, but this one just can't hold a candle to that guitar. I have owned Mexican strats that have sounded better then this guitar. Just bad pickups, not the strat sound I am used to at all. No noise though, bonus I guess, but that can't suffice for the terrible high treble garbage that this thing puts out. This guitar had no warmth at all and no Strat chunk. Just bad.

The action was terrible, I took it to three different guitar techs and they could'nt flatten out the action on this thing so I took it to a luthier and he still could'nt do it. The thing was fine and played great with 9's on it but as soon as you put 10's on it the neck bowed horribly and don't even think of putting 11's on it because then it was totally unplayable. It was so bad that I am now a reformed Gibson man, and I used to be a Fender man all the way. I bought the guitar used and it played great and sounded great when I bought it then I get it home, change the strings to a new set of 10-52 strings and it was screwed and there seemed to be no fixing it.

The finnish was great and all the hardware was top notch but I woud'nt even dare try to gig with this thing because I would probably have smashed the piece of junk. It is the worst Strat I have ever owned and I have even owned Squire and Mexi Strats. I cannot believe that something like this would come from Fender USA. So, because the hardware and the finnish were so good but the playability and dependability are crap I will be generous and give it a 5.

Bought it used and changed the strings after the one month warranty was up.

I have been plying for 14 years and I have owned 11 strats from all over the world. I also own a Gibson Les Paul Studio, Gibson Les Paul double cut faded, Fender Mexi Tele and a Squier Tele custom 2 and every one of these guitars are better then the Strat. I run all my guitars through a Traynor YCV40 and a Marshall JCM 800 with an A/B switch so it is a good combo to get a wide array of sounds and no matter what I did I hated it. It was so bad that I traded it For my Gibson Les Paul Double Cut Faded and I wont look back. If it were stolen I would thank god and use the insurance money to buy another Gibson.

This is a 1976 F-Series Strat, American made, natural finish (gorgeous, by the way!),standard string thru body bridge w/ vibrato rod, standard non-locking original tuners, maple neck, I think medium frets, no accessories, just the guitar!, solid body (one piece of wood), just the standard 5 way selector, one volume and two tone knobs, standard original Fender single coil pickups, no electronics (which would be an insult on this guitar anyway!), neck is maple w/ that standard/original dark stripe of wood on the back of the neck wherein lies, I assume, the neck adjustment rod. I think it's an ash body because it's a hard wood as opposed to alder which I think is softer wood, but whatever it is, it's the original thing.

I play folk, rock, blues, country/western and contemporary Christian. See my other reviews (Dr. Sound Good) for my Marshall JCM 800 2210 and 1965 Fender Twin Reverb Reissue for more details on my amps: In addition to those 2 just mentioned, I have a '67 Fender Blackface and 1977 Silverface Princeton Reverb, two 1977 Fender Vibro-Champs, one with reverb and midrange boost added, Marshall 8008 stereo valvestate amp, and use Boss pedals: flanger, compression, chorus, distortion and overdrive, digital delay, Cry-Baby wah-wah. It's not noisy in an obnoxious way, but does pick up stage light, RF and grounding type buzzes as single coil pickups are wont to do and which humbuckers do not. Strats have an amazing tonal range and what I say "can make any color of sound you might imagine, and many you cannot". I think they can make any sound you want. I have a '76 Les Paul Custom, a 1989 ES-335 and a 1994 Eric Clapton Signature Strat. I think the Strat is the best shaped electric guitar ever made because it was made to fit your body and it does. I've always felt like it was an extension of me whereas my Gibsons felt more awkward and were not designed to fit your body. Plus I love Strat maple necks which are also the fretboard. The sound you get out of these pickups is so classic. It has a very bright kind of stinging/biting top end that cuts through any mix, live or recorded, but also great midrange and bottom end. Very balanced throughout its tonal range. I almost always use the middle setting on the 5-way switch. It's the fullest and most articulate setting for my playing style. The neck pickup is great for a really warm, somewhat mushy jazz sound. I find the bridge pickup too harsh for my ears generally, but when things are mushy and you need to cut through the mud, just crank the volume knob on the guitar and put it on the bridge pickup. You WILL be heard! The only 2 things I don't like about Strats are that they do pick up stage buzzes and that angled cord jack. Always problematic. Looks great but sucks electronically because the plug in the socket is always under strain and will eventually wear out the plug, make horrible noises as it moves in and out of connection. You have to pull the cord thru your strap and secure it pinched between the strap and the guitar body to avoid that. Everybody does that.

I bought the guitar when it'd been used for 5 years before me. It looked like it lived in club gigs for those years with the remainder of a cigarrette burn in the headstock which is used to hold ciggies by some smokers. Never did I do such a thing not being a smoker. Bought it in 1983 for $162! Now I think it's worth from $1,500 to $2,000! What a scream that is! As to factory set up: don't ask me. I got it used but I made very few adjustments to the pickups, none of which I recall, having played it for the past 24 years. Mechanically this instrument is flawless. It came with a minor finish blemish or two, but nothing really noticeable except on very close inspection.

I had the bridge replaced in 1995 because the original one was shot. I saved it. Also had the frets dressed at the same time. When I picked it up at Jensens after work I met Richard Moore (hope I remembered the name right..it was 12 years ago...) formerly of the Troggs (remember "Wild Thing?") who said "Beautiful guitar" which it most certainly is, and I jammed with him a short while later at Art's Bar. Had to replace the plastic knob on the selector switch because the original white plastic know simply disintegrated one day! It was replaced w/ a black one because that's all they had at the Jensen's at the time. I'll get a white one soon. Original black pickguard w/ original white knobs. The finish is in excellent shape. They made them right back then, I'll tell ya! It is an utterly reliable guitar. I'd use it and have used it on gigs with no backup, but I don't recommend that for a professional musician. Always have a backup for everything except yourself which should be irreplaceable. Original strap buttons are solid as a rock as is the rst of the guitar. It's a very strong guitar and looks beautiful as well as sounds beautiful.

The warranty having long run out, I take it to an excellent luthier whenever it needs work. Here it town, for me, that's Jim Lombard. Never dealt with Fender Co. Never needed to.

I've played guitar for 42 years. See above and my other amp reviews for my gear. I have a whole lotta great high quality gear. If this guitar were stolen, it'd be a sad day. I'd get another one. 1976 natural finish, top shape, alder body. What I love about this guitar the most is its gorgeous, classic, very musical sound. Also its solid and durable construction and finish. I prefer my Eric Clapton Strat because it's far easier to play and I love the onboard midrange boost and compression. But the simplicity and stinging yet full bodid sound this guitar makes is "like buttah".

How long have you been playing?
since 1994

What other gear do you own?
I own Ibanez, I owned Fender Japan, Ibanez USA PA, Vigier Excalibur, Vantage (not bad for beginner).

Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar?
No I wanted this guitar.

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
I would have issue to refind an another made in 2000 purple american standard stratocaster.

What do you love about it?
Sound, comfort.

What do you hate?
Nothin'

1987 American Standard Stratocaster- black with white pick guard and three single coils. Maple neck. The guitar is completely stock.

It's a great sounding/playing guitar. I love the Strats from this era and newer. Great tone without too much noise. As everybody knows, you can cover any style with a Strat. Very versatile.

I owned two Strats from the 70's before buying the '87. An original '76 and an original '77. The '76 was a terrible playing/sounding guitar. The neck shifted so bad that the low E string would literally hang off the neck. I had to put wood shims in the neck pocket to keep the neck from shifting. I couldn't really adjust the bridge due to rust and the pickups were very noisy. Why do people pay so much for these early Strats? Anyway, thinking it was a fluke, I bought the '77 and had similar issues. The '87 is by far a superior guitar to the earlier models and plays/feels great. I got the action set low and the bridge really behaves. I don't use the twang bar. The tuners are not the best, but they're the original ones and they're staying on the guitar. I've played guitars that are assembled with more precision, but I love Strats and this one is really a terrific guitar.

It's your typical Fender and I know it will hold up.

N/A

I've been playing for 21 years and teaching for over 5 years. There are many great guitars out there. I don't think Fender makes the greatest guitar, but nothing else sounds like a Strat. My first guitar was a Cort strat copy that was black with white pickguard. That may explain my love of black Strats. One thing about Fender guitars, they all feel/play different. I can pick up any Parker Fly and expect it to play superbly, however, I have played many Strats that were down right horrific. Fortunately, I found a keeper. If you're thinking about buying a vintage Strat (late 70's or earlier), get ready for some serious compromise. It broke my heart to offload those vintage guitars, but they just didn't facilitate my playing. I've played the newer 2000 models and think they are great. I'm not a huge fan of the satin finish on the neck, but thats the only thing I can fault, and thats just a personal opinion anyways. Long live the Stratoblaster! By the way, with the legacy that Fender has, its nice to see these guitars still selling under $1,000 bucks! What gives, Gibson????

Maunfactured September 1969 S/No 279136 in USA
Alder body,three coloured sunburst, maple neck(C contour) with rosewood fingerboard.
F style tuners, synchronised tremelo, three way switch, staggered pole pickups, white laminated pick guard (W,B,W) with pearl back. Absolutly original, although vey basic by todays standards was at the cutting edge in is day.
Purchased with a Stamford (Australian)hard case

Music style is basic rock, country rock to blues.Played predominately through a 1980 Marshall 50w 2X12 combo, occasionally through a 15 w Marshall MG practise amp. No effects(why would need them?) Sound is very rich and smooth. The natural sound unplugged is the smoothest I've ever heard
The only down side is the typical 60s - 70s hum

The quality control on the guitar is perfect. The fit and finish was great in its day, by todays standard; unbelieveable. Flawless
The action is low and fast

This guitar is rising 40 years old with over half of that time live playing, the pick guard has yellowed slightly(smoke filled bars etc)the nickel plating has worn off the bridge and some arm and stomach wear marks on the nitro finish, but as sound as the day I bought it.

Cannot comment. Never had to deal with them

Been playing for 40 years.
Other guitars are ST50 Ibanez 1979, Santa Cruz, Takamine and Ocvation acoustics.
Although $595 was a lot of money in 69, the value of it now is staggering. It has been through all of lifes ups and downs.
Regrets:- none of my 4 children play guitar, heres hoping one of my grandchildren wished to have it. I could never ever part with it

My Strat was made in the year 1996 and is probably the 50th anniversary model by this time in candy apple red. It's got all those features a strat should have except a more modern vintage-whammy, which I don't use anyway. The body is out of alder, a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard and standard singlecoils which I replaced against Texas Specials...

I play Funk, Rock 'n Roll, Blues and Souljazz and for these styles a Strat was made for, especially with the Texas Specials which get a real fat tone! Sounds nice! I'm using it with a Fender Blues Deluxe reissue and an old german Dynacord Twen tube amp. Effects are: Seymor Duncan Pickup Booster > Vox V847 Wah pedal > Electro Harmonix The Worm > Boss Tuner Tu-2, that's all. The Texas Specials are a bit noisy but I don't care 'cause they give me this bright sound I'm addicted to. The only thing a changed is the middle setting of the 5way selector. Now bridge and neck pickup are forced together which gets you a nice Tele sound! Love it...

The guitar was set-up very nice and there were no compliants to make...

It's an U.S. Fender! What should I say? I know, there a Japan Strats in same quality range, but this one never let me alone...

Never dealt with them...

I've been playing for 13 years and own a lot of other guitars, but this one's my main workhorse! If it get's stolen I'll find the guy and beat the shit out of him...

USA made in 2003

Best guitar I ever played, even better than my Les Paul. May have competition with my new to me Charvel Model 5 that I just got though.

Factory setup remains to this day.

Rock solid

N/A

I'd get another one if lost.

mine has a maple fretboard/neck, originally was aquamarine metallic body finish, but I sanded this down and applied white shellac primer and left it at that, and it looks very cool, with a little help from some black letter stickers. neck is ever so slightly thinner than the new "american series" guitars, but still comfortable.

I tried an american series rosewood fretboard maple neck on this guitar for a while, but I was never quite happy with the sound, always blaming it on pickups and strings. I have decided that one piece maple/maple board is the way to go! all my other guitars have rosewood boards though and sound fine, go figure. I tried bill lawrence L-280 pickups, but the stock pickups sound great, maybe even a little better than the lawrences (more cut). no need to change them, in my opinion...I hardly ever notice the hum. I changed out the no-load tone pot for a standard 250K, and wired for a master tone control, which I roll back to about 6 or 7. I don't see why you'd ever want a sound so bright as the TBX provides, and I like bright sounds. maybe for that danelectro super cutting thing. I also installed a deaf-eddie fat-o-caster pot, which allows me to get a tele-like sound by combining the neck and bridge pickups in parallel, and doesn't change the appearance of the guitar (takes the place of the middle tone control, uses the same knob, it's a rotary switch). definitely a different sound than just the middle pickup by itself. really improved the versatility of this guitar, as that's a sound I really like on my two pickup guitars (I don't use the other deaf eddie positions much, but they are interesting). the sound this guitar produces is beautiful and classic (you've heard this on a million recordings). cutting and light. I'd say the real deal is worth it, as opposed to the mexican standard or cheap off brand imitations...although some of those mexican and japanese vintage reissues look pretty sexy to me (esquire...yum). I like this guitar quite a bit better than my sister's american series fat strat texas special, but just because of the pickups and maple vs. rosewood. american fender guitars are so cool. classic and inspiring

really was a beautiful guitar...when i was 16 (this was my first electric guitar) I used to just stare at it, beholding it, smelling it. i fucked it up and I think it looks even better now. neck pocket is not super tight but I don't care. I can't remember how it was set up when I got it, but it's easy to adjust. I love how the bridge and saddles look on these compared to the vintage style ones (but on a tele I like 3 saddle, go figure)

a very solid guitar, it's one of my main gigging guitars. the volume pot became scratchy after a few years (it's a 1998, bought it in 99, now it's 2005) so I replaced it. nothing else has ever needed work. just clean the fretboard when it gets grimy with finger scum, scrape it with a hard guitar pick, clean the back of the neck with soap and water when it gets sticky, and wipe off the body when it starts to look dirty. I've settled on d'addario strings. plays nicely and stays in tune well, even with crazy bends and stuff (tremolo/bridge is tightened to body, just the 3 original springs though, I never added any)

I'd say buy one of these used, just make sure it's in good shape (neck and frets)

I've got two Am.Std. Strats. One was made in '91 (my dear) and one on '90.
22 frets with fantastic maple neck,alder body, the first chrome red, the second candy apple red.
Two fantastic guitars, but very different instead are the same model.The first is heavier (I think 1 lb-0,5 Kg.), with more basses and resonance.The second got more treable, it remember me Frusciante Strat sound.

I love Strato sound.With this guitar there are no compromises:you can love it like a fool, or you hate it.I first replaced standard bridge pu with a Duncan's JB-BJ but I prefer the standard one. I'm a bluesman on inside and I play my own music and, sometimes, Pink Floyd,Hendrix,Clapton and so....I'f you play this kind of music this is the only guitar you can have!!!I played Ibanez and Steinberger but only with this instrument I'm totally happy.
With my Laney and Vox, I can have a fantastic british sound.
I think only the vintage Strat I had played a few years ago, an original sixties strat played for 40 years,is better(a lot ;-) and problably some custom shop of 2500?

Very beautiful finish.All you can ask to a guitar.Only custom shop are better.

This guitars become more and more beautiful and better with years and play so....

I don't know...

I think the best guitar ever!

I just purchased the 2005 American Strat about a week ago.It came with 22 large frets(I'm not exactly sure if they're jumbo or medium jumbo, 3 single coils, two tone knobs and one volume knob(with "delta tone"), an alder body, a maple fretboard, non-locking tuners and a floating trem, and came with some wrenches, a case, a strap, a cable, and a polishing cloth. This guitar has everything.

I play a little bit of everything except country, and this guitar can handle it all. I play through a Fender dyna-touch 3 deluxe 900, also very recently purchased. The guitar sounds great, and I love playing around with the delay and reberb on my amp. Although not suited for ultra-heavy metal, this guitar handles very well. I love the bright sound of the single-coil pickups. The bridge pickup is perfect for hendrix, and it's nice to have the quiet positions when you turn it up.

This guitar is almost flawless. The pickups are fine, the finish is great, and I haven't been able to find a single flaw. The action is really low and fast, but it buzzes if I play it too hard. I'm thinking of adjusting the, but I'm too afraid to mess this beatiful guitar up. I'll have to get help from my guitar teacher.

I've only had this guitar for a week, so don't have much to say about this. The poly-urethane finish seems great, though and I think it will last well.

Never had to deal with them, hope I never will.

This guitar is amazing. I love it so much. Everything about it is just awesome, and I can't beleive the deal I got on it. This is such a huge step up for me, before this I was playing an imitation strat that couldn't have been worth more than $5.

American standard strat made in 2000 or 2001
Maple fretboard
sunburst color
standard features, nothing fancy.

I'll put a 10 just because of the versatility of this guitar
Maybe it's just me, but I would prefer a 3 way switch like the old strats. I just hate the sound of the 2 and 4 positions and a 3 way switch would be easier to work.

This guitar sounds great. The only reason I put a 9 is because I'm not to crazy about the stock pickups. It came with delta tone pickups and they're not bad, but it's time for a change. I'm gonna swap em out with fralins then the sound would be a 10 for sure.

Great action, the neck feels great. The guitar was set up really well from the factory. It's an easy guitar to adjust yourself. I've made my own adjustments to the truss rod, the bridge and the micro tilt neck with no problems. My only gripe is that the saddle for the high e string hits one of the screws on the bridge when you hit the whammy bar and it'll go out of adjustment after a while.

I love this guitar, but I treat it bad. Real bad. I've owned it for five years and I still haven't gotten a case for it. When I take it somewhere I just throw it in the passenger seat of my car. I've dropped it, I've thrown it, I've slammed it numerous times, and it has remained completely solid. It's amazing how durable this guitar is. I have never had any problems with this guitar.

I've been playing for five or six years, I own a les paul and some accoustics. This was my first new guitar.

I would definately replace it if it was stolen

I love this guitar, if you're looking for a strat, I would reccomend the american standard. Don't get one of those crappy mexican ones.

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.

n/a

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.

N/A

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.

2000 Am. Std. Strat. S/S/S, stock pickups. Finish is black, pickguard black, maple neck with rosewood fretboard. I bought this used at Guitar Center, had no case with it. Had to buy the Fender hardcase for it. Had some rash on the top of the pickguard, as though someone had been playing it while wearing a heavy metal bracelet. Someone had changed the tuners out to nice looking Chrome Grovers. I love the neck. Best neck I've ever had my hands on. I must have played about 25 different ones before I picked this one up. It just felt right. Ergonomics are good on the body. Tremolo leaves a little to be desired, but it was good enough for our Guitar Heroes..

It sounds like a strat. Great bell tones on the neck pickup. Bridge pickup is thin sounding but gets those classic rock sounds. Think the Romantics doing What I Like About You. My style is blues, rock.
I've ran it through some cheap practice amps, as well as a VOX AD60VT (Modelling amp which sounds like everything from Fender Clean to Recto). I particularly like the strat with the UK Blues channel (which imitates an old Marshall JTM 45). Also like UK 70's (70's Marshall). For clean I go with the Boutique clean (Dumble). All sounds very good. The pups are noisy. You have to be very clean when you play or your small goofs are going to come out. Jimmy Page said the Strat was the most versatile guitar you can buy, I'd have to agree.

I bought used. Had one string buzzing near the headstock. (Low E). The great folks at Charlies here in Dallas squared that away for me. Pups are fine. There were no flaws I'm aware of.

I believe this guitar will withstand live playing. I've played with a bass player and a loud blues rock drummer and it was just fine. The lowest tone knob has come loose in it's socket -- I'm not exactly sure whats' wrong with it. Will have to take it in, but it hasn't affected playability so far (since I'm a set it and forget it guy on the tone knobs). Finish is very durable. Strap buttons are solid. Will probably someday replace with some strap locks. If I was the kind of guy who'd go to a gig w/out a backup, yes, I'd use this. But I'd never go to a gig w/out a backup. I'm giving a ding here b/c of the tone knob -- 9.

N/A, bought used, never contacted them.

I picked up my first guitar around 3, been playing seriously since 14 -- 21 years. I also own the VOX AD60VT amp, and a 1981 Yamaha L-25A Handcrafted acoustic (you can see my review). I have a 1978 MXR Distortion +, and a recent Dunlop wah. I knew this guitar was the one within about 2-3 minutes of playing it. Have no regrets. (Had played an old Sunn Mustang since 88, so knew what I was getting into with Strats). I'll always have a strat. If I could find another one that felt this good, I'd buy it of course. I plan to add a dual HB guitar to the arsenal soon but won't get rid of the Strat. Love the neck. Hate nothing. This is just an incredible high quality American made instrument that you can find used for very affordable prices. I think mine was lower than normal b/c the tuners weren't stock. In my eyes, they were a very good looking and pro quality upgrade so that was no negative to me. I'd definitely recommend this to someone as a good 2nd guitar after they've risen above their Squier. Get a used one of these. You might also try one with a HB in the bridge position. The sounds you can make then are practically unlimited.

This guitar had become one of the classic icons everywhere around the world, just like the Marshall half stack I think, you know, three color sunburst with white pickguard and maple neck and fretboard.
For complete features go to www.fender.com

Hey all you people out there!!!!! even our grandma's had seen this guitar at least once in their lifetime!!!!!

Well, I actually got this American Strat by trading some gear with one friend o' mine and it is in really good conditions.
I like the neck shape and feel, it's really comfortable and easy to play.
One detail that I don't like is the single coil pickup noise(actually in every guitar with single coils not only startocasters)
I really like the sound of the american standard pickups, but the hum is really anoying to me, you may ask: why the fuck don't you get a noise supressor??? well, I have one of the greatest noise supressors out there that I strongly recommend to everybody, the Boss NS-2, but it can't fight the 60 cycle hum of the 1-3-5 positions unless I close the threshold level all the way killing my playing dynamics at low levels, noooooo!!!!! I can't allow that, neither my ears can allow unwanted noise...
Now me and my ears are happier than ever!!!!! Thanks to a set of three glorious Fender Vintage Noiseless that I installed just two hours ago; amazing and real single coil tone without the f#ckin' hum, now I can play this strat at my complete liking. Finally I'd take a deep breath and be cool through out every gig with this axe!!! haha!!!

After trading this guitar, I ovbiously did some adjustments, intonation, string gauge and some more, the action is slightly higher than my JEM7VSBL, but it feels really easy to play and comfortable, adjusted completely to my liking, no problem.

A stratocaster is always trusty, just roll the strings in the tuning machines perfectly and pull and tune them until achieve a good tune stability, you don't have to change the nut or install a tremsetter, just put the strings firmly.
Doesn't matter if your playing is agressive, guitars/strings can adapt and accustome to your playing.

In a span of almost 12 years of playing guitar, this is my first stratocaster ever, even I had played a few ones before.
I'm more recognized in my town as a guy who plays Ibanez guitars(I own three), you know, hot humbuckers, 24 frets, floyd rose tremolos and what not, now everybody looks at me and say: what??? you playing a stratocaster??? LOL really funny in fact!!! and in past years people and friends used to tell me: why don't you get a Fender Stratocaster? well guys, here is it.
As a matter of fact, I'm more a rock guitarist who likes an Ibanez RG featured kinda guitar, but i'm open to play whatever, I also like Fenders, Gibsons, Yamahas, Gretsch and what not, but humbuckers, 24 frets, thin flat necks and floating tremolos were forming my style since I was a kid, those features are a essencial part of my playing but it doesn't mean I wouldn't try anything else, every manufacturer has great stuff to offer so lets try everything.
Even if you're a blues, jazz, funk, fusion, latin, rock, metal or whatever your style is, get a Fender Stratocaster, most guitarists around the world have at least one even under their beds maybe, but have one, thats a must-have guitar even if you're a beginner or a seasoned Pro, a strat is always a good point to start wherever in your path you're located.

For those intrested here's my live rig display:

Guitars: three Ibanez: JEM7VSBL, RG2020XTLB, RG7421XLGN, Fender
American Stratocaster.

Amp: Marshall JCM900 4502 2x12 50Watt combo.

Pedalboard(Furman SPB-8): Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer, Digitech
XP100 WhammyWah, MXR Wylde Overdrive, Boss
NS-2 Noise Supressor, TC Electronic G-Minor
midi controller.

Rack: Shure wireless reciever, Rack Ryder power conditioner and light
module, TC Electronic G-Major multi-effects processor
(connected to the FX Loop of the amp).

Well folks thats it, i'm really satisfied with the singing of this strat all across my rig, something different as the usual axes I play. Great deal buddy!!! I hope you're happy with my now former amp!!!

Merry Christmas to everybody, have fun and enjoy with your family and friends and of course with the music. Cheers!!!

Mine is a 2001 sunburst model. The features have been listed below. Its a typical Strat. I love Strats, my favourite guitars, I have owned eleventy two of them. I have owned this one for two days and it just feels right. It has the traditional 5 way switch, and a vintage trem, although I am looking to upgrade this to a Floyd Rose system. The neck is slim and fat and it came with a fitted case.

It sings. However, I am planning to upgrade the stock pickups with Seymour Duncans, (an Invader and Screamin Demon). I will route out the body so I can install them. I love to play all styles of music from Reggae to Thrash and particularly thrash reggae. I love the pure tone this guitar has when I run it through my ring modulator into a Line 6 Flextone set to "Insane".

The guitar came very well set up with a perfect action. I have, however, changed it a little and its now even better. Very good overall. Not like a cheesegrater, like some of the other guitars I've owned. I do, however intend to replace the neck at some point with one off an old Scleiffenheim guitar that I have. It has 36 frets so I can go wheeeee wheeee.

I'm sure this guitar will last until I part chop it at a great loss for something inferior next week.

I phoned Fender about changing the inlay markers to ones made of gold. They were very helpful but after a short while the line went dead. It must be my telephone. The dealer Carls Guitars are also very helpful. He only charged me #250.00 for a setup and plec on his desk jig. He told me that the warranty was until I got the guitar home, which I think was fair.

I have been playing over 10 years. Believe me I have owned everything. Fender, Gibson, Blade, Cort, Peavey, Ibanez, Schnorbitz, Clegg and Sassafrazz. This guitar is the best I've owned (Until tomorrow!!)
If it were stolen I would decorate my house until my fingers bled.

I have a mongrel Fender American Standard Stratocaster from 1993 with a 3-piece Natural Ash body from 2000 and black pickguard, knobs, and tremolo spring cover from 2004. (It originally had a VERY low quality red 3-piece poplar body and white accessories.) The 22-fret maple neck has a rosewood fretboard and skunk stripe. Frets are medium, scale is 25.5", and nut width is 1 11/16". Pickups are 3 stock passive single coils in S/S/S configuration. Controls are 1 volume, 2 tone w/TBX, and a 5-way pickup selector. Bridge is a 2-point tremolo. Tuners are non-locking Fender-branded Schallers. Fender-branded SKB hardshell case was included.

It would be ideal if the pickups had series/parallel and on/off switching instead of the antiquated 5-way pickup selector. That would allow for far more than 5 pickup selections. I've since replaced the 5-way switch with on/off switches for each pickup, disabled the TBX tone control, and made the other tone control a master tone. I like this setup much better, as there?s far more versatility and less redundancy. Locking tuners also would've been nice, especially for a tremolo-equipped guitar.

Pre-mod score: 6 Post-mod score: 8 Average: 7

I play a variety of music, mostly in the jazz/blues/folk/rock/pop vein. This guitar works for all of these styles, but is obviously not ideal for some (jazz, folk, heavier rock). For those, I'd ideally turn to a more appropriate guitar, but the Strat is a remarkably versatile instrument and can make do for most things. I currently play through a Mesa/Boogie F-50 1x12 combo and Zoom GFX-8 multi-effects pedal. The pickups are, as can be expected, a little noisy when only one of the single-coils is on (and doubly noisy with the new bridge/neck combo, since neither are hum-cancelling). By now, everybody who's listened to any popular music in the last 50 years is well acquainted with the standard single-coil Stratocaster sounds. This one does not disappoint; it sounds like a classic Stratocaster should. I do wish pickups didn't hum on any setting. Also, the series/parallel switching would still be nice. Perhaps that?ll be my next mod...

Pre-mod score: 7 Post-mod score: 9 Average: 8

Here's where it got REALLY ugly. My step-father bought the guitar new in 1993. He almost never played it, so, when it was given to me in 2003, it pretty much qualified as NOS. He hadn't even peeled the plastic off of the pickguard! When I received it, the setup was basically the same as when it had been purchased, which was poor; it wouldn't stay in tune, the intonation was off, the action was high, there were notches under the G string in the 7th and 12th frets deep enough to catch the strings during string bends, the paint on the original body was rippled and dimpled, suggesting that it was too thickly or quickly applied, etc. I also had to rewire the control cavity to eliminate ground loops, which noticeably reduced pickup hum. Most seriously, a bridge routing error (the route for the bass-side tremolo pivot point was too large, causing tremolo pivot point to lean forward, which, in turn, caused the bridge to sit out of alignment) and the poor quality wood of the original 3-piece crappy poplar body (which cracked when I attempted a fill and re-route) necessitated a replacement body. On the bright side, the hardware was nice, the tuning pegs were sound, the nut was properly cut, the electronics functioned well, and the pickups were set to a good height. And, after a proper setup and a new body, it's a great guitar with a gorgeous body and fantastic sound. Still, the neck doesn?t perfectly fit the new body, as there?s a slight gap on the bass side between the body and the neck.

Pre-mod score: 1 Post-mod score: 9 Average: 5

With the new body, this guitar is totally reliable, but I still wouldn't play without a backup. All of the hardware is quality stuff. The body finish is nearly bomb-proof, which has its pros (durability) and cons (wood might not resonate as well). The satin neck finish was cracking, so I removed it and tung-oiled the neck as well. This isn't the most durable finish, but it definitely has the nicest feel.

Pre-mod score: 1 Post-mod score: 9 Average: 5

Prior to attempting to fix the bridge problem myself, I contacted Fender. Despite their reputation for horrendous customer support, I thought it couldn't hurt. Well, it didn't help either. The man with whom I spoke was very friendly, but totally unhelpful. He very politely told me my guitar's lame 1-year warranty had expired long ago, so I was SOL. A 1-year warranty on an $800+ guitar in 1993 is totally unacceptable. Besides which, the problem I was experiencing was clearly a manufacturing defect, though the Fender representative tried to blame wood shrinkage. Possible, but this wouldn't be an issue if they hadn't used such poor quality poplar for their painted bodies in the '90's (I?ve read that thin alder laminates disguised this on clear finishes). Nice way to stand behind your product. Go Fender! So, a 1 and a big fat middle-finger for Fender.

I've been playing guitar for about 6 years. I also own a 2001 Hamer Artist, a 1966 Baldwin Double-Six, a Mesa/Boogie F-50 combo, and a Zoom GFX-8 multi-effects pedal. I wasn't the one that purchased this guitar, and, given all of the obvious fit and finish flaws (never mind the less obvious build flaws), I never would have. Were I to replace it, I'd buy a Stratocaster-style guitar built by a company other than Fender; a company that cares about their products and their customers, for instance. Or, more likely, I'd build one from USA Custom Guitars or Warmoth parts. I love the sounds, the feel, and the shape of the body. Whoever designed the body was a ergonomics genius. I hate the fact that I had to spend so much time, effort, and money (above the $800 purchase price) simply to make the guitar playable. I will NEVER purchase any Fender products beyond replacement parts for this guitar. Their QA is (or was, at least) the pits and is trumped only by their customer service. Only very lately have I seen any serious attempts on their part to remedy this. Fender (and Gibson, for that matter) should take a cue from Hamer USA, a company that consistently builds guitars of outstanding quality and value (though their 5-year warranty is still pretty lame).

I think mine was made in 2000. Maple neck. I changed the pickups to Lindy Fralin Blues Specials. The rest is standard.

I play blues and rock: srv, hendrix, some clapton, some comtemporary rock, other stuff like led zep, zz top I play with my gibsons. What can
I say about the sound but that it sounds like a strat. I bought this guitar in Chicago so I could try a lot of them. I picked the one that
I liked best. I usually play this guitar clean, sometimes with a bit of warm tube overdrive. I save the heavier stuff for other guitars. Not that it isn't versatile though. Here I rate the sound of my guitar not that of a generic strat. I'm sure you can find the sound you want if you shop around

I like to have my action set medium-high. I use 10s-52s. I've tried 11s
and went back to 10s (I like to bend a lot and nails started to detach with 11s. Don't know how SRV managed to do what he did). My guitar was well made. After inspecting many of them, I must admit that all strats are not made equal. Finish was quite nice and is still okay (not flawless anymore since I've banged it many times.). My guitar stays in tune. I don't know why. I just have a regular nut.

I've only had this guit 4 years but I do know that this is a tough guitar. I can depend on it.

Don't know. Which probably tells you something? I think it does. I did not expect to have to ever contact Fender. That said, I would not expect good service from such a big company.

If you want to buy a strat, you have the adavntage that there zillions of them out there (both new and used)so try out many of them, look at them carefully and get one. I think the good ones represent a good value and you get that strat sound. Try some mexican ones too. I think some of them are also quite good. I am very happy with my strat. If you want better average quality, better finish, and you are willing to consider something a bit more expansive, try a G&L legacy (or a few). I really like the G&Ls (I prefer the 12" fretboard radius, and the trem block) and I strongly recommend you give them a try. That said, I am still looking for a Legacy that will sound better than my current strat with it's Lindy Fralins.

This is your standard USA Fender Strat, two point trem, three single coils w/ five way switch, maple fretboard, strap-locks, etc.

This is one of the greatest sounding guitars ever, I mean, they haven't messed with it really since it was invented! I've used it for jazz, rock, blues, latin, country, even unfortunatley contemporary music styles and it sounds great.

Everything is great. I got the tobacco sunburst and it' sjust beautiful. Each guitar is different and mine just has some great wood coming through. Sometimes I look at it and just sigh. Of course, I had to add a couple more springs in the back so there's five and ditch the backplate. I got it used so I had to intonate it and set up the action because I've switched string sizes a few times. Now I just stich with the 10's.

This guitar has stood up to most everything. One time I got a little too excited and threw it down and kicked it across the stage, and other than a few scratches on the back it was fine. In tune and everything. It can take a beating pretty well. I had to fill the strap pin holes, and re-install them though, but that was probably do to a little abuse. You know that move where you pretend you're gonna throw your guitar into the audience and then snap it back with the strap? I think I pulled a little too forcefully a couple times. It's still firm though. I always gig with a backup because you never know what might happen. This guitar is sturdy though. It's a beast really.

Never needed it.

I've been playing for about 10 years now, and have a starter strat, a samick with a floyd rose and a beautiful white flying V among other things. This strat is probably the most reliable as far as staying in tune and not breaking strings. I can't even remember the last time I broke a string on it. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be super angry and wish evil horrible things upon the person that stole it. I'd definatley look at getting another strat, but like I said, they're all different so finding another one like it would be hard. I knew the second I picked it up that it was meant for me, and that rarely happens. Every strat is different. It's a great tool for artistic expression. This guitar was worth every penny and more. In fact, it's definatley paid for itself by now. Remember a guitar is only as good as you are. A $2000 guitar in the hands of a novice still sounds like crap, and a $50 guitar in the hands of a master can sound beautiful. That's why I've gotta go practice now.

I have to say to start i owned this guitar from new until 1994, i then traded it in on an Ibanez Paul Gilbert Signature (please don't send me abusive e-mails I KNOW WHAT I DID WAS WRONG!!!) then only a couple of weeks ago i saw it again on ebay and bought it back, some 10 years later!!!! It is a 1991, USA American Std Stratocaster, 22 frets and the standard P/U switch combo, AM standard Alnico pickups etc etc, fairly Standard stuff (no pun intended)!!! This one is finished in Metallic Purple!!!! Great Colour. One on the best features in my mind is the knife edge trem, best step forward that Fender had away from the 6 screw original setup.

I particular like the sounf of Alder bodied strats, 2 of the 3 i own are Adler, but to some players they do sound a bit too "Straty"! I mainly play classic rock - blues so with Blackmore and Clapton as heavy influences a Strat was always going to be my choice, i have had many many other copies but always came back to a real Start. My only dislike for this model i the noise on the lead (bridge) pickup, worse on a tranny amp than a tube though.

Factory setup Sucked!!! (Fender please take note!!!) The first time i owned this guitar i had it setup by a pro and it all of a sudden became a beautiful thing to play, this time owning it i forgot just how nice it is to play, i hadn't changed much, even though the guy i bought it back of had his guy set it up again. Finish, well i did especially order this colour so i do love it and it has weathered time, still looks new, actually had a mate say i didn't know you could buy new ones in this colour!!! Fit, well apart from the original factory fit and subsquent resetup great. The four bolt neck is great (my '72 Start as most of you will know has a 3 bolt neck joint and are VERY unstable) can't complain here.

Over the first couple of years this guitar and i were playing up to 6 nights a week for 3 and a bit years, with only the usual belt buckle marks on the back of it and a couple of dings thanks to a careless drummer, so i think the finish will hold up for the full life of the guitar. After 10 years, of which i don't know what it did (live playing etc) the finish is still intact and showing no signs o ware, front strap button was loose and couldn't be tightened when i first got it back, but this is now fixed.

Had an issue with the dealer and not fender themselves when it was new, apart from that no contact.

This guitar was my first NEW Strat and was very very happy with it, i was talked in to trading it in by a GEAR HEAD who convinced me that the Ibanez would be much better for the style we were playing at the time, WRONG!!!! I finally got my money back and bought a Sambora Strat, and used it as my main Guitar for the next 9 years along with my faithful '72 Start as backup. Now that i have this one back the Sambora is the back up and the '72 has been retired to home and studio duties. I think for the money and at the time these were a superb guitar with the versitility most local players will find appealing, great through a vintage tube amp.

This is a 1989 Fender American Standard strat in Olypia white, with pearloid pickguard. 22 Frets. It has 5 way pickup selection, a volume knob and and a tone knob for rhythm/middle and a tone knob for treble. Mine is a souped up metalized strat, H/H/H (Hot Rails, Hot Rails, JB Jr.) They are all Seymour Duncan minihumbuckers, that will fit in single coil slots. The neck and headstock are obviously maple. It has Sperzel locking tuners, and a whammy bar. Rosewood fretboard, not sure what kind of frets. The way I souped it up, with custom string guider, nut, and bridge and three new pickups, it is a 10 easily. But without these things and with single coils it is poor for metal or anything with distortion. I'll take the middle.

With the right pickups, this guitar kicks ASS. Unlike any other I've played. It is almost exactly a hybrid between Dave Murray and Jannick Gers' guitars for Iron Maiden. Single Coils were VERY noisy, but i use BOSS flanger, compression, metal zone, distortion, acoustic simulator, reverb/delay, a Marshall Guv'nor, and the Marshall distortion and reverb. Without the humbuckers the sound is BAD with any sort of heavy distortion, with them it is EXCELLENT. But buying this guitar as is from the store its about a 6 but the clean is great with neck/middle combo.

The guitar was perfectly assembled. The pickups were adjusted fine, the bridge and finish were all fine. No flaws.

Yeah, this guitar can stand a show. The hardware has lasted 15 years, and so has the finish. The strat buttons are getting a bit loose, but hell it's 15 years old. I would play without a backup if this was the only sound i needed haha.

7 years of guitar for me. I own a Gibson SG special as well. I'd certainly buy another, and customize it all over again. I love the extremely accurate METAL tone i can get from it, unlike any other guitar. The Fender Stratocaster is the most versitile guitar in history if you put the right pickups in it. With this single coils, i wouldnt pay 300 bucks for this guitar if i had to keep the pickups. With Hot Rails and JB Jr.'s this guitar kicks ass! I will rate it WITH the new pickups as opposed to the single coils. One of a kind.

Same features as everyone else has already listed except now the 2004 version no longer comes with the Schaler strap locks. I got the olympic white finish with rosewood fretboard.

I like a lot of blues and old rock music. The strat was a natural choice. I love the sound of the guitar... true, classic stratocaster. Later on, I may hop it up with some Fender Texas Specials pickups (like the SRV strat) to give it a hotter tone but for now it suits me fine. It is surprisingly versitile.

So here's where I need to take off a few marks. The action was terrible. Nearly every string buzzed. The string job from the factory was even worse. It looked like a three year old strung the guitar. I basically scrapped the original strings. Intonation was off and even the truss rod required some tweaking.

Also disappointing was the finish. I owned a Mexican strat a few years back. I don't know if this is a testament to the finish on the Mexican or a complaint about the finish on the American but the finish was no better than what I had on my Mexican strat. You expect to get a much better finish on a guitar that costs twice as much but this isn't the case. I mean look at the American Deluxe series strats, they only cost a little more than the American Standard (as compared to the price jump between the Mexican and American) but the finish is SIGNIFICANTLY better. I guess overall, the finish was a disappointment.

I don't really have any reason to question the reliability of this guitar. Despite my complaints, it does seem to be built well for its price range.

I would imagine I would use this for a small gig without a backup but for larger ones, I definitely would have other guitars as well(different sounds, different moods, backup for broken strings... blah, blah, blah...). A person can never have too many guitars.

This is where I actually differ from most other reviewers. I am very pleased with the customer support. When I got the guitar home, I realized they had put the wrong "bag-o-goodies" in the case. The bag I got seems to be for a Hot Rod strat. It has the pressure fit tremolo bar instead of the screw in type, etc.... Apparently the music store made a goof up and switched cases at some point. Anyway, so I called the store and told them the situation. They gave me some line about not carrying extra bags like that.... whine, whine, whine.... and said that they can order another but it will take several weeks and suggested that I call Fender instead (even though it seems like it's their mistake).

After reading reviews on this website, I wasn't too hip on the idea but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. After all, I needed the tremolo arm. Very much to my surpise, they were extremely helpful! I told the customer service rep the story and he agreed that it sounded like the store had switched cases but he also said if I'd fax him the invoice, he'd send me a new tremolo arm. I followed his instructions and a few days later I received the package.

I was shocked when I opened it. Not only did I get a tremolo arm, but he actually sent me the entire set of "extras" that normally come with the guitar (polishing cloth, instrument cable, guitar strap, etc....). Basically, I asked for a $10 part and they sent me $30+ worth of stuff. That's good customer service if you ask me. I know it's not a huge deal but it's refreshing to see a company that will go a little further than necessary to help me out. Especially in today when most companies' Customer Service departments should be renamed Customer Disservice.

Overall, I would rate this guitar an 8. It's very good (especially for the price range) and has a lot of potential. It's cheap enough to get into but there are a lot of things you can do or add to it to take it further. If it were stolen, I would definitely replace it. Fender needs to work on the quality of the finish for the American Standard but overall it has a beautiful sound and is a very solid guitar.

My strat is 1999 USA made.it is the standard strat with 22 medium jumbo frets,alder body,maple neck&fingerboard,black paint,white pickguard.standard 5 way switch,1 volume,2 tone controls.S/S/S pickup combination.standard American Series Alnico pickups.well I think everybody knows these features on a standard strat.

It suits my music great because I get it to suit my music style.I play 80's rock/pop/soul.overall I want 80's classic fender strat sound and this standard strat gives it to me.my amp is 79' fender twin reverb and when combined I get the best clean sounds.as usual 1/3/5 pickup positions are noisy no complements about them cause its the nature of single coils.its a trade off between great cutting single tone vs hum noise.the 2/4 positions are hum canceling because of the two coils used with middle one reversed pole.I use Line 6 DM-4 and Boss OD-1 for OD/Dist needs but actually I never use dist settings only Proco Rat with a little gain sounds like a more compressed OD.I use OD-1 to boost them and does the job great.the tone is awesome.I've always wanted to own a USA Fender and now my dream has come true I'm so glad with it.

Action : well adjusted.
Pickups : balanced
I bought this guitar used but without any scratch or wear.it was in great condition.surely the former owner was very good at looking after guitars.I must thank him.

reliable of course.but I'd never gig without backup in case of a string break.

it's an original USA FENDER...

I've been playing for 8 years.I used to own an 91'Ibanez RG570 with Dimarzio ToneZone bridge & PafPro neck.I've sold it and bought 99'Fender American Strat.I aslo own 90'USA Heritage H-147 LesPaul with Schaller Golden 50 pickups and it also sounds great.I've compared my strat to 4 other strats and this one gave the best classic tone.Overall great guitar if you're looking for the classic Fender Strat tone.nothing more nothing less...