Fender Deluxe Strat Plus

made in 1987 shipped to UK in 89 , came in flash white with white pick gard made in USA .22 frets , solid top in 3 parts ,std controls bar tbx , fender 2x silver lace + 1 blue ,alder body , rosewood neck ,new type sadles in sintered steel , Very hard , new internal profile an option , spersel machine heads in silver , fat frets and wilkingson nut ver 2 , schaller locking strap locks plus the deaded trem setter

This works very well on Vox AC30's , no noise just amp hum , dull sound after 10 years , fender lacer sensors will die on you .

Very well made , nice thick paint .

You will have to chuck the lace pickups as they loose power , all hard ware is ok bar the trem plate chrome rubs off , strap locks are the best but add oil or gease as they scweak in the studio if un greased , this guitar will chew strings due to the hardness of the saddles , no ******* way could I depend on this guitar with the tremsetter , chuck it and get the full set of trem springs screwed up tight and by the way pull your willkingson nut off once a year wash in gas and re-oil !

no I just get new pots and 5 way swich from demazzio

Get rid of the fender lace sensors they will die , I put in stacked demarzzio humbuckers on full power , they come with staggered poles ,change the scratch plate to black ang get tin foil and glue it in the cavitys as a sreen for radio the same with the scratch plate , as in the UK I would get radio Luxemberg on a damp day , oil and grease your spersel machine heads every 3 years but dont forget to give them a 10 minute spin , tip 2 , tune the trem springs , go black , they are a mini reverb , find B if you can , the neck wont move as its bi-flex trus rod is solid , the newer ball roller nut has no string tree so expect pop out on your trash modes of playing , if you want get a needle file on those saddles do as the angle was a bit harsh , an extrawide willkinson nut was avalible for you thick string heads , but the trem setter was crap if you broke a string as the hole guitar went out of tune , but boy can you change strings quick , this guitar with good pick ups is very good ,
Fender took a big risk with those lace pick ups , they just die , dont ask me why ?

1996 Deluxe Strat Plus, Model #110-9500-837, Antique Sunburst, alder body with ash veneer top & back, Bi-Flex truss rod, satin Urethane maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard, 22 medium-jumbo frets, Red/Silver/Blue Fender Lace Sensor pickups, 1 volume, 1 tone, TBX tone control, aged white perloid pickguard, aged knobs/switch tip/bback cover plate, Fender Floyd locking tremolo bridge with pop-in arm (which is also the string block wrench), LSR Roller Nut, Fender Schaller Locking Tuners, Hipshot Tremsetter, Schaller StrapLok buttons, plush-lined black Tolex hard shell Fender case. - Beautiful

Some magazine reviews note the sunburst models are dead sounding due to the sandwich of alder between the ash top/bottom. However, this Strat is extremely resonant unpluged. The Fender Lace Sensors are very quiet. However, the Red & Blue FLS (as advertised) are very humbucker sounding. I much prefer the traditional single coil sound. If you prefer the higher output humbucker sound you will love these. The TBX control is somewhat lacking. I moved the Silver FLS to the bridge (DC Resistance: 7.1K, Inductance: 3.38 Henries, Peak Frequency: 3000 Hz)and the added 2 Gold FLS (DC Resistance: 5.8K, Inductance: 2.4Henries, Peak Frequency: 3600)to the Mid & Neck Postions. This combination is perfect and sounds very similar to the Fender CS54 set but without the noise. I also did the TBX mod listed on the "Blue Guitar" website (http--www.blueguitar.org-new-schem-_gtr-tbx-mods_and_details.pdf). This changes the 82k series resistor to 120k series parallel and allows the TBX to work flawlessly with passive pickups. The 7 rating is "as deliverd". After the mods it's a definite 10.

Very solid and wello fit together. It had the customary low E buzz when I first got it. After a little tweeking with the setup and pickup height it played like a dream. The fit and finish are flawless. The cool thing about the antique sunburst is the dark red micro-flakes in the finish. When the light hits the body at a certain angle the sunburst seems to glow. An incredible guitar that longs to be played.

Bought it used in 1999 and am the second owner. It has held up very well through the years. Fender USA, what can I say? No issues.

Fender has always answered all my emails phone calls Most parts are readily available. Resources, information, & downloads are easily obtained on the Fender website.

I have been playing since '62 and have owned several guitars. I much prefer this Strat over the older Strats as it just seems to "fit". I have played other Strat Plus models and most have the same feel. With the mods I described above, this is one versital guitar. It would be my "if I could only have one guitar" model but I don't really want to be forced to use just one guitar. I'm giving it a 9 over all due to the Red/Blue FLS and the TBX issue.

"Crimsonburst" finish, rosewood fingerboard. Nuisance of a Fender/Floyd Rose trem (soon to be gone). Read the reviews below for all of the features.

Some previous reviewers have said that the Deluxe Strat+ has an ash veneer top only. Look at the back of your guitars, dudes. Same grain. It's an ash-alder-ash sammich and it's very heavy. This has a noticably beneficial effect on the tone, however. Ash has a "mid-scoop" tone profile and it lifts the upper-treble and lower-bass giving the guitar a kind of crisp articulation and punchier bass than a plain alder strat. With the rosewood fingerboard it has a dark, rich early-Trower vibe.

The fingerboard is the most beautiful slab of rosewood I've ever seen. My only complaint (minor) is that it has a shorter radius than I'm used to. If you bend strings in the upper register they bottom out and buzz so you have to set the action a little higher. With a rosewood fingerboard it makes you work harder (it's a bitch with arthritis but I just suck it up). The maple neck on my other strat is nice and flat and springy. Someone said the neck is tinted. Didn't know that. I never saw this guitar in a catalog. Just saw it in the music store and bought it...

...and I knew in the store that the Sensors were coming off. Not that I don't like Lace Sensors. I do - certain ones. But the Blue-Silver-Red setup is an HSH setup and I wanted more of a single-coil sound. I replaced them with Lace TranSensors. They sound different but good with the right pots and caps. It's a VERY modern sound - definitely not traditional. But that's okay; I play prog. I took the blue Sensor and put it on my other strat in the bridge position. I prefer a humbucking bridge sound. It's a much brighter-sounding guitar so it balances nicely.

Now, my memory is terrible but I'd swear I bought this guitar in 1995, but it has the Fender/Floyd Rose trem that, for no good reason at all, requires you to cut the balls off. I could be wrong but I bought it before I moved out of the state at the end of '98 and I know I'd had it a while before that. oh well. I'm surprised I put up with it for ten years but I'm definitely going to follow the advice offered below and trade it for a regular Fender 2-point fulcrum.

I had my guitar tech remove the tremsetter (junk) AND the TBX tone circuit. It's suppose to operate like a normal tone control from 0 to 5 and boost the treble from 5 to 10. All it does over 5 is make the guitar sound thinner. It doesn't add treble; it takes out bass and mids. I had a regular tone control installed.

I heard the earlier ones came with a tweed case. All I got was the gray molded one. :( lucky stiffs.

I'll rate it according to how I liked it -after- I modded it. EVERYbody mods their guitar, right? Anyway, this guitar has every whistle and bell they could squeeze into it. They probably discontinued it because they couldn't sell any of their more expensive strats.

The guitar's natural sound is dark and rich, yet articulate. The TranSenors are bright and open up the sound by adding clarity. They're frightfully dynamic. They sound like crystal-clear 60's strat pickups when played clean and tighten up in the upper-midrange like a P-90 when you dig in. The overdriven sound is very tight. Also, I wire my strats differently - the neck and middle pickups share a tone control and the bridge has its own. I do this because I want the neck and middle to have a higher cutoff frequency so they retain their single-coil characteristics. I use the popular "woman tone" cap for those but I do something darker and funkier with the bridge pickup. It's thick and electronic-sounding with the tone rolled off.

The worksmanship is flawless but the strings buzzed with the factory setup. Fortunately, the best guitar tech in town worked out of the music store where I bought the guitar. So, no problem. The action is tolerable now. The fit is perfect and the crimsonburst finish makes the guitar look like it was dipped in blood. coooooool! This strat is a work of art.

The locking tuners seem a little flimsy compared to some other brands, but the guitar is ten years old and I've never had a problem with it (knock on wood).

Never needed it.

I've been playing over 30 years. Because of the kind of music I play, I often have to change amp and effects settings half a dozen times during a single song. So I use an amp modeller/effects processor. I got it around the same time as the guitar: a BOSS GX-700 which works as well as the day I bought it. I run that through an Alesis stereo 31-band graphic EQ (to correct my speakers), a Peavey PV900 power amp and a pair of Peavey TSL112H compact p.a. cabinets. Roland FC-200 MIDI controller.

If this guitar had come with a couple golds and a silver I probably would never have replaced them. The red Lace Sensor is a sterile, lifeless piece of crap. Actually, if I were to load it with a custom set of Sensors, it would be burgundy (neck), silver (middle), and a "hot gold" hot bridge. I honestly -like- the Richie Blackmore sound in the middle position. I like dark, moody psychedelic strat players like Robin Trower, Richie Blackmore, and David Gilmour (!). Whatever it started out as, my Deluxe + is now my ultimate progressive rock strat ...or rather it will be after I lose the Floyd Rose trem. FLOYD ROSE WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!!

I special ordered a deluxe strat plus in 1994 with the intentions this was the last guitar i was ever going to buy. so I ordered all the deluxe accesories, Ash body, rosewood neck, crimson burst, shaller locking tuners, lsr roller nut, red, silver, and blue lace sensors, floyd rose tremelo, hipshot trem setter, locking strap holders, and the TBX tone control. and a pearloid pickguard. It came with a blue plush hardcase with the strat plus logo on the outside shell. It also came with a toolkit, instuctions on how to set it up and a pretty blue strap and heavey duty 20' cord.

since i played about half clean guitar and half electronic acid rock, i needed a guitar that would suit blues, jazz, and heavey distorted overtoney singing long sustaining acid rock. I use a mid 70's gibson SG tube amplifier with altec lansing speakers. and a peavey profex sound processer. along with a univox super fuzz, morley bad horsey wah, ibenez chorus, dod flanger, morley phaser, and a dean markley mighty mouth. The selling point for me was the lace sensors. when at rest they are stone quiet. no hum or crackles, just quiet. Thers no comparason to a regular strat. This is a pro guitar for pro players. If your playing grunge music this isnt the dirty sounding guitar you would look for. you can get the les paul sound, the SG sound, or if you want the strat sound, just use the silver pickup alone. Also many people dont understand the TBX tone control, its actually a bass cutt not a treble boost. so after the halfway point it cuts off the bass and leaves the highs, makes for a more shrill sound kind of ear splitting. also the lace sensore do not rely on sustain robbing magnets. so you can set them very close to the strings without dampning the string vibrations. very very long sustain. Too bad the lace family took the rights away from fender after the death of doctor lace. but they are still available.

personally i didnt like the way the guitar was set up by the factory. the strings were flat across the top so it took more push on the high strings but was an easy fix. under the lsr roller nut was a set of spacers and all that was required was to remove a few so the strings were equal distant from the frets. this makes it alot more easy to play fast and was less distressing on the fingers. also a rosewood fingerboard overtime will swell a little from oils from your hands and makes sliding up and down the neck less bumpy,and less sticky. you maple neck guys know what i mean. the floyd rose bridge is the locking type and hasnt any play that could dampen the string vibrations so it contributes to the long sustain of the strings. If you use a vibrato alot as i do, the LSR roller nut and the hipshot trem setter is a must have. you can dive it to nothing, let it go and its right back perfectly in tune. very impressive. The tremsetter was a little troublesome to set right. you have to remove the center spring and compensate by tightning the other two in order to get the right tension back on the bridge. then you have to use a matchbook cover or playing card to get the right amount of tension on the tremsetter. but if you change the brand or size of strings you have to do all these adjustments again, but once its set you cant beat it. The fit and finish on this one is very good and only the best ones came with the annaversary logo. there were only 1994 total annaversary models in all the catagories made, so not many in any particular style. mine has the logo on the end of the neck and the forty years and still rockin on the neck plate. The finish is the house of color candy red, called crimson burst, that shows the pretty ash woodgrain through its transparent clearcoat. the shaller locking tuners are very fast, you just stick the string through it, tighten and tune. fast and easy. the bridge tuning was a little difficult because you have to hold it down, adjust it, let it go, and try it, and do it again and again until its right. but one its set its done. i use the fender 3250 strings so i havent had to redo the adjustments at all. The lace sensors havent the strong magnets so i set them as close to the strings as possible without interfering with the strings or my pick. makes for good volume without picking hard. so it was somewhat of a hassle to set this guitar up but the results after its done cant be beat.i havent played anything better.

I have been a pro player for 25 years and i have played many types of guitars. i loved the les paul but i just couldnt have the weight of the thing hanging around my neck for 4 hours a night. the gibson SG is nice but it lacks the tremelo and has a very flat neck radius, so you either love it or hate it. the strat plus bridged the gap for me. i could make it sound the way i wanted it to, was light enough, and had all the latest high tech features. been a flawless performer except the trem is a string breaker so have some spares with you. having the string tool in the trem arm was a nice touch. you could change and tune a string in about a minute. important during a live performance. i like the locking strap buttons so i could push the guitar behind me if i had to change to something else and it wouldnt fall off and hit the floor,its been a dependable guitar and is the last one i will buy.

havent had to deal with the company. because the music stores have anything i could ever need in stock, but so far all i have bought are strings and picks.

i have been playing guitar for 40 years and pro for 25. i still own the 62 jazzmaster that i played until 94. if i lost it i would hunt it back down. i have played many other guitars and all have thier own qualitys, but this one had the most versatility. if you can get one do it, but take the time to set it up correctly. if your a hard rocking dirty guitar player this isnt the one but if you have to cover whatever the agents throw at you this one will get you through any type of gig you need it to.

1989 USA Deluxe strat plus, 22 frets solid top, volume, 2 tone knobs, fender lace sensor pickups, maple neck with satin finish sunburst white pick guard, locking tuners not shure wat type came with an authentic fender usa hard case, easily the most versatile guitar ive ever played has all the features i could ever call upon, i play lead in our band (vintage) lace sensors get everything its a pleasure to play!

It's perfect for lead, rythm there is nothing this guitar can't do, i recently bought a fender fm212r amplifier, it works well with lead guitar with clear tones ringing through well, mellow vintage sound.
As i said this guitar can do any sound rock, grunge, blues best sounding guitr ive ever heard if it were to be stolen i would almost quit playing guitar..

This guitar was $5000 australian ordered in from usa in 89 so i am assuming it was made with the top wood and materials, i love the pickups react perfectly witht the guitar, only proble with it ive had was the tope string buzzing so i got it fixed and its just been a gem to own since....

i've played on stage in front of a full house many times it gigs great, all the hardware has never screwed up works fine, ive had it for 5 yrs and it looks like it will keep playin for alot longer, strap buttons alrite probly could be a bit larger so the strap cant slip off.. but aprt from that i know i can depend on it and if something ever screws up on stage i know its me not the guitar!

ive been playin for 12 yrs (16 now) ive giged many times and everyone who sees it or hears it is blown away by the sound the look just everything about, as i said if it were stolen i would be devastated and if it didnt make me quit guitar i would buy the exact same yr and model, i love its clear tones its versatility and its reliability, EVERYONE ALWAYS TELLS ME FENDER GUITARS WERE MADE BEST IN THE LATE 80'S AND THEY WERE RIGHT, ITS THE CLOSEST THING TO HAVING A CHILD I WOULD EVER HAVE WITHOUT ACTUALLY HAVING A CHILD!!

93' USA Two Piece Natural Ash Body,Gloss finish, Blonde neck,22 Jumbo Frets,satin finish. Tbx tone control, S/S/S Blue,Silver,Red Lace pickups. Locking tuners. LSR NUT, Tremsetter,.

When I first picked this guitar up and played it unplugged it vibrated and sounded very loud. Without even plugging it in I bought it. I have been very impressed with the sound. I play alot of blues and jazz sometimes crossing over into whatever I'm feelin at the time. The sound is perfect with the exception of not getting dirty enough when i want it to. Thats ok though. The soulful sound of the blue pickup makes me use it almost exclusivly. Together with the silver its buttery and warm. I play it through a 66' Bassman Blackface head and a 2x12 65' cabinet. It's classic and I'll keep these always. So I give it a ten on sound since it delivers as promised.

The jumbo frets and "played" neck edges are great to feel. There was a little of the finish up on the frets but that was easy to fix. The ash body is very well bookmatched. It's flat sawn and the back has a "blotched" tabby look to it. There is one fisheye in the finish. I adjusted the pickups to my liking. I replaced the white/black/white laminate pickguard whit a red tortise/mint/black/mint from "WD" poducts I think, and replaced the knobs whith aged white ones. The trem spring cover on the back was hitting the tremsetter so i routed it out a little where it did this, not going all the way through the plate. I have it set up with 11 to 54 strings and havent had to make any modifications to accomidate them.

I have yet to have any problems with this guitar. Perhaps I dont use it as hard as some, but everything about it seems solid. I think I may have got one of those production pieces that was made on a good day. Lots of Luck!

Haven't needed any yet.

I have traded alot of guitars, but I will never trade this one. There are many I wish I didn't get rid of but for different reasons. I know I gave a "glowing" review but this one deserved it. Everything on it works very very well, and for the money you cant beat it. I dont think I've ever seen one come up for sale and its no wonder.

1995 American Fender Deluxe Strat Plus; "crimsonburst" finish, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard, satin-finished neck. Alder body with laminated ash top and back.

Three Fender Lace Sensor pups. Neck: blue (vintage humbucker), Middle: silver (hot strat), Bridge: red (hot humbucker).

Schaller locking tuners, LSR roller nut, Fender/Floyd Roxe locking 2-point fulcrum trem, strap-locks, trem-setter, special passive tone circuit.

It's so loaded it became a custom shop guitar when they discontinued it.

I play progressive rock and need a versatile guitar, but you buy a strat because you want a strat sound. Not only were the blue and red Lace Sensors very flat and lifeless sounding (though the silver was fine), but it's really a H-S-H set up. First thing I did was take the Sensors out. I wanted to preserve the guitar's "concept", and the new Lace TranSensors looked interesting (and cheap) so I tried a set. Very interesting. Very clear and glassy when clean and they fatten up almost into a P-90 tone when overdriven. Can't lie, they don't sound like vintage strat pickups but they're a modern single-coil alternative, powerful and totally humbucking. I like them.

The guitar came stock with a tone circuit called a "Tone-X" or something like that. It was suppose to operate like a regular tone control from 0-5, then from 5-10 it was suppose to provide a treble boost. Nice in principle but what it really did from 5-10 was sap mids and bass and made the tone weak. I had my guitar tech remove it and replace it with a standard tone cap.

Because the music I play requires a broad selection of sounds (and I can't afford a ton of boutique gear), I went for simplicity, versatility, and economy as far as my rig goes. I just use a BOSS GX-700 preamp/processor with COSM amp modeling, a used Halfler Pro 120 P.A. power amp, a pair of small Peavey TSL112 P.A. cabinets (1-12" + horn each) and an Alesis stereo 31-band EQ to correct the cabs. I use a Roland FC-200 midi foot controller to change patches.

My "signature" palet of sounds is based around a custom amp I created by setting a 5150 on medium gain then replacing gain with a Vintage Overdrive module. The result sounds like an amp with (1)5751 and (3)12AX7 preamp tubes and KT66 power tubes. I use a big 212 cab simulation. Tight bottom, medium-high gain, very articulate.

With the pickups switched out, the guitar has the dark, moody sound of a rosewood fingerboard strat (ala my favorite players: Trower, Gilmour, and Blackmore) but also has a delicate edge to the highs like Eric Johnson. The right amp/effects will capture these sounds.
I can get clear, bright clean tones and there's enough power to drive more high-gain sounds as well.

Even with brighter pups, the guitar is a bit too dark and the tone lacks complexity, but then I'm real picky. I'm subtracting a point for that and for the drab sound of the stock Lace Sensors, and another for that crappy tone thingy. But the latter two can be remedied and the guitar will basically sound good.

When I questioned my guitar tech about why the strings bottom out when I bend, he remarked that the fingerboard radius is more like older strats; it's got quite an arc to it. Nothing can be done except to adjust the action higher. I have small hands for a guitar player and a bit of arthritis and that rosewood board really makes me work, but other players probably wouldn't complain. The setup was satisfactory from the factory but I *always* have a guitar set up by my friendly tech as soon as I buy it. No worksmanship problems.

The trem-setter didn't survive that first setup. It made the trem so stiff it was useless and I consider it an ill-conceived device considering the other features (2-pt trem, roller nut, lack of string trees, and locking tuners) all combine to keep the guitar in tune during even the most Van Halen-esque whammy bar hysteronics.

The gorgeous "crimsonburst" finish looks like the guitar was dipped in blood. Under close examination, the effect was obtained by mixing the dark, almost red-black transparent finish at the edges with metal-flake, then fading to lighter transparent red in the center.

The fretboard radius is an issue for me. Clearly, with all these whistles and bells, this guitar was designed to be a modern guitar for a modern player playing modern music. The fingerboard really needed to be flatter. I'm taking a point off for that, and another for the fact that this stratocaster weighs more than my van. It's a bit of a bear to play.

Some finishes look okay after they get beat up. Blonde... white... Even a regular tobacco sunburst. But not, I'm afraid, crimsonburst. I'm taking good care of it, however. I'm neurotic in that regard. Even after 9 years it almost looks new (knock on wood). The guitar itself is plenty sturdy. The most delicate parts are those locking tuners but even those have held up well, but then I don't currently gig and only gigged with this guitar once for a week of dates at a summer youth camp where everyone was very well-behaved. Even if I did, it would most likely be in venues where no drunk is likely to knock it off the stand or throw a beer bottle at it.

Minus 1 point for a delicate finish. It has got a couple small dings (which I repaired) and it seems like it dings kind of easy.

I have never dealt directly with Fender, but then the guitar has never developed any issues. If I'm not mistaken, it's got a limited lifetime warrantee.

I've been playing for ...hmm... 31 years. Yeesh, I should be a lot better! (lazy) As stratocasters go this is about the ultimate, except for the little things mentioned above. I wish it were lighter and the fingerboard flatter, and I wish the tone was a little richer. I've discovered since I bought it that I'm really not a "strat guy". Double-cutaway Les Paul-style guitars with trems seem to be the wave of the future (PRS Santana) but there are few such guitars in my budget range. And yet I'd always have to have a strat for some tunes, and this isn't a bad one.

I'm going to average and round down, since I had to modify the guitar to make it do what I wanted.

Red,Silver,Blue Lace Sensors, Blue Burst...Ice Blue is i think what they called it...maybe Frost Blue...its a 91, and I bought it then, and some drugs were done between now and then so excuse the fuzzy memory. American Standard bridge with twin roller nut and Schaller Locking tuners. Trem-setter came standard, removed it almost immediately. Body is alder i believe, 2 matched pieces solid all the way through..heavy bugger, rivals my Les Paul. Rosewood fret board. 22 fret Jumbos were standard.

Aside from creatures like the Parker Fly or others that have the piezos incorperated for blending that elec/acoustic sound, I don't belive you'll find a guitar with more myriads of sound color than a Plus Deluxe...unless you bought the Ultra! I know this is going to sound cliche, but, the Red Lace Sensor is like a single coil on steriods. Its a very agressive tone, nearly humbucker but with a nastiness when its overdriven that screams single coil, very unique sound, and virutally noiseless. The blue is a buttery smooth rich tone...Fender dubbed it "Classic Humbucker": right on. The Silver was meant to emulate the out of phase bridge/mid "strat sound"...and it does just that, emulate it, but it doesn't quite get there in my opinion. By itself it comes close but because of its location, its almost too full in the low mids to get that nasal rip of the sound its deparately trying to emulate. Even in the Red/Silver combo it's close...but not quite. Not that it sucks, because it doesn't...If you never knew, experienced or heard the natural phasing anomoly that occurs on a standard strat you would really dig the sound here as well..which is why I've never swapped in standard Fender single coils, because aside from the one sound you would expect it to make..all the other tones are too good to eliminate the Lace Sensors. Thats the only thing that keeps me from rating this a 10

I bought it new and it quickly developed a ridge where the "skunk stripe" appeared to be pulling out of the neck. I replaced the neck with another, and no problems since in that regard. In '90, the Plus series came with Sperzel locking tuners...I was disappointed that in 91 they did not...I've been meaning to replace them since i bought it...13 years later i still haven't got around to it. The cases that came with them in that year we're terrible for a guitar in this price range. On the way out from a gig, the hinges let loose and the guitar fell out onto metal grating. I bid good-bye to some of the finish that day...and caseless of half a decade before i finally bought a gig bag for it...it has many more character enhancements since that fateful day.

After the early neck replacement..I replaced the bridge saddles with graphite ones. After sweating all over it during gigs the saddle screws rusted themselved right into the saddles...since the graphite additions, strings rarely break at the bridge and it resists the "sweat factor"...I really should get a rag. After the knock it took falling out of the case leaving an afternoon gig..i went and played a nite gig with it without any problems. This guitar has never ever let me down...its really an animal.

I've never dealt with Fender with this guitar...but I have a lot of Fender amps that i bought used and they were always very helpful getting specs and manuals, and very helpful with questions.

The price was a steal...I bought it from a music store i had a great relationship with...that was not a fender dealer. I ordered it as a Plus with the Blue Burst...i really wanted that color...so they wrote it up with the discount from the plus price...and when they found that the color only came in deluxes they still sold it to me at the Plus price. This was my first real guitar. I had cheapos to that point...and I still love it, even with all its character...but hey, its a strat right? It seems that more it got beat the better it played and sounded...im sure thats all a matter of perception..I've worked to keep my Les Paul immaculate..but my strat is my go anywhere play anything guitar. It has, and will remain, my workhorse.

1991 Deluxe Strat Plus- Frost Blue transparent finish on ash top and back. Three Lace Sensors ( red , silver and blue ). Maple fingerboard with jumbo frets.American Deluxe trem with pop-in arm and Hipshot Tremsetter for the vibrato system.

Blue sensor in the neck sounds like a P-90 without the noise. Red sensor in the bridge produces sounds unlike a traditional strat: very aggressive. Silver sensor is the brightest and most strat-like. Position 4 of the 5-way switch is the jangliest. Overall,an extremely versatile guitar.

Incredibly straight and stable neck that rarely needs adjustment. The maple used seems to be of higher quality than what is in current Strats.

Strings tend to break at the bridge once they get old. Tremsetter is a pain to adjust.

Outstanding value for the money. It needed to have the frets leveled ($50) when I got it in 1999. It has played remarkably well since. The volume pot is starting to get a little scratchy.

i own a 1992 fender strat plus deluxe,i bought it new that year.it has all the goodies you would expect on a top of the line strat.beautiful cinnamon burst color,maple board,22 frets,5 way switch,3 lace sensors:red silver blue,roller nut,locking tuners,all satin chrome hardware,alder body with an ash top(a heavy strat)

the sounds i have gotten from this instrument have been many,through many different amps,and they always worked beautifully.iv'e played for over 30 years and this is the best all around guitar i ever owned.and believe me iv'e tried them all!it's great from bell tone clean to les paul mean

i don't pay much attention to set-up when i buy a guitar because i set it up to my own specs anyway.i use 10-46 strings with slightly high action.this suits my touch very well and gives me a good tone,plus it's nice and quiet.i usually don't even plug it in when i'm buying.i find a good acoustic tone always equals a good electrified one.after all thats all it is ...an amplified acoustic tone....right? the finish and hardware were immaculate

i played this guitar almost exclusively for 10 years and it never let me down.i treated it like gold and it's still in tip top condition.i am not playing in bands anymore and i am selling all of my guitars (except my martin)so who ever gets this guitar will get a winner.

iv'e never had any dealings with the fender co.

not much else to say. i played for over 30 years and i tried all sorts of guitars. this was one of the best all around ones that i played.if it were lost or stolen it would be hard to replace.

1990USA 22frets 5way blue silver red pups bought used off ebay,not sure of body material(alder?) very heavy(lespaulish) beautiful crimson, cinnamonburst roseboard standard 2point trem locking tuners tremsetter(removed,was told only needed if pulling up on bar)

Have had many guitars over the years,prefer PRS,they are not overated,they are computer milled to perfection,finished impeccably, and the note/chord articulation blow anything away. But,oh yeah, this is a Fender reveiw! I would have to say this deluxe strat plus does everything soundwise my prs's can do, and some things better(single coil tones which my McCarty does ok). I never heard a strat sound so good overdriven! There is one determining factor: PLAY WITH THE PICKUP HEIGHTS. What I like to do is sit in front of my Tech21 trademark60(a great amp).Put ch.2 on(overdrive).Put the pup selector on bridge(down). Start banging on an open D chord.Adjust the pup height screw on the high E side(bridge red pup) until it sounds "creamy". Now do the low E side banging on a three note e shape bar chord. Move the pup selector to the middle, do the same. Move the pup selector to the neck, do the same. This is doing it by ear, and I think this is way better than taking a micro measuring ruler to it.Try for yourself.These pups lose no character whatsoever, just noise.

no flaws

should withstand any situation, a real tank

DUNNO

Playing 20 years,would definitely buy again,love everything except the custom kitchen countertop formica wrap. WHY?? on any guitar, leave that wood alone.Had a strat, bought new in 82, could never get used to the overwhelming single coil hum. Thought I would try a strat with the lace sensors, love them.Clean they are beautiful, overdriven they rule.Buy this guitar while they are verry afordable!

My 1997 Fender Deluxe Plus was purchaced through the mail, (to get the Blue-Burst color I wanted). This guitar came with Red, Blue & Silver, single coil Lace Sensors. The Floyd bridge, LSR roller nut, locking tuners and white pickgaurd. I suggest you replace the Floyd bridge with a Standard Fender bridge.
The light satin neck is why I got one of these. It is near to a custom shop guitar as you can get, befor going to the custom shop and spending $1200 more. The neck is good. Very good! You just can't imagine!
The color is cool! Showing through the translucent blue is a book-matched maple top! A rare find on a Strat, for sure! I wish I was the guy that found one in a Pawn Shop for $300, I'd feel lucky!

Ditch the Lace Sensors if you're gonna play Rock 'n' Roll.
I put a bunch of pickups in, tried a bunch of combos, and the best I came up with was a SD-Pearly Gates or a SD-J.B model in the bridge, a Lace Sensor in the middle and an old Texas Special in the neck.
When you combine a Lace Sensor and a Texas Special, it had a very pretty sound. That's the best I can do in describing it! Pretty!
SD-59, J.B, Pearly Gates and similar pickups all come in a single coil size but are double coil pickups. Humbuckers are a must for Rock & Roll. The combo of Lace Sensors and Humbuckers is different to say the least. It calms the sound, makes it milder. This set of three pickups gives the widest array of sound that I've heard on a guitar. You'll not go wrong by switching the Lace Sensors with something else, but keep one or two just for something different.

Dead solid perfect!
I block off the bridge, I don't use the vibrato much anyway.

Look, most pro equipment will last reasonably long and perform for years if you keep it up. I've never had an axe break down on stage yet.

One of the best companies out there.

I've been playing for 25 years.
I wish I had played a Les Paul before I bought this guitar.
Lost or stolen? I'd buy a Les Paul to replace it.
Wish it was a Les Paul.
Buy a Les Paul! It makes Strats feel like toys!

1988 Fender American Strat Plus (has 1984 neck "E 4" serial number, but the 1988 strat plus model apparently used older necks), 22 frets, jumbo frets, rosewood neck, 5-way selector, 3 gold lace sensors, Pueter(same color as Clapton's Strat, but I got mine before his series came out) Sperzel Tuners, Nut lock thingy, Custom add-on:Trem-lock (device that sits inside one of your springs which somehow prevents detuning when a string breaks)

I grew up in West Virginia listing to hard rock, but played country in the clubs. This guitar allowed me to do both.

Currently running my effects through Line6's Guitar Port, this has been a fun little toy.

It is very clean and unnoisy, but recently I'm getting a lot of crackle from my pots. When I work them furiously for about 5 minutes the friction seem to burn out the problem, though.

I have had my neck pickup drop out once, but a quick pat got it to work again.

Love the "straty" tone with the neck pickup, and the warm tone of the bridge/middle setting.

The distortion I get is, of course, more Hendrix-like than that Gibson/Marshall combination you hear a lot of, but through the Mesa Boogie setting, I feel I get a very unique distortion sound I'm very happy with.

When I got this guitar Christmas of 1988, I had only been playing for about 6 months and wouldn't have known good action from bad, or any other problem.

Obviously, I have since checked intonation and action, and everything has been great for all of these years of constant playing.

This guitar has been in the worst clubs of southern West Virginia, in the harsh cold of Boston when I went to Berklee, and now in the humidity of Savannah, GA. It has been through it all and has held up quite nicely.

I play this guitar live every week. Hardware sometimes, as mentioned before, is sometimes a little tempermental, but otherwise A ok.

I do have a fret wear problem on the g string 1st fret. It has a bit of a jagged groove there I am unhappy about. Thought about having it filed, but haven't done it yet.

I'm amazed the finish hasn't came off. It is a great paint job. The strap buttons are solid, I've tightened them once or twice, of course. This is the only quality electric guitar I own, so yes, I depend on it and gig without a backup. I'm not worried, been doing it for years.

And like I read someone else say, It's a Strat, enough said.

Strat repair guys, I believe work with guitars that have been thrown out windows or crushed by lighting equipment, not guitars that break on their own. I've never known any of my Strat playing friends to have that type of problem to know what Fender's Customer service dept. is like.

Been playing since July 1988. If stolen, I would probably look at the PRS guitars, but probably get a new Strat as soon as possible. I would also pray daily for the thief to be infected with sores until he returned it.

I love the Strat history and aura of magic associated with it. I love the versatility. I can play Jazz, Country, Rock or anything with it. I've recorded with it on dozens of professional recordings.

I almost went with a flashy paint job BC Rich guitar, but thankfully, did not. That piece of crap guitar would be in a landfill somewhere by now.

The Lace pickups do not magnetically tug on the string, giving you great sustain. They also reduce all 60-cycle hum and you can adjust them as close to the string as you wish without compromising tone. I personally like the lace sensors, but do not have much to compare them to.

I also would look for the locking tuners and locking nut for my next guitar. Very smart design.

If you intend to seriously learn guitar, you will never regret getting a strat. It is an essential guitar for your collection if nothing else.

'97; USA made; 22 fret maple board; blue-burst finish on a solid two-piece ash body; white pearloide pickguard; "swimming pool" pickup rout; 5-way switch with TBX tone control, Blue, Silver, and Red Fender Lace Sensor pickups, locking Shaller tuners; LSR roller nut, Fender/Floyd locking tremolo bridge (no trem setter); Fender molded plastic case.

The guitar is very resonant with good sustain, full and punchy. Unplugged it has a nice tone, and the body and neck resonate well with each other, I would say that the guitar feels pretty "alive". As far as how the guitar's design affects its sound: some people feel that the "swimming pool" route, the roller nut, and the bridge rob tone and sustain: I disagree for this guitar. The guitar is very reponsive, it has good sustain, and a nice punchy tone, and the neck and body really resonate with each other. To my thinking this means that the wood, nut, and bridge are all working well with each other (my pedal steel guitar has a roller nut, too, and it has awesome sustain, too). The bridge has a heavy steel block which helps, too.
The Lace Sensor set works well for me and gives a pretty wide range of tone, but they're not a traditional sounding set-up. The three pickups are voiced differntly: the Blue pickup is in the neck position, it is dark, thick, and smokey, but not muddy or muffled, it's a great blues pickup, darker than a traditional Strat pickup. The Silver pickup is in the middle and it's the closest of the three pickups to a Fender single coil tone, it's a nice clean rhythm pickup, a little spanky, the best balanced and most traditional of the three. The Red is harder sounding, not as rich as the Blue or Silver, but it's not brittle, I suspect that if it were moved to another position it would open up (I may try swapping the postions of the Red and the Silver), the Red works best with distortion and overdrive, it reallly comes alive when pushed and it's a great hard-rock pickup. This is how they sound clean: Blue--dark and smokey; Silver--clean, snappy, bell-like; Red--like the Silver, but hotter, sharper, and less open. This is how they sound with distortion: the Blue and Silver become punchy, thick and compressed (in a good way), the same wirh the Red, but it gets more edgy and while it takes on the compressed quality it seems to open up and work best with distortion. The #2 and #4 switch postions blend the tones of the pickups, but you won't really get the tradtional quack tones (more quack with #2 than #4). These are great pickups for blues and hard rock, and they cover a lot of ground. The TBX is nice in that you can open up the Silver and Red tone for more edge and presence (I mostly do this for solos). I mostly use the Blue and the Silver, and I can get a pretty good Buddy Guy tone. I think for a good Fender clean, like country or funk tones, you can use these, but they perform best with bluesy and distorted tones. These are really great with heavy overdrive and distortion and the Red really shines. For a Strat this is nice as you get a thickness that has the qualities if a double coil, so if you're after good rock and blues tones these are great. These are noiseless pickups. I play through a Rivera open-back combo, a Rivera head with closed-back cabs, and an old Gibson combo. The guitar sounds best through the stack and the old Gibson...interestingly, it sounds most traditional through the Gibson with 6V6 tubes. I think that for what the Lace Sensors do they're great, but that takes the guitar out of the traditional Fender Strat terriotry (which may have been Fender's intention). Some people may want to change out the pickups because of this...however, that may be the way to go for some considering the low prices these can be had for. To be objective, I think it's a great sounding guitar that compliments my more traditonal Fenders, but I'll take off a few points because of the peculiarities of the pickups and the TBX.

I got the guitar second-hand, but hardly used, and it was setup fine except I had to adjust the intonation. The bridge is not as easy to work with as a standard brdge, you pretty much have to remove it to adjust the intonation (Fender shows pushing it down to access the allen screws, but there really isn't the clearance that is needed to this). This a hassle, but once it's set it's set, and the saddles aren't going anywhere. The truss rod adjustment is done at the headstock which is nice. There is a micro-tilt adjuster for the pitch of the neck, but once the truss rod and bridge are set the action is great. One plus is that action is adjusted by raising and lowering the two pivot bolts, rather than doing each saddle individually. The saddles are differnt thinknessness to match the curve of the fingerborard. This seems like a good design to me, however some people may prefer having individually adjustable saddles (I think that the time saved for setting saddle height is compensated by the time required to remove the bridge for setting intonation, so for an overall set-up it probably ends up taking the same time as for a standard bridge. Once the guitar is setup the tuning stability is great. I have mine set-up for 9's and I float the bridge, and I can do heavy beding and dive bombing and the guitar stays in tune. I think the system of the tuners, nut, and bridge is very, very good. The guitar does not break strings prematurely, but when they do break it's at the point where the string is flexed at the saddle from using the whammy bar. I find that this happens after about three-four weeks of daily playing (just like a pedal steel where the stirngs are exercised by the pedals), but if you change your strings every couple of weeks you shouldn't have any problems. They only weakness I see in the system is the fact that you need an allen wrench to change the string, and this is a little more complicated that just running the string through the bridge, but as long as you keep the wrench in your case it's not a big deal. You could replace the bridge with an American Standard bridge, but you may not get the sustain and stability that this bridge offers.

The neck and the fret work are excellent, it's a great feeling neck and the jumbo frets are fitted and finished very well.

The body is fantastic. The finsh is a really nice burst that is an aqua color in the middle that blends an opaque blue at the edges. The body is very light and the wood is ash (swamp ash, I guess becuase it's very light) with a nice heavy grain. I was told that these guitars all have alder bodies, and for the bursts they used an ash veneer, but this guitar has a solid two-piece ash body. While the tummy contour cut is opaqu, the forearm contour cut is translucent, and the grain of the qwood follows the cut. The fact that the body is solid was confirmed by removing the neck and the bridge and checking the grain chevron of the center seam with the grain on the surface of the guitar.

The neck pocket is super-tight. The build and finish quality of this guiat seem as good as anything that Fender is putting out; who ever built it really did a careful and fine job, or they had a good run with these in '97.

I've been using this guitar regualrly for about 18 months, and it's become my main guitar due to all it can do...it's definately the most versatile guitar I've ever had, and while it may not be the best for all styles (see my comments for "Sound"), it'll get by for most stuff and it excells for rock and blues. The guitar is rock solid, has held up great, nothing's come loose or gone out of whack (i'm not abusive, but I use this guitar a lot). As far as using it without a backup, yes I would and sometimes do, if there's one guitar that covers a lot of ground this is it.

Never dealt with Fender, bought it used so no warranty. These are the ultimate in user servicable guitars, and are so universal that support is not really an issue.

I've been playing for about 20 years. In addition to this Strat I've got a Warmoth '52 style Tele with SD pups, a USACG '62 style Strat with CS54 pups, a Gibson J45, a Showbud LDG pedal steel, Rivera and Gibson amps. I love my J45...I've had Gibson electrics in the past (would like to have some again some day), but I've gravitated to Fender electrics.
This Strat is a great compliment to the traditional Tele and Strat.
I love this guitar. I never would have thought of getting a "modern" Strat like this if I hadn't aquired it as part of a larger deal for a price that was too good to pass up. Now, I couldn't see getting rid of it as the neck and body are fantastic and all the parts and sounds work really well for me. I could see changing out the pickups, but that's generally true as a possibilty for any Strat (one of the things I like about Strats is how easy it is to do mods to them). If I do change the pickups the fact that this guitar has the "swimming pool" rout opens up a lot of possiblities. Some people don't care for these because of the breaks from the traditional Strat, but I think that the features work well, and that the design is a good evolution of the Strat. If it were stolen or lost I would be very very sad. I would look to replace it with a Strat Plus species of Strat as I think these are overall top notch USA Strats that can be had for great prices. If I ever came across one like mine again I'd get it.

1989 Strat Plus Deluxe, USA. 22 frets, rosewood fingerboard on maple neck, ash body (heavy too), gold lace sensors, wilkinson roller nut, american standard trem, hipshot tremsetter, tobacco sunburst finish, sperzel locking tuners, medium jumbo frets. Pickups since replaced with EMG's (SA/SA/89), saddles replaced with Graphtech FAAS piezo string-saver saddles, white pickguard replaced with black (looks cool on the tobacco sunburst body), stock fender knobs replaced with black metal dome knobs (looks very cool). Pickup routing is a fender 'universal' rout, so changing your pickup configuration is possible without having to take to the guitar with power tools (!).

This guitar is a really nice sounding instrument, very warm and full sound without the harsh top end that I've had in other strats. Didn't like the lace sensors that came with the guitar (a little noisy and lacking in sustain) so I swapped these with the EMG's (SA/SA/89) that were in my previous guitar. Still, the natural sound of the guitar comes through. Very versatile sound from Jazz to Funk to Hard Rock. Not sure how it would go for metal though. I've also added a Graphtech FAAS piezo saddles recently which is a great addition and increases the versatility of the guitar even more.

Purchased second hand, and wasn't well setup at the time. Very well constructed though, so didn't take too much to get it playing really nicely. The trem is ok, but doesn't maintain pitch as well as a full locking system does. Some of that might be the wilkinson nut though -the strings (esp the G) seem to stick a little. If it was a huge problem I would have had it replaced by now though! Very nicely finished fretwork (no nasty edges). Tremsetter had also been taken out (most people do this) but I had mine put back in which the techs hate me for as they're a pain to adjust. I just like the strings to stay in tune while (for example) I'm bending other strings and the american standard trems do move a little in this situation (not as bad as floyd bridges do). Nice finish except for some minor self inflicted dings and wear.

I've been playing this guitar for 12 years and never had a problem with it. It's definately built to last, and I've probably done 2000 gigs on this guitar in all that time. I look after my gear too, which helps. I would normally have a backup on a gig, but with the addition of the Graphtech FAAS saddles (which are piezo equipped string saver saddles) I've virtually wiped out string breakage so now often go out with just the one guitar. Strap buttons I had replaced with schaller strap locks.

n/a

I've probably brought and sold a dozen guitars since I've had this one and I keep coming back to it. I would cry if it were stolen. It's just such a nice playing and nice sounding instrument and after 12 years it's setup, configured and played in just the way I like it. When I purchased the guitar, I was actually seriously considering a Valley Arts but fell in love with this one. A few years later I purchased a Valley Arts, and it's a great guitar in it's own right but has nothing on the strat.

My DSP is a '94 spec (according to the manual I asked Fender to send) with a '93 neck serial number - it doesn't have 40th anniversary badging. The colour is "too-much" red (aka crimson burst), and it came with an off-white pearloid scratchplate (since changed to a plain 'mint green' Fender replacement). It has a 22 fret rosewood board, maple neck, ash veneer over alder body, and the 'deluxe' hardware - Fender Floyd-Rose bridge, LSR nut and Sperzels. Pickups were the red, silver and blue Sensors mentioned in other reviews and it had a TBX control. Inclusion of shielding paint in the cavity is a nice touch.

I bought it second-hand a bit over a year ago, and it came with its Fender shell case & its 'tremolo' arm, but was missing its 'toolkit'. I bought it having done my research and decided to buy a used strat with a rosewood board. I'm no expert but after testing some of those available thought it had a great neck (average sized, but substantial feeling, sleek & played-in), general feel and unplugged woody musicality and resonance (almost everything else on a strat can be fixed).

6 months after buying it and having bonded with it I had it professionally set up and the pickups changed and some rewiring done by the incomparable Chris Melville (Melville Guitars, Brisbane Australia). It now has a set of Kinman AVN Blues on board.

I'm pretty much in agreement with many other reviewers about the Sensors. They must have seemed like a good idea at the time to Fender. I found I could only use the middle three positions on the selector - quite liked the silver Sensor and the blue was not bad.

Having said that, the guitar itself sounds great, unplugged. Again, no expert, but my impression from my DSP is that they were well made using good tonewood (leaving aside niggles about the veneering) and well thought out hardware. They seem to be a great guitar 'platform' for creating a range of quality sounds depending on what pickups are fitted.

Regarding the hardware, while not initially convinced about the Fender Floyd Rose, now I think it is a very solid bridge and set on its 2 posts probably contributes to the solidity of the sound projected by the instrument. Of course this means it is not at the spranky, vintage toned strat end of the spectrum; its undertones are more smooth, rich and substantial which leads me to...
the Kinmans, which have been set up to complement the natural sound of the guitar. These pickups are truly excellent - read about them elsewhere on this site and at the Kinman website.

Bought second hand, so can't say much. My DSP was seems to have been treated pretty well by its former owner/s, although had to replace the Sperzels with new ones because 3 came with parts missing - they have to be treated with care.

I think all guitars should be set up professionally once you decide you want to keep it for a while, decide on string gauge, what you want to use it for etc.

Am a guitar enthusiast not a performer, but as above the instrument seems well designed and made. Will no doubt stand up to the extreme rigours of jazz lessons, home practice and occasional jams.

Limited experience here: mail ordered the manual and received it here on the other side of the world within a couple of weeks - no worries.

Have played for 20 years, off and on, have recently taken up jazz lessons and developed a liking for Bill Frisell's music. Other 'heroes' include Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Mark Linkous, Jay Farrer and David Rawlings.
Other current guitars (not a collector): Seagull Grand acoustic which I love for its somewhat flat but breathy, immediate, no 'airs & graces' tone; my first electric, a home assembled Les Paul copy made from scrounged parts which has died and been reincarnated many times; Amplifier: Trace Elliot Velocette Twin, highly recommended, read about them elsewhere on HC. For quiet practice, use and recommend Korg Pandora PX3 with headphones - also sounds pretty good when run through the Velo!

My DSP, as modified, is what I currently want in a guitar. It has a good tonal range, no annoying habits, excellent playability and sounds very fine.

1992 American Made Strux (strat deluxe plus). Beautiful sunburst three color with Ash body and thin Maple, 22-fret neck. All bells and whistles, through body string-thru body bridge (MUCH better than clip and clamp, which is sort of ridiculous), Schaller locking tuners, LSR roller nut. Has the red (bridge), silver (middle) and blue (neck) Lace Pups. Came with Black plastic Fender case.

Great from blues to ballads (for me). Would like a bit more punch, but so far not able to make it happen with this setup.

Used: action was terrible! However, a quick neck adjustment and a height adjustment at the bridge to even out string height made it excellent. Then raised the pickups, which enhanced sound. A 10 AFTER the tuneup.

Haven't played live, but yes, positive this brickhouse can take a road trip.

Website needs PDFs for user manuals. They can't be making any money on $5 to get manuals mailed out. Never dealt direct.

I've been playing for about 25 years. I own Yamaha, Negoya, Sigma, and Martin acoustics. My only other electric is a mid-60s solid body Kay (sounds sort of like an OLD telecaster). I am 100% satisfied with this guitar. If it were stolen I would do bad things to the thief! Then I'd save up and buy another Strux if I could find it. I chose this guitar due to its beauty and features. The price just made it a no-brainer purchase.

If anyone knows how to get more of a full blues sound out of this guitar without modification (i.e. different amp setups or effects), please email me.

I bought a '93 American Fender Deluxe Plus Stratocaster. It has the usual controls. It has three Fender Lace Sensor Pickups (Red, Blue, Silver). It has a black finish. It has a Wilkinson Bridge and LSR Roller nut and Sperzel locking tuners. I changed out the standard pickguard for a turtoise.

I think that this guitar is one of the better Strats that I have ever played. I think that the three different Lace Sensors give a variety of sounds. I usually play rock, so I love the bridge (blue) pickup, but I like the fact that I can get the variety if neccessary.

I got the guitar used, so I don't know factory settings for this particular guitar. I took it home and did some minor adjusting and the guitar is almost perfect. I think that it has held up well so far. I like the look of the black finish with the turtoise pickguard.

I think that this guitar is very reliable, but you should always have a spare. Strap buttons look to be Schaller ready. I think that anybody can depend on this guitar. It sounds great.

Never dealt with Fender.

I think that this guitar is going to be a great guitar in my collection. It will sit right next to my '54 Strat.

Mines a 40th aniversary (1994 I believe). The hardware is premium with frictionless nut, and the bridge is a a three spring trim which requires you to cut the stings and secure them with six allen bolts. Has a snap in tremolo arm. The floyd rose bridge is weak and didn't have enough spring in it to keep from pulling out on me. This is the one biggest dissapointment of this guitar. Beutiful black with subtle green speckle paint finish. Good action, never goes out of tune

Great for light genres of music, but when it comes to heavy stuff you need to crank on humbucker position which kinda sucks. Super good with clean tones and virtually noisless.

Nice, no buzz. Neck laquer is kinda peeling from the sides of the neck which is a little anoying. I have looked after this thing with a velvet glove. Everything else is as good as a 2200 dollar guitar should be- honed to the max!

floyd Rose has come out on me a couple times but otherwise this guitar doesn't loose tune nor does it's hardware lack. No crackle on the nobs or quarter inch in after 8 years of steady use.

I've been playing this strat for about 7-8 years. I wouldn't probably buy it again but I won't sell it either- it's a quality guitar. It doesn't totally suit my style of playing all the time but it shines above all others at times when it fits into what I am doing.

USA Stratocaster Deluxe Plus of 1996. It have a lot of nice things: 22 fret maple neck with LSR roller nut (very very nice), Fender Floyd Rose bridge, 3 lace sensor pickups (blue at the neck, silver at center and red at the bridge). The mine is black with pearl pick guard.

I play a lot of everything...old surf tunes, psychedelia, rock'n'roll, alternative rock and noise... this guitar it's what i was looking for. I use it with a Fender Twin Amp, several Boss pedals and a digitech Wammy-Wha...
1 - No noise
2 - Fantastic clean sound: every pick up has its sound: i use the red and the silver together for the surf, the silver alone for the ballads, the blue for the blues, the red for the other things.
3 - The tremolo arm it's the best I ever played with. No intonation problems even with a great unse of the arm.

It's obvious that if you play metal this isn't the guitar for you. :)

All ok

I've had a little problems with the central "tone" control...it turns over and over the 360? !!!! But now it's all ok.

I bought this guitar new in 1990 directly from Fender with an optional tweed case. It is a beautiful sunburst with an unusual grain. It has an ash top with alder body-the best of both worlds! It has Schaller locking tuners and a Wilkinson roller bridge that won't accomodate any string sets fatter than 10-46, which is what I luckily use. It came with a Tremsetter that I've never used so I can't comment on it. The pups are Lace Sensor Blue, Silver and Red in the bridge. I like them alot, particularily if you process your sound with effects, but they sound fine plugged straight into your amp, especially the Blue neck pup. Neck is all maple with a 9.5 radius and medium frets. The back of the neck has a nice worn in feeling-not sticky at all, like my '57 vintage reissue. The serial number starts with E9 (1989) although I ordered it in '90. The hang tag is stamped May 1990.

The sound may seem a little sterile compared to my '57 RI but the variety of sounds and the ability to use effects with no added noise makes this guitar extremely versatile when performing live. The red bridge pup is fine for lead playing and the blue neck pup is great for everything else. I use a wide variety of amps, vintage and modern, and they all sound good with this guitar. I've been playing since '65 and owned over 30 guitars during that time including the 5 Strats I have now and this one is a keeper.

This guitar was shipped directly to me from the factory and was perfect. It was the second one I got from Fender directly as the first one was sent back a day after I received it. I check the "snugness" of the neck/body joint of any guitar I buy. With the strings and neck plate w/screws off I check to see if I can hold the body off the ground for a few seconds with the neck pressed into the neck cavity of the body. If it can't it won't sustain well and it'll sound "plunky" not rich. I've seen many Strats that can't pass my test (even Custom Shop models) but I don't own any of them. My five Strats all passed this test and that's why I still own them.

It's a Strat but I never gig without a backup. It seems bulletproof.

Never dealt with them for warranty work.

I've been playing for 37 years and own a dozen electrics currently including my five Strats-this Strat Plus Deluxe, a '97 VooDoo Strat, a '57 USA reissue w/ Custom Shop anodized pickguard and pups, a '91 US Strat and a US'88 HM Strat. They are all fine guitars that I plan to keep forever, but the Plus Deluxe is by far the most versatile. If I was going on the road and could only bring one guitar this would be it, it does everything well. However I must admit that the '57 RI is my favorite of the five because it it feels so good to play. Would I look for another to replace the Strat Plus Deluxe if it was stolen? Yep, but it would have to pass my test first and that is harder to find than it might seem.

Made in the USA in 1997 Fender Deluxe Strat Plus.
22 Fret Maple neck with LSR roller nut
Two Tone controls and one volume control & 5 way selector
Three Lace Sensor Singles; Bridge position is red, mid is silver, top is blue.
Beautful Dark red finish with wood grain showing through.
Pearl pick guard.
Bridge is a a three spring trim which requires you to cut the stings and secure them with six allen bolts. Has a snap in tremolo arm.
It has Sperzel locking tuners.
It came with a plush interior hard shell case

I play a variety of music; metal, country, bluegrass, and classic rock. The Fender Lace Sensor pickups are color coded for different kinds of tones. The blue one on top has a rich 50's tone. The mid has a great tone for country. The red single at the bridge position is hot. It is great for metal and soloing. It packs a better punch then many of my guitars with double coils.

I have several guitars and this one is by far the best. The different sounds from the pick ups let you play a wide variety of music without having to switch guitars. The Sperzel locking tuners are wonderful for quick string change. The sound quality is the best that I have ever played.
Here is my only critisism: Though the roller nut helps give this guitar wonderful tone and sustian, it will not keep it in tune with any real tremolo action. The red Lace Sensor bridge pick up provides great hard pounding sound but you will you regret doing any deep dives with this trem if you expect to stay in tune. Why would you put a Tremolo on a guitar with a roller nut? Light trem action only for this guitar.

This guitar seems and appears to be quite durable but I will never put it to the test. In live play I would use it when the spot light is on me. This guitar is a real show off piece. For harder play would rather put the wear on my USA HM Strat or USA California Strat. Also, the Lace Sensor pick ups have the words "Fender Lace Sensor" silked screened on them. It won't take alot of play to wear the silk screening off. I think I could use this guitar w/o a back up but who would ever do a show with only one guitar.

Never had to use them

I have been playing for about 16 years. I own a 1968 Fender Bassman with a 2x12 cab and a Fender Concert head with a 4x12 cab. I also have an Ibanez, a Jackson, a Fender USA HM Strat, A Fender USA Corona California Strat, a Washburn with the best trem ever made....WASHBURN WONDERBAR, A Fender Telecoustic, two Yamaha Acoustics, And A cheap ole VANTAGE Flying V with 2 EMG doubles and the Washburn Wonderbar Trem.
I play through a Zoom 8080 Studio Player effects processor when I am trying to impress and a Zoom 1010 when just playing around. In my opinion, the Deluxe Fender Strat Plus is a Fender masterpiece. If you put it up against a Gibson, you would be throwing rocks at the Gibson!!!!

10 years old, blue-grey colour that's growing on me. Maple body & neck.
Features as with the other listed reviews, although after a bit of research on the Lace website I found that a Silver sensor is a fatter, 70s style Single coil sound, whereas the Gold is more the 50s sound.
A Gold sensor is not necessarily better than a Silver one ('All that glisters ...')
Came with sturdy hard case.

The sounds available are wonderful & versatile.
The Blue (vintage humbucker, neck) is my favourite - turn up a little distortion & play PJ Harvey's 'Is This Love?'. Warm, bassy, great clean or distorted.
The Silver mid sensor is warm without the harsh treble of a trad pickup (to my ears).
In common with many other reviewers, I found the Red pickup disappointing, but found it sounded very tingly with lots of gain on a rectified amp. Came to life with a crunch.

Bought 2nd hand, so nicely set up.
Bridge blocked off, which I prefer.

Ten years old, gigged by previous owner, and yet still perfect.

Web site is a bit weak, but no need to contact them.

I enjoy recording my own songs, so this is really a toy, but what a toy.
I use it mostly with a POD2 pedal, and the flexibility of the POD's amp tones & the guitar's pickups gives an infinite range.
I would definitely buy this over a Standard Strat plus due to the Blue pickup.
I bought this as it was cheaper than a new US Strat with better features. The build quality is superb and guitars are relatively uncomplicated, so I have none of the worries I'd have buying, say, a 2nd hand car.
Pairing this guitar with a POD is not a purists choice, but for a top quality range of sounds it can't be beaten.

This guitar is made in USA in 1997. It has 22 medium frets on a slightly stained maple fingerboard. Neck is standard profile with 9.5" board radius. The body is solid swamp ash I think (might be alder, but it feels too heavy for that), and has a nice fine gold flake finish. It comes with Blue, Silver and Red Lace Sensors on a aged pearl pickguard, plus the regular American Strat controls and switch. LSR roller nut, locking tuners and Deluxe Locking Tremolo (formerly known as Fender-Floyd Rose). Comes with Fender hardshell case and all the necessary Allen keys. Fully featured with the classic look.

I use this Strat into a BOSS ME-8 effects and a Marshall DSL-401 combo. I play mainly rock and blues (think Satriani + Clapton) and this guitar is very good at it. The neck position is fat like a vintage PAF, and I use it exclusively for slightly overdriven blues. It is quite balanced although the bass is a little too much and I had to lower the bass side of the pickup. The neck-middle position has the distinctive Strat "quack" when played clean and sounds very authentic. I never use the middle position but it sounds a little like Texas Special with less tonal character.

The bridge Red Lace Sensor is biggest problem with this guitar. It is thin and lacks low end. Mids are totally absent and it sounds like it can do nothing but some hair metal. Really horrible pickup. Got no balls for lead. I wish there was a Blue variant here. Because of the bad bridge pickup and general lack of character from the Lace Sensors I am considering changing the pickups to Kinman Blues.

The guitar came with a back-warped neck. The strings were buzzing like bees and I had to immediately adjust the truss rod. The intonation was fine but the string height was set too low. Turned the bridge pivots a couple of turns and adjust the claw springs for a floating bridge plus to increase the string height. I often pull up the tremolo arm and floating bridge is a necessity for me, even though I heard that it reduces sustain. The pickups were also too close to the strings and I had to adjust them for a balanced output. The bridge Red Lace Sensor was a nightmare at this.

After an afternoon's work at it, it played very well. I must say that the fretwork is good. The bends are not choked, and tapping was easy because of even fingerboard. I am very particular about an even sounding fingerboard for this purpose. The locking bridge and roller nut are very good and the tuning never goes out when I use the whammy. It also has a low profile and smooth feel, unlike the original Floyd Rose that feels like a respirator on your guitar.

One minor problem I had was that the tip of the 5-way switch was coming off. I am going to drip a drop of glue into it and fix it back. Other than that the guitar is fine. The finish is nice, and the aged pearl pickguard is really attractive. The neck joint is also tight and snug. The output jack is a little loose and I had to tighten the hex nut. The strap buttons sucked and I installed Schaller straplocks effortlessly.

This guitar is supposed to be the cream of Fender besides the signature and custom shop series. It should withstand live playing well. (Even my MIM Strat did!) The hardware is sturdy but I think the straplocks are necessary for any guitar in this range. The finish looks fragile and I better be careful with it. I can depend on this guitar only after I change the pickups, but I will not gig without a backup no matter what guitar you're talking about.

Never dealt with Fender. The local dealer Swee Lee is quite good and gave me a free setup.

I've been playing for 3 years on the electric and more on the classical and acoustic. I have an old Yamaha classical with sentimental values (my first guitar!) and another Fender MIM Strat with EMG pickups. This guitar is great for the price I paid, and it feels very good and sleek. The only thing I hate is the Lace Sensors. They suck! I am getting Kinmans! Anyway it feels similar to my MIM Strat but has a heavier body and smoother neck. The bridge is also much more stable. If it were stolen, I would save up and build my own signature Strat. But I won't mind getting one again.

Made in U.S.A., maple neck and finger board, 22 frets, ash body with beautiful transparent blue finish, hip shot trem setter, schaller locking tuners, L.S.R. roller nut, red, silver, blue single-coil lace pickups, and hard shell case.

I love playing lead using the blue neck pickup, real fat sound. I do not like this guitar for rhythm it's a little muddy. The lace sensors are o.k. I would have preferred a blue or silver pickup in the bridge and gold in middle and neck position. I don't like the lace sensors when driven with distortion. I'm looking into replacing the pickups I'll probably go with Reo Grande's, Muy Grande in the bridge and Tallboy's in middle and neck.

The guitar play's great and stays in tune if you don't use the tremolo, which I expect from any non locking tremolo. However Fender's workmanship on the maple neck was and is poor. I'm guessing Fender put the frets in the neck and then poured on the finish over frets and all. What happened was as I played the finish chipped off the frets which was a nuisance, but worse yet it chipped the finish off the maple finger board as well . I took the guitar to a luthier he contacted Fender, Fender sent out a new maple neck and it did the same thing. I then gave up on Fender and had a luthier do a fret job for $60, and I will now live with a few chips in the finger board finish.

I bought the guitar new 1/25/95 and have never had any problems except for the maple neck. It is the only electric guitar I own and I'll probably keep it for the rest of my life. I would use the guitar any where.

Read the above section on action, fit and finish and you tell me. I would have given this rating a 9 had the neck they sent me fixed the problem. The only reason I give this a 2 is the finish on the neck has fewer chips than the original neck.

I was also looking at a Hamer Daytona for $625 when I bought this guitar. This is the guitar I now wish I had bought and would recommend to anyone looking for a strat. Unfortunately I don't think Hamer makes this guitar anymore, but it would be worth finding a used one. The reason I bought the Fender was the roller nut, which I still like, and the lace sensors which I like sometimes and hate others depending on what I'm playing.