Fender Jeff Beck Signature Stratocaster

Fender Jeff Beck model. Alder body, surf green,lace sensor pickups, locking tuners...etc.etc.got it brand new, last month,02-2001.the only thing i did to mod it was to put a Musiworks cocoboola neck on it. the neck is almost the same size & feel of the beck neck, but has a 15 " radius..

before i got it i read all the reviews posted here, let me first say that the lace sensor pickups sound fantastic, i set them real close to the strings, and back them off a bit on the volume to 7-8 on clean and 9-9.5 on crunch...i use rivera amps, maybe thats why they sound great...i boost my leads with a boss overdrive, and the leads sound awesome, full of harmonics, the clean tone is as good as it gets.the alder wood body gives a very sweet open sound.

The guitar was set up ok from the store, i traded in a very used anderson drop top, and a newer ernie ball axis, for this guitar and a cool brown case. the people at guitar center in sacramento ca. worked the deal i wanted with no money needed..very cool...i did play a few new PRS guitars and a bunch of fenders and musicman guitars, but this guitar sounded fuller and more open with a nice top end that just sang with tone,,alot of people in the store said the same thing.

the finish is very good,,the parts seem solid, i compared this axe to my vintage strat, and it equals it in feel & sound,,,i always take 2 guitars to gigs, but i would take this guitar alone, and not feel any pressure of failure..fender did a good job on this axe...i will keep the neck as a backup, it is a good neck, i just like a flatter radi.

i never delt with Fender, but they make killer guitars, i never had a need to bitch....

I have had a ton of strat type guitars, from anderson to Zion's. the 2 best guitars i have, a 74 strat with a warmoth neck and emg pickups, and this beck model..i love the sound and flexabillity of this axe..i know i will be playing this one for a long time..if it was lost i would get another the next day. i think i made myself the ultimate strat and i am very happy....

This baby was made in 1996 in the US of A...
22 fret alder body, w/ maple neck,(rosewood fretboard)...
Pickups are all Fender Lace Sensor Golds(YUCH!!!!!!!!!)...
Neck: Single, Middle: Single, Bridge: 2 singles side by side, (humbucking or single, & switchable)...
Contols are standard Strat: volume, tone, tone,(TBX cicuit in bottom tone pot)...
The tuners are Schaller locking..
The nut is an LSR roller nut...
The bridge is a Fender fulcrum pivot type..
The guitar came equipped with Schaller strap lock buttons...
My "JB" is Surf Green...
The guitar comes with all the goodies: "Tweed" case, strap, cable, wrenches, spare springs, polishing cloth, ...the works!!!

OK...before I get into the nuts and bolts of this puppy, let's get one thing straight right off: Lace Sensor Pickups LICK SACK!!!!!!!!!!
if you are considering buying any Fender guitar, be forewarned...these things have no SOUL!!!....cold, thin, and LOW output,(the golds anyway)...once I dispensed with those and installed some good pickups, this guitar went from pretty cool to awesome sounding!!!
So...I play in an original hard rock/metal band, and a top 40/ classic rock band as well...
I always wanted a quality Strat type guitar, and being a HUGE Jeff Beck freak I gave this a try...
I love this guitar...the bad rap about this thing having a baseball bat neck just ain't true...mine is very playable...average in size I would say...maybe I just got lucky???
Very comfortable guitar overall, balances well, feels " friendly"!!...
I installed 2 Fender Texas Specials,:neck and middle, and a Seymour Duncan JB (what else?), in the bridge...
this set up is THE SHIT!!!...
gets that sweet 60 cycle Strat hum, and a crunchy bridge humbucking tone as well...very versatile set up for my needs...
I like everything about this baby, except the aforementioned LACE STINKUPS!!!..ha ha

No complaints at all about the set up on my Beck...played great right off the rack.....neck pocket was nice and tight...no finish flaws...A-OK!!!

This thing is built to last....I'm pretty hard on my stuff, but this baby seems solid...
Gig without a backup?...ya ...when pigs fly!!!!

As far as customer support, they have been great...I emailed their tech guy about suggestions for replacement pickups and he got back to me fast.....very helpful...
The guitar has a lifetime warranty...SWEET!!!
Oh ya ....the website is very cool!!!

I've been playing for 25 years, and have been through a shit load of stuff...so I know a good guitar from a bad one.....
This sucker covers all my needs, it plays , sounds , and feels like quality!!...I'd replace it if stolen, and poke the creeps eyes out with string ends if I cought him!(or her!!!!!!)
Just heed my warning about the Lace Sensors....heck, Jeff Beck himself don't play em'...so there you go!!!!!!!!

My baby was made in 1999, I ordered it through Guitar Center from Fender, who made it just for me because they didn't have any Midnight Purple ones in stock at the time. LSR roller nut, 22 frets, alder body (probably centerjoin), thick neck, locking tuners(Schallers I think), 1 volume, 2 tone, 2 Gold Lace Sensor singles and one Gold Lace Sensor humbucker, coil split button, 5-way switch, American Deluxe floating trem. She's got a rosewood fingerboard, and came with a cable, tools, and a polish cloth. The gigbag was extra.

She suits me fine, I play all kinds of stuff: blues, jazz, rock & roll, hard rock, old school heavy metal, thrash metal, fusion, and I just started trying to learn bluegrass. I play through a Line 6 AX2, and can get a whole bunch of tones. The tone of this guitar is very full and muscular, especially the neck pickup, but I want to change the bridge humbucker to a different model of Lace Sensor for a little more of a PAF sound. There is very little noise with this guitar, unless your near some types of lights, then occasionally there is a buzz.

The finish is great, it was still a little tacky when I got it and I got a little purple on my hand the first time I picked it up. The set up was fine from the factory, I don't know if they did a set up at the store. I put heavier strings on, though, since it came with .009's which are a little wimpy for my taste.

This guitar has survived a handful of gigs, she's very solid. When I first got the guitar, it busted strings constantly, I had to put String Savers on. Now strings last forever, and the tone was sweetened a little. Using the tremelo made the guitar go way out of tune every time, even with a roller nut and locking tuners. I had a Trem Setter installed and now it is a lot better, but still goes out of tune sometimes. I want to put in another tremsetter eventually. I have gigged without a backup with it once because I didn't have a decent backup, and though I would never deliberately do it again, I don't think I'd have any problems. The score I gave was for the STOCK guitar. Now it'd be a 10.

Fender was great about my order, they had to make one specifically for me because I hated the Surf Green color option and wanted the Midnight Purple. Guitar Center was FANTASTIC, the salesman was Walter White, and he bent of backwards to accomodate me, he even let me keep a Lonestar Strat for a really long time until the Beck came in. Another salesman, Jeff Repp, is a guitar tech and installed the Tremsetter for me overnight for $20 (I supplied the Tremsetter), I am going to use him a lot I think.

I've been playing 10 years, use a Line 6 AX2, a Peavey Transtube Bandit, a mid 70's Polaris Solidbody, and an Oscar Schmidt OG-6 acoustic. I love this guitar, if it were stolen or lost I'd be devastated. I might then try to put together a Warmoth Strat, or something. I'd never be able to replace this guitar, I don't get a thousand bucks together very often. I originally ordered a Carvin DC127, which was a nice guitar, but I'm more of a strat cat so I sent it back. I then got a Lonestar Strat, which I liked, but I wanted locking tuners, a coil splitter, and a fatter neck. As I said earlier, I want to change the bridge humbucker and have another tremsetter installed, but this is definitely my main axe for the forseeable future. My band gets mostly cover gigs, and we are working on original tunes. We want to do a DIY cd sometime this year. This guitar/amp setup is extremely versatile and reliable.

Purchesed in November, 1998. I had my local music store order my Jeff Beck Signature Strat brand new directly from Fender. I made sure none of the employees opened the case or even remove any of the plastic protection film from the case latches etc.. My main guitar before the Jeff Beck is a Strat that I had built from hand picked custom parts but I've always wanted an authentic Fender Strat. The features on this guitar are what really attracted me to it. The Jeff Beck has 22 Frets, Alder body, Maple neck with roewood fretboard and bi-flex trussrod. It has Schaller locking tuners, 4 Fender Gold Lace Sensor pickups with two of them side by side humbucker style in the bridge position. The pickups have a 5 way blade switch as well as a push button to turn on\off one of the Sensors in the bridge position. It has and American Standard 2-point tremolo with an LSR roller nut. The tweed case with gold hardware is ultra, ultra cool! I love walking into a gig with it.

The sound is crsp and clear. My other main guitar has a Seymor Duncan JB humbucker in the bridge position with coil split and phase switching. The Jeff Beck Signature Strat is so much brighter and crystalline sounding than my humbucker equipped strat. I love the lace sensors although they have more hum than I am used to with my humbucker. The sensors still have far less hum than a traditional single coil. The pickups distort nicely with my Digitech 2120 Valve Guitar system. They don't have quite the sustain as the humbucker. They also don't get that really smooth heavy metal distortion. Where they excel though is Hard Rock, Rock, Blues, Jazz, and Country. The thing about this guitar is the clarity of the tone. You can hear the slightest nuances of the attack. The middle and neck position pickups are absolutely classic Fender Strat sounding!! I love that. The dual bridge pickup really gives you a thick sound with both coils on. It's definately a nice design idea. One thing I did with mine is switch the positions of the two bridge pickups. I wanted the pickup closest to the bridge to be on when I went to single coil instead of the one farther away. After I did this I got an unbelievably bright sound out of the single coil bridge setting. I can get downright irritating with the brightness yet control it nicely with the tone pot and a slight change in attack as well. After I made the change I switched both pickups on and it was smooth and bright with a midrange punch. This guitar can make so many different sounds it is amazing. One thing I don't like sound wise is with the volume pot all the way up you get some guitar generated distortion if you attack to hard with your pick. It's easily controlled though by turning the pot to 9 or just picking a little lighter.

I was the one who did the setup on this guitar. It had gone out of factory spec slightly during shipping with the strings slackened. I had to straighten the truss rod slightly. Adjust the individual string heights, and do some slight intonation adjustments. I set it up as soon as I got it home and then set it up again after about 15 hours of playing time. It has stayed beautifully set up ever since. I have not had to make any adjutments to it since that second setup. It's really built rock solid. I did have to put a drop of wood glue on the strap button screws and on the neck bolts to set them in tight. They haven't loosened a bit since. That's a trick I learned from my custom built guitar. The locking tuners and roller nut are one of the most impressive things about this guitar. After being used to tuning, locking, re-tuning and re-locking my Floyd Rose double locking tremelo on my other guitar I couldn't believe how fast i had the Jeff Beck Signature restrung and staying in tune. For someone who hates the tedium of re-stringing a guitar you HAVE to get locking tuners. Just because it's so easy i change the strings twice as often on this guitar as I do my other. As for staying in tune the roller nut\locking tuner setup does very well. It will never stay in tune as well as a Floyd Rose double locking system. It does stay in tune well enough that I can use the whammy for 3-4 note dives and it comes right back in tune. It never goes out of tune simply from note bending. Dive bombing till the strings go slack are something to be avoided on this guitar. I do use the tremolo for David Gilmour type vibrato and it works perfecltly. I would have liked a harder finish coat on the paint. The paint is still a little soft on mine because it is so new. It will harden over time though. The paint job was flawless though. I got the surf green because that's what Jeff uses! Which brings us to the neck. Yes it's large but very playable. On my other guitar I had the frets removed and the neck shaved down, then the frets replaced so it is really small and fragile. I am always afraid of breaking the neck on my other guitar. Not so on the Jeff Beck. The beefy neck is extremly solid. And honestly in only a day or so I was just as fast on the Jeff Beck neck as my shaved down custom one.

I use this guitar live 3 out of 4 weekends a month. I play 4 sets 45 minutes in length per night on weekends and have been using this guitar 3 out of those 4 sets since I have gotten it. I've never broken a string or had to switch to my other guitar because it was out of tune in a middle of a set. I wipe the cigarette smoke haze off of the finish at the end of the night and it's been holding up great. The finish is still soft like I mentioned but it is very thick. The strap buttons are schaller locking which I use with locks. At first the swinging around I do onstage was causing them to loosen up. Then I did the drop of wood glue on the screws trick and that solved that problem. I never play any gig without a backup guitar. I will say I would use this guitar with only one backup guitar instead of two.

I called Fender to see how long before they had mine built and they were right on with the time estimate. (It took about 5 weeks from the time I ordered it.) I mainly had the music store deal with Fender as far as ordering and shipping the guitar. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't getting a guitar that was in a huge warehouse store stockpile waiting and waiting for a buyer that wanted next day shipping. I wanted my guitar to go from Fender directly to me. It has a limited lifetime warranty. I've never had to deal with Fender service. Unless the next spontaneously snaps in two I'll probably never have to use them. The beauty of the Stratocaster design is that it's totally user servicable. I'd be afraid to tear apart a Gibson Les Paul.

I've been playing for 17 years now. I got in my first band when I was 15 and I had a Fender Bullet cause it sounded like a Strat. I still have the Bullet as well as my custom made Strat, an Aria ProII copy of a Gibson ES-335, a Rogue minature practice electric guitar (it sucks but it's small!) a Fender Precision bass, and an old beat up acoustic I've had since I was 13. I know my guitars like children and the Jeff Beck Signature Strat is my current favorite of the lot. I use it in tandem with my custom made Strat with the humbucker. I love how easy it is to string and set up. I love the tone the most! I don't really hate anything about it yet. I chose this guitar because of the pickups and their configuration, the LSR rolling nut, and the locking tuners primarily. I crossed my fingers on the tone becuase I didn't play it before I ordered it. I'm totally happy with the tone because it's vintage Fender Strat. And yes I'm a huge Jeff Beck fan and he had a lot of input into this guitars design. It's a unique Fender design for a strat and that's another reason I like it. They don't have any other models that are set up like it.

New. a 1998 model. U.S. made. 22 medium-jumbo frets, contoured alder body, maple neck with bi-flex truss rod, fingerboard is rosewood. Schaller locking tuners. 4 fender gold lace pickups (sensors). 2 point synchronized tremolo. 5 position blade for switching and a push/push button on bridge. The pickup guard is three ply, white on the bottom then the next layer black and then white on top. The scale length is 25.5". The color of mine is surf green. LSR roller nut. It is a well planned guitar.
Also, the nice added touch is that it comes with a vintage looking tweed hard case, strap, 10' practice plug, and two additional tremolo springs if you want to use heavier gauge strings.
The neck? This seems to be a concern for some. Unless the older models were huge I am unsure of what the ruckus is all about. I found the neck thickness to be "just right". But maybe this measurement will help some to compare it to what they are used to. I measured the thickness by wrapping a cloth tape under the strings and around the neck; and it is 4.75" near the nut and 5.25" at the twelth fret (that's based on the accuracy of a tattered cloth tape ruler).

I really enjoy the "quality" of this guitar, both in sound and feel. I play a variety of music styles, from thumping 50's Chuck Berry, to note sustaining David Gilmore. This guitar has it. It is a milestone in stratocasters, because of its ability to capture a wide gammit of sounds. I am continually amazed at its ability to hold a single solitary note prisoner, like an archtop e335.

Factory set up was close, but I had to take it to my local store to have it "refined" a bit to my taste. All the hardware was great as was the finish. Knobs were solid, the locking tuners were top knotch. Overall I got a good factory model.
Playing with a strap on will test you fitness after a while. The guitar is solid but heavy.

I can't comment on the durabilty or reliability, since this is a recent aquisition. But, everything looks extremely solid. I'll tell you, the damn thing stays in tune if after some rough guitar bites. And I hope the surf green stays it's cool color.

Never dealt with Fender.
But, let me tell you about the place I bought this from. Elderly Instruments of Lansing, Michigan. I had it shipped to me. These guys are great. Answered all my repeated questions, by phone and via the net. Shipping was immediate after I ordered. And when I contacted them and told them that I had to have a better set up on the guitar, they sent me twenty five bucks to help cover some of my cost. Pretty good for mail order. Check them out, they have a lot reasonably priced quality instruments. I give them a 10.

I've been playing 29 years, just for the enjoyment of playing. I gig with others, but primarilly I play for self accomplishment, like most guitarists. I've had a multitude of acoustics, a couple of electrics, an E335, and a fender american standard. I have a bullet amp, and two other practice amps, a deluxe 112, and a champion 110.
There's a point when you go after "quality" and the JB is that. You can feel it and hear it. Fender can and does make the quality guitar. When I look at the present Gibsons, I have found them to be overated and overpriced, and that pricing is alienating the great majority of guitar players. You don't need a Les Paul and a E335, just pick up a Jeff Beck, it surpasses both.

1992 American made Strat w/22 frets. Three-piece alder body w/5 way switch. It has four Gold Fender-Lace sensors, two SC, one double-coil (two SC sensors together - a "Dually"), all passive pickups. Bridge dually pickup has switch to go from SC to humbucker. Neck is maple w/rosewood fretboard, & has Wilkenson nut w/locking Schaller tuners. Standard 25 1/2 " scale w/medium jumbo frets. Also includes tweed case.

I liked the Gold Lace-Sensor at first, & bought the guitar when the EMG & Lace Sensors were the "Big New Thing". I also liked less noise (the claim of complete hum-bucking of noise for Lace Sensors is crap; LESS noise, but not NO noise!). Now that I have had years to digest the sound, it is pretty thin & sterile, although the Dually has a pretty decent punch when in double-coil mode. I use a Fender Deluxe Reverb, a Marshall JCM 900 & (don't laugh) a Seymour Duncan Convertible Amp (when it doesn't blow all the tubes, it sounds great). It is a versatile setup, but the Lace Sensors don't have the full vintage tone as advertised. Although it is not as bad as people seem to say as of late, I am still looking into replacing the pickup configuration.

The action was great off the rack, no problems with general setup. There was one thing that severely p***** me off though, the Wilkenson nut was only good for 9&10 gauge strings. I play 11's, so I had to buy a new nut, and then the action was terrible because the new nut was larger, & the action was too high at the nut. So I finally had to cut (ARRRGHHH) my little beauty. Then that nut started getting grooves from the strings, and a string broke off & was trapped down inside the Wilkenson housing. So I replaced it with the LSR nut (although they had to put an insert in the nut area to take up for the "gouging" of the neck). The LSR nut seems to work pretty well, though. I can whammy like crazy, & it stays in pretty good tune. The pickup selector has gotten a little stiff over the years, but otherwise, everything else works pretty well.

This has been a great guitar for durability. It is not mt main axe, but I do like the way it plays & holds up to abuse. I'm not real abusive to any of my instruments, but they hold up to live playing just fine.

Didn't deal w/Fender since there was no real defect. I got the music store where I bought it to get me a larger Wilkenson nut at cost, & do the work for free.

Been playing 18 years, professionally & semi (on & off), own 4 Strats, a Les Paul, Larrivee acoustic, & three amps mentioned above w/ various effects & Roland guitar synth. I wish I had known about the nut, but overall it hasn't been THAT bad. It plays well now, and there shouldn't be the problems I had with it now, since the Wilkenson nut is no longer on this guitar. I love the neck, it's why I bought the guitar; it fit so well in my hands when I picked it up, & I had to have it!! It is a big round neck. I think they have trimmed it down a little in recent years, but I hope not. That is a great neck, especially for a factory job. It kind of is like a custom job on the neck & controls, as I hear Jeff Beck had a Strat Ultra modified to his liking, and his custom changes are the prototype for this version. I am getting new pickups, but Jeff Beck uses this guitar's prototype on Guitar Shop, and it sounds pretty damn good on that album, but I can't play like Beck (who can?), so I'm looking into new pickups. Listen before you buy, I wouldn't mail order, I'd go into a guitar shop & play it first.

I won't say to much about the features as some have already anyway but I will say that this has the american standred trem and not a vintage trem system. the neck was a huge big mochogrande type of affair much to large for my short fingers, I have owned many strats and gibsons been playing for 20 years. this one was the off white {yellow color}

it has taken me about two years to like this turkey but I do like it, I think it is NoW one of the finest guitars I have ever had the pleasure of owning,{NOW} when I bought the flextone amp this guitar really took off. funny I didn't like it that much through most of my other amps it was just another strat. now it is the best I don't need another strat. I guess I struggled with it so much that it is a part of me.

I finally had that extra money and was going to buy that guitar that would be so special, it would be the one I could always depend on, the one to do it all and after carefully reading "much" I special ordered the J.B. without trying it first, when it arrived it came in a shipping crate and I took it home and opened it to find that the neck had a pocket that you could get two {2} picks into between the neck and body, the body at the neck had that finnish crack that many fenders get. the push switch that cuts half of the rear pickup didnt always work and then stopped working altogether {I paid "twelve hundred bucks" cash for this?} the neck although well done felt like a tree trunk in my short fingers and I saw nothing in fenders brosure to warn me of this.

well to make a long story short this was a turkey of the highest order of turkeys so I took it back and they said that there would be a twenty percent restocking fee. commonnnnnnnn Fender, I am still angry about this!! American Music in caldwell Idaho. so I kept it and fixed it myself. I turned down the neck so it would fit my short fingers and fixed the push swich but I finally took that neck and put it on my lonestar and put the lonestar on the JB and it was a happy marriage with no pocket left in the neck.

I didnt call fender I have heard that they don't give good support, I tried to go back through the dealer and thats when I got hit with the twenty percent, they have lost a lot of my business since then and I only shop there when I have to now. I give them and fender a low rating because they are representives of fender because they sell fender products.

I have been playing since 1978 and have owned many fenders and gibsons mutitudes of amps. I wish I had been able to buy one that was in dealer stock, I will never order a guitar again. I like the basic Idea behind this guitar and I love the way it sounds but fender or american music should have fixed this no questions asked. I get a bad taste in my mouth every time I think about this. I am sure Jeff would not want his name tied into something this shoddy

Alder body, made in USA, rosewood fingerboard, 22 frets, one volume knob, one regular tone knob - one PBX knob. Coil tap on bridge humbucker (Dual Gold Sensor). Pickups : 2 single coil Gold Lace Sensors, bridge - Dual Gold Lace. Bridge is vintage fender tremelo, but LSR rolling nut keeps it in tune. Locking sperzel tuners. Important: Although much is made about the thickness of the Beck neck - it is way overblown - the neck is no thicker that a Strat ultra - it feels great!

I play rock and jazz, this guitar fits a variety of styles. I'm using a Line 6 Flextone and it suits the guitar very well. This isn't a metal type guitar - not enough output, but it does provide an amazing number of tones. The bridge humbucker gives a full sound, but remains bright. The single coil pickups are very clean - almost to clean, but I like them. The in-between sounds are fantastic on this guitar. The PBX tone knobs is useful. This guitar really shines in a clean setting - shimmering tone esp. throught a Marshall clean channel.

Good action from the factory - a little high, but playable. This is a very well constructed guitar and it is solid, but heavy. The finish is good, but not exceptional. I got the surf green, so it looks cool anyway.

Remains to be seen. Just got it.

No yet.

I've been playing for 23 years and have several guitars. I bought a Mexican strat last year (my first strat) and really enjoyed it - I wanted to buy a higher quality strat with better workmanship ( ala the Beck sig). I am very happy with this guitar, I tired a variety of sig strats like the Clapton, Blackmore and Voodoo, but the Beck is best by far - it is so solid and plays very well. I delayed buying a Beck for about a year because of all the horror stories I had heard about the thick neck - totally false. When I finally got my hands on one, I couldn't figure out what all the discussion was about; the neck is fine.

THIS GUITAR WAS MADE IN 1996 IN THE UNITED STATES AND I PURCHASED IT HERE IN LOS ANGELES. IT HAS 22 FRETS AND A ROSEWOOD FINGERBOARD WITH A MAPLE NECK, WHICH IS JOINT TO THE BODY BY FOUR BOLTS(LIKE OTHER STRAT MODELS). I HAVE A SEAFOAM GREEN COLOR BODY MADE OUT OF BASSWOOD, LIKE MOST STRATS. THIS TYPE OF WOOD HAS A VERY GOOD SOUND WHEN WORKED TOGETHER WITH GUITAR EFFECTS. THERE ARE FIVE CONTROLS ON THE GUITAR, THE VOLUME, TWO TONE CONTROLS, THE FIVE WAY SWITCH, PLUS A KNOB, WHICH IS USED TO CUT DOWN REVERB. IT HAS ONE LACE SENSOR HUMBUCKER, AND TWO LACE SENSOR SINGLE COILS. THE BRIDGE HAS THE SAME VIBRATO AS THE AMERICAN MADE STANDARD STRATS. THE NECK IS PRETTY UNUSUAL, DUE TO THE DESIGN BY JEFF BECK HIMSELF; IT SEEMS AS IF IT IS A COLLABORATION OF A GIBSON LES PAUL NECK AND A STRATOCASTER NECK. THE TUNERS ARE THE SAME AS ONE THE DELUXE AND THE DELUXE PLUS STRATOCASTER. I RECEIVED THE GUITAR WITH A CABLE, A STRAP, A TWEED CASE, AND SOME PARTS AND ACCESSORIES.

I PLAY USUALLY BLUES AND JAZZ BUT OCCASIONALY GO BACK TO HARD ROCK, EVEN PUNK ROCK AND HEAVY METAL. ALTHOUGH THIS GUITAR IS WELL SUITED FOR BLUES, JAZZ, AND ROCK (A BIT OF PUNK) YOU DEFINATELY CAN FORGET ABOUT PLYING DIRTY AND NASTY HEAVY METAL ON THIS GUITAR. EVEN THE BRIDGE LACE SENSOR HUMBUCKER DOES NOT HAVE THE FAT AND CRUNCHY SOUND YOU EXPECT FROM HUMBUCKERS. HOWEVER, I BELIEVE THIS GUITAR PRODUCES AN AWESOME, AND GALVANIZING SOUND FOR BLUES, JAZZ AND ROCK AND ALSO IN CLEAN SOUND, THE GUITAR HAS A HEAVENLY VOICE. IF YOU LIKE THE SOUND OF A HUMBUCKER, THEN CONSIDER A GIBSON LES PAUL, HOWEVER IF YOU LIKE A MILD HUMBUCKER TONE AND THE GREAT SOUNDS OF SINGLE COILS, THEN THIS GUITAR IS A GOOD CHOICE. I HAVE A PEAVEY AUDITION 110 AMP, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD ON THE CLEAN SETTING BUT AWKWARD WHEN DISTORTED, THAT` S WHY I USE A BOSS BLUES DRIVER, FOR THAT GREAT DIRTY AND LOUD BLUES SOUND PLUS A WAH WAH AND A CHORUS PEDAL BY BOSS FOR THOSE GREAT PINK FLOYD SONGS, LIKE COMFORTABLY NUMB OR SORROW ETC. THE GUITAR CAN PRODUCE A GREAT VARIETY OF SOUNDS LIKE ON A REGULAR STRATOCASTER, THOSE LACE SENSOR PICKUPS AND THE LACE SENSOR HUMBUCKER MAKE THE SOUND SOMEWHAT MORE CLEANER AND WITH LESS FEEDBACK, AND I BELIEVE THAT IT SOUNDS BETTER THAN MAGNET POLE PICKUPS. IF YOU LIKE HEAVY METAL AND HARD HARD ROCK FORGET THIS GUITAR, BUT IF YOU LIKE JAZZ, BLUES, ROCK (LIKE THE EAGLES, PINK FLOYD, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, ERIC CLAPTON ETC.) THIS GUITAR RULES.

WHEN I BOUGHT THE GUITAR FROM THIS GUITAR SHOP HERE IN L.A. I WAS VERY SATISFIED WITH HOW THE GUITAR WAS SET UP. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE SOME MINOR, LITTLE SCRATCHES ON THE GUITARS BODY, BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE TRIED THIS GUIATR OUT, IT WAS IN AN EXCELLENT CONDITION.

THIS GUITAR IS PRETTY STRONG AND WILL DEFINATELY WITHSTAND LIVE PLAYING, INCLUDING ITS HARDWARE, THE STRAP BUTTONS ETC. I MEAN WATCH HOW STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN ABUSED HIS NUMBER ONE STRAT IN THE VIDEO "LIVE AT THE EL MOCAMBO"; STRATS IN GENERAL ARE VERY SOLID GUITARS, VERY WELL MADE. HOWVER I AM SLIGHTLY WORRIED ABOUT THE FINISH. I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF STAROCASTERS WHERE THE FINISH CAME OFF AFTER TEN YEARS OF PLAYING. I DEARLY HOPE MINE DOESN` T. I USED THIS GUITAR SEVERAL TIMES ON GIGS WITH OUR SCHOOL BLUES AND JAZZ BAND AND I ALWAYS RELIED ON IT AND IT NEVER LET ME DOWN.

I HAVE NEVER DEALT WITH CUSTOMER SUPPORT

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR FIVE YEARS NOW, AND I ALSO OWN AN EPIPHONE CHET ATKINS ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC GUITAR. I WOULD DEFINATELY BUY THIS GUITAR AGAIN IF IT WAS STOLEN OR LOST, BUT I WOULD ALSO CONSIDER THE GIBSON ES-355 SEMI-HOLLOWBODY GUITARS OR THE GIBSON LUCILLE. I LOVE THE GUITAR` S VERSATILITY OF SOUNDS YOU CAN GET FROM IT, I LOVE IT` S COLOUR AND DESIGN, AND THIS IS MY FIRST ELECTRIC GUITAR AND IT IS SPECIAL TO ME. I WISHED HOWEVER, THAT THE HUMBUCKER COULD GIVA A MORE FAT AND BASSY SOUND SOMETIMES. THAT` S WHY WHEN I BOUGHT IT I HAD TO THINK A LONG TIME IF I WOULD PREFER GETTING THE LES PAUL STUDIO OR THIS ONE HERE. AFTER VISITING THE GUITAR SHOP FOR SEVERAL TIMES I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS STRAT AND PREFERED IT OVER ALL LES PAUL MODELS. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING. FOR ALL EURPOPEANS, WHO THINK OF GETTING A LES PAUL HERE IN THE U.S. DON` T. A SIGNATURE STRATOCASTER IN AMERICA COSTS ABOUT 1000 DOLLARS IN ENGLAND IT COSTS ABOUT 1000 POUNDS. IN AMERICA A GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD COSTS 1600-1800 DOLLARS (EVEN MORE), IN ENGLAND A LES PAULS STANDARD STARTS AT 1050 PUNDS. SO IT WOULD BE MORE ADVISABLE, ECONOMICALY SPEAKING, TO BUY A STRAT RATHER THAN A GIBSON LES PAUL.

Purchased brand new in Guitar Center in 1998, serial number starts with N6. Sea-foam green finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard, 22 frets. I purchased the Fender tweed case with it.
The neck on this guitar is thick, but not uncomfortably large. From what I understand, Fender scaled these back a bit after 1993 or '94. The uniquw neck dimensions was one aspect of this guitar that I really fell for when I first played it. I always liked the thin/wide "shred" necks but this was very comfortable to play. It feels "solid".
Pickup/electronics configuration: Four Fender gold lace-sensor pickups (two in a humbucking configuration at the bridge.), one vol, two tone controls. The bottom tone is "TBX" and is "neutral" at 5 and provides a boost at 10. One coil-splitter button between tone knobs which controls bridge humbucking option. 5 position pickup selector.
Tremolo/tuners: This guitar is equipped with an American Standard tremolo, LSR nut and Schaller locking tuners. After learning how to string the guitar properly, I've discovered that it holds its pitch extremely well with tremolo use. I've always used Floyd Rose trems before and the simplicity and stability of this tuning equipment has been enlightening - so far I've found no reason to go back to double-locking tremolos.

The sound of this guitar is what convinced me to buy it. I A/B'ed this guitar with a custom shop fender 6? reissue that I also liked. The other guitar had a very nice explosive "blazing" single-coil tone (ala Yngwie Malmsteen) but this Jeff Beck guitar had a darker tone, probably one of the "ballsiest" Strats I've played. It sounded less like a Strat and had its own unique humbucking tone that I really like. I think the tone can be attributed to many things about this guitar from the thicker neck to the pickups and body woods.
Another A/b comparison was done with a very nice Tom Anderson with a DiMarzio Evolution in the bridge. That guitar had a very "hot" sounding rock tone which I really liked. The Jeff Beck seemed to get close to the output level, but didn't have the "grind" that the Anderson had. From memory, the Beck strat had a fatter bottom end and a rounder high-end sound. It didn't sound _better_ than the Anderson, just different.
This guitar has a thick, long sustain. It rings pretty loudly unplugged.
I will probably use the full-humbucking bridge pickup 85% of the time. It's relatively dark sounding with relative high-output. Certainly high enough for most rock tones (which is what I play most of the time.) Although the humbucking mode sounds "darker" than normal strats, harmonics are very easy.
The second tone control is TBX enabled so at 10 the bridge pickup is in a "boost" mode while at 5 it's in a normal "flat" sounding mode. There is a button between the tone knobs that when pressed deactivates one of the dual bridge pickups and provides a single-coil tone in the bridge position.
As noted previously, the guitar is equipped with Lace Sensor pickups. They're a little less "shimmery" as regular Strat single coil pickups but these can get very close to nailing that sound without the noise.
I think that this guitar could "nail" most conventional tones - anything from rock or metal or more conservative styles. The single coil sounds are very good and as I said earlier, I think the humbucking tone is unique and inspiring. The TBX tone control and the coil switching button add to its tonal flexibility.
Currently I play this guitar through a 100 watt Marshall 25/50 silver jubilee head and through a Boss gx-700 preamp. I can get very "vintage" sounding tones straight into the Marshall (in fact I dare say it sounds a lot like Jeff's older tones) and higher-gain tones through the preamp. I'm very happy with the tonality of this guitar.

This guitar was set up well for .009s from the factory. It needed a minor truss rod adjustment (to reduce neck relief) at home when new types of strings were installed. I also adjusted the tremolo intonation associated with the truss adjustment. Coming from a double-locking Floyd Rose background, I absolutely love the simplicity of Strat hardware.
Fretwork is uncommonly good compared to most production Fender Guitars. Action is comfortably low - no buzzing.
No serious complaints in this context. Very solidly built - I have found no flaws.

Long term: unknown. It feels solid, and everything seems like it'll last.

The salesman at Guitar Center failed to include a tremolo arm so I called Fender the next day and asked for the part number to ensure I got the right component. I waited on hold for approximately 15 minutes but once I spoke to a person he was excellent and very helpful.

I've been playing for almost 12 years, have been through a lot of gear (many Ibanez, various Japanese, USA and custom shop Jacksons, Steinberger, Yngwie Malmsteen Strat, other Strats, Peaveys, BC Rich, and so on.)
I've only owned this guitar for a week but no regrets in my decision. I've not grown a strong attachment to it yet, but if it were stolen I'd probably buy a new one.
I was considering a Parker Fly Deluxe and other high-end guitars. As stated earlier, I a/b'ed this J.B with a custom-shop Strat and an Anderson. They all sounded and played great - the JB is unique, has a unique sound and feel - seems to have a lot of a unique "character".
One thing I like about this guitar is that it's a great blend of traditional sounds/technology and newer systems such as the LSR nut, locking tuners, Am Std. tremolo, and lace-sensor pickups. It performs and sounds exceptionally well. I'd definitely recommend anyone to check one out.