Fender Limited Edition Deluxe Vintage Player '62 Stratocaster

basically a 62 reissue strat with the deluxe strat electronics, and medium jumbo frets. nitro finish. ALL the best features that fender has to offer in my opinion.

Best sounding strat I have owned. Another fellow said his was bright, but mines just right. The s-1 basically lets you dial anything in, into almost gibson territory. Sustain on mine is superb, and makes me want to play all night long.

Too me, she's perfect. The nitro finish is simply incredible.
neck is perfect. wouldn't change a thing.

are you kidding. it's strat. nothing stands the test of time better.

Called to find out exactly what my model was, since I bought it used and was confused with the nitro plus the modern goodies. Fender was on the phone within 30 seconds, and was super helpful, and then emailed me all the specs.
top f.king folks i.m.o.

Fender screwed up marketing this guitar. To me it's the finest model they have released. take a base strat (1100), add nitro (300), the top electronics and s-1 (300), deluxe case (100+) nitro neck, everything else you get with this guitar, matching headstock etc.- this guitar should have sold for 1899.00.
I am very glad I got it when I did, mine is mint- and they only made these for 1 year- they will be very very rare, and worth a good amount of dough someday. In the meantime, I will play the sh*t out of mine. Maybe the best value as far as guitars I have ever bought.
Guy I got it from had no idea what it was other than a blue strat.

I own a lot of guitars but most of them are off-brand and are inexpensive. I love Strats and have a lot of Squiers but I knew it was time to venture into the American Fender Strat market. I started looking around the major websites. I was amazed when I stumbled across a link to this guitar for only $899. I started researching the guitar and the consensus was that Fender had miss-marketed the guitar. The model was discontinued but the major retailers were getting rid of them for $899. They were originally introduced for $1399. That was quite a drop. The bridge is the classic Fender six point bridge with stamped, Fender pat pend saddles. It uses the traditional steel block tremolo system.
I got the Ice Blue Metallic with matching headstock. The finish is a thin-skin nitrocelulose. There were no flaws in the finish and truthfully it was one of the best finishes I have ever seen on any guitar. They should make more Ice Blue's. The tuners are Kluson styled vintage tuners. They work like a charm and hold pretty well. I only have issues staying in tune when I put on new strings. The neck is a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. neck. The rosewood on mine is pretty dark. It came with a tweed case, the Fender polish sample, a Fender sticker, a Fender chord, an additional switch, the ashtray, owner's manual, some more trem springs and probably some other things I can't think of right now.
This is an American Strat. Basically it is a hybrid of an American Deluxe and an American Vintage '62. Seems to have the best of both worlds. The year of manufacture according to the serial number would be 2005 but I know some were 2006 models.
It has the traditional standard strat controls with the exception of the very modern, S-1 Switching system. Other than that, it has three pickups, a five way switch, one volume, two tones.
The pickups are s/s/s and are the SCN noiseless pickups. The electronics are passive. The body wood is alder and mine is extremely bright.

My musical style varies so it suits me just fine. I usually mess around at home with it. It's never noisy if anything mine lacks a little fullness but is very bright. It's one of the brightest Strats I have ever heard. I guess it isn't the richest sound I have heard. I wouldn't mind if it had a little twangier tone.

There were no flaws. I had no problems playing it out of the box. The intonation was pretty much dead on. The frets were a little on the sharp side but not overly sharp. It just seemed that way from never having been played.

Yes, this guitar would stand live playing. This guitar is a great throwback to a traditional mid-sixties Strat with the addition of modern electronics. I would trust it on every level. You could easily use this guitar without a backup and not have to worry.

Never dealt with them.

I have been playing for about twenty years. I am more someone who is a hobbyist guitarist. I collect a lot of guitars and mod them. I have been a forum moderator on guitar forums. I asked everything I wanted to ask before buying. I love just about everything about the guitar there is nothing I hate. I would like a little fuller tone from it but I am hoping that like a lot of Strats it comes with some age. At the time, there was no better deal out there on a Strat than this one. The deals didn't last long and I currently see them sell used for more than they fetched new.
I would love for it to have a maple neck and fretboard but then again it wouldn't be a '62.
I have several Strats, mostly Squiers but I also have a 2000 American Series Strat and a '79 25th Anniversary Strat. This one is clearly better than the American Series Strat and it is comparable but different than the '79 Strat. I don't think Strats get much better than this one.

American made (2005) Fender Special Run Deluxe Vintage Player '62 Stratocaster. Alder Body (approx. 8 lbs), maple neck with a 9.5" radius rosewood fingerboard with stark white dot inlays. The neck has a thin 'C' shape. The neck is actually based on the American Deluxe neck which was a major selling point for me - the neck is very smooth, fast and comfortable with its hand rolled fretboard edges and nicely dressed frets (22 frets on this neck). This guitar has quality vintage style tuners, mint green pick guard and aged plastic mounted to it's thin nitrocellulose finish. This finish is on the body and the neck! I am very picky about neck finishes. I'm a long time Gibson Les Paul guy (2001 R8) and I prefer nitro finished necks (especially as they age). The standard s/s/s pickup arrangement but with the SCN noiseless S-1 system installed. This guitar came with a nice brown color Fender hard shell case.

Sounds nice - the SNC pickups sound very Strat-like to my ears. Maybe a bit more sterile than the standard set but the noiseless feature more than makes up for any shortcomings on tone. the S-1 system was a very nice surprise. Lots of tonal options on each pickup selector setting! There is even a bit of a boost effect (or a perceived one at least) when you engage the S-1 switch which comes in handy at times. The S-1 system sometimes makes a very slight popping noise on occasion. It is somewhat common from what I have read. It may be a static build up thing because I don't hear it too often. I plan on keeping the S-1 and the SCN pickups, but time will tell. I can always switch out to a conventional set up if I want.

Factory set up was not too bad at all. I purchased this one online and had it shipped in the dead of winter here in NJ. The neck needed to be shifted in the pocket and tightened when I received it. Either someone was smart enough to loosen the neck before shipping (I recommend this) or I got lucky because too tight of neck will sometimes transfer shock damage. This guitar arrived in perfect condition. No cracks or checks in the Ice Blue Metallic nitro to be seen. I liked how it felt from day one but a pro set up really let this guitar shine...WOW did it feel amazing when my tech. was done with it!
The nut, frets, hardware and bridge were straight and true even before the set up. The action was a bit high on the factory set up but this is normal in my opinion. The nito finish on both the body and the neck are flawless and thin! This is a GREAT thing. This adds to the resonance of the guitar. This Strat really rings and vibrates when I play it. Very satisfying to play!

Everything is solid and simple like it should be. The S-1 system seems solid but time will tell on its durability. The S-1 'popping' noise is a bit of a concern. I will change out the strap buttons to Schallers (I do it on all my guitars). I'm hoping the finish ages gracefully like a nitro finished guitar should. It already has a nice nitro sheen to it!

No experience with Fender.

I have been playing since I was 12 (I'm 45 now) save for a decade off in the 90's to raise my family and take care of more pressing matters. My primary amps are a THD Univalve a Fender Champ (70's)and a mid 60's Valco (Gretsch 6152). I have always been a Les Paul guy but I did once own a brand new 70's Stratocaster (a horrible, horrible instrument!) and a rather uninspiring Mexican made Stratocaster in the early 90's. I decided to give Strats one more go. I promised I would get one with all of the features I wanted this time - and it would be American made! I looked around for a year or two just to get a feel for what was out there. It seemed I would have to go with a Custom shop Strat to get an all nitro finish like I wanted. I saw this Fender Special Run guitar for $1499.00 online (at a few places) and was intrigued but the then unfamiliar SCN pickups scared me away. Much later, a well known online site lowered the price on this guitar to $899.00. They were also offering a $75.00 rebate coupon. I was already sitting on a $150.00 store credit. This guitar had a lot of what I wanted. American made...an all nitro finish...vintage body ,hardware and vibe...the AWESOME American Deluxe neck I liked so much...it even had a unique matching Ice Blue Metallic headstock! I couldn't resist! WOW did I get a deal on this one. Sometimes patience really pays off! I think the fact that Fender left the word "American" out of the name of this instrument helped to drive the price down...and allowed me to stumble on a great deal and a great guitar...at ANY price!

Alder body,Maple neck,Rosewood fretboard 9-1/2" radius
Medium-jumbo frets,White dot markers,Vintage tuners and hardware
Aged plastic parts,3 Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups,S-1 switching

I play classic rock, blues, some country rock. This guitar suits all of these perfectly, I can get pretty much any sound I need from it. I use it with a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Fender Supersonic amp, sounds terrific with eother amp. The noiseless pickups are virtually noiseless and the tone is to die for. Classic strat tones and with the puch of a button you can get pretty much any combination of tone with the 5 way X 2 switching. Tons of options here.

The set up out of the box was typical. It came loaded with Super 250 10's and although not as low a set up as I usually play it was pretty good and really sounded clean, absolutely no string buzz or noise.
The finish was Perfect. Mine is the ice blue with the matching headstock........a very cool combination and pretty unique which I like. All of the jolints were tight and the neck is silky smooth, easy to play.

This is a USA made Fender and it shows.........all class and will last a lifetime.

Fender guitars are pretty much a no brainer..........built to last and maintain their value. I have dealt with Fender in the past and they are always very responsive and helpful.

I have been playing for over 30 years, I own about 16 pro level guitar including a PRS Custom 22, Gibson LP, Gretsch 6120Jr and this strat is already one of my favorites. This guitar has everything I am looking for in a versatile axe that I feel confident with on stage that it will perform well and last forever.
I would buy this guitar again if stolen.