Fender Lite Ash Strat

I got the black finish Strat because the natural wood grain variety, although beautiful, are abit too common. It's made in Korea similar to the 'Aerodyne' & 'Koa' Strats and the "Fender" ONLY headstock logo testifies to this fact since it's is only to be found within this Korean range.I think Fender were being a little too economical in this regard and the headstock looks rather strange and causes some quizzical remarks.
I've even had someone think that i'd replaced the original neck!
The neck, however, is Birds Eye Maple and wonderfully set into the body cavity. Gotoh tuners. Floating 2 -point vibrato block. Standard Fender bridge. 22 medium jumbo frets. 5 way selector switch.Oversized strap buttons.
Seymour Duncan pickups,albeit the cheapest variety.
No accessories.
The body is obviously ash.

It's great for Blues, 80s classic rock and some jazz but it's probably best for funky disco grooves. I use it with a 'Univibe' through a Marshall amp. Sounds great with a Vox "Cry Baby" but don't expect to sound like Robin Trower!! The pickups are abit noisy however not as much as on my 1973 Fender Strat. Unfortunately the sound is NOT quite the same as an original 1973 Strat. I wish it were but it's just a tad TOO bright.(not much warmth or sublety!)..it has a clangy, cutting tone reminiscent of Andy Summers of "The Police". Sounds abit cheap and a few points above a Squier Fat Strat.(although in it's favour the Lite Ash does have a balanced pickup output not be found on Squiers)
Yes, i know Fender Strats are famous for THIS cutting tone but an original Fender Strat can also deliver some very subtle soft sounds as well.
The five way switch does provide alot of tones (albeit all clangy ones!) and the level doesn't go suddenly form quiet to "shock value" distorted like on most Squiers.
But basically it IS just a higher grade of Squier Strat.

As with the Aerodyne & Koa Strats (also from Korea) this guitar is built like a tank and the finish is near perfect!
It IS one of the most beautiful Fender Strats available.(they are to be discontinued soon so get one whilst you can)
NO problems whatsoever anywhere to be found and this is SO rare when you consider that my Gibson Les Paul Custom (which cost 4 times the price)came with poorly cut fretwire that drew blood from my fingers and caught on clothing.
I even recall the strap button falling off my 1973 Fender Strat just 2 days after i'd purchased it (in March 1974) and it caused much damage as the guitar crashed to the ground. I was gutted as i tend to treat my guitars like gold dust!
No neck cavity problems on the Lite Ash Strat as to be found on original 1970s Fenders.
The action was great, straight from the box. Not too low though.
Mine has a "C" shape neck.

Yes, it will withstand alot of live playing as is the case with Fenders in general. The hardware (bridge) appears to be chrome ontop of brass.. i can see the brass on the vibrato block as it disappears through the body (floating vibrato block). The vibrato stays quite well in tune, at least it does on my own model.
It can be depended upon. The finish is good enough to withstand years of abuse.

I've never dealt directly with Fender. Once tried to contact them in 1973 but back then the company was in deep waters.
Never recieved a reply.
I'm not even aware of a warranty for this particular instrument. The shop i purchased it from were pretty apathetic.

I've been playing since 1969.
If it were stolen i wouldn't purchase the same item.
It has got an adequate, balanced sound and, as i've said above, if you already own a Squier Strat and wish to upgrade then THIS is the next best choice before you shell out thousands for an American Fender..BUT please don't expect to sound like Robin Trower, Jeff Beck or Hendrix!
You WILL , however, sound more like Nile Rogers since the Lite Ash has that Chic "Le Freak" crispy ringing tone to it.
Think of "Walking On The Moon" by The Police and you have the typical Lite Ash sound to a tee.

Special Edition Strat. . . with lite Ash wood body, Seymour Duncan calibrated APS (read vintage) pick ups, Birdseye Maple neck, abalone inlays, Brass trem block, Soft "V" shaped neck profile. Not the best but very good. This gets a 9. Cool, sensible features on a gorgeous Strat.

The tone (through line6 Axsys 2x12, Marshall Valvestate 4 x 12) is a little wider range than a standard Strat. Agree with other reviewers that the bridge is a little brash. Tone in the middle and neck, switch positions 1 through 4 are absolutely fabulous - whether clean or with gain. For blues (any kind) this is THE guitar. I understand why SRV had a Strat, there's just a blues mojo going on there. The Duncan's can get that dirty Strat growl going. Very nice. Very articulate and responsive. Not for heavy or metal though. The Ash seems to bring out a nice sound. 60 cycle hum is annoying, but not anymore so than any other single coil guitar. This gets a 9 for tonal perfection until the bridge pickup.

Quite possibly THE BEST looking Strat I've ever seen. The character and figuring in the wood on both the body and neck is beautiful (Natural finish) - a real eye-catcher. But I like to see the wood grain in my guitars, others may not. Fit and finish were flawless as others have noted. Glossy on the body, satin on the neck. Action. . . well left a little to be desired. Will have to do some fretwork (minimal) can't get it as low as I would like on the B & E strings.
Have tweaked the truss and adjusted the bridge. Gets close, but not as good as it could be. No real issues on the hardware, but too early to tell. Seems solid. Have owned many other non-American made guitars. Generally, they're very well finished but some just lack a "spiritual" quality. This one seems to have a rich soul. Wish I could elaborate on this, but, if you're reading this, you're a musician and most likely understand. I do have to say, I'm impressed with this one. This gets a 9.5. Action brought it down a little.

Very well built. High quality parts. Everything was tight. For now every indication is good for a lifetime guitar. Time will tell. Oversized strap buttons-nice. This is my 3rd Strat (MIA,MIJ, now MIK). Really, they're all good and this one is no exception. Fenders do vary a bit in quality from the factory (wherever they're made). Mine have all been good quality guitars.

Have never had to deal with Fender on a warranty issue.

Mine did not come with a printed manual, case, spring or hex keys or anything. My other Fenders did. I look at this as a Customer support thing (from corporate). Would be nice to get an actual manual and the other stuff.

Fender gets a 7 for scrimping on the extras.

Been playing 31 years. Currently own 3 Gibsons, 3 Fenders, 2 Yamahas and 1 Peavy (Wolfgang). 3 Marshalls and 1 line6 amp. Plenty of electronics (don't use much anymore). I play alternative, rock and some classical. I would buy this again. For the price, you get quite a good Fender. Definately professional level - with some upgraded features (pups, Birdseye Maple neck, brass trem block, etc). If you're looking for a versitle, well priced Strat, this one's hard to beat.

The Lite Ash is a pretty guitar, the birds eye maple neck and fingerboard is very thinly veneered, and the hardware is quality. The satin finish is flawless, and it weighs less than a conventional strat.
Mine arrived without a trem, and no Fender Pack,( warranty, manual, guarantee, allen key, spare spring(s), and stickers,- all missing)
Fender locking tuners, minimul script on the headstock, and a very stretchy 2 pivot trem. Brass block, and came with only 2 springs in situ on the trem. Talk about whammy, more elastic band! Soon sorted though. I got the distinct impression that the instrument was packed with a very laisse faire concentration level. Still a lovely guitar overall.

Depends what you like....If you are looking for conventional strat sound, i.e, mellow, expansive, and warm forget it! You can turn both tone knobs down to zero and still the bridge pickup cuts! Unlike some strats, the middle and in between positions are worthy and satisfying. Personally I hated the neck position. Strats should not sound like that - steely, antiseptic and harsh. If this is a Seymour Duncan Pro pickup you can keep it. Mine has gone, replaced by a kinman vintage 56. NOW I can find all the tones promised by this strat.To me, In standard form this guitar disappoints soundwise , others may like the cutting edge this delivers, but not me.

Poorly set up.
Flawless finish.
Missing Trem.
Needed attention immediately - sloppy.

Not owned it long enough. Not convinced I will yet, either.

From Retailer - it sucks. Still waiting for manual, warranty etc.

It could be a great guitar. In standard Form there are better guitars for my money.

Lovely ash-bodied, maple-necked Strat, featuring stellar Seymour Duncan pickups. (Read other reviews for details.) Note that the vibrato bridge is two-point, not a vintage-style 12-screw.

Compared to other Strats, the Seymour Duncan pickups give this model a particularly well-defined, distinct single-coil tone. They cut like a knife: just beautiful!

Very nicely built and finished.

Seems very solid.

N/A - see other reviews.

This is a Strat that's pre-"hot-rodded" with particularly sharp-toned Seymour Duncan pickups. Those pickups just sing. Current copies might be quickly recognizable in a crowded Fender store by red (coated) strings. Priced between a standard (Mexican-made) Strat and an American-made Strat. Mode in Korea -- presumably to offset the cost of the custom pickups. Doesn't have the "S-1" (series/parallel) switch included in current American Series Strats, but the pickups are better.

Body: Ash Very good, very light, and apparently improves tone.

Neck and fretboard: Birdseye Maple Simply breathtaking, looks great.

22 Jumbo frets No complaints, they do their job well enough!

SSS seymour duncan pick-ups Invaluable to the tone of the guitar.

Korean made Ok, it's no AM strat, but who cares!?

Plus all you usual classic strat features. I'm sure by now you know what they are.

Before this guitar, I thought I was playing good guitars. But purely from the sound this one makes, I know I was wrong. I played it in a shop before I bought it (I recommend everyone should do this before buying a guitar) and I was blown away by the sounds and the range of sounds you can make from this guitar. The bridge pick-up is sharp, bright and works well for anything from blues solos to indie riffs (keep in mind those are the two main genres I play!). The middle pick-up is usually neglected on strats, look at Ritchie Blackmoore for example! But I actually find if you want a balance between a mellow, smooth tone and a strong, bright tone, this thing hits the spot. The main reason I dislike Les Pauls is because they lack the middle pick-up and therefore usually lack the impartial, yet versitile tone you typically get on them. The neck pick-up... what can I say? If you play blues, this pick-up should win over the guitar for you. Smooth and fat sounding with a little bit of bite, perfect. Usually I forget about positions 2 and 4 on the PU selector switch, but if you combine the bridge and middle pick-up, I find you can almost get an acoustic sound out of what is elseware a very electric guitar! Of course it's not perfect and it should never replace a real acoustic guitar, but for small gig stage convinience, it works well. The only drawback is that the bridge pick-up is almost too bright for my liking. If it's really a problem though, stick some nickel strings on your guitar and it'll mellow it out well. Noise is always a problem on strats (unless you have those noiseless PUs), this is no different. But keep it away from CRT tube screens and bright lights and it's little or no problem.

The guitar was set up well. No real problems. The only noticable thing wrong with it was a poorly cut nut on the high E string. This meant that string buzzed when I played it open, but I got that fixed so it's not a problem now. The action was good, not as good as an american strat, but better than a standard strat. The pickups were fine, no problems there at all. The trem and the tuners were both fine too. I don't really use the whammy bar, but that seems to work well enough. The paint and the finish had no flaws anywhere. I got the black version because... I dunno... I like black guitars! The neck makes the guitar what it is. Just look at it for one second... ok now that you're done, have you ever seen anything like it? Well... they're not impossibly rare, birdseye maple is common on some Peavey EVH series guitars (plenty of others aswell), but I mean... just look! I don't think you'd get this on any other guitar in this price range. If you do find one with that neck for cheaper than this, I want to know who you killed to get the price you got.

I've only had it for 3 months, so you might argue it's too early to be complimenting it for reliability, but so far so good. Nothing seems to be wrong with it and I have no reason to believe anything will go wrong with it in the near future.

Never needed it.

I've been playing for about 3 years now, in that time I've gone from Indie rock (oasis, blur etc) to Classic rock (led zep, AC/DC)and from blues (hendrix, clapton, gallagher) to even a little jazz very recently (dave brubeck mainly). I'm yet to find a genre this guitar doesn't work with. I wish I'd asked why the guitar is so cheap before I bought it! I assume it's because of it's Korean construction, but at the end of the day, it plays well, it sounds great, so why is that such a problem? If it were stolen... I'd hunt the man/woman who stole it and fight them to the death to get it back. Or a little more simply, use the insurance money to buy a new one! But lets just hope no one steals it shall we? The way I look at this guitar is, it sounds better than most American strats (largely due to the crazily good SD pick-ups) but in terms of playability, it's not quite there. For the money though, I wouldn't compare it to anything else because as far as I know, there is nothing to compare it with.

This is a first opinion of a Fender Lite Ash strat after a few minutes of trying it.

This is a korean made Straocaster of light ash body, and looks cool! Nice natural finish with black pickguard. There is a set of Seymour Duncan pickups in it of SSS configuration. Standard strat configuration with everything that is usual on a strat, but with one very good thing: the second tone control knob is controlling also the tone of the bridge pickup. The tremolo/bridge is a standard, but modernised, syncronised type standing on two screws.

I don't really know the sound of this guitar due to the short period i could try it. Or may be this was only that old Laney stack that I could try the guitar with, but it sounded a little bit dead to me, compaired to my thoughts aobut a real fender. DO NOT FORGET: I did not have much time to tweak the amp, or the guitar. Tried only the standard tones: neck/middle in between clean, etc. The guitar sounds good, but those really strat-ish bell-like, twangy tones were not there. And again: this can absolutely be becouse of the short time I had to try it, or the amp! I give a 7, but if I had time it would be much higher i think.

The actzion was not the best - I think they made no adjusting on the guitar ain the shop - actrually this is not usual in hungarian musik stores, to adjust the guitar to a decent level. Actually my old, badly assembled squier has a better, much lowwer action. But this strat has a nice neck, very good frets - named medium jumbo or something, but this is nothing with jumbo frets to do I think: these are nice medium frets, good to play on them.
The guitar anyway was flowless! Korean made (as almost everything in Europe), but this is a good instrument! Nothing to worry about! May be the sound was not exactly my taste, but hey, there are Seymour Duncans in it - they must bee good, very good.

I would absolutely depend on this guitar. It is a fender, even if this is made in korea. If I buy a korean fender, after I examined it from bottom, to top, seeing that it was flawless, then I think this is - I can say - just as good as an american strat. Good guitar basicly!

Never dealt with them. But I suppose, there is not much need for that due to it is a Fender!

Nice looking, good assambled guitar I can say after ca. 15 years of playing guitar. One thing is bad with this guitar: I don't own one! I have read much about it on the Internet, and finally saw in a music store, and tried it in a rehersal room with an old Laney stack. I have an old squier with lot of flaws - I would think of having a Lite Ash strat without a doubt. It is a cheap instrument compaired to standard USA strats, and I thin that this is at least as good as the USA made strandard strats, just becouse of the pickups, and the second tone controll on the middle/bridge pickup.

Made in Korea early 2005. Two-piece swamp ash body with a natural finish. Black scratchplate. Birdseye maple neck / board. Seymour Duncan pickups (Alnico pros). Sort of modern C-shape neck (medium fat) with a 9.5" radius. Medium jumbo frets. Abalone dot inlays. Very nice two-point trem with a brass tremblock. I set it up with 0.09 gauge Fender 150s because I likes them da best. Anything you could wish for in a good Strat.

I play a lot of different styles on this going from straight blues, over rootsrock stuff to Deep Purple kind of classic rock. Mostly no FX. Just Strat into FulldriveII into clean channel of a Laney amp.

Mostly no FX, sometimes a little delay but that's it.

Nice.

It's got all the Strat sounds you need, but with a twist. Sounds very full and vibrant. I played it unplugged first and the ash body really resonates well. Plugged in it goes from twangy to sparkly to full and fat, depending on your pickup selection.

It handles distortion fairly well, but in the end that's not what it was made for.

For my purposes it gets a solid 9/10.

Straight out of the box. No set-up needed. Everything correct right down to the pickup height. Came with 0.09s on it and a low action, just the way I like it. The neck is bliss. It feels like an old friend the minute you pick it up.

Finish is nice and the neck is very smooth. Frets were nicely beveled. Hardware is pretty good actually and even the wiring and jacks so far have proven to be quite good. No noise whatsoever.

I do tend to be careful with my stuff, but in the end a Strat is a pretty basic guitar so nothing really horrible could go wrong I suppose... It looks very solid and I'd have no qualms about gigging this one without a backup.

I have no idea about Fender's customer service... If I have a problem, I go back to the shop I bought it from.

Let's face it. "Made in Korea" is not a curse word. They make very decent guitars at very decent prices. Nuff said. This Strat is a well-constructed instrument made up of quality parts and it plays like a dream.

Personally I think this is the best Strat deal on the market today. Just think about it... For the same money you'd spend on a Mexican Standard you get a swamp ash body, a WAY better trem, real Seymour Duncan pickups, a birdseye maple neck,...

I couldn't possibly be happier about a Strat. Kudos Fender!

You know them by now!

The guitar itself has very good sustain and sound(unplugged), especially for this money. The original pickups sound good, if you play clean and blues a lot, It sounds a little different than a normal strat but no in a negative way. I wanted more versatile guitar and a bigger sound and no hum so I put dimarzios in.
I have a protrack in the neck, a chopper in the middle(both can be split in series and parallel) and a fastrack 2 in the bridge.
Now it's a real TONEMONSTER! I've would have rated the guitarsound with a 8 but with the dimarzios in a 10

The guitar was build well although I had the guy from the guitarshop file the nut a little bit. He also shaved the frets a little bit because the first fret was a little too high.I said if he did that, then I would buy the guitar! I also put in a 3th spring at the tremolo. The finish is good especially for this price. When I changed the pickups I also noticed that the guitarbody has space for fullsized humbuckers. I only wish it had sperzel locking tuners, but the original tuners work fine too! The neck is the best thing of this guitar. It's a little like the clapton only a little more
v-shaped and thinner with bigger frets. This neck can be played very fast but still feels solid, and the birdseye maple looks very good. The neck is the main reason I bought this guitar, to me it's one of the best fender necks around!

The whole guitar holds up very well after almost a year of playing.
This could easily be your main guitar. No doubt!

No need too

I've been playing for 15 years or so. I've owned an american strat and a pacifica but the lite ash just kicks their butts. I play through a Marshall artist 4203, 535q wah, ts9 and a boss equalizer and can get almost any sound I want. If stolen I would definitely buy one again. My buddy owns a 1600 euro clapton signature but he is very impressed with the lite ash with the dimarzios in. Proofs that quality does't have to be pricey. I bought the dimarzios on ebay for a total of 120 euro so for 670 euro I have guitar that sounds better than models double its price!

2005
What else can you say?
The head does not read Stratocaster? It just reads FENDER !!
The back of the head reads KOREA

-Beautiful figured Birdseye neck with Birdseye fingerboard
-Abalone dot inlay
-BODY Light Weight Ash
-MACHINE HEADS Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines (non-locking)
-PICKUPS Seymour Duncan? APS-1N, APS-1RWRP, APS-1B, (Neck/Middle/Bridge) (APS=Alnico Pro Staggered)
-CONTROLS Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. (Middle/Bridge Pickups)
-BRIDGE 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo
-PICKUP SWITCHING 5-Position Blade:
-HARDWARE Chrome
-PICKGUARD 1-Ply Black
-SCALE LENGTH 25.5? (648 mm)
-WIDTH AT NUT 1.625?
-UNIQUE FEATURES Black Plastic Parts

unplugged or jacked up It is a tone monster!!!!
If you are into that JIMI and STEVIE This is the axe for you!

It needed a little tweaking...But, That is common for all guitars. My set-up may not be the set-up you like.I have had to tweak $3500.00 Les Pauls. So that's not really an issue.But I set the action very low and I mean low and this guitar responded very well!!! No buzzing.

I would drag this guitar to the gates of hell. Its a danm good peice of wood.I allways use a back-up. I have jammed with this guitar entire shows and it is now my go-to guitar!

Duuooooh!!!!!!!!!

I have been doing this sh$t for 30 years. My amp rig is a Marshall JTM-45 with 2 4x12 Marshall jcm 800 cabs.I'll give this guitar a 9 cuz I don't think I would even play a guitar thats a 10. But, this is a tone monster and I get to have sex with it every night!!!!!The neck alone is a good reason to get this axe.

I think we all know the features by now,it was the birds eye maple neck that drew my eyes to it in the music shop,like a long smoldering glance across a crowded bar, bamm!I was intrigued, its ash body reminded me of an old Strat from my youth,fond memories,I approached,Seymour Duncan Pickups? 2 point pivot trem? Abalone inlay?Black scratch plate??mmm very intrigued. I'd been looking to hook up with a Strat again for some years,as a treat,always thinking I'd end up with a Squire and "do her up" but now??? I gently took her down,off the wall and held her...

By then it was all over,it just felt right,the neck firm but soft and silky to the touch,the body generous but moulding to you,the beautiful finish,she resonated in my hands before I even thought of plugging her in,I reluctantly put her back,it was quite a thing,a treat,a whimsy but how could it be? I asked the price,a formality to end the briefest of dreams. "how much?!?" I got her for #440 brand spanking new from my local music store (after half an hours frenzied internal debate,finally realising that for that price I could and should treat myself).I returned forthwith and put her thru an amp and that was that,classic Strat sounds,out of phase,Jimi,Stevie Ray,Jazzy,Funky,bit of country? oh she does it all. I personally still changed a few things,for her as well as for me and she has appreciated it: a JB Seymour Duncan single coil sized humbucker in the bridge position,new tortoise shell scratch plate,planet waves locking machine heads,Graphtech nut and saddles.The result, Strat bliss for half or even a third of the price of a customshop MIA strat or Vintage Strat. If there was one niggle for me it was the original bridge PU,it could cut a man in half at 50 paces,sharp and bright like a Tele,and that's a different beast, I wanted a warm hearted Strat. Now I have one. Cost of upgrades #150,total cost #600.I put her through Fender amps and a big VHT/Mesa Boogie/4 x 12 Cab stereo Rig and she sounds like a gorgeous strat thru whatever she goes thru,seriously,a quality Strat.

When I got her home I found out she was Korean. So,big deal, my main guitar is an Ibanez and she's Korean. In fact lots of guitars are made in Korea,then I thought because of the sparse headstock logo I'd got a blag fender,a phony, an imitation. The guys that upgraded her hadn't seen one like her before,couldn't believe the price.But you know, I didn't care.She played and looked beautifully,sounded sweet and made me happy. A very very well put together guitar,I didn't know about the brass tailpiece till I checked up on this site.Even better.Everyone is different so don't expect everything to be the way you want it,you have to adapt her to you,there's lots of scope for change and improvement.

Will it last? I have no doubt this one is a keeper,I literally can't keep my hands off her. I'm actually on tour with a Zappa tribute act at the moment and though my Ibanez is my main guitar (locking trem,humbuckers,big frets,tiny slim body, its an old old Joe Satriani model and my true love)the Lite ash/maple/Korean beauty is my spare guitar and gets the call on the blusier/lighter numbers.She looks so nice just on stage anyway. In a blues/funk/jazzy gig she'd be first call.Solid quality build should see us both grow old together.

no idea about support,I live in Liverpool so apparently there is no support,but she's been under the knife and I cant see her needing anything but the usual maintenance and attention.I couldn't find the model on their site till a friend showed me and assured me it was a real Fender,it's that good I thought there must be a catch!

A lot of people seem to share my enthusiasm for this hot little cutie, I call her Debbie (after "Does Dallas" and not "Harry",both Blondies though).I've been playing 25 years,20 pro I teach,tour,gig,record etc and I wouldn't want another Fender but this one,If lost/stolen I'd replace and hope I got just as good a guitar,I think this is a relationship that will last.