Fender Lone Star Strat

I purchased the Lone Star strat model new in June '98. This model features a S/S/H pickup configuration. Fender's "Texas Special" single coils at the neck and middle positions and a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker at the bridge position. The S/S/H pickup configuration is the main reason I went with the Lone Star model.
The Lone Star strat finishes are solid colors with a really nice lacquer finish and come with a pearloid pickguard. The neck is maple and availble with a rosewood or maple fretboard. The model I purchased was candy-apple red. The pearl pickguard is a really nice accent on the guitar.
I'm not crazy about fender's "Texas Special" pickup sounds. They lack power and clarity. Gritty and thin are adjectives that come to mind. The SD Pearly Gates is a very potent pickup in this guitar. Very strong mid bite and cut with clean amp settings and smooth and singing, providing excellent harmonic feedback with distortion settings. Use of the tone knob on the guitar is recommended to "tame" the Pearly Gates pickup and to open up a variety of additional sounds for the guitar.
Other features on this made in USA model include a solid alder wood body, bolt-on maple neck, 22 jumbo frets, standard USA bridge, and decent tuners. Fit and finish on the neck and body is high quality. The trem system puts the guitar out of tune and the nut sticks on the G string. May be ready for a setup already.

The Lone Star works fairly well for my 60s gig and sounds pretty good on clean settings. I'm playing this guitar through a Mesa 2:90 power amp and Egnater IE4 preamp into a Mesa Caliber upright 212 cabinet with vintage Celestion speakers.
The mix of the Pearly Gates humbucker and the middle pickup on position 2 of the 5 position pickup switch gives a unique tone which is different from your classic strat "quack" with vintage type pickups. I like it a lot more now than when I originally heard the difference.
The Texas Specials are very noisy compared to the Rio Grande Vintage Tallboys on my other strat. The Pearly Gates pickup is noiseless and very responsive. Use of the two tone controls on this guitar is quite necessary to get the most out of the pickups.
This is a beautiful guitar; a real eye-catcher. It's a little more difficult to use than other strats I've owned and played in the past, but the addition of a humbucker on a strat is worth the extra effort.

The guitar came setup and was strung with .042 - .009 strings. I took them off and replaced them with .010s as soon as I got it home. It took quite a long time to "dial-in" the trem system and adjust the string height and neck tension.
Fit and finsh? As much as fender is dogged for quality, I feel the overall finish on the the neck, fretboard and body of this guitar was very acceptable. The fretwork along the fretboard edges is perfect. Only flaw is the nut binding the G string. Very small issue.

The Lone Star was purchased to be my #1 gigging guitar. I take a second strat as my backup. I'm confident that this guitar will hold up under normal conditions with only routine maintenance. The guitar appears to be quite solid and dependable.

No dealings with Fender, the company, but did purchase the guitar from an authorized fender dealer/service center. Also, routine maintenance will be performed by a quality technician locally.

Overall, pretty darn good quality and features on this particular Lone Star Strat. Fender made a good choice selecting the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker for it's stock bridge pickup on this model.

1996, made in usa. 22frets,alder body, maple neck and fretboard. Neck and middle pickup are single coil texas specials, the bridge has a duncan pearly gateshumbucker. Basically, it's an American Standard strat with different pickups and pearloid pickgaurd. No accessories included when purchased.

I tend to play hard rock, and while this guitar may not be particularly suited to this genre,it does a good job. A little more twang here than crunch, even when using the humbucker. The versatility is great however. The texas specials allow me to get a rich sound through my Marshall jcm 900 100w 2x12, not too muddy, which alot of people complain about. I feel obligated to warn that these pickups are not for everyone, they took me a bit of getting used to.However, the clean channel on this Marshall is very bright, so these pickups compliment it well. The Seymour Duncan humbucker screams, volume increases dramatically when engaged, I love it.

Set up was piss poor, on this one and all of them I played ( about 5). This was no big surprise though, pretty typical on alot of new guitars, or so it seems around here.The tech where I got it did a nice job free. Overall finish is good with the exception of some laquer overspray on the necks dot inlays, and some fuzz on the edge of the pearloid pickgaurd.Also, the cord jack was very loose and needed attention.Neck joint fit is excellent, which was not the case with most of these. Action: great!

No real problems in almost 2 years. Appears to be a quality instrument top to bottom. Stays in tune consistently.Seems dependable, Never gig without a backup if you can help it!

Never dealt with them. Comes with a limited warranty..

Been playing 19 years, my other guitar is a 78 Ibanez les paul lawsuit. The only thing I dislike about this lone star is the cheesy fake pearl gaurd, and that's easily remedied. I almost bought aLP Studio, but the price/ quality ratio was awful. I'd buy another Lone Star in a second if lost or stolen. Very versatile, even when played through my Marshall jcm 900, which is a loooong story

This guitar is a 1996 model. It is finished in tasteful shoreline gold with an antique white pearl pickguard. It has an all maple neck. At first glance the Lone Star has a vintage appearance but the American Standard bridge/tremelo and the humbucker pickup at the bridge give this guitar away as a thoroughly modern issue. It has Texas Special pickups at the neck and middle positions with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker at the bridge. This configuration gives the Lone Star good versatility. It has 1 volume knob, 2 tone knobs and a 5 way switch. The tuners are Fender American Standard. The neck is very slim and has 22 jumbo frets.

Well I'd say this is a Texas Blues-style guitar, like from the Lone Star State, get it? The Texas Special pickups at the neck and middle positions are overwound. Technically these are termed "hot" pickups but I would call the sound "icepick". I really like this squeezed down percussive sound, sometimes. Then there are other times when I yearn for that warm rich vintage Strat tone. That sound just isn't here and will have to come from a different guitar. The Pearly Gates bridge humbucker on the Lone Star sets it apart from other Strats. Here you can get a truly hot lead sound in overdrive. This is no Les Paul in terms of richness or warmth but it can really get up and scream. The humbucker is pretty quiet. The 1st and 3rd switch positions hum like any single coil. 2nd and 4th switch positions are quiet due to reverse polarity. The blend of the middle coil and the bridge humbucker in the 4th switch position produces a quacking sound that any "funky chicken" would probably die for. This guitar sounds best tuned down 1/2 step. I play the Lone Star through a Fender De Ville 212. I'm happy with the combination.

I spent a lot of time readjusting the factory set string height and tremelo spring tension on this guitar but that's SOP for me. The alder body is a solid slab. The fit is very good. The finish is very nice. Overall this guitar has a look and feel of quality.

I've had the guitar for 1 1/2 years with no problems. I think it will last a long time.

I've been playing for 35 years. I also own a vintage 52 Tele that I bought sometime back in the 60's, a Mike Lull Custom Tele, a Les Paul Studio, a Les Paul Classic and a Gibson Blues Hawk. I may end up buying a Relic Stratocaster to add a more vintage Strat tone to the arsenal. I would also have to say that I do believe that the old nitro-cellulose laquer finishes have a brighter more responsive tone than the heavier modern polyesters. I recommend testing as many of these guitars as you can. To my ear, many modern Strats are downright dead sounding. I also think that laquer finished maple finger boards are faster. Gibson still uses nitro-cellulos laquer and I wish Fender would return to this finish throughout its mid/upper range line up as well. With a vintage finish this could be perfect guitar!

-First Impressions- First of all, this guitar is gorgeous! Fender did a really nice job with the finishes, as they are very unique. Even the sunburst seems quite different from their other guitar for some reason. My guitar is the Shoreline Gold model. This is the first time I've ever seen this finish on a Fender. It is not actually a gold color - Rather more of a Metallic Champagne color and almost looks silverish under bright lights. Fender did a nice job choosing a Pearloid pickguard to further enhance the look of this guitar and the rear-plate cover is also Pearloid. Nice!
-Controls- This guitar has the basic American Standard Strat controls with the exception of the bottom tone knob. The bottom tone knob is not TBX and only controls the humbucking pickup in the bridge position.

-Pickups / Sound- The pickups are this guitars main asset. I have to admit - the first time I played the Lone Star Strat, I was unimpressed. I thought it sounded horrible and way too hot. I didn't give this guitar a second glance until a few weeks ago when I saw mine hanging on the wall. I decided to give it another try. I fell in LOVE with the sound of this guitar instantly. I can't explain why the first one I tried didn't sound good. Maybe it was the Marshall amp I was playing thru.
This guitar has a Seymour Duncan Custom Pearly Gates pickup in the bridge position and two Texas Special pickups in the middle and neck position. These single coils are the same pickups as the ones found on the SRV strat. (The Pearly Gates pickup is different than the one you can buy from Duncan.) The Duncan pickup is really hot, but provides TONS of tone. Usually hot pickups lack character, but this one sings and spanks as much as you want it to. Also, it is so hot that it sounds like an active pickup. It almost seems like the guitar activates a +12db boost when you select the humbucker. Move the toggle switch up a notch and it splits the humbucker with the middle single coil. This gives a REALLY warm and bright strat sound. The middle pickup has LOTS of midrange and is very bright. If you roll the tone knob down a little or play with the volume, you can get a lot of different sounds out of the middle and the bridge pickups. The neck pickup also has a lot of midrange, but seems to be a little lower in volume and adds more low-end as well.
One thing I noticed about the pickups on this guitar is that they are VERY suited to Jazz playing, as well as blues and rock. With the toggle switch in the second an fourth positions, you can get a sound VERY similar to that of a hollowbody electric. Again, you can tailor the sounds of the pickups to your needs by rolling back on the volume and/or tone knobs.
Overall, this guitar sounds NOTHING like an American Standard Strat. Further, this guitar sounds NOTHING like any other Fender I've ever picked up. This guitar's sound is very unique and VERY useable in many different situations. One thing to note, though. This guitar seems to react better when hooked up to a tube amp rather than solid state.

-Feel/Materials- This guitar is TOP QUALITY all the way. I've played American Strats in the past that didn't much impress me with their so-so quality. My Lone Star Strat gets a perfect "10" for fit and finish. There are no runs in the finish, the neck is shaped and set perfectly, the tuners are tight, the bridge is installed correctly, and the bridge pivot posts are installed in metal grommets with perfect care. Removing the back cover shows excellent workmanship in the paint. Fender obviously used several coats of thick lacquer on this guitar and it is done to perfection. My guitar looks to be cut from ONE solid piece of alder, rather than two or three piece glued together like some American Standard Strats. Also, this guitar was setup and strung perfectly from the factory. (The setup was done by the "Cisco Kid". I'd recommend looking for one that was set-up by him. You can see who set it up by looking at the stamp on the Q.C. tag that is hanging off of the guitar.) The only thing I'd change about this guitar is the tuners. They are better than many, but I prefer the Schaller locking tuners that came on my Strat Plus Deluxe. I may change them in the future.

Typical Strat - Good for years of live playing. Good hardware, thick finish, easy to work on, etc.. Straplock compatible buttons, etc.. You can't go wrong with this guitar for a good performance guitar.

-Overall- I have a lot of guitars. I've also had a lot of guitars in the past. This is one of the finest instruments I've ever owned. The quality is first rate, the sound is wonderful and this guitar looks DAMN good! I would highly recommend it to anyone looking at U.S. Made Strats. It's not much more expensive than the American Standard. It truly gives you a lot more features for your money. I paid less than $*** for this guitar, and it included a Black Tolex case with plush red lining. The dealer even threw in a Fender Polish cloth, and a high-quality Fender cable with molded ends.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Standard stratocaster specs with Texas Special single coils in neck and middle position and Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker in bridge. Beautiful (somewhat unique) teal green metallic finish with the maple fretboard option. White pearloid pickguard. 5 position switch -- positions 2 and 4 result in hum cancelling action with neck & mid and mid and bridge respectively (i think the bridge is tapped in that setting). Alder body, maple neck. Nice weight; very comfortable. American standard tremelo, non-locking tuners. Purchased with rectangular deluxe case.

We (my son & I) play the guitar through an Ampeg Reverberocket 212; a '65 Princeton and a Fender Concert and the cheaper solid state practice amps we have. On the solid states -- it really makes them sound better. It works very nicely through the Princeton (particularly the single coils) but my son cannot part with its tone through the Ampeg. The 'bucker can drive that amp in a very controlled sort of way -- namely, easy to control. The neck position tones can go right toward that Stevie Ray sound without too much effort. The tone knobs really make a difference, there is a wide variety of sounds. Overall the sound is bright. The "fat" sound here is more glassy. The bucker does not give a warm sound, but can get nicely edgy. My son plays blues, rock, alternative (a little) and even jazz. The guitar seems to cover the landscape.

I watched the store take this guitar out of its case and take it out of its factory plastic wrapping, tune it and play. Only a very little intonation adjustment was needed. I would say no flaws, excellent fit and finish. Frets very nicely done.

There is no question the guitar is durable. It feels tough and will undoubtedly take a licking...but...Fender apparently "tints" the maple necks. This looks good and will protect the wood, both from dents and dirt, but.... the couple of times the neck has taken any kind of a knock (and these have not been that major) a small chunk of the finish has come off. The wood underneath was not dented, but the finish seems to pop off a little too easily.

No repairs yet; don't expect any unless I attempt to get the finish on the neck fixed. Wrote Fender for some info and catalogs and they responded appropriately.

I have been "playing" the guitar for over 20 years, but mainly acoustic. My son has been playing for 3 years -- he is way past me now. His playing renewed my interest. I would buy this guitar again in a heartbeat. The Lonestar provides flexibility and my son would not like it quite as much without the bucker -- but we would still like it. It has tone; it just feels great; it surfs. I would undoubtedly feel the same about any US made, quality stratocaster. I tried G&Ls and they were close, but, if the budget is limited and the guitar is for a lifetime, I go for the strat.

This is a USA-made alder-body Strat with either maple or rosewood neck; what makes it the "Lone Star" are the neck and middle Texas Specials and the bridge humbucker, a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates.
I ordered mine with an ultra-traditional 3-color sunburst, tortoise pickguard, and rosewood neck - coincidentally, exactly the same look that Fender chose for their 50th anniversary limited-edition Strat. Came with black hardshell case and burnt-orange fuzz interior, another look I love. Finish quality on mine was excellent.

I went a little off the beaten Strat track to find the Lone Star. The Texas Specials have a broad midrange and deep bass that gave me an even sound and response all the way across all six strings. I had tried many other Strat models - up to and including the Eric Clapton - and found that they all had huge response on the top two (B and E) strings, but that the sound fell away steeply on the bottom four. I don't play on the top two strings alone, even soloing, so I wanted something else.
The Lone Star, with its strong mid and bottom that actually match the top, gave me the even response I wanted. Two comments from others illustrate the LS tone: One listener heard me practicing three rooms away, and asked if I'd amplified my acoustic steel-string. [Yes, it's that melodic.] Another time, a vintage-guitar-shop owner played mine for half an hour and grinned. "Sounds like Fender finally built themselves a Les Paul," he said.
For blues and blues/classic rock, the Lone Star has tremendous versatility. I'm playing through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, and many others before me have said how good Fender-on-Fender sounds.
80% of our playing, folks, is rhythm, and while jamming with the boys, the Lone Star has a full and rich backing sound in the neck and middle positions. If you need a bright, Rick-style rhythm sound, switch to the bridge 'bucker. The Pearly Gates is very, very bright compared to the Texas Specials, and most of us Lone Star owners screw it down flush with the body to tone it down.
For lead sounds, the bridge gets you pretty close to the A-Bros and SRV; neck gives you the famous Fender quack (with .10s, think Hendrix); and the Pearly Gates 'bucker will cut glass at full gain, if you need to be heard. I personally play a lot of lead ideas on the lower 4 strings, and the tonal response from the TxSpecs down there is commanding, clear, and vibrant. On many other guitars, that region "down there" is so muddy you ignore it and play lead on the top two strings. With the LS, you enjoy exploring it - and hearing your jam buddies compliment you on your tone.
The variety of pickups on this model should allow you to cover all the bases in nearly any situation. Personally I use very few pedals or effects; I will note that playing lead on the 'bucker through a chorus pedal gives a sweet yet very compelling tone that makes heads turn.
It comes equipped with 09-45 strings. I recommend you switch these out to at least 10-46s and hear the tone improve dramatically; it really becomes very musical.
I went on up to 11s and found the sound "narrowed" somewhat; less acoustic, less quacky at the 12th fret and up. But in return, it provides a very deep and commanding tone - you feel like it's a snarly blues/rock dog that finally got the chunk o' steak it wanted. With 11s, the bright humbucker is toned down considerably as well - you feel like it's also been given what it wanted, all that time you had .10s.
The combination of Texas Specials and that Pearly Gates HB gives you a remarkably broad range of tones. This is not a metal guitar, this is not a hard-rock guitar, but you know that already. It covers a lot of bases exceptionally well.

Factory set-up is a decent starting point, but when you go from .09s to .10s you will need to set up and intonate again. The Fender manual was fairly useless - there's one manual that covers all their 62 bazillion models, so it is, to be generous, pretty vague. But this encouraged me to start adjusting pickup heights and string heights on my own, and I learned a lot. It ain't rocket science, kids. I began by screwing the Pearly Gates flush with the body to tone it down, and I gather nearly every other LS Strat owner has done the same.
Cosmetic finish was fine; the fretwork was smooth and there were no obvious blemishes or defects. There better not be in an $800 guitar.

I'm pretty anal about cosmetics, so this one won't see a lot of road abuse or gigging. But it does seem solidly put together, and Strats generally are thought to hold up well.

Mine is less than a year old, and I have had no occasion to deal with Fender.

A wise man recently pointed out in the Guitar Forum that at around $800 street price, you reach the point of diminishing returns with electric guitars. Past that point, you are paying for cosmetics, exotic trim or detail, or endorsers, and the performance-for-extra-dollar ratio gets out of whack. The Lone Star Strat fits comfortably under that level; it performs a lot of guitar tasks extremely well and looks and sounds just wonderful doing so. Does that cover the value question?
Texas Specials are not to everyone's taste; they are dark and warm and every LS owner thinks they're wonderful or else we wouldn't have bought it. I hope that by describing its full, rich sound I have set it apart from the other Strat models out there. All of us LS owners find the humbucker very, very bright and have all taken steps to deal with it so that we can get a livable tone out of it. But we would not have bought the LS without it!
If I lost the Lone Star, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. It may even be a future classic. Stone classic beautiful, too, in that Fender sunburst and tortoise pickguard combination.
The next step out on my full-sound curve would have been a Les Paul. I could afford one, but the Strats - and especially the LS Strat - all cover so much more ground and get under the $800 cost curve. With a LS Strat you don't pick it up every day and think, "Shoulda gotten a Paul." You think, "Damn, what a fine guitar." Comments from that hotbed of hot opinions, the Guitar Forum, about the Lone Star have been uniformly positive; add mine to the chorus.

Hey..it'a a Strat. The most versatile solid body on the market. The Lone Star is an American Standard with Texas Specials at the neck and mid position and a Seymour Duncan humbucker at the bridge. Mine is a sun burst with a whie pearloid pick guard. Looks nice.

I love the tonal variations of the Lone Star. I play blues so I'm looking for smooth sustain and overdrive. The Lone Star does the guitar side of this equation very, very well. A word of warning though..if you're a Dick Dale surf music type buy an American Standard. The Lone Star is a little warmer, a little darker and "tougher" than the classic glassy high end of a traditional Strat. I notice it even more in the clean channel. It's a nice blues feel.
Don't get me wrong...the tone is ALL STRAT.. just shaded for the blues ear. I would plaly any kind of music with this guitar. Yes..even surf.....all I'm saying is that if you're primary music is sqeaky clean the American Standard may be a better choice.
The bridge humbucker is interesting. When I bought the guitar I had a Boss BluesDriver and found that the HB was kind of harsh. I got rid of the BluesDriver and got a TS9 and the humbucker sounds much better. Iam giving some thought to doing the single coils conversion on the HB so I can have both bridge tones. If you like Albert Collins , you'll like this bridge humbucker.
The Texas Specials are noticeably "hotter" than standard Strat pickups. Again, nice for us Blues types !

The only flaw is the back cover. The holes aren't aligned right so I have to take off the cover to change strings. Otherwise it's beautiful. The setup was done by my retailer. Good job.

I expect this guitar to last a long, long time.

I've called the Fender Customer Service 1-800 number in Arizona a couple of thimes. They are very helpful. My Fender dealer is good too.

If it were stolen I buy another in a heartbeat. If I'm only going to have one guitar..this is it. The only other production guitars I would have considered would be the Tele and an ES 335. I just like Fender guitars so the Tele would be a second choice (remember Albert Collins). The 335 is a gorgeous blues machine but like all Gibsons it is one dimensional and not as versatile as the Strat.

It's fairly new, so it was probably made in 1997. It's a US Strat, similar to the US Standard. 22 frets, alder body, volume/tone/tone without TBX (which is a plus in my book), 5-way selector, standard tremolo, standard tuners, bone nut, pearl or tort pickguard depending on your choice. It has a S/S/H pickup configuration with two texas specials and a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge position, all passive of course. The finish I have is black with pearl pickguard and rosewood fretboard. The finish is not too bad. It came with a hardshell case, Fender logo strap and instrument cord, tremolo arm and trussrod adjusting tool and key for the case.

It's a very good sounding guitar, very versatile for most forms of rock or blues. It's probably not the answer for high gain music, but with the humbucker, who knows. The humbucker is a very bright sounding pickup with lot's of balls. I can get a good bit of harmonics out of it and it sounds really excellent with distortion. The number two position splits the humbucker and combines with the middle single coil to give you a fairly decent sound (quack as it's sometimes referred to) I've played the guitar through my Hot Rod Deluxe mostly, but I've used my friends '66 Pro Reverb a few times and it sounds really good in either amp. The Texas Specials are fairly hot pickups, but still not quite a match for the humbucker, which is fine because it gives you a bit more output when you go to it for a solo. I'm pretty happy with the overall sound of this guitar, but if you're looking for true vintage vibe, I'd recommend you stay away from this guitar. The single coils can be a little noisy, especially with some gain behind them, but the number 2, 4 and 5 positions are very nice and quiet.

Okay, I admit, I played a lot of LoneStars before selecting this particular one. The store I bought it at had about ten on display, and I tried all the ones with rosewood fretboard (probably 2/3 of the stock). The salesman said he ahd some new ones in the back that hadn't been unpacked yet, so I asked to see them and chose one that was still (most likely) as close to factory setup as could be) and it was very good if you ask me. It also had a tone that appealed to me that I didn't hear in the others, so I'd have to rate this one higher than the other 6 or 7 that I tried. I also tried one at a different store before this that sounded very good to me. I haven't touched a thing on this guitar (other than changing strings a few times) in the six or eight months that I've owned it. The fretwork is very good and the general setup is fine for me. The action is a little higher than the guitars I had before (Hamer Special and Strat Deluxe Plus) but not bad at all. I did have a little ping with the g string in the nut but a little filing and graphite has fixed that.

This guitar is easily a great gigging guitar. It's versatility would suit most rock/blues/top forty type guitarists with no problem. I shouldn;t think any of the components would not stand up to regular playing. It has good quality strap locks on it and I'm not worried about it slipping off the strap at all. I would and have used it without a backup. This is good beacuse it's my only guitar.

No comment on Fender's CS....I've never had to deal with them, and hope I never have to.

I've been playing electric guitar off and on for 30 years, but most seriously the last 15. This is one of the nicest guitars I've owned. I've used Gibson Les Pauls, Fender '62 Strats, Hamer Studio, Fender Strat Deluxe Plus, Hamer Daytona and many other guitars I've borrowed from friends, and this one is quite comparable. If it was stolen or lost, I'd probably buy an Anderson or Grosh, because I'm ready to make that kind of investment, but for now it's just fine. It's a good quality, very functional guitar that sounds very good to my ears. If I were forced to a tight budget, I'd buy one again with no bad feelings at all.

3 color Sunburst Alder body with 22 fret Maple neck. Medium jumbo frets. 5-way blade selector. Controls are: Volume, Tone, Tone. American Standard tremolo and machine heads. Typical Strat scale length of 25.5". Cool looking 3 ply tortoise shell pick guard. Pickups are Texas Specials (Neck, Mid)and Seymour Duncan? Custom Wound Pearly Gates HB (Bridge). Both passive. Hard shell case, Fender cord, strap, and picks included. Don't forget to ask for the truss rod and bridge saddle allen wrenches as well as the key for the case. Made in America.

The Strat still is the undisputed king of versatility. I'm into just about anything that appeals to me musically. Blues, jazz, some country, 70's rock, heavy metal, top 40...etc. The neck position is wonderful for jazz and blues. Thick and warm. Not muddy though. I can coax a real nice Hendrix "Hey Joe" sound out of this guitar. Looking for twang? Position 2 is for you. You are not going to get that real thin, bright twang that you get off of a Tele, but if close is good enough then you won't be disappointed. Hard Rock? You betcha! The humbucker in the bridge is perfect for MODERATE overdrive. Think of most of the 70's era distortion. You will not get a heavy/death metal sound here.
Texas Special Pickups (neck/middle): They are hot and in my opinion need to be adjusted to be fully appreciated. It took me a couple of days to find the "sweet spot". I think they can really sound crappy at the wrong height. Moreso than most pick-ups. But when they are dialed in just right, I love them! Thick and warm. I can see where some people may be put off by the dark undertones, especially if you are used to brighter sounding PU's. However, keep in mind that these PU's have a mid hump, so a darker tone is to be expected.
Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates (bridge): Bright, bright, bright. Did I mention bright? I have this PU lowered about as far as it can go to darken it up. It distorts nicely though. To borrow a word from the Seymour Duncan catalog, slightly "rude". Definitely not a "Reeling In the Years" distortion. More of a Ted Nugent "Strangle Hold" sound. One would think that the #2 position (split bridge and middle) would sound bad. Surprisingly, as stated above, it provides a nice distinct country twang, complete with the Strat "quack" we all love.
One more thing. The .09s that come stock should be replaced with .10s or higher as soon as possible. It makes a HUGE difference. Closer to the SRV tone that the Tex Specs are supposed to emulate. Thick and syrupy.
I should note that I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe using the clean channel 90% of the time.

No problems here. I did "audition" four Lone Stars before falling for the one I have now. Sound wise they all were in the same ballpark. However, the one I chose had an acoustic edge to it (yes, I'm being anal here) that the others didn't. Also of note, a couple had gaps where the neck joined the body. Poor workmanship as far as I'm concerned. But hey, in Fender's defense, the one I have is killer! Not one flaw. The Sunburst is gorgeous. The tremolo (hardly used) and tuners stay in tune. All in all, wonderful. The rating for this category is based on MY guitar. If I was to rate all the guitars tested as a whole, I would give a 7. As far as set-ups go, you should get one done with any new guitar. The recommended settings from Fender were not helpful either. Especially in the pick up category.

It's a Strat. When I'm not playing it I can use it to pound nails and dig holes! Dings and nicks enhance the tonal characteristics of all Stratocasters. Seriously though, it is very solid and I have no reservations about its durability. I've already smacked the head off of the kitchen counter (note: please don't attempt to do the dishes while your guitar is strapped to your body) and with the exception of a microscopic nick, everything is fine. Should note that it comes with locking strap buttons. In a weird twist, the free strap is not of the locking kind. Oh well. Lastly, NEVER gig without a backup.

5 year warranty. Never needed to use it. Hope it stays that way.

I've been playing for 13 years. My other guitar is an Epiphone Sheraton II. I would definitely get another one (at least some sort of Strat) if this one was lost or stolen. I seriously don't hate anything about this guitar. Maybe, just maybe, I may look into a replacement for the Pearly Gates PU. A JB or Seth Lover could be an option. Please don't think I'm ragging on the Pearly Gates, I just think a smoother PU could benefit my style and preference. As far as Strats go, I really don't think you can go wrong here.

USA made; 22-frets; Volume,tone,tone; Passive S/S/H; Two Fender Texas Special single-coils, Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Plus humbucker; Solid alder body; Candy-Apple Red; Traditional Strat shape; American Standard trem; Fender tuners stock replaced with Sperzel Locking tuners; Case, strap and cord included.

Suits every style for me, and I play everything from country to thrash. I use it with a Boss DS-1 Distortion into a GK Backline 100 combo and a Zoom 509 in the loop. Very quiet for beffed up single coils/ less noisy than expected. Very warm, full sound. Like the humbucker as standard feature.

Setup came set up perfect for my taste with no cosmetic or or mechanical flaws. I ordered it from a mail-order company, so I don't know if the setup was done that wwell from the factory or the store.

Very reliable and has held up to live playing very well, but I would never not have a backup. Hardware is all solid and finish has help up better than expected. No wear, just normal scratches.

Never had to deal with them, but I do all repair and setup myself anyway.

Playing about 10 years. Would buy one again. Love the pickup configuration. I compared it to a Tom Anderson and only because of price/perfomance ration did I go with the Lone Star. I must admit that I would much rather have gotten an Anderson but have no complaints with my choice.