Fender Lone Star Strat

I purchased my Black US Fender Lonestar while living in Bermuda four years ago for $1100.00 US dollars. Yup, everything is more expensive in Bermuda.

It has a five way switch and I love the tone of the Seymore Duncan single position. However, I really did not like the Texas Specials so I took them out and replaced them with Seymore Duncans. One single in the center position which I can't remember what it is specifically. I believe that it is one of Duncans hot country Belly toned pickups. I put a Duncan Little 59'er in the neck position which gives a single or double. It wails. I play everything from Heavy rock to country. This is the most versitile guitar that I have ever owned. I use the Fender Cyber twin as my main amp. Also very versitile.

The factory setup was very impressive. The only flaw was that the neck bolts were a bit loose.

I use this guitar on all my live gigs. Ocassionally I will bring my 1980's Schecter Strat along but only if the gig is local as I don't like to fly with it.

Never had to use customer support.

I have been playing guitar for 25 years, own a recording studio (Lonestar wails in studio) and write for Capital Records. I would probably purchase another Lonestar if this one was stolen. However, the pickup upgrades did cost me quite a bit so I would be tempted to look for a guitar that had all Seymore Duncan's in it.

1997 Lonestar Strat bought brand new for $650 w/o case. Olympic White w/ red tortoise-shell pickguard. Duncan Pearly Gates Plus in Bridge + 2 Texas Specials. Lightweight alder body. Maple fingerboard.

Excellent vintage, woody tones from Texas Specials. Classic crunch from the humbucker. A little thin sounding for some genres. Had to have at least 10's for strings.

Fret edges were so sharp it impeded play. Lacquer peeled off fretboard in several spots in just 2 years. Fender wouldn't do anything about it. I traded it back to the dealer for a Natural Tele with the nice handrolled edges;haven't looked back since.

Had problems with the jack always loosening up. Already mentioned peeling fingerboard.

Least reliable Fender product I have ever owned. The newer ones are better. Also have a 91 Deluxe Strat Plus(reviewed here) that is rock solid.

This guitar was made in 96 or 97. I bought it off FEbay ( ebay ) with no pick ups or controls.Pickups are h/s I installed a EMG 81 in the lead and a blue lace sensor in the middle , I tried the lace sensor in the neck possition but it was VERY muddy. I wired it up to a three way switch, a volume and tone control. It was upgraded to a delux tremolo with the snap in arm. I like this but I need to put locking tuners on it or I cant use the trem. All of the other things are the same as other lonestar strats. It,s shoreline gold ????? LOOKS GREY OR SILVER TO ME!!! but I like it. It came in almost new condition with a like new case.

This has a LOT to do with pickups, your amp , ect.... If you play a 150$ guitar with a EMG 81 thru a Killer tube amp For bone crushing music it will work fine. If you plug a Les Paul custom or PRS or maybe a Fender Lonestar into a P.O.S. solid state amp it might not sound so good... well you get the picture.I have worked on pickup height a lot with this guitar and it sounds great for everything to southern rock to metal, But I change pickups like I change shoes or strings. This guitar sounds good unplugged and rings very nice on open chords notes ect..Since I put my on pickups in of course it sounds great.But I wish it had came with factory pickups, I have heard good things from others about them.

Well, since I got the guitar used but like new ,I will guess it was set up like I got it. With a little work it is the best playing strat I have ever played.The finish is good, the neck is tung oiled? not sure but it's fast and VERY COMFORTABLE.The only things I have found wronge is as mentioned in other reviews, the finish on the neck over the frets has came off like it was refretted but only on a few frets??? I'm pretty sure it has not been refretted. Locking tuners would have been a nice touch.Anyway all in all I like it.

It will take a beating,I have used it live, the hardware is sturdy enough and the finish seems like it will hold up. I think you could depend on it BUT in my humble opinion anyone who plays a show without a backup is a F***** IDIOT.I Saw a band last weekend in fact and the guitar player had no backup guitar and broke a string, so guess what an extra ten minute break while the band stood there and looked at each other and the singer tried to cover.Very unprofesional.Hell I have to take at least 5 since we use 3 different tunings and I like to have a backup for each guitar

Never delt with them.

I have played for 20+ years I have been lucky enough to have found some of the best guitars (for my taste)Les paul custom and classic a older explorer, a Kramer Nightswan, a washburn a 20 , USA ibanez custom shop, and 10 or so other guitars, AND THIS ONE STAND UP TO ALL OF THEM, it's a strat but one of the most deverse and easy playing strats around.If you Like strats but can't handle the thin sound This is your answer. For the money you will not find a better guitar.Locking tuners would have been cool.

This is a 97 made in the USA with all the same features of everybody else's. I enjoy the bright inside of the case. I mean, its a guitar.

It is a very bright, slightly noisy guitar, and the humbucker absolutely sucks. My favorite pickup is the neck one. I am using it for everything from jazz to funk to rock to blues, etc etc. It is pretty full bodied, but nothing really spectacular. I play it thorugh a deville 2x12, and occasionally use a small clone, delay, or a pod. It really isn't that good, sound wise.

It came in decent shape, but the bridge was a little bit off, and I have had to bring it in for repairs a couple of times.

The frets died on me. The guitar is now unplayable because of how much I wore down the frets. I don't play espescially hard, and I even have a second guitar that I use often. I would gig without a backup, but the guitar is almost nonfunctioning now. I don't think it would be unreasonable to ask for a guitar to last a little bit longer!

fender is a big corporation, booooo

I have been playing for 8 years and own a parker p-40, a fender deville amp, a bunch of the stuff mentioned earlier, and a lot of recording equipment. That is actually the main reason why I am writing this review. Due to the horrible intonation (I have gotten it set up multiple times), and the horrible fret buzz, the the overall thinness of the pickups, I cannot even record with it! It ruins recordings when I try. I think it is sad to see that a 450 dollar korean made guitar (the parker) is more reliable, versatile, and a better deal. I think that this is just another case of fender slapping their name on a product and assuming that people will fork over an enormous amount of money because of the headstock. Shame on you Fender!

mine is a 1997 black w/tortise pick guard and rosewood neck.

sounds great. The sound in position 2 and 4 are interesting because the space between pickups is different from a normal strat. The humbucker blennds well with the singles because it almost sounds like a single but with a little bit more balls. this is good for me because if you set the height correctly you can get an even balance in vol when switching p/u on a clean channel. The bucker has independant tone control (cool). It is NOT versitile if you want to play 20 different kinds of music. This is still a strat and unless you,re a strat lover (like me) dont waste you're time. It's not gonna sound like an LP or an SG or a PRS just because you see a bucker on it. I play blues and classic rock and the sound is perfect for me.

i bought it used and it was all messed up but i'm lucky enough that i repair and set up guitars for a living (besides giging) and i got it set up to my speks within an hour or so. I'm not a fan of the two point bridge because i block them and it easier to block the 6 screw bridge so what i did was put 5 high tension springs and tighten the claw all the way and flush the bridge to the body and readjust the action. perfect. the tight 5 string even give the guitar a natural reverbish tone. i liked it so much that i unblocked my other 6 screw strat and did the same thing. great tone volume and tuning stability. try it.

this guitar takes a beating and its still in tune at the end of the night. it will last long but then again, just about any american strat will so that aint saying much but i really do punish my guitars. Any repair i do myself so i guess it dont affect me as much as it might others but i recomend it and any other USA strat. but if you love strats you already know this and so i guess i can shut up.

i never had to deal with that but i hear the're ok

i've been playing professionaly (im not a rich famous guitar god but this is what i do for a living so i guess it my proffesion) for 18 years and i've owned i think 72 guitars since. i said before that i punish my guitars so i really never get to keep them for very long (after about 25 fret dressings) and i've had many many strats from japs and mex to 60's and 70's and all kinds of newer models. my current favorite guitar is actually a lower priced highway 1 that i put fender noiseless p/u and i love it. if you like strats buy one for the road because when that ugly paint dries and starts chipping (about 2 years of guitar abuse) thats when they start to sound really really GREAT. The lonestar is among the best strats i've ever had or played. REALLY! its not for everyone but its a good sounding one or maybee i just got lucky so dont burn me if yours sucks ok. i play through an old crybaby and two tubescreamers (a ts9 and an 808 for lead boost) and an original blues de ville 212 with jensen speakers. thats it. i record with a lot more gear but that depends on the client and their needs but my live set up is that simple. strats sound good like this but please try to get your own sound and dont try to be SRV or Clapton because the beauty of a strat is that it can really adapt to your own style and sound (if you have one) so.....the lone star is a bit expensive but it can do the job for a strat lover. very important though, if you love LPs and such, go read a LP review because the lonestar just aint for you.

In teoria dovrebbe trattarsi di una strato standard con pup's diversi,ma la realta e ben diversa.
Premetto che la mia e arrivata direttamente da Los Angeles ed e ovviamente una produzione destinata al mercato interno USA......
morale della favola la chitarra e in realta fatta con una cura superiore rispetto ai modelli che giungono da noi,suona molto MOLTO MEGLIO,la scelta dei legni e decisamente piu oculata ed il risultato finale si ripercuote in modo palese sul suono.
La chitarra mi e arrivata in un superbo hard case con chiavi e card,finitura sunburst superba manico e tastiera in acero (superbo anche lui) 2 pu texas special e al bridge un Duncan Pearly Gates.

Il suono che dire......
E' esattamente cio che ti aspetti da una Strato,oserei definirlo Strato al massimo della sua espressione.Gia,proprio quel suono alla Knopfler/Vaughan ,meraviglioso, tondo e cristallino, con in piu l'humb che gli conferisce ancora piu versatilita.
C'e poco da dire se non ami una chitarra simile non devi acquistare una strato perche non e la chitarra che fa per te.
Dicono che i Tex siano rumorosi...bah...francamente, forse sara la cura nell'assemblaggio,ma io li trovo pup stupendi e pochissimo rumorosi,e chiaro che se li compro per montarli su una koreana da 100 bucks il risultato magari sara pessimo,ma su questa bambina suonano divinamente...FOR US : It sound like God

Ottima,anzi fantastica.
La chitarra si lascia suonare con una facilita incredibile,e veramente morbidissima ed il manico puo piacerti tanto quanto un manico shred,io possiedo una Jem 7v e quindi puoi fidarti di quel che dico,anche se con un action un po alta la chitarra si lascia suonare divinamente.....FOR US : very very easy playable,even with action no too low,very great neck.

E' FENDER !!!!
Ne ho vista una un mese fa del 60' suonare in modo meraviglioso.

IT'S FENDER !!!!
THERE ARE strat 40 years old with a wonderful sound..
NO PROBLEM AT ALL!!!!

INUTILI !
UNNECESSARY !

Suono da una quindicina di anni,non sono un mostro di bravura ma riconosco una chitarra da una fetecchia,e questa ragazzi suona,Dio solo sa se suona.
Ci faccio di tutto con questa chitarra, dal pianobar alle serate estive,hard rock,blues,qualche volte metal,ed altre volte suono in una chiesa evangelica, mi piace tutta la musica e d'altronde non credo esistano molti modi per suonare la chitarra,ne esiste uno solo,SUONARLA BENE! Chitarristi come il grandissimo Portera ci insegnano che si puo esprimere il proprio "chitarrismo" anche facendo musica leggera.
In definitiva se siete in cerca di una super strato, acquistatela senza paura.
L'unico appunto che faccio riguarda la provenienza della chitarra.
Non ho provato altre Lonestar se non questa e non vorrei che la F. producesse per il mercato interno chitarre superiori rispetto allo standard da esportare,la qualita dei legni della mia NON E' QUELLA DELLA STANDARD,i legni sono molto piu belli e l'elettronica e molto curata,non vorrei dare adito a leggende metropolitane,magari il mio e solo culo,pero e meglio essere precisi per dovere di cronaca.
Credo che mi ci seppeliranno con la mia Lonestar...doh!
E questo e tutto...PEACE & LOVE

PS. Se ne cercate una direttamente dagli usa ditemelo che il mio amico e sempre disponibile

'97 U.S. Lone Star Strat, all stock (see other reviews for list of features).

I used to not like the Texas Specials (neck & mid) and was about to replace them with Fat 50's. However, after lowering the height of the pick-ps, I am very impressed with the sound. They have a nice dark Strat sound. By lowering the pick-ups, I was able to eliminate the mid-range spike that turned me off from them, but it sounds sweeter now. There may be some reduction of output from the pick-ups being further away from the strings, but the sound is so much better now. A very versatile Strat that can cover a variety of musical styles. The humbucker is o.k. for some metal, but the Lone Star is not really a Strat for true metal purists. It's great for blues and rock.

The guitar is flawless. No hardware problems or other issues here.

The guitar was built to excellent standards. I am not rough with my gear, but Fender's will stand up to a good bit of abuse. I've had the guiatr for seve years and it's in near mint condition.

N/A

I have grown to love this Strat. While I still prefer my American Standard Strat, this Lone Star is an excellent guitar. The secret is in the adjustment of the pick-up heights. That illustrates one of the nice things about Fender guitars; they can be easily adjusted to your liking. Unfortunately, Fender no longer makes this guitar as well as the updated Fat Strat Texas Special (same guitar). If it were stolen I would be pretty upset, but it would definateley be repalced.

My Lonestar Strat came to me through a co-worker. He bought it in New York, for too much money, and wanted to learn how to play. Fortunately for me, he never did and offered it to me, along with a Line 6 Spider amp, for $400!!!! Got lucky on this deal, so needless to say I took it home that night and met him later and forked over the money without a second thought.

It is the 3-tone sunburst with tortise shell pickgaurd and maple fretboard. As you probably know, it has 2 Texas specials (neck & mid) and a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates (in the bridge). 22 medium jumbo frets, typical Start volume and tone pot configuration. I love this guitar!!!

I play a heavy sort of Blues Rock, along the lines of Cream, early Led Zep, Robin Trower, Rory Gallgher, Jimi Hendrix, SRV, etc. This guitar seems to fill my tonal needs very well. I am a plug in and play type of player and don't rely on too many effects. I am a die hard tube amp player, although I have played a couple digital amps that impressed me....BUT...I go back to the tubes time and time again. I plug into my GA-15RV Gibson Goldtone (class A at it's best) and link over to a customized Fender Blues JR. I use ONLY JJ Electronic tubes from Bob at Eurotubes. He supplies me with the best sounding tubes for my playing style every time I order from him. These tubes make a big difference in tonal quality. Give Bob a call or log onto www.eurotubes.com and send him an e-mail as to what you want out of your amp(s). He knows his stuff folks!!!

Note, as I said, I am a plug in and play kinda guy; but I do use a Morley Super Pro wah, and occasionally, a chorus pedal. Couldn't live without my wah wah!!!! The Morley is okay; but I will be getting a Vox wah soon as I like it's tonal sweep better than my Morley.

I have no problems nailing some Jimi and SRV tones through this guitar/amp set-up. Ironically, I seem to get some good old early ZZ Top Billy Gibbons sounds as well. I say ironically because the Rev. Billy G. usually, or always?, used Gibsons through Fender Tweeds in the early days. I may be wrong there; but I think that's what I read in Guitar Player Mag. years ago. Nevertheless, the SD Peaqrly Gates, as well as combining the neck and middle Texas Specials give me that old Tres Hombres tones that I live for!

I immediately changed over to SIT .10-.46's, re-set the intonation perfectly and jammed the next night with it in a local blues club. I have been satisfied with the pickup heights thus far. Fit and finish seemed very good, considering I bought it used. Neck and frets felt good with no sharp fret edges...they were dressed very well from the factory. This guitar stays in tune very well, even when dropping the hammer on the tremelo, which I rarely use. I will probably change over to Sperzel Locking tuners just because I prefer them.

Man, I have had at least 10 Strats over the years and currently have this one and another American Series, as well as an original 52 Tele, an American Deluxe Tele, and a US Hwy. 1 Tele. All I can say is if it was made in America, it will probably serve you well for many, many years! Unless you do some old Pete Townsend or Jimi guitar bashing...LOL! My 52 Tele sounds as good today as it did in 1976 when I bought it.

I cannot give a rating here because I have never had to deal with Fender on warranty issues. Never had a problem with their equipment during the 5 year warranty period they offer. Plus, I'm a take a part and fix it myself player.

I have been playing for 34 years now. I know good equipment and have always bought American, other than a Mex Strat I bought for my son. Other than the above mentioned Fenders I own, I have an original 57 Goldtop Les Paul, a mid 80's SG, an ES-135 Limited Edition w/ Classic 57's, a Reverend Rocco, a Rickenbacker 620-12 string, and a 1976 Martin HD-28 acoustic flat top.
If my Lonestar were stolen, I'd be fighting mad and would fork out the money for a new Texas Special Fat Strat, which took over for the Lonestar. I can't think of anything this guitar needs to suit my playing style. As much as I love my Gibsons, I always come back to the Fenders for the pure-blooded blues sounds I crave. But....and a BIG BUT, I must admit I have never played a guitar that sounds as good overall as my 57 Goldtop Les Paul for Cream and early Led Zep sounds.

Made in 1999 (I think) in the USA
22 frets, maple neck, candy apple red finish
5 way selector with the stock s/s/h Texas special Seymour Duncan humbucker
came with case (a Fender and a damned good one)

I play rock and blues through a Mesa Boogie DC-5
Effects? with that amp...no
it's not noisy at all
Lots of bottom particularly through the humbucker and the Boogie
I haven't had it that long (six months)
I love the feel of it...very easy to play

I did switch to John Pearse 10-46 electric strings from the get-go, set it up in about 10 minutes (intonation and all) and despite temperature changes between 0 F. and 75 F., haven't had to change a damned thing.
It stays in tune beautifully
It's very well built without any flaws that I can see...a good-looking and good sounding instrument

All I can say about it is that it looks good, feels solid, nothing rattles or wiggles that shouldn't.
I've only played a couple of dances with it and didn't have any problems...

I haven't had to deal with Fender for tech stuff...I have had two Strats and they've both been great instruments

I've been playing over 20 years
If it were stolen or lost, I would be a very nasty person. If that didn't work, I'd certainly buy another one...great instrument
I don't hate anything about it. That neck, the durability and the sound make me a happy guy.
It's the best instrument I've ever owned (a couple of Les Pauls, a Tele, another Strat were the ones worth mentioning)
All in all, it's a lovely guitar...I wonder why they stopped making it...I'm sure it wasn't a technical flaw. Maybe it's because they have about a zillion other models...they can't make guitars much better so they diversified.

Just kidding. It's a Strat, what do you expect? A straight-forward, no-frills design that has everything you need and nothing you don't.

Not the ultimate machine for shredheads, but handles most styles pretty well. I don't know if my particular example is atypical or what, but I don't hear what some others have described. The Texas Specials, far from sounding "dark" or muddy, seem to me to actually be a bit brighter than standard Strat pickups, and the Duncan humbucker, even when played squeaky clean, is very smooth and rich, not "screechy" at all. Overall, I haven't heard Strat tones like this coming out of my amp since I foolishly sold my candy apple red '65 back in '88. Guess it all depends on what you plug it into. And your playing style, of course. <G>

It's an American Strat. 'Nuff said. Mine's a 1996 model in teal green metallic with rosewood fretboard, and it's flawless. I'm not wild about the mother-of-toilet seat pickguard (too "country" for my taste), but twenty bucks, ten minutes and a screwdriver will fix that.

Typical Fender. Built to last.

Chez watt?!?!? Customer support for a Fender? These things last forever. I've seen 40 year old Fenders that were still perfectly playable. And besides, I can handle that stuff myself, thank you very much. :-)

I've been on the planet for almost 51 years, and have been playing for nearly 40 of them. I've owned a good many guitars in that time, including Washburn, Jackson, Kramer, etc. along with the obligatory Gibsons, but I always seem to come back to Fender. This one was really in rather sorry shape when I got it. My friend had given it to his son, who proceded to leave it sitting out of the case in a damp basement for a couple of years. It was filthy, the strings were totally rusted, and the neck was rather badly bowed. I put new strings on it, managed to get the neck straightened out and, much to my surprise, when I cleaned all the grunge and gunk off of it, it turned out to be in nearly new condition. All in all, not bad for free. <G>