Fender Special Edition Standard Ash Stratocaster

2006, 60th diamond sticker and special edition sticker, satin neck, clear poly body with white pickguard. S/S/S, idk if they come any other way on this model. Not sure on pu's, they are original but they sound better than the othere standard 2006's I have played. Maybe it's the wood? The 06's are hands down nicer guitars than the 05's. I bought this used with no case. It is beutiful to look at.

It's a real strat! I really think this guitar captures the "vintage" strat sound. I use 12's, play thru a blues jr. and miked it for bigger gigs. Clean or slightly dirty sound in neck position is amazing. The 2nd and 4th selector position has less hum than 1,3,and 5. If you use a "heavy" pedal you can get it to crunch slightly but it lacks humbucker ease. It does not sound as good as the SCN with the s1 switching. I have often thought about dropping that or a humbucker or a single size humbucker at the bridge or even throwing some lace pu's in, although I probably will leave it alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I'm gonna give it an 8, but it would be a 10 if it had some nice pu's.

Mine is near flawless although the wood at the headstock could have been a little nicer. There are some dark colorations, imperfections in the wood. I'm gonna put no opinion since I bought this used.

I bought this with 9's or 10's on it and liked it. I put 12's on it with wound 3rd string and this guitar "came alive". I never thought I would ever use that heavy of strings but the tone is so worth it. I play this guitar with no pick and it is very responsive to my fingers. I usually play fingerstyle acoustic so I thought the heavy strings would be nice to keep my fingers in check. Had to add two springs to the trem block for a total of five. This guitar is fine to gig with, I don't bring backups, never have. I have only played out twice with it but I have only had it for six mos and I say, I usually do acoustic gigs. This guitar has made me want to play more electric and I see myself enjoying this for many, many years.

n/a used, pawnshop

Probably the best value on the market for a strat. I was going to buy a 60 dollar chinese strat just to have a strat and picked up this mexi just to hear the difference. I knew after plugging in there was no comparison and I had to have this guitar. I used to always play my SG (1979) and an old Ibanez EX (1989) but this guitar is so much more fun with all the sounds you can get from the 5-way selector. I hadn't played out on electric for almost 10 years and I have oinly had this guitar for about 6 mos and have played out twice and plan to play out at least two more times this summer. Great guitar!

This is a 2007 MIM model. It has 21 frets on a RW board (maple satin neck) and a 3 piece book matched, natural, high-gloss ash body. It has the usual, traditional Fender controls and wiring. It came stock with 3 Tex-Mex pickups, a Tortoise pickguard and aged white (creme) knobs. The bridge is the vintage type but with the slightly closer string spacing. The 6 individual sealed tuners are by Ping and they work just fine. Luckily, they had just put the guitar out on the sales floor and so, I was the first to play it. I bought the guitar new from GC so you know that even the box the guitar came from Fender in wasn't included. So, a point is lost for this.

I had gone into the store to buy and American Strat. This guitar kept "calling" me so, I went over to play it. Man, it sung and sustained so well that I didn't even plug it in at the store. I was sold there on the spot. Once home, I plugged it into my old Marshall. The Tex-Mex pickups did sound extremely good but the hum was just a bit too much. (Note that I'm a single coil type of guy, too.) I presume the excessive hum was a combination of them being lower output and putting them through an old Marshall, because even nicely tweaked, Marshalls tend to have a bit more hum on their own. So, even though they sounded really good, I replaced them with the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Area 58/58/61 combo. A balls to bells combo for sure! The following number is for the Tex-Mex pickups.

The factory setup was perfect but just a nickel's thickness to high for me, as was the floating tremolo. Ironically, the pickups were adjusted really low.

From a construction viewpoint, the guitar is flawless. There were no deficiencies whatsoever. It is a common belief that MIM Strats are inferior in quality and construction to that of an American Strat. That may have been true in the past but you cannot prove it to me by this guitar. Everything was perfect. The frets were highly polished and even. The bridge saddles were in perfect contour to the neck radius (9.5") and the nut was perfect cut too.

This guitar will surely withstand live playing and the hardware is quite durable. The finish looks like it will outlast me. The strap buttons are the 'vintage' Fender type.

I would totally depend on this guitar and trust it as my #1 for even an important gig.

I would never gig without a backup guitar but I will say this: I am confident that I wouldn't need one.

FMIC Customer Service is great. I called them because GC gave me a white tipped wang bar and told me, that's all they had and to call Fender and they'd hook me right up. That's exactly what happened, all within the first week.

I've been playing 40 something years. I'll not bore you with all the stuff I had. I sold it all as I felt it was grossly unfair to my family to have all sorts of money tied up in musical equipment, especially since I retired from gigging and this money could serve better elsewhere. The bottom line is, this is the only guitar I now own (or want); I have a small Marshall amp and that's it.

There's nothing I wished I'd asked before I bought it as I've been playing Strats for literally 40 years and there isn't much I don't know about them except for the inane minutiae which so many people pointlessly wallow themselves in.

If it were stolen, I might have a problem replacing it as it was a Fender Factory Special Run for GC (one per store, per my salesman). It even has the Fender FSR sticker on the back of the headstock. If I could replace it, I would.

I love the pop and sustain from the ash body and the fact that Strats are the most comfortable guitars on the planet. It looks great too. I really don't hate anything about it. As far as my favorite feature, again, it's simply a great sounding, great playing Strat!

Like I said above, I was all set to buy a new American Strat when I went into the store but this one just blew me away in looks and responsiveness.

As to what I wish it had, it came with a white backplate, so I bought a Fender Tortoise one to match the pickguard. Ironically, the pickguard is that layered sandwich job with white in it and the backplate is the same except the white is mint green. I'll probably be the only one who ever really notices but either way, it's a conversation piece.

Having played and owned MANY Strats (and pedigreed ones at that) over the last 40 years, I truly feel that the new MIMs shouldn't be dismissed so quickly as inferior to the US stuff by the buying public. Just because they have less features and more traditional appointments doesn't mean it's an inferior instrument in terms of quality and craftsmanship. The 2006 and newer Standard Upgraded models are, IMO, the best bang for the buck out there and if you run across one anything like mine, you'll quickly change your tune.

It's a Stat. If it didn't have the features I wanted, I would have gotten something else. No point in itemizing all the features that others have listed here. Gloss clear finish on ash body. What separates mine from some others I have seen is the tortise shell pick guard, which some people seem to hate, but which I think looks fantastic.

I have only had my guitar for a short time now but the first day I learned the difference between a cheap Squire guitar (HSS Indonesian Mfg.) and a Mexi Strat. All I can say is WOW! I play through a Vox VT 30 amp and all those preset models that sounded so crappy with my Squire, sound FANTASTIC with this new guitar. I really couldn't be happier with the sound of this guitar, but then I am no expert on electric guitar tone. This guitar makes me wonder how much nicer an American Strat might be..... but for me right now, I am pretty crazy about the way this FSR sounds.

Action was fairly high when I tried it at GC, I moaned a little to the manager and he offered to send it out for new strings and a full set up for me. Took a week, but seems to have been worth the wait, especially as it was included in the price of the guitar.

No problem that I can see with the fret dressing. The body of mine, like most have observed, is a 3 piece lamination, but in the case of my guitar the grain matching is quite well done. One of the laminations you cannot even see unless you look at the bottom of the guitar, and the other lamination is almost a bookmatch. No complaints at all in the fabrication department. The look of this guitar just knocks my socks off. The heavy gloss polyurethane finish means that this guitar will likely look like new for a very long time. No good for purists who want that distressed look, but I ain't one of them. I like natural wood that will stay looking great, and as a lifelong woodworker, I am confident that this guitar will.

Just got is so who can say? By all reports these MIM Strats are built like tanks.

Hope I never find out.

My overall rating is based upon my level of satisfaction with this guitar, not a comparison with other more expensive Strats. I just don't see how I could be more satisfied than I am with this guitar. It plays great, sounds great and looks like a million bucks to me. The action could be a tad lower and I may try to address that at a later time, but for now I am content to explore what a real Strat sounds like. I played Classical and Pop guitar on a acoustic Martin 35 years ago, quit altogether 30 years ago and never picked up ANY guitar, much less an electric until about 1 year ago. My 10 y.o. son and I take lessons together and practice together almost every night. I am having so much fun (even though I mostly still suck) that I am kicking myself for ever quitting guitar in the first place.

Hi. My guitar is a FENDER FSR STANDARD STRATOCASTER (it comes with a 'Special Edition' sticker on the headstock). FSR stands for FACTORY SPECIAL RUN. It is mede in Mexico, 22 frets, solid ash body with 'Natural' finish (transp.), standard strat passive electronics configuration, neck is Maple with rosewood fretboard and nice satin finish, vintage style tremolo bridge, sealed tuners. It came with gig bag and pedal style fender tuner. Its a strat no mayor features here.

I play blues/rock'n blues/jazz sound much warmer than other strats I have tried or own in the past. Nice rich warm sound (for a strat), fits my taste anyway. For practice I use it through a Crate RFX15 and a small 5W tube amp I built myself, for public performance I play through a Vibroclone that was custom made for me by HTM Amps. The stock pickups are not so noisy, but maybe I'll change them later. I like the neck, its comfortable and fast.

It came well set up from factory, action was comfortably low. I had to make some adjustments to the pickup height. Everything was on it's place, no noises, no scratches, everything shiny and well finished. Those Mexicans get a 10 on this one!... but I'll give a 9 because this is not a luxury guitar, just a good guitar thats sounds good and not too expensive or fancy, something I can drag anywhere without being too concerned about...

I think this is the mayor point with these standard strats!!... they are very well built, and its designed with the road in mind!!... Sure will last... I canged the strap buttons for a pair of straplocks from jim dunlop. I denep on it so much I mostly gig without backup on this one.

Never had to deal with them,...

I've been playing for 18 years, but I make my living as a systems engineer. Never spend a dime on gear that was not earned playing... keeps me sharp!. I would buy another one no question about it. I love the natural look and the sound!!... I compared it to other guitars the same type, but I chose this one because is a bargain!!... sounds as great as us$1,000 strats... This is a no brainer as good for the beginner as for the pros.

This is about a Fender Mexican Strat with natural Ash Body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 21 Frets, 3 Single Coil Pickups, 5-way switch, standard tremolo, white pickguard. The body is made of 2 or 3 pieces and you see some scratches from the woodwork under the coating, but it is beautyful and looks natural.

My music style is blues, rock. With those pickups it is not quite what I need, so I think I will get something louder for the bridge. Fenders are variable if you know how to use a screwdriver..
My amp is a digital modelling amp and the sound is very variable with this guitar. Had a " heavy metal style " guitar before and 31 out of 32 amp simulations sounded the same.
The original pickups are quite noisy, sorry to say that but there is a permanent buzz and hum. I have tried the same guitar with Seymor Duncan Pickups and it was much better. Got to get some of these.

No complaints: no fret buzz, perfectly set up, even the original strings are good. This is the most important part for a guitar, so I judge it as 10.

Did you ever see the last 10 minutes of the " Stevie Ray Vaughn live at the El Mocambo " video ? OK, when a guitar survives this you don`t need to worry.

No experience so far. But the booklet that came with the guitar is good. Lifetime warranty..

Still a beginner, though I own a guitar for about 15 years now. I have another electric guitar ( LP style ) and an acoustic. If it were stolen I would try to get a similar one, but with other pickups. What made me choose this guitar was a guitar of this type with different pickups. Those were great and it had a very hot sound, so I think this guitar is a solid base for improvement.

Made in Mexico (I think Mexi Fenders are the best bang for the $)
Ash body, clear finish.
Pick ups seem to be vintage alnico not the standard mexi's with the beveled edges.
Bridge is standard vintage strat

Not bad!!!
A bit thin over all but a very nice vintage strat tone (Dire Straights/Knpfler tones are automatic).

Action was average: intonation was sharp and had string buzz.
Frets will need leveling and polishing. Normal.
Over all finish was fine.

Neck and figer board were very nice and that is the man thing for me. Every thing else is fixable.

This looks like it will be a fine work horse. If this were a tour piece (keeping the nice ones at home) I would change all the electronics, wires and all. I would use another mexi as a back up for any guitar anyway.

unknown

Been playing the guitar since 1963 age 13.

Got this guitar because of the ash body and will use it as a project piece. Looking for a vintage 50's sound. That's hard to identify exactly because every one I knew had thier picks RE-WOUND to the OVER-WOUND stage but no one really knew what that was.
I heard things like this a lot:
"hey, check out my new guitar man. It's a 57 Strat. Got it for $75. It's little banged up but the pick ups have been rewound!!!"

Here's tip: I remember lots of players (lots of Surf bands) used heavy flat wounds and it lost that nasal screach on the bridge pick up but kept a nice twang going though tubes.

If this got stolen? I would try to find something simmilar but that would be tough. Not many ash bodies under $1,200

Made in Mexico
Ash body with clear finish.
Rosewood finger board
Pickups seem to be vintage alnico. Not standard Mexi's with bevaled edges
Bridge sadles are vintage sytle

Sound is a bit on the thin side but very nice and vintage strat tone (Dire Straights/Mark Knopfler tones are automatic).

Set up was average: intonation was sharp and action too low causing string buzz. Normal.
Frets were just OK. Will need some leveling and polishing but the edges were smooth (????).

Over all the finish was fine. The neck and finger board cut and finish were realy nice even if the frets were so so and that's the main issue for me. Every thing else is fixable.

Looks like it wiil be a fine work horse.
If used as a tour piece (keep the nice ones at home) I would change the electronics, wires and all and would it be as reliable as any one peice could be.

Unknown.

Fender Mexican Strat, Natural Ash Body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 21 Frets, 3 Single Coil Hot(Tex-Mex?) Pickups, 5-way switch, standard bridge, white pickguard. Nice grain but the body is two or more pieces. Overall a beautiful instrument. I love that natural ash body!

Pickups are nice and hot, does a good Stevie Ray. Mellow them out and they work well for jazz. Pickups are a bit noisy as expected for single coils. Using it with a Blues Junior. The ultimate blues setup for practice and small gigs- heck even big gigs if miked. Also use a Morley wah. Excellent Hendrix tones. The pickups sold me. The other Mexi standards don't compare.

Setup was very good out of the box. Not much needed to be done. But when I get my hands on a guitar, I tinker. I put on a black pickguard and accessory kit, and .10 gauge strings. Neck is nice and smooth, no flaws or fretwire sticking out. Very good craftsmanship on the Mexi models. Vintage bridge has sharp edges, though. Thinking of throwing on some Graph Tech saddles.

It's still new, but it's a Strat. I forsee no problems.

None needed yet. Probably won't need it. It's a Strat!

Very, very nice instrument. I would buy one again. The pickups and the ash body hooked me instantly.