Fender Squier ProTone Fat Strat

Made in 1996 21 frets Solid popular top Volume two tone Three Darmond pick-ups Passive electronics Rosewood fret board Maple neck Rose wood strip down centre of neck Finish transparent red Body style strat Johnson Fender string through tremolo bar bridge Schaller heads Thin neck With Canadian made Fender copy case

Fantastic Mostly blues with classic rock I use a Marshall MG250 I only use effects in amp Most noise from neck and bridge pickups Guitar can go from rich to bright Can be set to sound like humbucking front pick-ups Sounds like my old 1975 ash body American strat as well Best sound for me is both tones set at four when bridge pick-up is used .Tone at bridge at four middle tone at eight for other pick-ups Can very alittle on settings depending on room acustics.

Guitar set up well. All I did was ajust tilt of neck in front neck pocket. Pick-ups set to very close to American standard See htt://www.fender.com/support/setup/stratsetup.php Bridge set very well-intoneation rather close One flaw in finish is a tiny air bubble the size of double head of pin one inch back from centre bridge

To me this guitar has about 98% of the American standard or better than some American MODELS Hardware is all Fender I like that. I put on Planet waves locking straps buttons. I depend on this guitar always but have another for back-up in case a string breaks

I do all my own set-ups and repairs I bought it new in 1997. Fender will give you all the info you need on thier web site.

36 years playing Ovation Ledgen Ibanez Artcore 85 Les Paul gold top Parker This guitar has about 250 performing hours Icant really say how many rehersal hours. When I pick-up this guitar it makes me at home.

Korean Strat, SSH pickup combo, Floyd Rose, Ash Body, this one was made in 97, according to the serial #. Gold Hardware, mother of toilet seat pickguard, Black finish. Maple neck, medium frets. It's a "fat strat" with a five-way switch.

Sound is just stellar. Our sound man (and a great guitar player) came over after the first gig with this strat, and said this has the best clean sounds he's heard. I'm not sure I would even replace the pups in this thing.

I use this with the following setup: Crybaby->EB volume pedal->line 6 DM4->boss DD3-> David Hicks custom 50watt amp (based on a Trainwreck amp design).

No Factory setup (bought it used). The previous owner had put 12's on it and had all the springs in there. I changed these to 10's and setup the floyd with two springs. Adjusted the neck for the lighter strings. The hardware is in great condition for it's age, no rust or flaking gold plating.......

I sure do play live with this, could care less what the logo on the headstock says. I always have a backup, especially with a floyd rose. I don't baby this guitar in any way.

I work on my own instruments and this is discontinued...... fender pulled the plug on these when they started to cut into the sales of their american strats.

I've been playing since I was little. I have a good collection of "work-horses", each with their personalities and uses. Tele for stones stuff (five string tuned to G), 70's Epi (tuned to E for slide stuff), another fender stratocaster (87 50's reissue). Various other instruments for whatever comes up.... I'm looking for more of these, since the parts are of high quality (the same as the american strats from the same period, which is why they pulled the plug on these.)

Not sure about the year. 22 frets. Laminated top. One (1) colume, one (1) tone. s/s/h pickup configuration (alnico) Fenders. Passive elextronics. Ash body. Maple neck and fretboard. Strat body. Floy Rose II trem. Grover Locking tuners.

Ponk Floydish sound... perfect for my style excellent for use with overdrives, flangers, delays, chorus... probably the meta effects sound fine only in the hb position... neck pickup is excellent for lead and solo if you have a volume pedal.

I play it through my Ibanez green overdrive, and switch between (all Boss) stereo chorus, digital delay, flanger, eq and sometimes metal zone distortion... or a Boss GT-6 processor... Amp: Roland JC 77... i love the sound so far, even when played directly into the amp, i get bluesy sweet sounds from neck pickup and humbucker and funky, twangy from all the in-betweens... Would like a little more brightness un the HB though.

Too high an action.... Nothing that couldn't be fixed with some experimenting at the Floyd and the truss rod... actually, it took quite a while to get my dsired action (which us really low) without getting buzzes from the strings or the vubration unnaturaly cut in the high frets. BUT GOT IT! Beautiful finish... had to do some pickup adjusting myself (strings too high)... The only quiet pickup is the HB... Planning on getting some lace beamer sc's in the near future.

You kidding me??? The axe looks like a girl, but it's been really abused and totally functional... expose to water, heat, cold... probably the more you abuse it, the better it sounds. The finish is virtually new, but the golden hardware has faded a lot... Wanna see a pic??? ggvccs@hotmail.com

TERRIBLE- NONEXISTENT... By the way... where can i find the price of this guitar in the net???? It's so hard to find anything a bout it.... not even pics... I read somewhere that it was discontinued because it was a match for Fender Fender's!!!!! (not a crazy statement!)

I've compared mine with Fenders... been playing Fender for around 10 years... (basically, my kind of guitar) and found mine superior to $950 American Standards.... Probably not perfect from factory, but once again, you make your guitar what it is (generally)
This guitar would have never crossed my mind if it wasn't for the price (I had planned on reselling to some poser) but hey, I fell in love. Once you have a guitar for each kind of sound, you see that there's nothing it lacks in it`s own domain... I've used it as an only guitar in small gigs, and it's been a pleasure. I love that it's so rare and no one has it, and those who do, are ashamed by the Squier logo...pfff... ummm... probably Gibson Les Pauls, PRS's, Parkers (and not all of them) are the ones that beat this one to death.... Definitely an underrated guitar

Ash body , black finished, 1 piece maple neck (&fingerboard), 12" radius neck (NOT 9.5" like almost fender& squier product!!), gold colour licensed floyd rose double locking bridge, matching painted headstock (black), original pickup config. is H-S-S and 1 vol + 1 Tone, black shell pickguard, gig bag included

I replaced The original pickguard (=black shell) with the mirror pickguard (S-S-S pickup configuration, 1 vol + 2 tone), and: WOW!!!! it definitely look close to the IRON MAIDEN SIGNATURE STRAT!!! I use 3 way pickup switching, push-pull tone potentio (for producing the split sound like single coil) and also replaced the original pickup w/ Seymour duncan SHR-1b hot rails (bridge PU) and SL59-n little '59 (neck PU) and no pickup in the middle position, because I never use the middle pickup, and also I love the way of Mr. Ritchie Blackmore rules!! ( as you know, Rtichie's configuration is neck& bridge PU without middle PU and use 3 way PU switching)

This is the very smooth sound guitar!! if you like ( or play) neoclassical rock style with full of arpeggio and sweeping tone,but you still need a dive-bomb trick for your music, THIS IS THE REALLY GOOD CHOICE!!your fingering running will sound very smooth, and I think the major factor of that because of it's maple fingerboard and the ash body. I really love neoclassical playing like Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen style, but you may confused: why I just give "8" for this sound rating? Because it is not a totally perfect Rock guitar! If you wanna play music like metallica, Pantera, megadeth, Sepultura, and many of the hard metal, I will say: this is the SUCK guitar!! because the sound is very very Soft for the hard music like them.

So the conclusion is: this guitar sound is just perfect for neoclassical rock styling, and maybe some jazz or blues stuff I think...

Because this is the old production guitar, and discontinued from 1999 (I think)until now, so if you buying this axe above 2000, it may need some re-adjustment.

Nothing special, everything is just fine as it should be, but one thing I will tell you about this "secret" guitar setting is: the low action of the first E string is 1" and the sixth string is 1.5" !!! remeber: THIS IS NOT IBANEZ RG SERIES WITH FAST WIZARD NECK!! as we know that Ibanez RG series has the ultra low action setting. If you can setup your guitar you can try to get my setting, the secret is just at the truss rod and the floyd rose. Don't worry!! I'm not a liar, you can get the Ibanez RG string action on your squier pro tone fat strat!!

I just give "9" for this disscusion because the sustain of the guitar not as long as I expect for this guitar :( , maybe my very low action string setting made this "disapointed" happened... :(

Everything is just fine too, and I give this "9" because stratocaster always difficult to me for playing in the upper fret. I prefer use my Ibanez RG270DX if I need to playing in the upper fret because RG has the access neck joint for playing the upper fret

Never need

Nice price for the very very good axe !! that's just what I can say for this nice guitar!!!

I also have Ibanez RG270DX w/ seymour duncan distortion in the neck and distortion trembucker in the bridge.

I've been playing guitar for 7 seven years (1996-2003 now), and playing some neoclassical rock / metal stuff like ritchie blackmore, Yngwie malmsteen, and many more.... I REALLY LOVE SHRED PLAYING!!!

My other gears:
Ibanez RG (as mentioned above), Ibanez TS9DX, Marshall Jackhammer, Korg AX1500G, Ibanez IBZ3 guitar amp

My guitar was made in 1997 in Korea at the Cort factory. It'sgot the standard 22 fret neck, and had a solid body(no laminates here) It has one volume and one tone and a 5 way selector. It has a S/S/H passive pickup configuration. It's got a beautiful glossy black finish with matching headstock. It has a maple neck with maple fretboard. I love the Floyd Rose bridge,even though I hardly ever use a trem. This guitar came with a gig bag, that I promptly threw off tothe side.

One word, WOW! I have played this guitar through a variety of amps and it has the best tones I've ever heard with all of them. I'm currently using it with a Quantum 25R Twin, a silvertone twin twelve tube amp and a danelectro nifty seventy bass amp. I'm running a Dunlop crybaby wha, a Boss DS-1 distortion and an Ibanez SC10 Chorus. This combo along with the built in reverb on the Quantum make for a rock sound that I use for everything from classic rock to metal and everything in between.

This guitar has a better fit than some Amereican Fenders I've seen. If there are any flaws whatsoever,I haven't found them yet.

This thing is built like a tank, I'd use it for anything I'd play an electric guitar for. I broke a bolt on the Floyd last month, but that was my stupidity not a flaw in quality. I'm depending on the strap buttons in that I normally use strap locks, but not here. I wouldn't use it without a backup only because changing strings is a pain.

Never needed it

I have turned down several offers to trade this,one for a Fender Strat,and the other for an ESP Viper 300, I had to refuse both. I sold a good little bit of my musical equipment to be able to afford this, including a brand new strat copy, so I knew what I was getting. I compared this to several other strats on the wall at the store, as well as my friends guitars. If it got stolen I would hunt down the perpetrator and perform various tortures on their person. I haven't been playing very long, but I have handled musical equipment for a Church worship team for the past two years,and I havelearned what sounds good and can withstand moving around. This is a guitar that can run with the best of them.

Made in 2000. Squier by fender (don't let the squier bit put you off!). Fat strat, black body (made of ash), maple neck and fretboard, black headstock and black scratchplate (superb finish). S/S/H configuration, one volume control (for all three pickups), two tone controls (one for the neck single-coil, one for the middle single-coil, no tone control for the humbucker), Fender bridge and chrome hardware. All good quality stuff. A couple of modifications made; see below.

I use a Laney LC15 all-valve amp and a Boss Overdrive/Distortion pedal. Basically, this guitar sounds superb. The humbucker has plenty of guts, sounds great and can be played clean AND still sound good. The two single-coils also sound good, not as much output as the humbucker, but still louder than other strats I've tried. Single-coils sound great for that gentle rhythmm bit, just before you switch to the 'bucker, dial in a bit of overdrive and all hell breaks loose. Neck's thin (not like an Ibanez wizard), but is very comfortable to play. Criticism's? Yes! No tone control for the humbucker and the humbucker/middle single-coil mix sounds a bit uninspiring (a bit like they are working against each other). Thankfully i've managed to rectify these problems. Now I've got a Lace Sensor Silver in the middle position and at the same time had the controls modified so that the tone control that deals with the middle pickup also controls the humbucker. Before, perfectly respectable Strat. Now, Strat worth dying for. Plays any style, and I mean any style (just not boy-bands!).

Guitar sounded superb when bought. Comprehensive set-up from the shop I bought it from, and at no extra charge.

As I've said before, everything looks good quality stuff. Stays in tune for ages!. Only worry is the black finish will show any scratches on the guitar (but that's my fault for wanting a black one)!

Never had to deal with Fender so far.

I also own a Yamaha Pacifica 112, but this Squier is just so much better. Particulary after I had it modified. As a guitar to start on, and gradually modify as you go along it's perfect. I repeat, DO NOT let the Squier tag put you off. But, be careful. I tried a couple of other Squier pro tone's before i bought this one, and they weren't as good. Squier's quality control can be very patchy, so try as many as you can before you part with you're money. I was lucky, I got a good one!

MY squier protone strat was made in 98. It has 3 single strat pickups.One vol Two tone controls.It has a maple neck and maple fret board.It as a ash body and the finish is a creamy blonde color.

I play alot of blues like stevie ray vaughan freddie king and metal.I had my guitar tech put texas spl pickups and wow the tone i get.I use a fender blue deluxe amp and a ibanez tube screamer.I love this guitar i had the chance to sale the guitar but i can't i love it.I have droped it punched it and still stays in tune!

The action when i got it was nice felt real good.when i got it was cherry but now after 3 to 4 years of playing it has dings but still makes people yell and get down at clubs!

I play this guitar alot in blues clubs and it takes a beating.The hardwear lasted a long time but i had to replace the saddles on the term.I think the strap button s are good.I can really depend on this guitar!I have used this guitar in many gigs never had a problam.

I never had to deal with the company.I had texas spl pickups put in.I think the warranty was 1 year.

i been playing snice i was 8 and 16 now.My other guitars are gibson explorer and a fender strat american but i like my protone more!If my protone was stolein i would cry and kill the person that did it.I played with other poeple that have american strats and they wanted to trade.I wish my had gold hardwear but soon will.If anyone wants a good guitar good sounding buy this guitar i love it more then my american and my american is brand new.

Well, as far as features go, I like it....Though I'm not sure of the year, I know it is made in Korea. It has 21 frets (Bear with me, I'm fairly new with this whole 'guitar' thing) One Volume knob, two for Tone, 5-way selector. It has three single coil pickups in typical strat fasion...I'm not sure what type. It's got a maple neck and an ash body, which I've been told the ash body is a good thing to have. Oh the fretboard is rose wood by the way. It has a very beautiful transparent red finish, with gold colored (Brass I assume) tuning pegs, bridge, pickguard screws, and other stuff like that. It's a standard stratocaster body style. The bridge is a Fender, I don't know what the tuning pegs are....they're your typical pegs that's about it. It's got a thin neck with (as I said before) a rosewood fretboard. This particular guitar came with no extra's. But for a mere $185, what do you want?

Well, I play this thing through my bass amp.....yes, my TNT 115 bass amp with a Digitech VGS 50 multi-effects pedal that isn't mine. And it sounds good. I'm in a punk/ska band, and for what I need it for it sounds great. But just so you know, I played it through a friends Crate somethin' somethin' (All I know is it's a nice amp) guitar amp, and it still sounded really good. It makes your typical stratocaster sounds. With the right pedal, this thing will sound like a million bucks. I have compared it to the sound of a Fender American Powerhouse Strat and a Tex-Mex Strat, both are $500+ guitars. And it sounds about the same, with no adjustments made to it at all.

Well, the pickups need some adjustment, so I've been told. But everything else was great....it looks nice, and plays great. I'm very new at guitar and I sound much better than I am. All in all very good.

I will decline to comment as I haven't yet put it through much torment yet....I stress this yet part.

See above

Well, I have only been playing for a short while, though I have touched guitars before, and as for the basics I know enough to distinguish good crap from bad crap. This is good crap....the kind I like to spend my money on. It's a great guitar for someone that doesn't have TONS of money to blow, and even if I did, I might still buy it. If it were stolen or lost I would cry then kindly find the person and kindly beat the snot out of them, sell off their organs and buy a new one. I love the fact that this is a quality guitar at a fraction of what it should cost. I mean even $350 would be worth it (Which is what it was, but I got it at a half off sale....that's right $175!!! And then came the stupid taxes....jerks). I don't really hate anything, though I kinda wish it had a humbucker, but hey I don't have the money to be choosey. All in all, well worth my money.....Not neccessarily yours.

This is a 1997 black Squire Pro Tone Fat Strat. It has a solid ash body with a beautiful gloss black finish and a black pearloid (or tortoise) pickguard that has a kind of gray/blue look to it depending on the light. All hardware is gold including the Floyd Rose double locking trem system. The guitar has has a humbucker pickup in the bridge and a single coil in both the center and neck positions. It has a single volume and a single tone control with gold knobs. It has 5 way pickup selection. Guitar has a maple neck with maple fretboard and large, fat frets. The headstock is gloss black to match the body. You've just gotta see this guitar....it's beautiful

This thing sounds great. With the bridge humbucker selected I can do pretty good metal through my Ibanez tubescreamer plugged into...you won't believe it...an Epiphone Acoustic Regent 30 with treble and bass turned all the way up and mid range turned all the way down. Heck, the other pickups sound good too. I don't care much for the humbucker/middle single coil selection tonewise but that's just my preference. I'm not quite sure how to describe the sound of this guitar, it's not bright and edgey like my 3 single coil Pro Tone strat but I like it. In fact I find myself playing this one more. My daughter's guitar teacher was really impressed with it's sound when she showed up at a lesson with it one day.

I bought this guitar used and the action was setup nicely already. I did replace the strings with new Fender stainless bullets (10s with the bullets removed for the Floyd of course). Everything about the guitar is really nice. One of the neck screws was just a little loose but I fixed it. The tuners seemed to me to be a little sloppy when I went to change the strings but who cares when you have a locking nut. The previous owner had taken pretty good care of the guitar so I can't judge factory setup.

I believe this guitar will stand up as well as any. The finish is solid but you know black....it'll show every little scratch over time. The strap buttons on this Pro Tone were pretty lame brass ones not the same as the stock buttons on my other Pro Tone. However, just like the other one (and nothing was wrong with it's buttons, they were great) I replaced the buttons with Schaller locking buttons.

Can't judge this one as I bought from and individual and haven't dealt with Fender yet.

I simply love this guitar. I have a tough time deciding which of my Pro Tones I love the best. They are distinctly different and beautiful instruments and I love them both. If somebody stole this one I would hunt them down until I found them and make them listen to me playing very loud Ted Nugent style feedback licks until they were either reformed or went crazy.

This is a beautiful solid ash Squiere Pro Tone Strat with crimson transparent finish and pearloid pick guard. All hardware is gold with vintage style Fender tremolo bridge. It's equipped with Fender 9s for strings and 3 single coils with 5 way switching, volume, and 2 tone controls. If it was equipped from the factory with locking tuners I would've given it a 10 in this category...I know picky, picky.

It sounds really great but could use a little more output and a little less noise but hey they're single coils. Sound is really bright and edgy especially on the bridge pickup.

Factory setup was a bit high but felt good to me. Guitar store included lifetime free maintenance and setups so that has been corrected. The fit and finish of this guitar is simply awesome. The strings were a little corroded and the hardware needed polished but the guitar had been hanging in the guitar shop for 3 years. The dealer fixed it all up right with new strings and polished the hardware up.

I sometimes pound the hell out of the strings and other times I don't. It always holds up. I'm surprised how well it stays in tune with the stock tuners. The finish is a polyurethane finish that I think will hold up for a long time. Strap buttons are better than most I've seen even on MIM or MIA Fenders. However, I replaced them with Schaller locking buttons. If I were a professional musician I would use it in a gig in a heartbeat. I would never do a gig without a back up so whether I would use it without a backup or not is a stupid question

I don't know about Fender but my dealer seems to be solid although they charged my wife way too much for the guitar....but then again I get lifetime free maintenance and setups. I think I could've got the price down more if we had tried a little harder.

If this guitar was lost or stolen I would try and get another one....heck I liked it so much I went out on e-bay and found several more and entered bids. I even won the auction on a Pro Tone Fat Strat. Check out it's review.