Fender Standard Ash Stratocaster

This is a Made in Mexico Guitar Center "Special Edition" natural finish ash telecaster. I think it is a 2005. The body seems to be two pieces, but it is beautiful. It has a maple neck with a "C" profile, 21 vintage frets, the modern six saddle bridge. I think it has the stock MIM tele pickups. It's used, and the tele pressure fit jackplate has been replaced with a Les Paul style thing with four screws, which I think is an advantage. It has a white pickguard. I talked them into including the gig bag, even though it was used. It is a bit heavier than the average tele. I'm giving it an "8" because after all it's a tele, kind of bare bones.

I play blues, country, rock, folk, alternative, etc. I am not gigging presently. I use it for home recording, and the occasional coffee house for tips sort of thing. I am playing through a modified Crate VC 508 and a Carvin X-60A, plus through an ART Tube MP Studio and into the computer, where I apply amp sims and effects. The neck pickup is mellow and smokey, and can growl if you dig in, although it is not as hot as the bridge. The bridge is hotter, bright, and chimey, although it can get harsh if you dig in. All in all this guitar has a lot of pop, sparkle and twang. It sounds just right. I have an 80's ASAT Special, which I always wanted to sound like a tele. I love this tele, and now I can appreciate the ASAT for what it does well.

I am impressed with the quality. The neck pocket is tight, and the finish is flawless. I played some new MIM Standard teles, even one with an ash body, and they were nice, but the setup was a bit high for me. This one has been set up to play like a dream. It has 9's on it, and I usually use 10's, but I think I am going to continue with 9's because it just plays so nice. It is so expressive. I had a little trouble keeping the first and second strings in tune, but I put some wax on the string tree and it stays in tune fine now. The intonation is great.

In general a tele is built like a tank, and this is no exception. Nothing wimpy about it. The only part of a tele that is likely to fall off is the jack plate, and that has been replaced with a non-standard, but very effective solution. I'd probably bring another guitar to a paying gig, however. Murphy's law, you know.

It's used, so no company warranty. I actually haven't dealt with Fender for a long time, so I don't know.

I've been playing for 30 years. I've got G&L, Martin, Fernandez, Wechter, Ibanez, Ovation, and I have owned Fenders before. This is my first tele, however, and I would buy another. Telecasters are so versatile, you can do so many styles of music, and the MIM ones are a good value, especially if you can get an ash body for a reasonable price.

Made in 2003 in Mexico. Didn't count the frets. Body is 3 chunks of Ash glued together. Neck is maple. fretboard is Rosewood, but not dark like most. Standard Mexican El-cheap-o pickups which retail for $39.99 for the entire set of 3 pickups. Everything else is standard as far as I can tell. No gig bag or case.

It sounds much brighter than my other standard Mexican strat, with a bit more quack. I use a Fender BF Deluxe reverb and a Marshall JCM800 tube combo amp. You really have to crank the volume on this. Thin, distinct tone. I was going to replace all the Pickups with Duncans, but never got around to it. Pickguard needs to be some other color besides bright white, it blinds me. Pronounced Midrange, subdued highs, sharp bass, not deep as with my Poplar body strat.

Setup was OK, I guess. Action was medium. I'm not sure if the term "bookmatched" applies, but you can cleary see where the chuncks of the body are glued from a mile away. The grain is extremely course, and pronounced. The finsh is clear, which is really the reason I bought it.

It's only a year old, but it should last a few more.

I have never been able to contact these bastards in 35 years.

Overall, a good buy. It sure does quack, and for that, I give it a pat on the back, not because it's a strat that quacks, but by the fact that this strat quacks more than a std strat, all of which quack, some with more attack, some you have to really smack. If it didn't quack, it wouldn't be a strat, I would have hung it back up on the rack, and I'd have to come back.