Fender Standard Stratocaster

Has all the features of a U.S.A. American Standard Stratocaster. One BIG plus is the Grease Bucket Tone circuits & the bridge is wired for tone. The pickups are nice...not as Crisp as i'd like but just fine I ASSURE YOU. The neck feels good, I like the large frets.

This guitar really shines here...the more you roll off the tone the better the guitar sounds...simply marvelous! You can't beat the Grease Bucket Tone Circuits!!! The middle pickup is wired hot and is a real thumper! The Bridge Pickup is fat and BARKY with Tone control This Guitar's Tone is great...no need to go and spend another $200 plus for some pickups...besides most tone issues are the fault of the player, not the guitar!

The smooth Nitro Satin finish is beautiful!This guitar SHINES!

Built like a tank! I'd gig with it anywhere anyday! Nice and light too!

Fender's fantastic!

This is by far the best value Fender offers in a Strat guitar HANDS DOWN! It stomps the competetion too!

2006 MIM standard (upgraded)...3 ceramic single coil standard strat pick-ups, 21 fret (medium jumbo), 5 way switch, alder body, maple neck/fretboard, white.

Sounds like a strat although a little dark compared to other strats I've owned or borrowed...decent output...good tonal range and more sustain than other strats I've owned (maybe because of the denser tremolo block on the 2006 model). I still find it quite noisy even with the improved shielding...depends alot on whats' around you and how close you are to the amp. Depending on your amp and effects its' good for just about any music except maybe really heavy, grundgy stuff.
I may eventually change the pick-ups...maybe...eventually...not like its' a must do type thing, the stock pick-ups are quite alright.

I don't know if I just got lucky or if the quality control has gone up but there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with this guitar when I bought it. I have not had to adjust the touch, intonation...nothing...no dents, scratches, dead spots, buzzing...nothing...I've owned many guitars and this is the first one that I didn't have to do anything to. Maybe the guy putting it together was having a really good day.

I think if I dropped it down the stairs it might go out of tune. The only reason I bring a backup is for different sound or if I pop a string.

Never needed it.

I've waited a year before rating this guitar...like I said earlier, I don't know if I just got lucky with this one but I just love it. I've had a 2003 MIM, 2 American and a Japanese Squier and this is the one I think I'll hang on to forever.
Oh..one more thing...there seems to be very little finishing on the neck which at first seems kind of cheap. But after you play it for awhile you start noticing that you don't stick to it and can move your hand very quickly even when it is very warm.
I'm not giving it a perfect rating because the pick-ups could be a little better and I sometimes would really like the 22 frets.

This is a 2002 Mexican strat. I bought it second hand. It has an unusual metallic green finish, i've only ever seen telecasters this colour anywhere else. As you'd expect, it has the typical strat 6-saddle tremolo bridge with the thru-body tailpiece. It has fender tuners, And a bolt on maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, the usual fender scale length (couldn't remember the exact measurements if my life depended on it), 21 frets. It's a traditional SSS strat, with a 5 way pickup select, a master volume and tone controls for the neck and middle pickup. I think they are stock pickups, but i got it second hand so i wouldn't know. The body is Alder like all MIM strats.

This guitar suits just about everything i do, and i do a lot of different styles. It is great for funk, rock, blues etc. but might not be so great for heavier styles. I'm using a Vox Valvetronix amp with it, sounds great on the lower to medium gain settings but you get a lot of noise once you push the gain a bit more. Mainly this happens when you are using any of the pickups on their own, it cancels the noise a little if you use 2 pickups. Since this is the rosewood fretboard model, it's got a bright, twangy sound, but also some nice warmth underneath. Even the neck pickup is quite wirey, just a bit smoother. You can get a wide range of sounds, on the bridge pickup you get a sharp, snappy sound, and it gets smoother as you move towards the neck pickup. With the bridge/middle or middle/neck pickups in unison, you get a thin reedy sound that i love to mess with. even though it's one of the cheaper fenders, it sounds wonderful.

I can't really comment on the factory setup as it was 4 years old when i bought it second hand. At the moment though i'm getting a few fret-buzz problems which have occured since i changed the strings, even though i'm using the same gauge, i think the action is set too low though. The pickups are well adjusted though, they are close enough to the strings without causing them to stick or reducing sustain. There are no problems with it other than the action being too low and the tremolo being a bit squeaky, but that squeak isn't picked up by an amp so it's not a serious problem.

This guitar is already nearly 6 years old and it's still in excellent condition, i think its been gigged with a few times and no damage, so it certainly can withstand live playing. The hardware is of a high standard, it's all fenders own tuners, saddles etc. and the finish is going to last a long time, it's lasted 6 years and no scratches or chips have been taken out of it yet. The strap buttons are solid and hold the strap well. I can depend on this guitar definitely, and i'd use it in a gig without a backup and not be worried.

Not dealt with them myself, although i have heard bad things about fender's customer support.

I've been playing 10-11 years i think, and this is the only true "big name" brand guitar i own other than a Rickenbacker bass I inherited. It's a strat, i didn't need to ask anything before buying it, i knew exactly what i was getting. If it were stolen or lost, i'd probably get very depressed about it, it's not every day i get the opportunity to buy a real fender, but i'd certainly try to save up for another strat, if not a mustang. I love the comfortable body shape, the versatility and the solid, good quality feel of the guitar, there's nothing i dislike other than the excessively low action the previous owner left it with. I was so eager to get my hands on this guitar, i put a ??100 deposit on it whilst unsure whether i was going to be able to afford to pay the rest of the cost, luckily it worked out alright in the end.

Body Style: "Classic" strat body
Bridge: fender stamped vintage
Tuners: standard fender
Neck: one thing i love about strats is the neck, perfect c shaped neck can fit the whole of my hand around it very comfortable.

made in Mexico, 2005 model i think. 21 frets, 3 single coil pickups. alder body maple neck 3 colour sunburst finish.

The attention to detail on this guitar is satisfactory. not the prettiest strat ive ever seen but does the job just fine. it feels more or less like a usa standard

pickups: replaced originals with lace sensor hot gold, with the extra hot bridge, without these babies the features would be a 6 or 7

the sound of this guitar is amazing for the price!! i have another strat, a USA deluxe model and it actually isnt far behind if not on par with the tone that guitar delivers. I think though that is mainly down to the pickups i have installed on this baby. the lace sensors in my eyes are one of the best strat replacement pickups i have ever owned or played it has simply beautiful tones in clean and overdriven and has almost a compressed sound to it.

Standard though this guitar is nothing really that special, sounds good sill but lacks clarity and definition. I use a vox valvetronix and a few select effects, i have a ts9 and that gives the whole rig a breathtaking bluesy feel, cant beat it. for variety this guitar is also very good, the bridge pickup with all the tone rolled of and the distortion set high can give a humbucker-esque type feel and can manage the heavier rock with ease even metal!!

there isnt much noise coming from the actual guitar itself as the pickups are noiseless

the action from factory wasn't brilliant in fact i had to sit down and readjust the whole thing myself, the pickups where fine there are several small flaws in the actual neck of the guitar but these are purely cosmetic and don't affect the playability in any way

this guitar could b easily used by a professional and would withstand a great beating. its solid as a rock like most strats are and i can totally depend on it

i would never gig without a back up though as that is just asking for trouble

never had to use them with any fender product!!

ive been playing for roughly 4 years i own 4 other guitars and 3 other amps, this is my second choice guitar but only to a model that cost me ??900, that said i think its a pretty fabulous guitar.

i recently played a few US standards and have found that with the adjustments made it actually leaves them for dust!! don't think that just because something is American it will be much better than anything else, cause its just not true!! Korean models are not far behind and i have played several Japanese squires and i will buy one as soon as i manage to find one on ebay. or rather when i have enough cash!!

It's a 2006 Standard Strat with a vintage trem, standard Fender tuners, a medium C shape maple neck, maple fretboard (slight tint), alder body, has the standard 5 way switch, tone for middle and bridge, and master volume. Pickups are just standard ceramic magnet single coils. I'm pretty sure it's a nitrocellulose lacquer finish and it's in electron blue. Depending on the lighting, it might look black or purple. And the radius is 9 1/2" and it's got a full 25.5" scale.

If you're looking into a Strat, you know what they have. Sort of hard to give a rating on that. It's got what you need. Came with a pretty decent gig bag too.

I own two other guitars and this Fender is meant for a way different style. I bought the Strat to cover classic rock like ZZ Top, Kiss, Aerosmith, just your basic classic rock, nothing too hard. And I also use it for classical, jazz type music, and there are a ton of others. I got it for it's clean sound too, because my Peavey is meant for hard rock and I haven't played my Washburn yet.

Anyway, my effects chain is a GV-2 -> Small Stone -> Crybaby Classic -> Vox Pathfinder 15R. It's a little noisy even though it's been shielded, but I'll get to why later. Obviously what's around you is a factor as well as where you are on the switch. Now, it's been a while since I've played an MIM, back before the upgrades and I can tell you this has a bit of a hotter sound to it. It's not a lot, but you'll hear it. But even still, that nice sparkle is still alive in there. Using your switching to it's full potential, you can do a lot with it. Whether or not the sound is full depends on your chain and settings. With mine, it's about as full as you can get a Strat to go. High end isn't too harsh on your ears. The GV-2 pedal enables me to use it for classic rock, and if I want to go heavier, I can readjust it for 80's metal and sound pretty good. But the pickups are a bit more modern sounding. It's not to say you can't do older music though. They're good for pretty much everything except heavy metal. What you put the guitar through is a huge part of how it sounds, don't forget that.

Overall, I love the sound. I play mainly 80's metal, but I've always loved the Strat sound. There is just something about it that I've always been drawn to. And it expands my playing out because I can do so much with it.

I needed to tighten up the truss rod, but then again I put 11's on, so that was why. The action was what most people would consider high, but I like high action on my guitars because I don't catch strings under my nails and I've just grown used to it. I had to raise up the pickups to get them closer. The screws were a little hard to turn. But that really didn't bother anything. There were no real problems with the guitar. But I'll go into detail about the little ones. On the top, there is a spot where the finish is a bit rough. It's visible if the light hits it just right. And the ground wire in the back had come off the metal. That's why it was so noisy. You can shield all you want, if that's not there, it will be noisy. But I just used some electrical tape for now until I can find the right solder.

Other than those, which are minor at best, everything else was fine. Frets looked good and weren't sticking out, tuners work good, nut is well cut, finish is smooth except for the one spot, so there were no real big problems at all.

Every Strat I've borrowed was a tank and this thing is too. I'm not going to jump around with it or anything like that. Everything on the guitar looks solid and I'm sure it will last. I might change out the tuners for Schaller locking ones, but the Ping tuners will hold tune pretty well. Finish is great, doesn't seem too thick, but it resists scratching well. Bridge and saddles seem pretty good, they don't seem like they're going to wear out anytime soon. Selector switch is smooth.

I know I can depend on this because I've used Strats plenty and I've never had a problem. I know people who have had their Strats for years with no problems. Occaisionally, I'll hear about something going wrong, but that's the way of life. Things break.

Never had to deal with Fender. It comes with a warranty, but if you read it, you'll wonder why it's even there. It's sort of funny.

I've been playing a good while now. I don't remember when I started, but it's hard to remember when I haven't been. I'm not a pro by any means. I've borrowed a few Strats in the past and I did my homework on this, so I knew what I was getting, so it was no surprise. If I ever lost it or someone stole it, I'd get another one as soon as I could. The range of sounds you can pull from this (depends what you do with it)is definately one of the biggest things about it I like. Everything on the guitar has a use for something. I didn't compare the Strat to any other guitars. What other guitars are like a Strat? The only things I wish were different on my Strat are: I wish it had Schaller strap locks and I wish the saddles were stainless steel instead of case hardened stamped steel.

A Strat is sort of in a category by itself. You can do a lot with one depending on what you choose to do. It's a great guitar. I thought it was the coolest things ever when I got it and actually had a Fender. It's been one of those guitars I've always wanted, so I'm very happy I saved up and bought one. But in the end, this is my opinion. Go out and try one and hear if it's for you.

2005 Standard MIM Stratocaster. Polyester finish on alder body, polyurethane satin on maple "C" profile neck. 9.5-inch radius maple fingerboard. Vintage-style sychronized tremolo. Fender/Ping standard-style sealed cast tuners. Three single-coil ceramic pickups. 5-way switch. Does not have medium jumbo frets or the larger tremolo block like the 2006 and up models.

This guitar is used with a Fender Blues Junior. Very thin and bright sound almost to the point of being harsh. While I expect that to a certain degree with a budget Strat the tones on this particular guitar aren't very wide-ranging.

The first example had a small drop of excess glue on the fingerboard next to a fret. When I brought it back the sales guy picked the glue off pulling some of the neck finish up with the glue. Exchanged that Strat for another immediately.

The second example (which I kept) has a horribly cut nut - while functional, the slots have a "V" shape instead of a "U" shape which means the string is only making contact on two small points of the nut. One slot doesn't even go straight down towards the neck - it's cut at an angle. The pickguard had a small piece of excess foil shielding sticking out up by the neck (note that the only shielding on this 2005 model is supposed to be down by the switch). A couple of the tuner nuts were slightly loose.

Setup from the factory isn't all that critical to me - what's more important is that there are no major flaws that prevent you from setting the guitar up easily. This Strat did not require much tweaking as far as basic setup and nothing got in the way.

While it doesn't look like anyone was sweating the details when this was built the basic construction is solid. Finish is quite good.

Never dealt with Fender.

This guitar was originally bought for my wife to learn electric guitar on (she already is very proficient on violin). It's fine for that purpose - it's solid and has no playibility flaws. I ended up inheriting it and couldn't resist tweaking it to get rid of what to my ears was the less than inspiring tone.

I switched out the pickups for Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s, swapped the thin cast zinc alloy tremolo block out for a Callaham full-size steel block (the 2006 MIM larger blocks are not steel but still zinc alloy), and replaced the stock Fender saddles with Callahams. Switched the .009-.042 nickel-plated strings for .010-.046 nickel wounds. The guitar now has a full and resonant vintage tone. The thinness is completely gone and the tone is much more detailed harmonically.

What you've got is a good basic Strat with no major flaws that is great for a first or second guitar. It's built well enough that with some extra parts and tweaking you can get some very nice tone but it isn't so expensive that if you screw up modifying it you're out a ton of cash. Just be careful when you try it out at the store and look it over for less than steller workmanship on the finer points.

This model has a unusual finish (sliver-green)and red hot tone, it does blues-jazz-rock and more or less everything else.

I am using it in conjunction with a park G10R, boss sd-1, danelectro grilled cheese and a danelectro BLT. it souds great! you can get bluesy solos with the grilled cheese, funky riffs with the BLT and super fat tone with the Sd-1.

This guitar is in great condition, i bought it second hand from johny roadhouse in manchester. All it needed was new strings.

Ive only had it for about eight months but nothing bad has happend yet.

If never had any reason to call them.

he best guitar ive ever had...its really versitile. it doent really do metal though, a bridge humucker would be nice

The classic strat. What more can i say. It is the usual, five way pickup selector, three standard pickups and tremelo. Ypu all the know the deal!! It has a truly beautiful maple neck which is much nicer than any mexica i have played before.

It has the classic strat sound and is perfect for the kind of music i play: blues,classic rock and some more phycadellic stuff. However the pickups are very noisy when you crank up the overdrive, but then i guess you dont really want to do that on a strat.

I got it for christmas and i think the shop set it up. It was all beautifully set up. I had the action lowered a tad and there is a bit of buzz but not a lot. I had an ok fiish but a tad shiny for my liking and easily scratched.

I'm sure it will withstand a live gig but it does go out of tune if u over do it with the tremelo, which i do when i play hendrix esc stuff, that would be a problem for me.

Never had to deal with them, im sure i never will.

Well it is a truely awesome guitar and much bettter than any mexican i've eva played. I'd recomend it to anyone, ill change the pickups and something about the the tuning but apart from that this is one hell of a guitar.

Mine is a 2000 Standard (MIM) Strat in midnight blue. I've had it for 7 years and I still love it..mine has been slightly modified with a tortoise shell pickguard and a different tone knob configuration but otherwise it's stock.

Has the typical Strat tone...not as nice as the '98 strat plus I bought new and then had to sell (I know, I'm stupid) but it's close.

Mine is modified so that the rear tone knob is a master tone for all three pickups and the center tone knob is sort of a faux mid cut/boost. A friend of mine did this mod for me and I think it opens up the tonal possibilites of the guitar.

After 7 years, Ive decided that I'm sick of the stock pickups. The neck pickup seems incredibly muddy and bassy and this is where I play the guitar the most. I have ordered a set of aftermarket vintage style alnico pickups and am hoping they tighten the sound up some. I always try to get that Sevie Ray 'swamp tone' from my strats and the standard strat has that but I think the new pickups will help it

I always modify my setup from the factory so I don't really take that into account. I can say that the guitar sets up well and I've got the action set very low with no buzz. The guitar holds it's settings and tune well and I've had no problems.

I always set my strat tremolos up to 'float'...and I use the trem a lot for jazzy style instrumentals, indie rock, and freaky hendrix style blues. I have no problem with it staying in tune.

My rosewood neck has a great grain and black stripes to it which i really like.

I play the strat through a fender blues JR and various effects including a tube screamer, boss overdrive, delay, tremolo, morley wah, and the occasional phaser.

Have had no problems in 7 years...only one ding. I play and record mostly in a home studio but it's bombproof...it's a strat

not used

Don't fall for the hype surrounding the "American Standard" strats. Most of the parts for the mexi strat are made in the same factory as the US strats and then just shipped over the border for assembly. Upgrade the pickups and the tuners ( and the saddles if you're so inclined) and you pretty much have the American version at half the price.

I actually played Mexi and American versions side by side when I bought this...I chose the Mexi because I didn't see $500 difference between the two. Someday I will get my Strat Plus with the Lace Sensors, LSR roller nut, and Sperzel tuners back and let me tell you...THAT strat was worth the extra $700.

This is an add-in to my earlier review. After looking through some of the reviews I noticed that some people were unhappy with the tremelo because the strings catch in the nut and string trees.

There's a simple trick you can use to help combat strings sticking in the nut. It also makes the guitar easier to tune as strings won't catch and "pop" sharp or flat suddenly as you try to fine-tune the string. Go to your local convenience or drugstore and pick up a tube of Chap-Stick, just the pink stuff in the black tube with the twist-up base. It's the perfect lubricant. One at a time, detune each string until you can just pull it out of the nut and/or tree far enough to reach with the chapstick. Then, simply rub the string with it up and down for about a half-inch at the points where it runs through the nut and tree. Don't get too much on the string (rub up and down and don't twist the tube), and try not to get any on the fretboard (It really won't hurt the fretboard, but it could build up gunk over time). Put the string back in place and tune it up. The Chap-Stick makes the strings slide smoothly through the nut, both when you tune and when you bend/whammy, and it also prevents wear on the nut from wound strings, which can be considerable if you use all-stainless strings like I do. The Chap-Stick is also waxy and thick enough to stay where it's put, so it'll last for the life of the strings. Obviously you'll have to do this again each string change, but a tube of chapstick is less than a buck and will be enough for dozens if not hundreds of string changes (you'll probably lose it, or melt it in the washer or a hot car, before you use it up)

I was originally clued into this as a bassist's trick, since the larger-gauge windings are rougher on the nut, and at least on a Fender Jazz the string tree tears the hell out of the nylon wrapping at the top of the string (something guitar players don't have to worry about, but wound strings will eventually grind the nut down). Trust me on this, your strings will tune, bend, and detune much more smoothly.

Finally, make sure you break-in the string. Again, it's more important for bass strings, but steel does stretch under tension, and a brand-new, properly-tuned string will start going flat rather quickly; there is a limit to how much a string will stretch, but you'll get more useful life out of the string if you break it in as soon as possible before you wear it out. When installing my strings, I first tune each one as I install it as if it were the next string up: E gets tuned to A, A to D, and so on. Just a little extra stretching of the string helps keep it in tune. Bassists also "snap" new strings, where you fret the twelfth fret, pull the string taut, and pop it hard against the board as if you were in a thrash-funk band. You could easily break any gauge of guitar string that way, but the idea holds.