Fender Standard Stratocaster

2005 Standard Stratocaster, MIM
Agave Blue, Rosewood neck.
Red, Silver, and Blue Lace sensor pick ups(after market).
The guitar is nothing fancy. It is simply put a solid piece of equipment.

I got rid of the factory pick ups because they hummed too much. I expected this and figured the price of the pick ups into the total price of the guitar. It is still worth every penny!

The guitar came out of the packaging and looked new. I could not ask for anything more. I took it home, replaced the strings and set up the action. I could not be happier with the guitar.

One of the questions for the review asks if the guitar would survivve live playing. I cannot for the life of me see why it wouldn't. As long it is played like a guitar and not like a drum it should be just fine.

I paid $369.00 for the guitar plus $28.00 tax and I got the set of pickups on Ebay for $85. So all in total I paid: $482.00
I think that by doing a little work myself and replacing the pickups I got a superb instrument for a very reasonable price. I will not buy an American Fender now that I know that I can do this for half the price and end up with a guitarthat is just a good, if not better!

Made in Mexico in 1995. Poplar body. Black with white pickguard. Maple neck with "skunk stripe" and rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale with medium frets. Tuners are cheap but hold tune fairly well. The neck config is a flattened "U" shape, too thin for my aging fingers. Standard Fender 6-screw trem system with undersized inertia block. The previous owner had changed out the stock (garbage) pickups with Lace Sensors, Red in the bridge position, Gold in the mid and neck positions. I bought this guitar with the intention of inserting its Lace Sensors into my SX SST Strat.

I've played other MiM strats with stock pickups and found their sound jangly and weak. Bought this one intending to exchange the MightyMites on my SX strat for the Lace Senosrs on this one and then selling this one for what I could get. I'd had a late 80's Fender US Strat Plus in the early 90's, equipped with Gold Lace Sensors and back then, loved their sound. Well, after playing this Mex Strat through my Roland Cube 30, and then playing my SX with its MightyMites at the same settings, well, the SX blew this one away every which way from Sunday. I guess if I had nothing to compare it to, I might be able to live with this Strat because it gives out some decent "strat" sounds on the "2" and "4" position but for the money, there are lots of better deals to be had out there.

Having bought this guitar used, I have no idea how it was originally set up. The previous owner had the trem set up "floating" with the action way too high. I "blocked" it and lowered the action substantially. The guitar seems to have decent sustain. However, it has cheap tuners and the "skunk stripe" in the back of the neck is not completely flush with the neck and one can feel its edges while playing.
This guitar is 10 years old and the finish still looks really good so I guess that's one thing Fender got right on this guitar.

Overall, this guitar just feels "cheap". I've had strat copies costing a lot less than this one that felt like they had more quality than this instrument. I guess you can impress your friends with the name on the headstock but hey, there are better deals to be had for a lot less money. Check out RondoMusic's SX and Agile line of guitars.

N/A. Never dealt with Fender warranties etc.

I've been playing for 40 years and have owned some really good guitars over that time. Bought and sold more than a few. One thing I've learned is that one can pay big bucks just for a name. A lot of hype out there. Let your fingers and your ears decide what's good and what works for you.
I kept this guitar for 2 weeks (long enough to decide that the MightyMite pickups on my SX Strat sounded better than this Strat with its non-stock upgraded Lace Sensors, and to realise that my SX SST-62 is just a better built guitar all the way around) and then put this one up for sale and managed to sell it quick (probably because or the Fender name). Would I buy another one of these? No way! I'd drop $99 for an SX SST-62 any day of the week first and end up with a better guitar for a lot less money.
To be fair, though, the later MiM Strats, the ones made in the last couple of years, are of better quality than the mid to late 90's versions and that's probably because so many of the "copies" were better and the Fender company, losing sales, was made to realize that it had to clean up its act to stay competitive.

2005 Fender Standard Stratocaster/ Sunburst w/ Maple Neck. (I would consider a 10 rating to mean this guitar is not the greatest guitar ever designed or built...but merely all it is intended and purported to be by the manufacturer.)
This is a Classic Strat setup...just like the name says, Standard...nothing more/nothing less! The 5 way PU switch is a "Great Leap Forward" compared to the days when I would have to try and balance the old 3 way switches between 2 PU's to get the out of phase tone that I have always preferred. Since I began playing 40 years ago, I have owned both a 1963 Strat(purchased used in 1968) and a 1965 Strat (purchased used in 1973)...and I would be hard pressed to tell you the difference between those two classics and this new one. It is a genuine Strat...regardless of where it was put together. There have always been good ones and bad ones. If you are a player who loves to use the tremolo arm, this might be a drawback to owning any Strat. I handled the screw in tremolo arm on this one the same way I did on my '63 and '65 models...unscrew it, throw it in a drawer, and forget it. (...although the 2005 tremolo arm, unlike the '63 and '65, doesn't have the superfluous ashtray bridgeplate to keep it company in the drawer...). As an aside, I also bought a brand new, generic vintage tweed style hard case from Musician's Friend for $39.95 (...on sale w/ free shipping...) to replace the Fender gig bag my Strat came with. It's a nice, sturdy case and very reasonably priced.

This is a very subjective category, as everyone has their own taste and comfort zone...that being said, this guitar sounds like a Strat has always sounded, and as good as any I've played or heard. If you want it to sound like something else, there is apparently no shortage of after market electronics and hardware one can add to make it sound like something other than a Strat...but the point of such alterations escapes me. I have always preferred a Strat to sound like a Strat. I play mine through a late 1960's Fender Bandmaster, a custom built pre - amp (to overdrive), with either a Boss Stereo Chorus or a Line 6 Pod 2.0. The harmonics ring out almost effortlessly and are very dynamic. The natural sustain of this guitar is outstanding and the tone is classic...but not all of the Standard or American Strats I played during my search were as good. Some played very flat and dead, and the electronics were overly noisy on some of them (especially in the 1, 3, or 5 positions, which as my '63 and '65 Strats taught me...have historically always been a little noisy. Beefing up the shielding around the wiring usually solves the problem). A few just didn't feel like they were put together very well. If you're buying a new one, any worthwhile dealer will be willing to have a tech set it up out of the box to factory specs if it hasn't already been done. There are also some great buys in the used market, just remember that a lot of what you find there may have been tampered with by the previous owner...so you may have to have it returned to its original setup. It would appear that Fender has made some significant improvements to the Standard in the last few years, some of the 90's models I played were clearly inferior in overall performance and quality to the newer ones. To find a real gem you really need to shop around.

The maple neck is a classic Stratocaster. The action is excellent, very close to the frets and easy to play. I have owned both, but I always thought the maple fret board had a little bit more high end sparkle than the rosewood...but it might just be my ear. 22 frets would have been nice but it's not a deal breaker to me. The alignment and intonation are true. Well balanced and comfortable to play. I bought a 1969 Gibson Les Paul brand new (you don't want to know what it cost me in 1969)...it has been my main guitar ever since, so the classic Strat frets are very close to what I am used to, and present no problem to me...if you like bigger frets, this would be a problem. The brown sunburst finish is flawless. I scoured this guitar looking for a fault that needed to be fixed and really couldn't find one...but again, some of these guitars (new and used/Standard and American) had some real issues and would have required some work. Shop Around!

This guitar is a beast...solid as a rock...very well constructed. The hardware is no frills, standard issue and I have encountered no problems with any of it. I was prepared to block the tailpiece, but really didn't need to. The tuners aren't fancy but as long as they keep the guitar in tune, replacing them seems an unnecessary exercise. If they present a problem down the road, it's an easy fix. No buzzing strings or frets/no dead spots/consistant all the way up the neck. The electronics, except for the need to upgrade the shielding of the wiring, appear to be functioning exactly as they were designed to perform. Although I usually use a Strat in conjunction with my Les Paul, I would not hesitate to use it live with no backup. If it were stolen I would start searching for another Standard to replace it. Spending more just to own an American wouldn't seem like an upgrade to me...it would merely seem like spending more. For me, the benchmark for Reliability and Durability is my 36 year old Les Paul, that has never once failed me...I'll update you in 2041 about the Strat. (...I'll be 88 or long dead...in either case I'll be typing slower...)

I have never had occasion to deal with Fender...but I've heard good things over the years.

This is an unbelievable value. I am completely "Old School" about guitars...it's the way I was raised. For electric guitars, there is Gibson and Fender...and then there is everything else. This Strat, along with my Les Paul, is all that I need. Whenever I have purchased a guitar I have always played as many as I could get my hands on in search of a keeper. I played approximately 30 Strats (Standard & American), over nearly a six week period before purchasing this one. The range in quality was much broader than I would have initially thought possible. If you know what you're looking for, and have the time and patience, I would highly recommend trying out as many as you can...there's always a winner out there waiting to be found...and when you find it, you'll know it. Don't be scared off by the "Made In Mexico" sticker, or fooled by the price tag...play a few. This is a first rate guitar and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wanted a true, classic Fender Strat.

2003 cream colored, polyester finsh Mexican Strat.
Alder body, maple neck and fretboard.
21-frets with S/S/S pups with 5-way switch. Standard cast/sealed tuners.
Ceramic magnet staggered pole pickups. Synchronized tremolo.

Talk about noisy!
The sound was overshadowed by the hum of the POS pups.
I replaced the pups with '04 American Strat pups that I got from eBay.
I then shielded the cavity and pickguard with copper tape.
It made a world of difference. It sounds a lot better now.

I didn't notice any flaws when I bought it and when I did the shielding.

The guitar is realiable and durable.

Never dealt with them.

Knowing the reputation of single-coil pups, especially on Strats, after 7 yrs I reluctantly bought one.
As expected, the pups stunk to high heaven, and I had to replace them.
The best thing about a Strat is the tone, it is awesome.
After some tweaking and replacing parts I have it to where I'm content...for now.
Be aware that you will need to replace the pups and shield the cavity if you don't have the money for an American Strat.
But, for a Mexican Strat, I can't complain. I got what I paid for.

21 Frets
Volume, Tone Control, 5-Way Selector
3 Single Coils

Basic Controls for the tone selection you need.

Great sounding guitar, it has that famous strat tone that we all love. It's a great guitar for blues, and I even play some rock and jazz on it. The single coil pickups tend to be very noisy though, so you often have to play with two pickups in order to get rid of the buzz. This is a hassle...

This guitar was pretty poorly set up, I had to have it fixed up at the shop. The bridge and the pickups were fine however. There were no other flaws besides the action.

This guitar doesn't seem like it's the toughest piece of equipment around. I would use this guitar without a backup, however. But if you are one throw your guitar on stage and such, don't expect this to last.

N/A

Good guitar for the price, but if I was ever to buy a strat again, I'd get an American model, not a standard strat.

Year: Bought it new in 2000. Made in Mexico... senor! 21 frets. Two piece (as far as i can tell!) poplar body in three colour sunburst polyester finish. Standard stratocaster controls, single volume and two tone pots coupled with 3 fender single coil pickups... is this sounding familiar or what! Mine is the maple necked version and it has the satin finish... chah i know, just like the rest of these ones! Standard vintage stratocaster bridge (except not made out of the stuff they use for american vintage strats!) with the usual floating tremolo. Enclosed tuners grace the headstock and are of a similar variety to those on the American standard strat. My guitar came with nothing other than a box and a couple of allen keys. In theory (read further) adds up to one of the most brilliantly conceived designs in human history, hence the 9.

I have been playing a little over 10 years and keep drifting back to the Clapton back catologue as well as other classic rock/blues. I also have a stab at indie and just recently a bit of country. Sound wise my strat covers these pretty well, however I believe the tone to be somewhat generic and thin sounding. Characterless is probably the best description. Upgrading the pickups would improve this considerably, but I would be more inclined to upgrade the guitar itself! I recently purchased a MIM 50's classic tele and it completely blows this guitar away with regards to sustain, playability and tone, so if you have the extra pennies i think the next step up in the range is money well spent. I do believe however, that my strat is not the best example of these guitars, as I have played others which were much more resonant and generally better made than mine. More on this shortly...

Here's where things get ugly guys. When I bought this instrument I was much younger and had only been playing electric guitar for a year. Furthermore this was my first step into the world of the "intermediate" instrument and hence my expectations and ability to discern decent build quality was greatly reduced. Put simply, as far as fit and finish goes, this guitar is a dud! Starting at the neck, the supposedly durable lacquer had already been chipped instore, exposing the bare wood behind the third fret. I didn't notice until I was past the return period with my dealer so now I'm stuck with a massive black spot there which doesn't want to buff out. I am only a bedroom player (at the minute... rock superstardom awaits!), and whilst this guitar has been well used in the time i've owned it, compared to other strats i've seen it hasn't lasted the distance at all. After about 2 years the edges of the fretboard started turning a cacky green colour as the thin finish wore away. My fingernails have made noticeable wide whitish scratches on the fretboard (not seen on other instruments of a similar age) and my light picking style has even chipped away more lacquer at the base of the fretboard. On the body itself there is a noticeable finish crack (which is gradually getting longer) creeping out from behind the neckplate (in my memory i haven't dropped the guitar at all so this seems unusual). My saddles on the low e and the a rusted out after about three years, despite being regularly wiped down, but by far the worst thing is the frets. Filing marks are easily visible either side of each fret (1mm wide on some) which collect sweat and turn the neck wood green. Also the fret ends were poorly finished over, with noticeable indentations in the neck as the ends aren't flush with the fretboard. These too oxidise and turn green as they collect hand gunk by virtue of me moving up and down the neck. I should point out htat i'm not a sweaty person, the neck lacquer is just ridiculously thin and frail. Notably, mine is a bad example and most other fenders i've played have been top notch. Try before you buy... and look very hard.

As stated earlier i am not a frequently gigging musician, however I believe that despite all of its faults, my strat would survive live use. The tuners are quite stable and everything works well and as it should. Just don't expect a sustaining, wailing powerhouse of tone. The instrument is solidly made, but I would always have a backup with me. Ideally this would be better suited (for me at least) as a backup guitar itself, as it looks the part and could stand up to being treated with neglect compare to a no.1 guitar.

Didn't seek it with this guitar, but to my knowledge fender dealers in my area are more than willing to assist in a prompt manner with any claims/problems.

As I said I was younger and dumber when I got this strat. Had I bought it now it would've gone back to the shop within a week. I'm sure though that it would've been replaced with another fender stratocaster anyway though! Nobody's perfect and it seems even the great guiar companies have bad days. I certainly trust the maker and have had only pleasurable playing experiences with other Fenders. If it were lost/stolen i wouldn't be devastated, as I have probably outgrown this guitar. At the end of the day though it still has that name on the headstock and is the right shape so I'm sure heaps of beginner/intermediate musicians will jump at the asking price.

Made in Mexico 2002
21 Frets
Standard Single Coils
1 Volume, 2 Tone
Alder Body
Sage Green Finish
It's a Mexican Fender what do you expect?

Actually I have never been a Fender fan. But I was beginning to grow tired of the humbucker sound from my Epiphone Les Paul and my Gibson ES-335 sound do I figured I would buy a cheap strat. I use a lot of effects and this thing worked perfect for my style. I run through a Roland JC-120 clean and an Orange Rockerverb for Distortion. The single coils provide more of a cut than the Humbuckers. My absolute favorite sound I am getting from the strat right now is when I run it through a modded MXR Blue Box, with a touch of Delay through the Jc-120. It may seem like an odd coupling but it sounds sweet. My only complaint is the humming from the single coils.Also the tremolo stays in tune considerably weel. I have become quite fond of crazy tremolo dives and the guitar seems to hold up pretty well. I love how low maintanence the trem system is too.

My friend is a tech at the Store where I bought it so he set it up for me. It is absolutely perfect.

This guitar is great live. Since it was so inexpensive I am not as concerned with cosmetic flaws, so I can eally rock out with this guitar. With the 335 I basically stood still praying that not even a bead of sweat woud get on the finish. The Strat allows me to have fun. The reason we all play music in the first place.

I have been playing for nine years and this guitar is what I was needing. It is not in any way areplacement for my other two guitars, but it has become my primary guitar. If it were stolen I would probably try out an American to see what all the fuss is about, but would probably end up buying another Mex Strat to rock out on.

Made 2004/05. Made in Mexico, but the quality of manufacture is very good. My model is a Arctic White solid color alder body with one piece solid maple neck with 21 jumbo frets. The guitar comes with 3 Standard Strat pickups (same as the american?) and a standard tremolo and standard Fender tuners- This really is the standard strat. Comes ith the usual align keys and tremolo arm.

I play mainly rock/blues (Guns n' Roses, Hendrix, Led Zeppellin etc.) through a Marshall MG100DFX. I find the guitar very quiet at high volumes, even with only 1 pickup selected. I usually play it using the bridge pickup with the bass tone control at 1 and the treble at 10- certainly not to everyone's taste- giving an almost telecaster like bright twang. Flicking the switch to the neck pickup, you get a warm, flat, much smoother sound with a quiter output, but with the bass turned up you can get a good blues sound. Using the settings that I use, the pickup selector becomes almost like an onboard wah when you quickly flick it from pickup to pickup. I would prefer to say between 8 and 9 as a rating, but this guitar suits my sound well, so it gets a nine.

The action on the guitar when I bought it was quite high, and I prefer a low action, but its no big deal to change it with the tools you get with it. As i said, the finish is excellent, so no need to go into details here. The wood quality is very good. I bought this in America- Rumour has it that Fender keep all the better finished guitars for the American market- and, living in England, i think it's true. I have played one of these guitars in a shop where i live and they look cheap and poorly made, so i bought this one from the famous Mannys in New York.

Ok, the bad part now. It keeps giving me electric shocks! Although only static shocks they are sometimes painfull! My local guitar technician told me that it happens to some strats and there's nothing you can do about it. The charge builds up in the scratchplate or on you and the guitar earths it to you. I think. But fear not if you've just been totally put off buying one- the solution is to go bearfoot. Effectivly, you are then always earthed so charge can't build up. At a recent gig everyone thought it was somekind of crazy rock n' roll thing, but i did take a backup guitar to this gig.

Never dealt with them- and can't. I bought it in America and live in England, remember. Ive heard that Fender couldn't give a damn mind, and the terms and conditions of the 'limited lifetime warranty' are very harsh ('have you played this guitar? VOID' kind of stuff)

Playing for 2 years. I also own an Epiphone G400 Vintage and Squire strat (what a differance to the real thing!) If it was stolen, i would certainly buy another, although maybe i'd opt for the Floyd Rose locking trem version. I wish i had played it for longer though (i was in a rush for i flight so it was 15 mins testing!) The only bad things really are the tremolo (goes out of tune if you so much as blow on it) and the shocking. Some will hate the 21 frets, but if your a good enough guitarist you'll find ways round it.

1998 MIM Standard Strat with a few modifications. I bought it new, about 6 years ago. I replaced the original ceramic pups with Vintage Vibes, GraphTech saddles and the Callaham Mexican upgrade. The original Olympic white has aged to a very nice cream colour. My cat loves sleeping on the gig bag.

I'm an at-home player with a jazz/blues kind of style. I run the guitar through a small Traynor tube amp with some JJ Eurotubes. Basically, it'll produce just about any sound I want.

The guitar was more or less fine when I bought it 6 years ago although I always had a bit of trouble (dead spots, buzzes) on the B, around frets 5 to 9. I recently had a fret job which has pretty much eliminated these problems. With the various upgrades, I think this guitar really plays well. I've tried almost everything from a Squire Strat to an E Johnson in the store and I'm hard pressed to find any reason to replace this guitar. I find the switches just a little lightweight and one of these days I'll probably get around to replacing the tuners with locking or vintage.

Virtually indestructible.

Never dealt with the manufacturer.

I'm an example of how little progress one can make in 40 years of playing. I also own a Korean Epi jazzbox plus three trombones. If stolen, I'd probably by a Tele simply for curiosity sake. The pups are great (handwound by P Biltof of Vintage Vibe) as is the Callaham gear (esp. the denser, heavier trem block). I think with a bit of finishing by a good tech, and some upgrades, the Standard MIM Strat can be improved to play nearly as well as any other Fender model. I might like to upgrade some switches and jack plate as well as the tuners in the near future. I like making these small mods as they have improved the guitar but, more to the point, personalized it.

This is my first electric guitar, so I am reviewing it from the perspective of a newbie. I played a bit of acoustic ("played" is a silly looking fabric with lots of wild lines and colors) maybe 25 years ago, but did not retain much of any of it. Please, pardon my grammar which is very bad and not well punctuated correctly.
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FEATURES

After going through all the specific feature considerations recommended by Harmony Central, most of it reads Greek to me, but of what I yet understand?

The guitar has, and i quote:

3 Standard Single-Coil Strat? Pickups (Ceramic Magnets)

And I really could not tell you what that means, other than when I flip the 5 position switch, it changes the sound in many unique and interesting ways, and can be flipped on the fly if you happen to accidently nail it when strumming. It has no Tremolo built into it, which means I am having to learn to "shake it" by way of my own finger work.

It has 21 frets and a rosewood fingerboard. I was informed that rosewood has a softer and less abrasive touch than maple. But I suspect I would have to play for years before knowing the difference, if at all, though it does look nice. It has 2 tone controls and a volume control. I found the tone controls to be very subtle, and they have not generated enough tonal distinction to really register on my aural radar, and are a bit moot anyway after running them through my amp modeler (Line 6 PODxt), which i purchased along with my Strat. I suppose when playing it clean through a very expensive amp, the distinction of tone adjustment would be more present. But my very small Marshall MG is not so picky, pardon the pun. Feature wise, you get what you pay for, i guess. A 10 for excellent versatility.

SOUND

How to sound like you are sitting on the banks of the Mississippi for less than $400 (and a gas powered amplifier). This is where a lesser priced guitar actually works in your favor.

Classic twangy character abounds, and there is clearly that back home guitar spirit that comes through your lesser scientific measuring senses. This really IS your father's guitar. My own youthful imagination may have altered my more reasonable faculties here, but that is what it is all about.

One strum says "welcome to the club." I suspect an enormously skilled player who enjoys many very expensive guitars could strap this on and sound more rugged and bluesy than he might otherwise sound on a more elite instrument. "It ain't a beginners guitar, it is a standard strat! Is that the sound you want?"

Apparently the old road dogs can tell the difference between an American assembled and a Mexican assemble guitar. Mine is assembled in Mexico, but I would never have known or cared about that unless I had been told this. I am aware that in time I can upgrade the electronics, and move the over all sound up the ladder of quality. The only truly experienced sounding guitar criticism i could make would be that I immediately desired a longer sustain sound from the Strat, but what do I expect for the $315 I paid for it brand new?

That considered, the Standard Strat is an excellent foundation upon which to eventually build a guitar you can live with for years. I am also aware that some of the finest music ever recorded was put together using some very primitive and budged minded instruments. So, it is less about the pristine $2000 sustain and balance, than it is about learning to work the instrument for what it is.

Some folks have complained that you cannot easily get a screaming Nirvana style distortion out of the Standard Strat. I do not know if this is true, but if it is and you most desire to have that kind of sound, maybe this is not the instrument for you, but you would have to consult persons who are more experienced than me to confirm this.

I don't know how to rate this on a 1 to 10 basis... Should I give it a 4 because it does not sound like a 3 grand Custom-Ax-O-Bravado? I plead ratios! Price considered, i have to give it a 10. Which means, "Sounds Great" according to the Harmony Central meter. Yep, sounds great!

ACTION,FIT, FINISH

Feels very taunt and spirited to my inexperienced fingers.

The fit and finish speak better to the genuine talent of the Mexican fender factory workers, than the price of this guitar. It all seems quite nicely assemble and the paint is very clean and everything seems bolted down with authority.

Again, you would have to be very familiar with much more exclusive instruments to complain in any way about the quality of the construction and the finish. Though, i might add, it does seems to keep in tune for ages. And the people who sold me the guitar set it up quite nicely at the store. Way good at this cheap - 10.

RELIABILITY, DURABILITY

Feels like you could park a car on it, but parking a truck on it may require retuning.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Don't yet know. But there seem to be a million friendly Strat Heads up and ready to help out with any Strat specific issue. Pretty cool thing...

Been playing about 2 weeks. Newbie is newbie.

OVERALL RATING

I have read many of the reviews here and the many very experienced players who really enjoy this instrument played a big part in my purchase. And to those old dogs, I appreciate with muchness. I have never so much as held some $2000 dollar weapon in my hands, so I am not saddled with the frustration of having to compare my first guitar with something that sounds like 6 stringed caviar. If you do not plan on spending more than 20 grand for your new sport compact, best not test drive a Ferrari. And this sort of limits my review, but probably in a good way. Besides, i hate caviar.

I had been informed were i to purchase my first guitar, that i not spend more than 100 or 300 dollars for it. The implication clearly being that not much is lost if one fails in his or her own ambitions to learn to play. This would seem sound advice, pardon the pun, but if you are comfortable in learning new instruments and might have tried a guitar out before and are confident that you WILL come to some level of guitar player ability or competency, I would personally recommend you not shy away from a guitar like the Fender Standard Strat. To my newbie ears and newbie fingers, the Standard Strat feels like walking into guitar history and becoming parts of that grand tradition.

$315 (new) for what is essentially the guitar equivalent of a Mexico assembled Harley Sportster?

Harmony Central defines a "10" as a "Fantastic Value." I think that is pretty much what the Standard Fender Stratocaster is and represents, to apply a bit of understatement.

"It ain't a beginners guitar, it is a standard strat! Is that the sound you want?"