Fender Standard Stratocaster

Mexican Made, Rosewood fretboard, Poplar Body, Maple neck, medium sized frets...
origional rating - 6
that's what it still has from the time I bought it...
grover machine heads, lespaul humbucker in bridge, silver lace sensor in the middle, gold lace sensor in the neck, string holder on headstock was replaced with an american standard one (it wasn't allowing the strings to ride through properly)

when i first got the guitar it sounded -ok- but it needed more tone. it was fairly bright but not enough low end and the 1,3,5 possitions hummed too much. I play fairly alternative music... not your standard 3 power chord shit though... the sound i wanted was a quiet clean channel that sounded like some quiet psycho kid sitting in a corner on the edge of losing his mind and a distorted channel that sounds like the kid just lost his mind and went berzerk... in it's origional state the guitar sounded a little too frail... but with the above stated changes... it does exactly what I wanted

the factory setup sucked... i adjusted the neck and saddles and now it feels perfect... the neck is as good as any other guitar i've played... it feels better that my Les Paul. The finish is a standard black finish... it's ok... (mind you I'll be buying a sparkle red finished alder body soon) the pickups needed to be lowered a bit and the fret work was pretty good. once again the factory setup got a 6 but after adjusting it gets a 9

it can take a live show... believe me :)

never dealt with them

if it was stolen i would cry because I've actually put work into it and I would probably go and rebuild another one to the same specs...
rating as origional - 6
rating with alterations - 9

It was made around 1994. It was primarily assembled in Mexico, but the parts are from the US. It has 21 frets. It has a master volume control, and a tone control for the bridge pickup, and a tone control for the mid-pickup. Three single coil pickups (all standard). The body is made of poplar, the neck is made of maple, and the fretboard is made of rosewood. The body color is a nice shade of blue-green. It has Fender standard tuners. I got it with a free cable, which in fact happened to be the exact same color, and it looks cool when I'm on stage. I also bought a Fender gig-bag for it.

It is very versatile because I play at church and it sounds great. When I play at home, I add some distortion and boy does it sound great. Right now I'm using a Roland JC-90 Chorus Amp with it. The chorus brings out that spacial feeling. When I add a Boss EQ it sounds even better, because it helps me adjust the warmth of the instrument. It can range from bright to warm. I love playing lead and rythm guitar with it.

The action was adjusted right before I purchased it, which made it feel even better. The pickups were in good condition, and the adjustment was fine too. The intonation was adjusted also. There were no flaws when I got it. There still aren't any flaws so far.

This guitar will definitely withstand live playing, because I use it at least every week. The hardware seems like it will last, because it looks brand new. The finish is clean and it seems like it will a while longer. The strap buttons are still in good shape. The only thing that can go wrong, is if I break a string. I would most likely have a backup for that reason.

It is not under warranty.

I've been playing for about 2 1/2 years, and I've seen and played a lot of guitars during that time, and I'm convinced that Fender strats are the best electrics because of their originality. I also own an Antares acoustic guitar, which is not all that bad. If it were stolen or lost I would definitely replace it with the same thing, maybe a different color. I compared it to a Samick (strat imitation), definitely a big difference. The original feels more solid than the imitation, and it sounds better. My friend has some Ibanez, Aria 2 electrics, and even though they have humbuckers, they still don't compare with the Strat. I would not trade my strat for his three guitars anyday!

My guitar was a two tone Sunburst with a maple fretboard, 21 frets, vintage style tremolo, 3 single coil passive pickups (more on those later), 1 volume, 2 tone, 5 ways switch. Over all, this guitar is a Strat, nuff said. It is built in the same tradition that every other "standard" Strat has been built. The wood on this guitar was all made in America (I believe it is Poplar wood, not sure, as oppose to a different wood for the American Std's). All the electronics, hardware, and assembly are from Mexico. I suppose it could be worse, if it weren't for nafta, this baby would be from Korea or Japan.....

The over all sound, wasn't two shabby, of course, I have to admit, this was my first electric, and I know a LOT more about guitars now! The pickups had what could be called GREAT frequency response, but of course, that doesn't seem right... I will admit, my friends always complain about my tone, but I blamed that on my Peavey Audition 110, so I got a Fender Deluxe 112 Plus, and that helped a TON. I recently changed the pickups out to '54 reissue pickups because of what the standard pickups were. They are 6 pieces of steel wrapped with copper wire, and they had two bar magnets GLUED to the back. Buy this guitar, but plan to change the pickups. I have only one complaint, my G string does and always has, buzzes. I may need to have it refretted, but who knows. Over all, still sounds better than a Squire or a Harmony...

Guitar finish was great, I've had mine for a year, and play it religiously, and only got one scratch, and you have t LOOK for it. The guitar came set up well enough, but of course, I later decided I wanted my action lower. About 5 months ago, my nut broke, I don't know how, it just did, so I had to have that replaced. No flaws in my guitar save one little "warp" in the finish at the top of the neck on the back. It's not a problem, and it can't be seen. This guitar can be set up to play like the real thing if you want to, so, as far as that goes. I would say that my Std Strat has the second most perfect fret job of any Std Strat!

This guitar is TOUGH!!!! Everything is sturdy/solid except I had to open her up and make the ouput jack tighter, but she's cool now! The finish is THICK, the strap buttons are solid, and yes, I would and have giged with it without having a backup.

The waranty came through when I replaced the nut, so that is all I can say.

Like I've said, get new pickups, but other than that, this is probably the best "first" electric you could own. It lasts, and it plays almost like the real thing. Buy one!

This guitar is basically a Mexican-built version of a Fender Stratocaster. Mine has 21 frets on a rosewood fretboard. It has 3 single coil pickups controled by a 5-way switch, a master volume knob, and tone controls for the neck and middle pickups. All electronics are passive as opposed to active. In all honestly, I'm not sure what kind of wood the body of the guitar is made of, but the neck is maple. As stated earlier, the fretboard is rosewood. The guitar has a tremelo bridge which is different from the American strats -- it sucks and I blocked it off. The neck scale is 25.5 inches.

My guitar isn't wonderful in this area, but it's competent and I can't complain all that much. I use this guitar with my Fender Princeton Chorus amp, but I've also managed to leech off of my friends enough to know that the guitar sounds much, much better through a tube amp. It approximates the traditional strat sound, but just doesn't sound quite like an American Standard strat. I guess this is a problem with most strats, but the single coil pickups are pretty noisy unless the pickup selector is in an in-between position. This is irritating but not a crippling flaw because I don't use a lot of distortion. That reminds me, people who love massive disorted tones will probably hate this guitar -- it doesn't have the thick tone that those people tend to like.

When I bought this guitar in 93, it had some pretty rough fretwork. As a result, strings used to break all the time. After I figured out what was going on I took care of it and now it's great. I take it in to have a set-up done every now and then, and as long as I keep that up, it plays great. Unfortunately, the guitar tends to fall out of adjustment easily (this could be my fault).

My guitar is incredibly durable. I bought it in 1993 when I was 15 and it's been played nearly every day since then. I've taken it on a number of trips, kept it in a college dorm room without it's case, loaned it to friends, loaned it to people I barely know, dropped it several times, all sorts of stuff that good people don't do to their instruments. The guitar has held up incredibly well. The only thing that has any wear on it at all is the little washer that holds the plug socket in place -- it keeps coming loose. Everything else is tip-top. And I really don't take good care of the guitar.

The guitar has a 3-year warranty, but I've never had to deal with the Fender guys.

Not as good as an American Standard Stratocaster, but it's really good considering it cost me $295. I've been very happy with it, and will keep playing it in some capacity until it gets stolen or destroyed somehow. All things being equal, it doesn't stand up to the American Standard strat, but if you're on a budget it's to your advantage to get one of these and put the money you save into a really good amplifier.

This is the normal strat. Three silgle coils, one volume, tone controles for the neck and middle PU's, and a five way switch. Standard versitility. This giutar is a Mexican version with American hardware. I took it apart to look at the pick up's and made sure the wiring is secure and it seemed standard. All the electrical componets were definatly American. The tremelo was set up to float in the factory but i put in two more springs and that tightened it up a lot. Mine is a three color sunburst and rosewood fretboard. The wood is nice but not to decretive. I think it is roughly three years old, but it was sitting on the shelf for all three of those years.

This is the standarard's strongest and weekest points. The strat is the most versitile guitar know to man. A five-way switch is the key to the standard tone of all musical styles. You can dial in a jazzy smooth tone with the neck or neck/mid or a piercing lead in the bridge. The inbetween nothes are great for the strat "quack", were the guitar gives you a little pop to the note.
On th other hand, The standard stratocaster is not equiped with the best pu's in the world. They are hot but VERY noisy when used alone. The PU's don't give you a vintage sound at all. They are less bright and more full. The poles are staggered in a curved shape like the fretboard. They do respond evenly.

The action waas set relly high, the trem was set to float, and The tuning keys were loose. I fixed all three problems and now in plays like butter.
The finish is great and the hadware is tough.

This guitar will live through a show on the north pole with bricks being throw at it. The strat is a tough cookie. Everything is solid and stout. This strat is the perfect work horse. It would be a great guitar for stage work. This is all i've ever asked from a guitar. All i want is a good tone and duribility. The Fender Standard Stratocaster is the ticket.

This is a noce in a lifetime purchase you will not need to get another unless you love it. If if were destroyed I would cry and then replace it. This is a remarkably solid and strong value. Even for $450 it was well worth the money. BTW: To All Guitar Shop Owners: The plastic film that is on the pickguard needs to be removed within one (1) year of its arival or it will fuse to the puickguard and will be very hard to remove. You may need to remove it sooner if the pickguard is in dirrect contact with the sun or other light twenty four (24) hours a day.

21 frets Poplar body Maple neck Rosewood fretboard 3 standard strat passive pickups volume, 2 tone knobs, 5 position pickup selector gloss black color vintage tremolo chrome hardware 3 ply white pick guard

Excellent value and true "strat sound". Good for blues and rock as well as playing clean. I play through a Fender Prosonic combo on top of a 4x10 Marshall B cabinet. Sometimes I use a DOD Ice Box Chorus. I added a semour dunkan JB Jr. humbucker in the bridge position and replaced the tone pots with push pull switch pots and wired them so I can split the humbucker and/or bring in the bridge and neck pickups at the same time. It is a real tone monster now and can almost mimic a tele too. Better low end without loosing the bell-like high end. I like this guitar alot. It's the one I pick up first and play the most. I also own a Epiphone Les Paul Standard and a '61 Epiphone Sorrento. The only dislike is I wish it came with bigger frets and locking tuners. It also was a little noisy until I shielded the body cavity. Now it is quiet. You can't beat the price.

The general condition right out of the box was excellent. Good paint and fit and finish. The action was high and the neck had more relief than I like, but it adusted out with a minimum of fret leveling to keep the strings from buzzing.

I see no reason why you couldn't use this axe every day. It is very solid and reliable. Since it is so cheap compared to other Strats or other makes you can modify it without worrying about it's value. If someone steals it, get another one! I would use this strat without a backup, but get two. They are that cheap! When you break a string, just pick up the other one.

Typical big company crap. Don't ask any questions. You won't like the answers. But their products ROCK!