Fender VG Stratocaster

American made modeling guitar that has been covered very well by many here. I have owned mine now for 6 months and have really grown to enjoy it. I have always played LPs or similar so I nneded to get used to the guitar. Mine is sunburst with rosewood fretboard.
Great neck and feel. Mine came out of the box set up just right, no finish flaws or issues.
I play in a cover band and this guitar is just right. Instead of hauling several guitars I just need this one. I do bring a backup, but more for peace of mind, never needed it yet.

I used LPs before and was never a Fender guy. So the humbucker setting took some getting used to. I liked the Tele and Strat right away. And bought this so I can also play acoustic or 12 string or...
One thing I have done is to change out the bridge pickup. I installed a Seymour Duncan 1/4 lb. Now if/when the batteries go dead (and it can happen fast if not watching) the normal strat has some bite to it. I'd guess a hotter set of pickups all around would be good, maybe the Tex Mex Fender makes.
I run mine through a solid state Crate GS150 combo with a JBL k120. The amp sound is huge and clean. Very defined. I use a Vox Valvetronix SE board. And that's it. The combo of the Vox board and the big clean defined amp gives me all the tonal variety I need in a cover band. Many players don't think much about what speakers they are using, but should. After adding the JBL, the whole rig came alive. I have other guitarists coming up asking what amp I'm using, etc. because it sounds so good.
The only change would be for more battery life (somehow) and the hotter set of pickups.

Mine had no problems. Everything was as it should be. Maybe later on, after Fender decided to stop production, did the later guitars have issues. Mine did not.

I do carry a backup (a PRS imported Tremonti with Duncan Antiquities, can't leave the humbuckers completely!) but haven't had to use it yet.
One comment said about the sticker causing the pickguard to peel? That is just the protective film Fender applied to the guard and the sticker pulls the edge. If you look closely you can see the film and peel it off if needed.
I would like to get mine "road worn". If Fender would allow sending it back to be aged. I like that vintage worn look.

Haven't needed warranty work. No idea.

I've been playing since 1966 (Freshman in HS) and off and on while the family/kids grew up. Got back into regular playing again about 8 years ago. My band gigs once a month average, and all local watering holes. Nothing fancy. I do have an electric 12, the PRS, a Guild d35 from '68, a '66 SG Special, and a '61 ES345. I don't carry any of those (except the PRS) to gigs anymore.
I had read the reviews beforehand so I was aware of the battery life issues, but that doesn't bother me as much.
I'd say you have to look at the whole picture on these and then make a decision. You do get a whole lot of features in one guitar. I wasn't looking for a perfect replacement for the others, since no one guitar can do everything just right, but this is close enough for me (and the people at the clubs we play at!).

Very nice hard case . will stop the guitar getting damaged on way to gigs , though not much room in compartment for anything bar strap.

If you play in a covers band and need a huge range of tones , then this is the Strat for you. worth it's weight in gold for the tuning's alone , which are totally amazing.

Came out of the factory in first class set up condition.

It's an immense guitar ,the modelled sounds are good ,the tunings are amazing. Get a decent set of rechrgeable's (2700ma) They'll last a full gig and beyond no problem.
Like any other Strat you break strings , so you choose whether you need a back up or not.

You can't register this guitar online in the UK with Fender.

Been playing 20 odd years and have owned many guitars . This guitar works really well for me live, and has the nicest neck i've ever seen on any Strat. If it were stolen , i would find the person that stole it and make sue he never stole another guitar again.
There's not anything to hate about this guitar , (though my drummer will tell you the blue led is too bright !)
I can't reccomend it highly enough.Its a Standard USA model with an awful lot of very useful extra's.

I bought a VG back in February and wanted to wait a bit before I did a review here. In a nutshell, this is what I have found:

The features I like the most about the VG Strat are the feel of the neck, the ease at which I can change tunings, the fact that the guitar - even with a trem and with the std springs - stays in tune.

The features of this guitar that I dont like and really get in the way are the batteries/battery case, the blue laser beam LED, the case, and the finish on the guitar. I have a black & white pickguard model with a maple neck and there are glue joint flaws that you can see on the front and back of the body of this guitar. Also - the pickup sticker glue has eaten into the pickguard which I guess gives the VG an instant relic appearance.

The std pickups are American Std issues - the bridge is fine but the neck is a bit lackluster to me. On the VG pickup, I like most of the settings as modeled effects and the strat and tele settings record well in most of the keys except baritone. The 12 string setting tracks nicely as a doubling lead setting - and works well with the strat and with some of the acoustic settings. THree of the acoustic settings are fine - the other two are worthless - too boomy and muddy. Overall, I like the fact that the models are relatively noisefree except the humbucker - which needs to be dialed back volume wise. I also dont like the fact that you cant change models with creating a break in the signal - the signal goes live-dead-live when you rotate the model knob or the pickup selector for the acoustic models.

Action with the 09's is buttery - nicest part of the guitar.

Paint prep is shoddy - you can see glue joints and a lack of sanding on the front of the body.

Intonation is great - much better than the setups I got out of the box on my Gibsons. And this guitar, as opposed to the Gibsons - stays in tune.

Reliability - as long as you want to play it as an american strat, its bomb proof.

But in VG modeling land, this thing currently sucks wind. With Duracell 2750Ma rechargeables I only get 1.5 hrs per 4 batteries. With EverReady Lithium batteries,. I get about 4 hrs - which is great, but at $9.00 per 4/ it gets expensive and I feel like my guitar is building up a battery dependant addiction.

Fender needs to ship this with an extra battery case and coupons for the major battery manufacturers. They should explore a charger that will accept the battery holder as well, as its a hassle to keep the rechargeables together and charged before a gig.

I bought the guitar because it offered me the ability to take fewer guitars to a gig. It does do that, but now I have to worry about AA battery sourcing as well.

I have received a healthy amount of pushback from the Fender dealer in terms of getting the pickguard replaced due to the sticker glue eating through the finish on the guitar.

I would replace this if lost - its a great guitar with a few improvements needed:
1. Ship this with extra battery case
2. Reduce output of the blue laser beam LCD - it blinds people and I wonder how much power it consumes which adds to the battery longevity issue.
3. Allow the alt tunings to be updated. Who the heck suggested DADGAD? Drop D - great. Open G - awesome. 12 String - not a tuning but understand why they did it that way - great. Baritone and DADGAD? Gag. They need Eb and Open E to make this usable. I hope Fender or someone else will offer patches for this guitar.
4. Get a real case - please. My black plastic POS has to be squeezed to be closed, which makes me think its putting pressure on the neck. The latches suck and have sharp edges. This is a 1700 dollar guitar - what about a tweed or black tolex rectangle case? At least you could put your strap in the case - in this one, there is no room to.

I have owned this guitar just over a month and have got rid of the "new guitar" rush. Initially I was opposed to modelling guitars and it was only after playing one "up close and personal" that I decided to buy. That and the fact Fender discontinued it and the price collapsed!
The guitar has been described in great detail on these pages so I don't intend to repeat what has been said. Mine is a sunburst model with a rosewood fingerboard. It has one volume, one tone and two other controls for the electrickery. As my original Strat was purchased new in 1983 and only has one tone control I have had absolutely no problem adapting to this one.
I'm not sure I like the little blue light but it does flash if the battery is low and the guitar does function as a standard American Strat without batteries (with one tone control!)
The guitar has loads of features so I can't give it less than a "10"

I play all styles of music and of course a Strat is comfortable with most. The band I play in is a country rock band so I was playing a Fender Strat and Telecaster already. I also gigged with a Danelectro 12 string and a Takamine electro acoustic. This guitar, in one fell swoop has meant that I don't need to take anything else to a gig. I take an AER acoustic amp as well as my Fender Blues junior. I do take my 1983 Strat with me as a back up (in case a string breaks or other calamity!)but I don't really need to.
Initially I was concerned that the standard sound was a little less pleasant than my current strat but that was just prejudice. Certainly gigging the new one sounds absolutely fine.

The modelled strat sound is a bit weak I think. However, I am told that you get less "interference" from those dodgy lights and electronic games that populate the pubs I ususually play in. I haven't had the chance to find out yet.

The telecaster tone is pretty good I think. Certainly for live work. I demonstrate it to people by switching to open G and playing some Keith Richards riffs like "Start me up" which sound great on the guitar.

I am unconvinced by the humbucker but at least you get a beefier tone should you want it. No match for a Les Paul of course but I don't think it claims to be! I haven't used it live at all.

The acoustic tone is wonderful. I have an "A&B" box that directs the signal from electric to acoustc amp and it works really well. Confusing for some audience members but a conversation point afterwards. I am sure you could record with this option but I do prefer the response of a real acoustic. However it does save humping an acoustic guitar around to gigs. I am not really sure about the resonator or if there is a "nylon" sound there. There are however two convincing acoustic tones there.

I like having drop D so easily available and also open G. The action is a little too low for slide but we have a pedal steel player in the band!! DADGAD I would never use.........can't get my head around it but baritone in a country band is really feasible.

The 12 string setting, in my case I prefer it with a telecaster setting, is exactly what I was looking for with an on stage electric 12 string sound. That was the deal clincher for me. It isn't identifiable like a Ricky or Dano but it is good enough.

I am not sure if the guitar is less noisy on modelled mode than not. Must check up!!

It was poorly set up when I bought it. But there are plenty of tools and a reasonable manual to help get it right. I got mine done professionally though! (coward)

It is really well made and my only gripe is getting the polythene off the controls...........I can't.

I think the Mode and Tuning controls feel very flimsy and I will be interested to see how they stand up to longer use.

I have no doubt this guitar will handle long term live gigging. I have a slight concern about the robustness of the mode and tuning controls but everything else is Fender standard which is the bench mark!

I think it is dependable and could be used without back up. I only use a back up in case of broken strings. (I play with 10's)

Never needed it so can't comment

I have been playing since the late 1960's. I have about 20 guitars, electric and acoustic, all of them coverted by others! I bought it as a gigging guitar so that at gigs I wasn't fretting about where to put all the guitar cases! Also the space taken when transporting them and the "chew" of changing guitars betwen numbers.

It isn't a "dream machine". It does an awful lot of things very very well and as a gigging musician I love it. I particularly like the default position of it being a really good, standard strat if the electrics fail although I have no reason, other than battery life, to believe they will!. If I wasn't gigging I wouldn't have bought it. If it was lost I would want another as long as I keep gigging.

The manual is very good.

This is the most feature laiden guitar of all time, but it based on a really good American Strat. The features are well documented in other evals. I think though, for a guitar of this price, at least the original price, it should have been equipped with locking tuners, LSR roller nut, and better natural pickups.

The VG Strat is a misunderstood guitar in the sense that it models guitars. When you apply the model for the guitar, you get many of the inherent qualities that are with that guitar being modeled. For example, when you model an acoustic, you need to treat the signal like it is an acoustic guitar. I'll set the stage for the rest of the eval (and be a little out of sequence here, sorry HC), this is my effects chain:

VG Strat -> compression-> wah -> modulation effects -> Boss Amp Factory -> EQ -> Delay -> reverb -> pair of KC350 keyboard amps

I can get seriously fantastic tone out of the rig.

The acoustic models are creapy they are so good. (with only compression and some reverb going straight to house/keyboard amps). You could seriously walk into a venue and plug the VG Strat directly into a house system, set the guitar to acoustic and get great tone. no effects no amps. Your audience could get confused as to the tone vs. what they are seeing (this is funny but could be bad)

The Tele model lacks a little bite, but is a pretty good Tele. It is not a serious lack of tele tone, just dulled a little...like a Tele with older strings.

The Strat model is good.

The Humbucker model is also good. Very good as a matter of fact. But is not a LES PAUL model, it is a model what could be called a super strat.

The alternate tunings all are good too. Some of them (12 string humbucker) is a bit creative, but useable.

This is an American Strat...top notch all the way. Mine came off a showroom floor during close out (more on that later). The neck is amazing in feel!!! The body of Strats is just simply the most comfortable guitar to hold sitting or standing.

That said, the tape that covered the pickguard left a nasty residue all over the whith pickguard that I had to clean off. I've bought new Fenders before and have yet to see why they make the pickguard tape extend under the knobs. What a pain.

Fender and Roland make great gear and I anticipate very little problems.

I do not anticpate ever needing it.

I write this review just after GM announced that it is closing Pontiac, but keeping Buick open. In my neighborhood, there alot of Pontiacs, but maybe one Buick. Brain Dead corporate decision.

Fender just announced the MD (Manufacturer Discontinue) of the VG Strat. ANOTHER Brain Dead corporate decision. There could be some areas of improvement to address with the VG Strat (price points for one, battery life for another), but it deserves a longer run than this.

I watched the VG Strat as soon as it was out, tried it out EVERY TIME I saw one. It was a great guitar but it was too expensive. At closeout, it came down to a decent, not great, but decent price of $999. I grabbed while I could. I did not get the color I wanted but I got the maple neck so that was what mattered to me.

I'm hanging onto mine...its a keeper...

US made VG Strat, black with Maple Neck, American Strat with integrated -Easy to Use- Guitar Synthesizer, features like described,
modern Tremolo System, the frets a medium sized, no Jumbos, but all in all a nicely playable Neck. Case, strap, cable, humidifier...all there ...

The Analog Section : a good sounding Stratocaster Guitar,
bright Sounds, not too loud, good Middle positions, nice Twang at Treble Position, good Strat Power with Distortion.

I used a Fender 1980 Vibrolux Silverface, with MXR Dyna Comp, Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, Mesa Boogie Preamp, Boss DD6.

The Digital Section : the Strat sounds in all positions close to a Strat, the Tele does not have the Punch of the Telecasters that I know and the Humbucker helps when you crank it up,
but : the Acoustic Settings are not usable when you play it through a Guitar Amp.
If you play an Ovation or a Dobro through a Fender or Marshall, it doesnt make much sense either....
So.. it s nice to have the 12 string, and the different Acoustic Models, specially in a TOP 40 Situation. Playing alone, it is ok, but within the Band Sound, it doesn t come through.

The Tunings : I really dig the G Open Tuning. It s a great Feature to have it so fast at hand. Great for STONES Songs and Slide...
I would wish to have an OPEN D and OPEN E Tuning too, instead of the DADGAD, DROP D and the BARITONE ( Latency too long)

Factory Setup very nice,
I had to make some Easy Adjustments according to my personal Playing Style. Tuning pretty OK. Everything works out of the Case. Flawless...

Had it for 4 Days, practised with it and played it LIVE on 2 Gigs,
playing all Kinds of ****, TOP 40, Oldies, Rock Classics.
It is a step in right direction, I prefer the Analog Sound and the Dynamic of an Electric Guitar.
The Tuning Section is improvable, the Acoustic Sounds are cool as a Gimmick, but On Stage I need a Real Guitar.
Anyway, I m just speaking for myself, there may be Performers that that welcome the VG Strat as the Tool of the Decade.

This is a wonderful Strat. I have owned well over 20 guitars and have been playing for over 30 years. I have owned 4 previous Fenders, and this one beats them all! The finish is perfect and the strings stay in perfect tune. Intonation was a tad off but that is easy to fix. Neck is fast and smooth. I have the maple neck.

Despite what others may say, the acoustic sounds are excellent for recording. The 12 string is fair and the reso is almost fair. As for the strat/tele/les paul sounds, they are all spot on! This guitar really sings with the alternate tunings as well. The natural strat sound is not as wonderful as my other strat, but it is close enough for me.

Like I said, the intonation was a bit off but easily fixed. The set up was fantastic and the finish is perfect! This is my favorite guitar to look at, show off, and to play.

This is an American Made Guitar!!!! Enough said

No need yet so I have no opinion yet

After over 30 years of playing, I have finally found a guitar that is as flexible a guitar that I will ever need. The Roland VG pick up is wonderful and the sounds this guitar can make are incredible. Had I paid the normal retail price of $1700, I would give it a 7 on the value scale, but I only paid $870 brand new from Musicians Friend so I give it a 10. If it were stolen, I would get another so long as I can work the pricing out again!

Mine is a 2007 model. Everyones gone thru the features already so I won't bother. You know what they are. Most features I`ve seen onboard a guitar.

In `N` mode, its your good old american strat. The strat mode sounds nice, slightly different than the real sound of the guitar, and the tele gets pretty damn close (Used to own an `05 american). The humbucker mode is a great feature to have and it sounds pretty good however its not very well balanced with the other modes (this means a slight eq adjustment at times). Now the I`m glad they tried acoustic modes, but the resonator mode IMO is god awful. The dreadnoughts are ok but hey, this is the best acoustic sim. ive ever heard. The tunings are quite something else. My only complaint about the tunings, is that at times, in the 12 string mode, if you do not hit the a string hard enough it will produce a flat, bad sounding note though it quickly recovers, and sometimes in the baritone (actually more often than not) the real note of the string will bleed through, i found this to be quite annoying but I`m not a fan of baritones so it doesnt bother me too much. I play every style of music except country folk and flamenco. Thats why I got this guitar and it does the job very well. for that it get a solid 9 despite the few drawbacks it does have.

American stratocaster, what more can I say. Just wished fender would make alternative pickguards other than the white one it comes with, but making a new one shouldnt be a problem, but I`ll explain my experience with fender later.

Once again, fender, what more can I say. Their warranties certanly arent reliable, but their product is, for that i give it a 9

I asked fender about changing the pickguard, they were somewhat helpful. I asked if there was a way to change the pickguard without voiding the warranty on the roland electronics. They said no and that they do not make replacement pickguard for the VG strat. OK. So I also asked for a to scale diagram of the pickguard so that I could have one made. The sent me a Fender logo pic... Fast response, but then again its the quality of it that matters. Like i mentioned earlier, fenders products are great their warranties, crap. Same goes here. But i appreciate a quick response so I will give a GENEROUS 6

Basically, Im very satisfied with the guitar itself, not its manufacturer, plain and simple. If it were stolen, i qould cry cuz i`d have to lug multiple guitars to gigs, but then i`d get over it and steal it back :). I knew I wanted one from the first time I tried one in a music store. I was sold.

I've been a professional guitarist for over 30 years and have owned well over 100 guitars. The Vg strat is a good idea with one major flaw. The good thing is it is a nice feeling strat that stays in tune well. It has a set of average Fender strat modern single coils that work OK. The main selling feature is that it has Roland VG guitar modeling built onboard the guitar giving you access to strat, tele, Les Paul, and a variety of acoustic sounds that can all be transposed to either drop D tuning, DADGAD, Baritone or 12 string tuning with the switch of a couple of knobs. Pretty cool huh? The problem is that all of the sounds on this guitar are very MICROPHONIC. this means when you touch the pickgaurd or the body of the guitar with anything (your pick or your fingers) you will hear a loud clicking or knocking sound. More importantly the guitar will SQUEAL FEEDBACK WEN PLAYED AT AN AVERAGE GIG VOLUME WITH SOME DRIVE OR DISTORTION. This is not the good kind of feedback it is the kind that happens when the song is over and your VG Strat keeps skeetching and squealing notes that were not even in the song you just played until you turn the guitar volume off.

The normal Strat sounds are nothing to write home about. The VG sounds are very useful if you do work that requires a large variety of sounds. I have used it on the TV talk show that I play on, Don Francisco Presenta, and have used it on some shows where I played in a pit orchestra, and it is very effective in that setting. These are situations that do not require me to play at a very high volume and I could be called on to play in a very wide variety of styles and sounds. The VG will take me where I need to be whether I need to play pop, jazz. rock, country, or whatever. I have even used the acoustic settings to emulate the sound of some ethnic instruments such as the cuban Tres, the greek bazouki or the mexican Bajo Sexo by using the 12 string settings. Great stuff, but it squeals feedback if you play a lead at a normal club gig volume. Such a shame!

It plays great and stays in tune, thats all I care about.

If you have on get rechargeable Energizer AA batteries, they will get you through a 5 hour long gig if you start with a fresh charge. Charging the batteries is a pain in the *** though, I will admit. It never broke.

When I called Fenders artist relations the guy said "microphonic feedback, what is that?" That is kind of pathetic.

Great Idea, but till the feedback issue is solved you should not buy one of these guitars. I'm very surprised no other reviews have addressed this issue. To me it is the deal breaker for a person considering buying one of these guitars, and is really the only flaw in this guitars design.

Tele Sound, and Humbucker is incredible.

modeled strat very good.............standard strat sound average

why they put a 12 string sound on this confuses me.

Finish is great, but the finish on the rosewood neck is not good.


This guitar is amazing, but I am going to have the neck replaced. The actions is great.

I will give it a ten because of the sounds you get....awesome guitar