Members WildWill Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I had some time to kill this morning so I stopped in to a local used music gear store. They usually have some interesting stuff in addition to the usual suspects so it's a fun way to pass some time. Anyways, I was perusing the Fender/Squier wall and saw a BEAUTIFUL Fender Strat hanging there, with the most gorgeous birdseye maple neck that I've seen since I saw one on a G&L last year. The body was lighter than Fenders Vintage White, but much creamier, or beige-er?, than Olympic White. The headstock had the gold Fender logo outlined in black on the front, with nothing else. On the back was a stick-on price tag ($719) that someone had peeled mostly off. The price tag had printed on it "Lite Ash Fender Stratocaster". I lifted the loose portion of the tag to see what was under it since it covered the serial number area of the head stock. Under it, in black block letters were "s/n #" with the actual numbers having been pulled off and stuck to the back of the sticker. And below that, almost fully intact, it said "Crafted in Korea". Down under the nut area it had a black circular sticker, like an inspection sticker, that had "CE" on it. So my question is, would it be a Fender? Or possibly a Squier that someone put a Fender logo on? Or...? I mean, the neck was beautiful. Satin finish birdseye maple. I should have gotten pictures to post but I didn't have a lot of time and there were other guitars I needed to look at. Oh, it had a Fender neckplate as well. It said Fender only, not Corona or anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Nope... it's a real guitar. Pretty neck, nice pickups. Brass trem block. On mine, the neck and fret ends felt too square. I've only played a couple others so I don't know if mine was a fluke, but I've played many Korean Fenders and mine was among the worst I ever played. I think the Koa strats came out the same time and are very similar, but with a different top. I got mine in a trade for the equivalent of $300. Even new, I saw them being sold for $500 at the end. I'd say anything over that would put it in the 'I'm not interested' category as you are getting close to use MIA Standards or high end MIMs. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Lite-Ash-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-with-Tremolo?sku=511337 http://www.zzounds.com/item--FEN265002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WildWill Posted January 20, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 THAT'S IT! That is just about exactly the guitar I saw. Abalone dots and all. Brass trem block, too. I forgot to mention it but I did look to see what was in there after seeing the Korea part. Yeah, I thought $700+ was too much for it, even as nice as it looked and felt. I never plugged it in to play it but the neck felt nice, the action was plenty low and the nut looked properly cut. Anyways, thanks a LOT for posting that. I would have a tough time paying 1/2 their asking price considering the serial number is basically destroyed now. Maybe I'm too picky... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar Heel Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I have the Tele version. Other than the tuners, which are utter {censored} on these models (with non-standard holes, so you can't swap MIA tuners without modification), it's a really nice guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 $700 is way overpriced. I had one and it was only so-so. The pickups were very microphonic and the neck and frets weren't dressed well enough to allow a really good setup. For $300 or so, it's a workable guitar. For $700 there are way, way, way better options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigconig Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I had one. Loved it. Played and sounded great but it weighed a ton. Ironic huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I had a Lite Ash Tele for a while. Really nice guitar. I think it cost something like $600 new when I bought mine though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mike-o Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 They look awesome with the 2 point bridge and birdseye neck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cBc Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 They look awesome with the 2 point bridge and birdseye neck This! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WildWill Posted January 20, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 They look awesome with the 2 point bridge and birdseye neck Yes, it definitely caught my eye. Drew me right in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members akapuli Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 Lite means the density of the flames in the ash, nothing to do with the actual weight. Fender Marketing Machine, again :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted January 20, 2010 Moderators Share Posted January 20, 2010 I've come across two, that I've done work on. On paper they should be right up ther with Fender's best, but they just ain't right. It's that scenario where you spec a load of stuff that all looks good but when they go together they just ain't that good That'd be my summation: Just ain't that good, could do better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members go cat go Posted January 20, 2010 Members Share Posted January 20, 2010 I had one. Loved it. Played and sounded great but it weighed a ton. Ironic huh? Fender product names are confusing as hell. When I read Lite Ash Strat I thought they were referring to swamp ash. Nope they were referring to the actual color not weight. The few Lite Ash strats I tried weighed a ton. They sounded great though. I believe the pickups are Seymore Duncan Alnico II's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted January 20, 2010 Moderators Share Posted January 20, 2010 I believe the pickups are Seymore Duncan Alnico II's. Yup, the best bit about em, well the neck back is pretty darn nice too but:cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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