NGD: American Standard Strat ... meh
Preface: I bought this from HelloMusic, which elicited a little drama from me in another thread, as they initially shipped me a Tele. This is just a post about this guitar ...
Awesome cat checking out new arrival ...
American Standard Strat, black w/maple fretboard, "custom shop pickups" and the new, super-nice molded case.
So, about a month ago, I had too much to drink and had this dream where I had a black strat, a bit beaten up, with a maple fretboard ... the only part of the dream I remember really well was someone saying "did you get this because of Eric Clapton ...?" and me saying "FUCK YOU! Eric Clapton is fucking boring!"
Over the next few days, scornful thoughts of Eric Clapton and visions of my fingers dancing along a maple fretboard with a nice, shiny black strat body in the background began to intrude on my thoughts. Clinical diagnosis is 'obsession,' but we know better. GAS.
I'd also been wanting a strat with a real floating trem for a while; I don't use them that often, but I just did ... and then here is Hello Music, touting the very guitar of which I'd dreamed for $798.
Click.
I was pretty excited to get this guitar. I'm a notorious Fender whore, and yet I'd never purchased an American one new - always used or in a trade, etc. I pictured fondly getting old, together, with my new Strat. No one else would ever play it. Ever. Just the two of us. Long walks on the beach. Trips to Paris, Rome. Sunday mornings in bed with the tablature books.
Plugged it into my Peavey Classic, just back from the pricey hippie and sounding better than it has in years ... and I have to hand it to Fender, whatever "custom shop pickups" means, they're pretty damn good. It sounds great.
Sadly, that's about the most passion I can drum up for this guitar. The neck is 'nice enough,' but it isn't one of those that makes you go "gahhhhhh ... this is the shit!" and truth be told, I prefer smaller frets. The new radius is okay; I don't really find it that noticeable because I play so many different guitars and it's very average (as opposed to the old 7.5" which are definitely at one end of the spectrum).
The finish is nice; it will probably look a lot cooler as it ages, and I was surprised how indifferently I felt to dings; within a few hours I'd accidentally banged it on a couch corner and didn't care; I envision this thing looking worn. Which is certainly not how I feel about my Jag, or even Marauder ...
... and having just ripped through an hour or so of nice, fun playing, I guess I feel like this guitar is average. Don't get me wrong - it's quite nice. It's a Strat, quack and all, and not a thing needs fixing (except for a bit of a setup, which I'll do tomorrow if I don't go skiing). Still, it lacks duende. Which bums me out, great price or not.
I won't get rid of it, and I'm very sure that over time, it will earn respect from me, but to be very honest, it's nowhere near as nifty as a MIM 50's RI I have. I'm trying to figure out if it's the shape of the neck, the size of the frets, or what, but as they said once on TV, "he's just not that into you."
For my disappointment and financial inconvenience, I blame Eric Clapton.
bjcarl wrote:
First of all, congrats on the long-anticipated HNGD.
I'm probably in the minority...I've owned a few MIA strats and an MIA Tele, and on quality alone, I don't think they're really superior to a MIM or MIJ...at least not in ways that are easily discernable.
Thanks - I know that I'll turn her into a punked-out, drugged up little noise machine ... I can be a great bad influence on guitars. :womansurprised:
As for the quality ... I couldn't agree more. I'm dying to turn this silly little purchase into an epic lengthy thread on "imports vs. US," except .... you know: we've done it to death. To death. My opinion is that while the US guitars have, at best, held steady when it comes to QC (at best, mind you), the imports have been trending ever-upwards.
There was a MIM FSR Strat from '09 that the Albuquerque GC just couldn't sell, I think because it was listed at $699 and then put on 'clearance' for $579, and people just weren't going to spend that on a MIM Strat. Too bad, because that thing was a terrific, terrific guitar. I wish I'd bought it (someone finally did some time around this past Christmas, smart and lucky).
Don't get me wrong, I've had probably 25-30 Fenders over the years, and my '73 Tele and the '66 Mustang that was semi-permanently loaned to me for several years are amazing guitars. Amazing guitars. And I have been fortunate enough to play a few Custom Shop Teles that just make me grin like an idiot they are so lovely.
But I have also played tons of stock Fenders in recent years, US Standards, Deluxes, MIM standards and then their higher end series (FSR, CP, etc.) and even some of the Asian guitars are up there in terms of playability and build quality (with the Asians it's usually just a matter of immediately noticeably poorer electronics).
What really raised my eyebrows on this Strat was how nondescript it is - there's nothing about it that says 'play me,' nor anything that says 'jeez, that's wrong/bad.' It just is, if that makes any sense. Of course I need to set it up, and my last several set ups have gone very, very well - who knows? I'd be delighted to surprise myself by falling in love with it (and a tortoiise p/g might help).
But I do think it's a little crazy that I'd much rather play a Chinese Squier Jazzmaster (!), or a Mexican Strat (that 50's RI is a sweet fucking guitar), or even a MIK Squier ProTone Strat I've been rehabbing than this.
Now I'm thinking I should list a Squier on CL as MIA(made in Asia)
When Fender upgraded their American Series lineup in 2000, I bought one of their Standard Strats. At the time, I owned a MIM Standard, a Rick 360, a very cool 1986 '52 Tele RI, and a Les Paul Classic. I picked the Strat out in person from Guitar Center, but to be honest. I wasn't a very good strat player at the time and I was pretty clueless about what to look for.
My collection is now around 30 strong, most of the premium US or Japanese made guitars, several from the Fender and Gibson Custom Shop. That 2000 Strat is by far the most unispiring guitar in my collection, even with a set of genuine Abagail Ybarra wound pickups. It's aenemic, has a dull top end, and 3 different sets of pickups have failed to sort it out. I changed pots and caps, added a blend pot and had a bone nut installed.
My guess is that 90% of players out there would love it, but I'm really picky about tone. I could care less about neck shape or fretboard radius, but I like punchy tone and some snap to the top end.
In 2005 I finally broke down and bought a real strat, a Custom Shop '56 with a boat neck and ash body. It seemed expensive at the time ($2000) but in retrospect, it was a great investment. The tone is decidedly vintage and quintessentially stratty which is what I was after. It's too bad that you have to go to the custom shop to get a proper strat with a nitro finish and lightweight body, but, whatever. At least Fender still makes a few good ones.
docjeffrey wrote:In 2005 I finally broke down and bought a real strat, a Custom Shop '56 with a boat neck and ash body. It seemed expensive at the time ($2000) but in retrospect, it was a great investment. The tone is decidedly vintage and quintessentially stratty which is what I was after. It's too bad that you have to go to the custom shop to get a proper strat with a nitro finish and lightweight body, but, whatever. At least Fender still makes a few good ones.
And the second nicest Strat on here too
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