Members lethalsixstring Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 What do you think of the new Fender Koa Strats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 Well... I'm gonna treat this as though I thought this WASN'T a Fender intern spamming the board on his/her first post in this BB*... I took a look at Fender's so-called pro-shop guitars back ten years ago when I was looking for a Strat or strat-clone and was horrified by how expensive they were for the finish work quality and how stupid some of them looked. I decided if I was gonna spend a few grand on a Strat or clone that I'd get one from a good maker, not Fender. I bought a "J-standard" (full Fender nameplate, Japanese made "standard" Strat) to tide me over and decided that -- once I filed the UNFILED fretwire ends down so that they didn't rip my skin everytime I slide my hand up or down the neck -- that it was an acceptable $300 guitar. One of my pals worked for Fender's QC in Corona and confirmed that it was pretty much a joke... wull, yuh... all I had to do was look at those unfiled fret wires to know that. What do YOU think of them? PS... You do know there's a whole guitar forum here, right? *PPS... just in case you AREN'T a Fender intern... I hope you'll forgive my rough welcome to this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Godot Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 I think the Koa strat he's talking about is an import from Korea, so digs at the Corona plant don't really apply. Anyway, I'm not really a fan of using exotic woods on electric guitars, even if it is just the top. Acoustic, sure, but it's a complete waste on a plank of wood with pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 I don't like it. Like the poster above me, I"m not really into exotic woods on electric guitars. This one is indeed a koa veneer on a basswood body, anyway. And this is a personal taste thing, but I'm not a fan of pearloid pickguards either. Fender's list is a grand for this guitar, and it's selling for about $700 street. Really, if I was going to buy a Strat at the moment, I could think of several I'd rather have that are (IMHO) cooler looking and less expensive. A really nice Standard still sells at below $400 brand new. - Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 Yeah...just give me a mexi and I'll veneer that bitch with stickers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 Originally posted by the stranger Yeah...just give me a mexi and I'll veneer that bitch with stickers. I was just playing an older Mexican Squire (before Fender extended their "premium" nameplate to Mexican-made guitars) yesterday at a pal's studio and it was a very playable, decent sounding guitar. When I bought my Japan-standard Strat for under $300 bucks (rough fret wires and all) I felt it was a much better deal than an "American Standard" at twice the price. (I looked at a BIG slug of Am-Standards. Of course, when I saw the J-Standards on sale for $270 I made a point of looking at all 13 my local GC had in stock... there was, shall we say, a very wide range. The fact that I bought one with unfinished fret wires should tell you something about that range. It was the best of the lot.) With regard to the Corona plant QC ... yeah I CERTAINLY didn't mean to suggest that import Fenders go through a QC process... I mean, I suppose it's POSSIBLE... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 I have never found an exact correlation between the place of origin, pricing, and playability/sound of a Fender guitar. At different times, the American, Japanese, and Mexican guitars have all produced excellent quality instruments. It's true of the Squier brand as well. I've played some really great cheap Squiers and some really poor (and more expensive) US Fenders, and vice-versa. Rule of thumb (that applies to ALL guitars AFAIC): the best guitar is the one you pick up and it plays well and sounds great. Personally, I have a real hard time buying any guitar from a catalog or web site, since I really need to play it to see if I like it. For example, I've taken two supposedly identical Les Pauls off a wall and found drastic differences that go beyond basic set-up issues. - Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 Darn staight, Jeff. That's one of the interesting and kind of cool thing about even mass produced assembly line guitars... even solid bodies... It's that little bit of chaos that makes it interesting. And -- having slagged Fender the company pretty hard here -- let me say it has not escaped me that a Fender Strat cost a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT MORE in inflation-adjusted dollars in the old days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 Oh, hell yeah. Over the last 30 eyars, I've played (and bought) a good number of Strats and Teles in a world where there are a lot of good guitars to choose from. That speaks volumes. - Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted August 30, 2006 Members Share Posted August 30, 2006 LIke Jeff... I don't care for pearloid pickguards. Somehow, they're just wrong.Exotic woods? Feh...gimme maple, rosewood, the occasional basswood.I could never buy a guitar from a catalogue. I have to play it, first. That's just taking way too many chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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