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Post subject: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 8:58 pm
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Hi guys,

I'm about to acquire my first American Standard Strat, and I found one guitar online but I found this details on the wood on the neck (See links below) kind of different from the American standard that I saw. I check the serial that appears on the second image and it's ok. My concern is usually the details on the wood are not so apparent on the other guitars that I check could you guys explain if this could be a fake Strat or this details on the wood potentially appears in some guitars? Thanks in advance!!

Image 1: https://http2.mlstatic.com/fender-strat ... 019-F.webp

Image 2: https://http2.mlstatic.com/fender-strat ... 019-F.webp


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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 10:44 pm
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Regardless of pedigree that's some *seriously* crappy looking lumber.

It's a big ocean with plenty of fish......I'd pass it by.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 5:01 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
Regardless of pedigree that's some *seriously* crappy looking lumber.

It's a big ocean with plenty of fish......I'd pass it by.

Arjay


I agree. It might be fine but it doesn't look very nice.

I wonder if the tree was damaged and then "healed itself" as it continued to grow. It might not be an issue or it could equally throw up stability problems.

I am somewhat surprised it passed quality checks although it may have become more prominent with ageing.

If the price is low enough to allow for (or close to) a replacement MiA neck then it is worth a punt.

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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 6:55 am
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There are more strats than you can shake a 10foot cable at. I'm with Arjay and John, find another.


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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 7:45 am
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On the other hand, I'm pretty convinced those marks have no effect on playability, sound and such technical features; the marks are only a visual anomaly.

So, move on to the next candidate if those spots bother your eyes.
But if the price comes nicely down because of the marks, and you buy guitars for playing, why not.


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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 8:39 am
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Quote:
I am somewhat surprised it passed quality checks
Really, John?!!! Very little about Fender surprises me nowadays!

Cheers - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:25 pm
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Peter S wrote:
Quote:
I am somewhat surprised it passed quality checks
Really, John?!!! Very little about Fender surprises me nowadays!

Cheers - Peter.


Sad but true.

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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:37 pm
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John Sims wrote:
Peter S wrote:
Quote:
I am somewhat surprised it passed quality checks
Really, John?!!! Very little about Fender surprises me nowadays!

Cheers - Peter.


Sad but true.

+3

It's like somebody hung an "Out To Lunch" sign on the office door and sent the QA/QC staff on an extended (v-e-r-y e-x-t-e-n-d-e-d) holiday.

:evil:
Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 6:30 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
John Sims wrote:
Peter S wrote:
Quote:
I am somewhat surprised it passed quality checks
Really, John?!!! Very little about Fender surprises me nowadays!

Sad but true.

+3
It's like somebody hung an "Out To Lunch" sign on the office door and sent the QA/QC staff on an extended (v-e-r-y e-x-t-e-n-d-e-d) holiday.

I honestly wonder how much of the modern quality failings are due to Fender QC and how much is due to dealers failing to inspect, set up, and put in claims to Fender?
In the 70s and 80s, something like that would never have been hung on the wall at most music stores. Anything on display was ready to go.
Now, a "professional setup" is a $50 add-on, whether buying online or locally.
I was floored when I bought my '14 Epiphone SG from Guitar Center. I tried one on the floor and liked it. Told the salesman I wanted it... Nope, that was the demo, he went to the back and I walked out with a freshly-opened box (and it has issues).

No, that doesn't explain (or excuse) infantile failures in modern Fender amps, or mature failures due to RoHS solder.

But is overall QC really that bad?
My '17 American Special was "this close" to perfect out of the box. The 5th string was just a hair high, but other than lowering it, I've not even felt the need to slap a straightedge on the neck or check the string height. Sam Ash didn't have Oly White in stock, so they ordered it... I removed it from the factory packaging 3 days later on their counter.
We see problems posted on forums, but happy owners, unless they are hardcore enthusiasts, don't generally seek out forums, so of course we are going to see the problem children overrepresented.

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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 7:06 pm
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It makes me feel a sense of relief that I am not in the market for any new Fender gear.
I have had such good luck from a reliability and quality standpoint that I guess I have been lucky but it might help that I have not gotten anything new from Fender for 6 years. (2013 American Deluxe Jazz Bass)
The way I hear people talking about quality issues on the new gear, even on MIA gear sometimes ...
It's enough to make a man look more closely at other options.

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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 8:23 am
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I forget the name of those structures, but all maple trees have them. Usually more of a tan color so they blend in much better, and usually not as many prominant ones, but purely cosmetic.

I like wood with character. I've always preferred "atypical" over "perfect". PRS "10 Tops" bore me -- I'll take a plaintop with some mineral streaks and a few patches of "come and go" flame anyday. (A "perfect" plaintop is equally boring to me.)

I know that's a minority opinion. And it's perfectly valid to exchange it for one with with wood that looks better to you. People exchange guitars for cosmetic reasons all the time. They don't like the shading of that particular burst, the fretboard isn't dark enough, whatever.

But I wouldn't call that a QC failure.

In the old days when stores were small and didn't have dozens of Strats on display, before internet buying with lberal return/exchange policies, that would have been rejected for cosmetic reasons. It's definitely not what most people want.

But if I was looking at Sweetwater's site where they show you actual pics of their in-stock guitars, I'd choose that oddball over the "normal" same-model ones.

(Yeah, I'm the guy who adopts the dog that's about to be put down because no one wants it.)


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Post subject: Re: Very apparent details on an American Standard neck
Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 8:33 am
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Before someone says "mineral streaking", yes, but it's minerals in one of the tree's circulatory or support systems -- I forget the name of the anatomical structure.

(Living trees are remarkably complex lifeforms. Lumber is a more miraculous substance than most people realize, and before we kill them, trees are even more miraculous than that.)


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