I tried to be strong zzdoc... I really did. I was only stopping at Guitar Center to buy strings and there it was...

I sympathize with your plight. My affair with Stratocasters dates back a good 50 years myself. I just condensed my arsenal to acquire a Gilmour and an '89 Clapton both within the past 12 months. The idea of owning one of these VG's under present circumstances is quite compelling, but I am hedging on the possibility that Fender is holding something new to replace it.

I have already been burned in the modeling amp market by Line 6 whose amp products evolved so quickly that the Axis/AX-2 which I've owned since inception and upgrade has no trade-in value anywhere. No demand for that gear at all. I don't want to get stuck again.

On the light side...one of my old friends and bandmates has lived in Phoenix for the past 25 years now, and I have been in and around your digs....Stockdale and Biltmore Estates in particular. I know why Stevie Nicks still calls the area home. Gotta love the heat though.

Enjoy.

Doc

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

Hey guys! I too could not resist the price of the vg! I bought a blizzardpearl/maple from Musicians Friend. It was supposed to be back ordered till may 13th, but they sent it right away. Great guitar!!!

Is there an area here with a support group for GAS,because if there is I need to go there now!Seriously I too ordered a VG when Fender discontinued this model,I always thought that I would buy one in the future but when I says discontinued and saw the price,I figured that if I wanted a brand new one now was the time,Haven't received it yet supposed to be Thursday.Got the 3 tone sunburst with Maple,will add this to my stable of 6 other Stratocasters and will be played through a Pro tube twin amp.Can't wait.

Oh yeah,almost forgot,went to GC and saw a model of VG that I have never seen and as far as I know never been in the catalog,it was a sienna sunburst which is a color I believe was never offered in this model but the real kicker is that it was built on the American Deluxe platform rather than the American Standard one,ie.that is contour heel,deluxe bridge,deluxe neck with pearloid dots,anyone have any information on this?Thanks.Craig

WHERE AWAY:!:

That's the GC FSR limited issue released last summer . Has a V-neck. Was asking about one in my area today. Were they asking the same price for it? I inquired as to whether they could find one in the pipeline. No such luck. Where's the store?? Maybe they can check stock for me.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

I saw it at the LaMesa CA store and it had a price of about $1700.00 on it,It was missing a couple of the knobs and it was hanging on the wall.cheers

Congrats on your new guitar.

And welcome to the Fender Forum.

Gil

_________________
Where ever you go, there you are

1998 Ovation 1861 Standard Balladeer Natural
Taka - 2005 Squier '51 Black
Yume - 2006 Squier Strat Cherryburst
Houbi - 2008 Fender VG Strat Blizzard Pearl - won here
Fender Super Champ XD; Vox DA-5

Congrats on your new guitar that's coming your way.

And welcome to the Fender Forum.

Gil

_________________
Where ever you go, there you are

1998 Ovation 1861 Standard Balladeer Natural
Taka - 2005 Squier '51 Black
Yume - 2006 Squier Strat Cherryburst
Houbi - 2008 Fender VG Strat Blizzard Pearl - won here
Fender Super Champ XD; Vox DA-5

Appreciated!

Stratstang,

Color (3 tone sunburst) = Good
Neck choice = Shoulda gone maple
JK

I saw one today at the local GC whilst picking up some strings and it sure does look like a nice git. Congrats to those picking one up. I think they were $1699 just a year or so ago so you're getting it for a real bargain.

Hey it could be worse. On Saturday I went to buy some strings and ended up walking out with a Gretsch! GAS Support groups will not do any good here- everyone always encourages buying a new guitar. There is only one thing to keep GAS in check, and that is women.

Now I'm almost good for the year because the Mrs. puts a limit on how many guitars I can buy per year. The limit is a great thing because it gets you thinking about which one is more worth it, and it is the only thing that has worked for me. However, Saturday's impulse buy was a great feeling though!

I must also express some guitar regret. I was too excited when the VG came out that I settled for the Black with rosewood neck when I really wanted the maple neck. And now that would have been uncommon considering that wasn't an option soon after the release. It is good to see that despite the feeding frenzy caused by the discontinuation, everyone is pretty happy about what they got.

zzdoc... I saw one of the FSR limited issue VG Strats at the Scottsdale, AZ GC when I was buying strings, and ahem, only strings yesterday.

I asked if they had been discounted like the American Series VGs, the sales guy ran a price check and nope, there was no close out price on that model.

That is one great looking, immaculate guitar and I would have been tempted if I had noticed it last week. It might have been there but I had my black/rosewood blinders on.

John

Raff66 - already have an ash body with a maple neck - wanted to see the difference, plus I like the look of the dark neck with the dark body. It's on the UPS truck to my house right now - might have to leave work early today !

I'll post later tonight with my reaction to it, but I'm psyched to get my hands on it.

been playing with the new VG for four hours straight - wife decided to go to bed and let me play with the new toy, and it is fun. AC/DC with the humbuckers, Tom Petty with a 12 string strat, Wish you were here on a 12 string acoustic, 5 O'clock somewhere on a tele - and oh, by the way, it's an American strat as well - some 12 bar blues, a little hendrix, this thing is like an amusement park for guitar nerds. Not all the sounds are perfectly modeled, but that doesn't make them bad. It might not sound exactly like a Tele, but it is a cool sound anyway. Here's some pics:

All fender, all the time (almost - should I get a stratocoustic?)


Closeups:

Very nice. I see you have a copy of the Natural 57 Fender Strat that Graham Nash gave Jerry Garcia - Alligator. Is it really a '57, or just a Natural Ash Strat ? Or did you strip one down ? I'm a big Jerry fan

Gil

_________________
Where ever you go, there you are

1998 Ovation 1861 Standard Balladeer Natural
Taka - 2005 Squier '51 Black
Yume - 2006 Squier Strat Cherryburst
Houbi - 2008 Fender VG Strat Blizzard Pearl - won here
Fender Super Champ XD; Vox DA-5