Hi ! I just own a stratocaster american starndard 1991 wine red and i read on the internet that one of the worst year for the strat !!! ouch is that true ?? in my opinion everyhting work find and sounds great on my guitar what's wrong with this year production (1991) ?? thanks for your reply

i think if it sounds, plays, feels good and puts a smile on your face, then the strat you have in your hands at any given moment is the best. a talented player will make a cheap instrument sound wonderful but not the other way around. relax -practice your butt off. some day i hope to be a talented player too.
jimmy

On what basis is a 91 the worst strat? How does it compare to some of the 80-83 models from just before cbs sold to fmic?

I personaly am very sceptical over what i read online. 99.9% of the internet is opinion not fact.

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No no and no

Exactly. Every year had some tone turds. I played an original 62 that was just horrible and a 69 that sounded great but was a boat anchor.
If you like it, it's for you. Most people who say crap like that just heard it from somebody else but never had any experience themselves.

Cool, a new way to make us feel paranoid! Add it o....

...oh, you were born in 19XX? I just read a thing that says that people born in 19XX are especially succeptible to...

...oh, you wear _____ underwear. I just read in a thing that the brand makes your woo-wowo shrivel up life a prune...

I think there is close to a consensus that right around '83 was the worst year for a Strat in generalities only (give or take a few years either way). This was the time of the Free Flyte trem, the loss of the slanted input jack & 2nd tone control, and lots of quality problems. As for the "best year", that will incite endless debates. I am not enough of an expert to say that '62 was a better year than '59. But I will say that Fender is making same great guitars right now -- all up and down their product line.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Guitars way back in the 50's and 60's were a bit inconsistent because of all the handwork involved and lack of CNC machinery. Even the PUPs were hand wound. Later on the inconsistencies were due to laziness on the part of the workers and lack of quality control. There is no reason for all the inconsistencies and problems today.

That's just your opinion, lol.

I think it's silly to say a year is "good" or "bad" in its entirety. It's not wine here. In any model year you're gonna have some gems and some duds. Maybe '91 introduced features that purists didn't like. I don't know enough about individual model years to speak knowledgeably about it; but I find MOST of what people say is good or bad about specific Strats comes down to snobbery moreso than actual first-hand knowledge. I'd be willing to bet that MOST of the people who say 70s Strats are automatically crap (for example) have never actually played one.

Don't worry about it man, if you like it and you can make the music you wanna make with it, then iit's a great guitar. As far as whether or not it's "desirable" in the collectors' market, that might be a different story.

I agree that that period ('80-'83) represents the lowest point in quality.
They started to make improvements in 1982. But after years of inflation (price increases) and the start of a recession in the USA, sales were pretty low in the mid-'80s, so I can imagine things were pretty bad for the company.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Heck, I'd be proud to own a '91 strat

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the absolute worst years were the 70s and the best years are right now. Yea, I know, everyone who owns one from the 70s swears up and down that their particular specimen is the equivalent of a Stradivarius. Notwithstanding, put any real 70s one up against a current 70s RI and see which one is really the better made and better sounding instrument; US made vs. MIM notwithstanding.

I'm sure, YMMV.

Where's my manners? coyote37, welcome!!

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You dig?

Couple that with the fact that 73.2294587 statistics are made up and your getting close to the mark.

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No no and no

I would say there were more bad issues on the guitars of the 70's and those being made now are of the best quality on average.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I just bought a 2008 American Deluxe Ash and can say that it is a very well put together instrument with great sound options. CNC will only take you so far, Fender is exceeding expectations.
JW

I doubt there has been a bad year for American Standards since they were introduced in... when was it, 1987? In 1991, there would have been the Strat Plus, Deluxe and Ultra series hogging the limelight, but the Standard was (and continues to be) a great guitar. The Custom Shop would also have been hitting its stride at that time, so the basic strat model was probably taking a backseat in the.. uh...car of the collective unconscious. Heh.