I have American Standard Strats from 1989 (Deluxe w/Lace Golds) and 1996-I like the way the '96 plays and looks better, but there is a "pinginess" to the sound-I think it's the wood that causes it--It feels like the wood is not as dense or as high of a quality as the '89-It has a thinner finish, which I would think improves the tone, but not to my ears--Not sold on the CS69s I put in v. the stock pups either. the 69s do have a nicer separation, but don't seem to cut through as well (and I really don't care for staggered pole pieces). I grew to like the Laces on the '89. Any takes, yas or nays???

Pardon my lack of punctuation skills and stream-of-consciousness style...I just wondered how anyone felt about the build quality of 80s v. 90s AmStd Strats-If one was better than the other, and what differences they saw.

i wanted to buy another clapton but they just didnt play as good as my 89
so i didnt buy it but i really like the lace sensors ..
i like my pickups to be clear like EMGs

so yes i agree the quality is a little lower than the late 80s
but i might be wrong. it might be the age that makes them play and sound better

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USA 1989 Clapton Signature Strat in 7up Green
USA Standard Telecaster all Blk w EMG 81/85
ESP Eclipse II w EMG 81/60
Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier & Road king 4x12

In my opinion, an American Standard Strat (any of them) can''t be fairly compared against the Pluses and Deluxe models. As previously stated, each decade brings a major (actually minor in the grand scheme) change to the American Standard. The name originates from the 80's when employees took the company back from CBS, but really enumerates an MIA strat without any frilly add-ons. Changes through the years include the dreaded three bolt necks, the advent of poly finishes and demise of Fullerplast, Alder over Ash bodies, and numerous hardware design changes. The last huge change was to the two point synchronized trem that has been in use on Plus and Deluxe models for years. An American Standard does not and probably never will come with anything but electromagnetic pickups, the traditional wiring layout, and the traditional neck and body design. Fancy things like roller nuts, locking tuners, fancy bridges and gee-whiz controls like the S1 system will most likely always be reserved for Deluxe models, CS, or the next super-duper strat designation.

Joelski--The "Deluxe" I referred to was the Deluxe American Standard that Fender offered from 1988-1990-An AmStd with Gold Lace Sensors, and quite different from the Deluxe of the last decade. Nice guitar-Laces aren't for everyone, but they have great fidelity though they don't "growl" quite like regular pups.

My take on the difference through the years is this:

The main basic strat is always a main basic strat. There are differences to be sure, but really not that big overall.

I think normal production variance probably accounts for a lot. i think you could randomly pick one strat from the 80's and one from the 90's and one or the other may sound and play a lot better than the other, but you could randomly pick 2 from the same year and production run, and have the same thing.

I picked my Strat over several others from the same year, and from a couple years prior to it. Some just stand out. Sometimes you just love a certain guitar so much, and know it so well, no others can compare in your mind. Other players might grab the same 2 guitars, and like the other better, or even think they sound pretty much the same.

It was through the time period the original poster mentions, that Fender really salvaged its fading reputation. I think there were pretty good guitars made then, as now.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I can't answer for Strats, but I have an 88 US made P-bass and a 96 US made fretless P. To me the construction and play (allowing for one being fretless) seem pretty much identical. In my head, the 88 seems slightly more mellow but that may not be real or it may be due to slightly more aging on the coils. It may also be that in 96, they made the pups slightly hotter.

There is the CBS era, already mentioned, but some books I've read suggest that quality was improving a couple of years before CBS ownership ended. So I have a hunch that even a late CBS model might not be astronomically different than more recent ones.

Sounds like a Strat Plus to me. That was the deluxe of that era; or at least I had not seen any model called a Deluxe back then come through the shop I worked at. Yeah, Lace Sensors, two point trem, wilkinson roller nut and sperzel locking tuners. I still have mine.

In the last years of CBS (the early 80's), everything was made in Japan. Which is why the consistency and quality improved. Once the Corona plant opened up as the employee owned Fender we know today, things took off with the American Standards and Strat Pluses.

Joelski-The Deluxe American Standard was a model of Strat different from the Strat Plus-did not have the Wilkinson nut or 2-pt. trem or locking tuners-just the standrad stuff with the Laces--Strat plusses are nice, though I didn't like the nut, as it didn't allow for heavier strings (I use .011s)