The differences between the American Vintage '70s Strat, the American Standard Strat, the Classic Series '70s Strat, and the Standard Strat (other than the price).

Thanks.

Welcome to the forum. The specs for each of the models you listed are on this page under products. No sense in me copying them for you.

There is no American Vintage 70's Strat.

I think he means the Classic Series 70's Strat that's out.

According to the products page on the website, there is an American Vintage '70s Strat, described below. Maybe it is out of production, I don't know.

Also, being a beginner guitar player, I'm interested to know if anybody can explain the differences in sound or performance among the various Strats I named. I can read the technical specifications, but they don't really mean that much to me.

In other words, what do you get for $2,200 that you don't get for $700?

Thanks for your help, I really do appreciate it.

American Vintage ‘70s Stratocaster®

0100070


Admit it, you loved the ’70s, and so do we! This hybrid “best of the ’70s” American Vintage Stratocaster guitar features all of the greatest elements of the now-classic ’70s Strat guitars, including an ash (on transparent finishes) or alder body, U-shaped maple neck with improved three-bolt neck and Micro Tilt™ neck adjustment, ’70-’71 vintage-correct bridge, “Diamond Head ‘F’” tuners and specially voiced pickups. Other features include the unmistakable large headstock, ’70s-style decal and bullet truss rod adjustment nut

I have an Am Dlx, & an '09 MIM Standard.

I have not been able to A/B the standard with a regular Am Strat, but I can tell you I was playing it last night out of my Peavey DB and it sounded great! I can also say that it sounded much better then an older Am standard I tried earlier that night out of the 'same' amp at my local store, which also sounded VERY similiar to other older MIMs that were there.

The Dlx adds in locking tuners, noisless cobalt PUs etc, different trem system, S1, etc. and so you do get a bit more functionality for the $$. (I know it isn't on your list, but at least there are definitive differences - given for example)

The primary diff in the standards is the PUs. So ideally, you should A/B them together and see if you note a difference in tone worth the cost.

For ME, already having the Dlx, the MIM was a fine purchase even though it has the ceramic PUs. Quality, looks, set-up, etc were all there, and luckily(?) I think it sounds really good!

Well, a lot of that is very subjective. For example, a good amount of your tone comes from the amp, more so than the flavor of Fender Strat you're playing. A bigger amount comes from the hands that are playing it.

In general, a person at your level probably can't tell a whole lot of difference between those guitars on the same amp. After you've played for a while, you'll start to notice little things that you either like, don't like, don't care about, or absolutely HAVE to get.

When I got my first strat, a 94 mim, I loved it. Still do. After I played it for a few years, played a ton of shows with it, I found little things that would be nicer to have and certain things I "needed" for myself. When I got a 98 MIA, that was a huge step up for me in feel quality, tone, fit and finish. Going a bit further, I wanted just a tad more versatility, and put different pickups in it. Now, 11 years later, I love that guitar more than any guitar I could play, and I've been playing for 25 years and can afford what I want (within reason). I've played countless gigs, recorded a ton of stuff, and have spent thousands of hours playing strats. But for me to tell you what's best for you - I can't do that. I know what I want to hear, how I want it to feel and what I "need" in my guitar. I know this 100%. Until you play for a while, you won't know either. For example a "classic rock" tone is completely different to everybody. And - that also depends on how you play it, and your amp.

Any one of those is a great guitar, but which is "perfect" for you - nobody else can really answer that. When I look for a new guitar I do this...

- don't look at the price, just play the high end stuff until I find a feel and tone that I love.
- to me, if I play 10 guitars, there will be at least one that I think "OMG, this feels so good I can't put it down. I just have to keep playing it, and it feels like part of me"
- once I spot that guitar, I get it. if it's not in your budget or something, do what you can to get it. Because "that" guitar will be a life long friend that will inspire to play more and play better.

When you find the guitar where you don't have to think about what to play, and things just come out and sound great, that's the perfect guitar for you - at any price.

A comparison....

94 MIM Standard
Loved it and the classic strat tones. Nothing was better. After a while I thought I'd want pickups that weren't quite as noisy, a fretboard that has better fret ends that I didn't feel with my hand when I slide up and down the neck, and a more "refined" version of what I had.

98 MIA Strat
Big difference to me, at that point. I loved the quieter pickups, the thicker warmer tone, the perfect neck on it, the slightly heavier body, the nice even wood grain on the neck and fretboard, the better quality part and tuners, and the more balanced body. I wanted this but a little more versatile so I could play high gain music and not be noisy

Same 98 MIA Strat - customized
Big difference to me. The versatility I wanted, classic sound, more refined feel, and I also stripped the thick black paint and refinished it in a vintage wood stain. That changed the tone a bit, made it a bit warmer sounding, sounded better acoustically, and "felt" better when I played it.

Now, all these little things are things that a lot of people won't notice or don't care about. To me, these were huge change in the evolution of my playing and the quest for my perfect guitar and perfect tone. A lot of people would not notice any "real" difference in what the whole process was, in the tone, or to play those guitar and feel any difference worth paying for. For me, at those turning points, they were a huge difference and were worth every penny and more.