Greetings

Here a shot of my 60th Anniversary Am Std Sienna Sunburst / Maple Stratocaster, and my Am Deluxe Aged Cherry / Maple Telecaster. Check out the two finishes. Hope they came out ok.

Thanks for looking
Noodles

Great looking axes Noodles!!

The binding really works on that Tele. I am not always a fan of it on Teles, but in this case I am. Very nice.

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

Gorgeous instruments, Noodles. My local shop had that very Tele in stock, and I drooled over it for months. Congrats on the two beauties!

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

I really like the look on that tele as well. I was told, that white binding line, is actually just taped off before the stain goes on, which creates the illusion that there is indeed binding.
But hey it fooled me too.
J

The body is actually bound and not taped off, on the Olympic Pearl model the binding is tortoise shell (all others are white) For $1750.00 they do throw in actual binding.

Have a nice day
Noodles

What strat? All I could see was some tele handed down by God.

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No no and no

You da man. I always assumed it was real binding, until an employee at a reputable local guitar shop told me otherwise. I may enjoy my next convo with him. He needs to know the truth, since he is selling these things!
J

Oh baby! I'm on record as owning one of those guitars and lusting after the other! My GAS ain't been too bad of late - but now it's coming on strong again at the sight of that Tele. Dribble dribble...!

BTW Noodles: I believe I have the identical Strat to you. Mine's a 2005 American Series HSS with the S1 switch. Yours too?

Thanks for posting that picture - much obliged!

Cheers - C

Hi thewood: I suspect there's just a misunderstanding on that one. When you see 'em face to face there's no confusing a PRS style "faux" binding with an ABS plastic one, like on this Tele. I can't believe that someone who works in a guitar shop doesn't know the difference.

Not that there's anything wrong with the faux binding method - I'm rather partial to that look, as it happens. But unless someone knows otherwise I don't believe Fender have ever used faux binding, so if you see it on a Tele it's a pretty sure sign that someone else made the body.

Cheers - C

Ceri

This one is the "ever prestigious" ...2006 60th Anniversary Am Std model... so I get the super cool 60th Anniversary badge on the rear of the headstock, yes the S1 switching system (which I absolutely enjoy) and the HSS format does make this model just a little meaner than the SSS.

If I'm not mistaken...(not really sure) the MIM models had the very cool neck plate with 60th Anniversary engraved into it, but the American models have the boring Fender Corona Calif USA engraving.

Anyway...It's a keeper for sure

Good day to you
Noodles

Thanks Ceri,
I for one am a bit relieved that it is not just a fancy painting trick. I have to reveal my inexperiance here, but I have no idea what faux binding is. Is that the material type?
J

Hi thewood: perfectly reasonable question.

Faux binding is indeed the "fancy paint trick" method. Gotta say though, there's nothing easy or cheap about it - it involves a great deal of time and skill to get it right. And in my humble opinion it looks fabulous when done well.

It's the way PRS do their edges. I don't suppose Paul Reed Smith actually invented it, but he was certainly way out in the lead in pioneering it. In essence it is about pinstripe masking the edge and applying color around that, but in fact it involves repeated stages of applying and removing the masking and scraping the join line produced - all of which is incredibly skilled.

Here's the PRS Santana MD for example:



The advantage of faux binding is that it can travel around contours where ABS plastic binding can't go. And plastic binding pretty much always means a fairly sharpish corner, which you don't have to have with faux binding. And I think it just looks neat.

For an example of how difficult faux binding can be to do have a glance at the trouble this guy gets into attempting it:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/sh ... ?t=1132466

If he's amongst us I do apologise for using him as the "how not to do it" case study. He can say honestly that he knows a truckload more now than he did then...!

Here's one more amazing example of how to do it right. Faux binding with abalone purfling on both edges. This is seriously top drawer:

http://www.thornguitargallery.com/custo ... inding.htm

Cheers - C