I finaly figured out what guiter I have. My wife bought it for me and said the guy who sold it to her said it was a Stratocaster but it is a Showmaster FAT SSS MIK. What are the differances other then the odvious.

MODEL NAME: Showmaster FAT SSS (Flame Ash Top)
MODEL NUMBER: 026-3170-(530)
SERIES: Special Edition Series
COLORS: (530) Cherry Sunburst, (Polyurethane Finish)
BODY: Basswood, with Carved Flame Ash Top
NECK: Maple, Set Neck, Modern "C" Shape, (Polyurethane Finish)
MACHINE HEADS: Cast/Sealed Locking Tuning Machines
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, 15.75" Radius (400mm)
NO. OF FRETS: 24 Jumbo Frets
PICKUPS: Seymour Duncan® SSL52-1 5-2, SSL52-1 5-2 RWRP, SSL52-1B 5-2, (Neck/Middle/Bridge)
CONTROLS: Master Volume, Master Tone
BRIDGE: 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo
PICKUP SWITCHING: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup Position 3. Middle Pickup Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup Position 5. Neck Pickup
HARDWARE: Smoked Chrome
STRINGS: Fender Super Bullet 3250L, Nickel Plated Steel, (.009 to .042), p/n 073-3250-003

Hi Bulldog60,

The Stratocaster and Showmaster are actually totally different guitars with little in common.

I believe your guitar (being of basswood body) will be of Korean origin. It will possibly have a carved top? Also, I think it may have a reverse headstock too?

They were actually Fender's own attempt at a sort of Super Strat but never became too popular really.

I'm sure there are plenty of other differences to list, but basically, it is a totally different guitar to a Strat.

Russ

Just noticed that you actually stated MIK in your question.

That's just me scanning through too quickly

This is a link to a pic.
http://www.instrumentpro.com/P-FEN0263170530.html

I don't know how to upload a picture file yet so I hope this link is ok on the forum.[/url]

The Showmaster started life originally as a Custom Shop Team Built model in the late 90's. There were several options including a chambered body and a hard tail. They were all HSS. They were all carved tops. They were not all flame or quilt maple top and if memory serves I believe one of them had a Tele style headstock, possibly the chambered model. I've only ever seen one example in my life. They were not a big seller. Several years later the Showmaster showed up as a MIM model and was deleted from the Custom Shop catalog. If it is now MIK then I'm thinking it must have sold very poorly even as a MIM.

Ok, it hasn't got the reverse headstock and I can't quite tell from the pic if they still use a carved top, but still, other than the similarity in shape, this is quite a different guitar to a standard Stratocaster.

I'm sure some of the members of the forum will be able to give you a much more in depth comparison if you wait a while.

Russ

There is also the Stagemaster. I believe both Squier and Fender have sold both Showmasters and Stagemasters. I believe both have had set and bolt-on necks, too. It is real confusing to me.

Good thread...

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

Thanks for the info. I have a better link but it loads music along with the page and it gets annoying. Here is the link but you might want to turn your volume down.
http://stratoblogster.blogspot.com/2009 ... trats.html

Fender has tried the "Super Strat" route several times, each with little success.

80's - The HM Strats
90's - The Talon Series
20's - The Showmaster and Stagemasters

All are worthy guitars, but didn't really sell well. I think at heart we Fender players are traditionalists. We want our Strats to look like Strats and out Tele's to look like Tele's. Start messing around with the basic format and we don't buy them.

So now Fender owns Jackson/Charvel and gets "Super Strats" out that way

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

There were Highway 1 Showmasters too. HSS and HH versions.

http://tinyurl.com/ygaau6r

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Well put!

Well I wanted a Strat for my first electric guitar, but this does sound very nice and if is just as good of a guitar as a Strat I am satisfied. I was very confused when I first got it but now I am finding out more info on my guitar and this is just as much fun as playing it, almost!

I think they were just discontinued this year if I'm not mistaken.

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Seems to me you've got yourself a rather nice instrument there which, though not classic Stratocaster, was an attempt by the company to embellish on the original. It can certainly serve as the anchor to the eventual ownership of a variety of guitars and you might want to think carefully about keeping that one around for a long time.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Thanks! As I get better and more knowledgable about fender guitars I will probable get something I can customize for me or I might even start from scratch and build one. I will definantly keep this one as I think it looks cool and sounds great too.