Hello Everyone,

I am a newbie to the fender guitar world. I would like to know what are the main differences between some of the fender Stratocaster versions?

Mainly looking at Standard, Deluxe, Classic, and Special.

Like I said, with all these different versions, its hard for me to pinpoint what is so different between them.

Thanks,
NARCO!

Welcome to the forum...On the top of the page you`ll see "Products"...click on Electric Guitars..all the different models show up and you can get the specs on each one...

New to it myself, I found this link on ebay very helpful...

Buying a Fender Stratocaster - A Guide for the Novice
http://reviews.ebay.com/Buying-a-Fender ... 0001650626

hope you find it useful...

Great document!
I just got my epi and now I would like to expand my collection to get a stratocaster.

Love the guitar...

THanks again.

There are so many differences that, as I usually do, I like to try out various versions firsthand. For my style, the American Deluxe maple fretboard with Vintage pups seems to work for me very well. But there are other models that I haven't encountered firsthand which might also work for me (some Fat Strats or Signature Models or newer Am. Dlx with SCN pups). Body woods vary, fretboard woods vary, frets vary, pickups vary, bridges vary, hardware varies, electronics vary (pots mainly).

Get thee to a music store that carries Fenders (authorized dealers usually have a good selection on hand) and try as many as you can through a setup or amp that most closely matches yours.

This is very good advice but alas, you will find differences between the same mode, built on the same day... this is the nature of products made from wood!

Price.lol

This is very good advice but alas, you will find differences between the same mode, built on the same day... this is the nature of products made from wood![/quote]

very true...didn't realise it until I tried out a few strats at the local shop... good advice

You wouldn't expect it, but Fender uses three different neck widths, so there is that too. If your hands are like mine, not huge, you wont like the guitars with the biggest nut width of 1.6875" or 43mm.

You may also find the tiny 1 5/8 or 41.3mm nut width of the Mexican made strats too small and clostrophobic.

If so, you will be on a quest to find the "Medium" neck size of 42mm.

You will have to go one by one thorugh the specs of all the different models, because if there is any rhyme or reason to what guitar gets what size I haven't figured it out.

I recommend getting a strat with a humbucker in the bridge position if you like rock. They call it "HSS" or "FatStrat".

Perhaps this will help some: http://www.fender.com/features/americanspecial/?EDID=A71SUVO-SOF-NV10F-IJ9A-2QU-v1#/specs

Different models have different specs. Some are equipped with Vintage tuners, vintage tremolo systems, Floyd Rose Tremolos, some are SSS pick-up configurations, some have HSS configurations, some have different switching options, some have different pickups, and some even have different sized headstocks.

Basically it boils down to what you want. Personal preference. Since you are new to Fender guitars, I recommend playing as many as you can before just buying one just to have one.

There are specs on this site that can help you decide what you want, but playing as many as possible will really do you a lot of good as far as what model is best for you.

Good luck on your search. I recommend looking at the Fender Standard (the basic model) and see what you like about it and do not like about it.

RK