I am looking into getting a Strat, I already have a Les Paul, but I am really gassing for that Strat sound.

I have been playing tons of strats at shops around me, and I really dig the feel and the pickups in the Road Worn series, but I can't stand the look of em, cheap and gimmicky.

Anyone else feel the same way?

Look at the Jimmie Vaughan strat same pick ups better looking. They are nice playin.

Or buy a MIM Std and drop some very affordable (same as in a Roadworn) Tex Mex pups. That is what I did before RW's even came out. That combo kills ...

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

I am going to save up and buy an American Standard, I just really liked the way the neck felt, and the pickups sounded pretty good.

Just an observation

Well you cant go wrong there.It is a well made and versatile strat that will hold its value.

Well, personally I don't really care for the Am Std's all that much...personally I just don't think they're really worth that much extra money compared with an MIM or something else. That said, I do certainly agree with you on the whole Road Worn thing...cheap and gimmicky. I really just don't understand the appeal with those. As I've often said, it's not like a person would buy a brand new car where someone at the factory key'd the door, broke a tail light out with a hammer, put 1 school bus yellow rim on it and cracked the windshield...and I don't know ANYONE who would actually pay extra for something like that. If I buy something that is brand new, I expect it to look brand new. Even for people who do like the look of a well aged guitar (and I certainly don't!) then it seems as though part of that look would be the unique character of the individual instrument, so why would anyone want one that looks exactly like thousands of others aged the same way?

Road Worns...I just don't get it (and I hope I never do!).

Peace,
Jim

Totally agree about the roadworns.I dont get it either.Definately dont agree about the American Standards.Many people think they are some of the nicest guitars made from Fender in a long time.That being said, choosing a guitar is such a personal choice, I am glad Fender leaves decisions like that up to us and there is such a wide variety to choose from.There is something there for just about everyones budget.Cant really go wrong.

That is one thing I really like Fender is the affordability. A ton of the newer Squiers are of good quality. It does not rival a Fender Strat, but its getting up there, one of the best for the money.

Am. Stds are. IMO, the best bang for your buck. American made, high quality, tons of fun to play.

I am really hoping to start saving money for this Strat, white with rosewood fretboard tasty

American Standard is a great guitar for the money. Bought mine a couple years back for well under a grand. Just my 2 cents.............. Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Just for the sake of clarity...I'm not saying that Am Std's are "bad" guitars by any means...I've certainly played a few over the years and they're ok (although I've played a few that were crap too)...but I'm not going to go drooling over one either. Personally I just don't think they are -that- much better than some other instruments compared with their higher cost. For example is an Am Std better than an MIM? Yea...sure...I can admit that. Is it -$700- better? In my always and ever so humble opinion...no...absolutely no way. If we were only talking a $200 or $300 price difference (such as those new American Specials...I am actually looking at those) then yea...perhaps I could see that. But $700??? Sorry...call me a cheap bastard, but I just can't see that at all. For that $700 difference, I could easily buy a good used MIM and mod the crap out of it and for my time, money and effort, have another really decent instrument that I could take a great deal of pride in owning and playing.

On the other hand, obviously I am one of those folks that does like to personalize and certainly tinker with my instruments...I -know- what I like in a guitar and I (usually) know how to get it. Even if I had an Am Std, I'd still likely change a lot of things on it...trem/bridge, pickups, cosmetics, perhaps even the finish, etc., etc.. I'm simply not an "off the rack" kind of guy...I like things custom tailored to my own personal tastes and I like things that uniquely reflect "me" as an individual and with guitars, I'd really rather "do it myself" anyways. In other words, if you have a crowd of 100 average white American men all wearing nearly identical business suits with nearly identical hair cuts walking down the street, I'm the "long haired freak", wearing the brightly colored Hawaiian shirt with blues shades who's skipping sideways down the street just to be different from everyone else in the crowd! LOL!!! I've never had any desire what so ever to be "just like everyone else"...to me, conformity sucks and certainly lacks any sense of originality. As a person, I'm a unique and one of a kind individual and as a musician, my music style and certainly my guitars need to reflect that .

Anyways, If I'm going to do all that stuff with a guitar anyways, to me it just makes more sense for me to get something like an MIM or even a nicer Squier and build it up the way -I- want it...that way I get exactly what -I- want (as apposed to what everyone else plays) and at the end of the day I end up having -a lot- more pocket change left over.

Obviously just my opinion.
Jim

Jim, more power to ya.You can still be unique and an individual and still be an individual.Just look at how many unique musicians used off the rack guitars.Its all a matter of taste and preference really.No right or wrong.Like you said, just our opinion.

Where do you see the Am Std for more than 700 over a MIM?

Around me, MIMs are 5-600, and AmStd are 1000....

1000-500= 500 at the greatest disparity in pricing...

MIM Standards are 499,MIA standards are 999.And you have to discount about 100 for a case which is included with the MIA, but not the MIM.So roughly about 400 bills, not 700.

You wont be sorry with the MIA Strat, their great guitars. I don`t care for the Road Worn look either, I`d rather have that happen over time and from playing it myself.

Ok...my apologies on the price mistake. The last time I seriously looked at the Am Std's was last year when Fender's prices had gone up across the board...the MIM's had gone up to the currant $499 and at the time I thought the price on the American's had gone up to from $999 to $1199...I guess now I'm not sure if I was looking at something else or if the prices came down a bit. Still, even at a $400 price difference I personally can't justify the difference in quality...again the Am Std's are decent but -to me- they're just not that good. I'd still rather have an MIM or even a Squier and personalize it to my own taste...which is what I've always done.

Again my apologies for my mistake on the pricing...I must have mis-read something somewhere. I'll have to go back through some of the old forum posts when I have more time and see what it was everyone was ranting on about when that price increase hit.

Peace,
Jim