Hi Everyone,

I've been a spectator for awhile, but this is my first post. (I could not live with myself if I didn't take this opportunity to thank Ceri for his marvelous building thread.)

Good news bad news. I've come into a little extra cash to upgrade, but not enough to keep both. Goodbye '06 Am Std Hello something new?

I've narrowed my choices to the Am Dlx , Hot Rod 57 and EJ. I've been making most of my comparisons through the web, although I did get to play the Hot Rod. All three are available in my color choice of 2 tone burst and maple board. If I'm not mistaken, they all also have the soft V neck. (I'm used to a C shape, but the V on the Hot Rod was very comfortable)

Each in order is about $200 more than the other, so I'm asking for feedback and opinion to the value of the S1 system v. DiMarzio Bridge v. EJ etc.

I apologize if I'm a little long winded. It's a trait I inherited from my father.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

I just got an American Deluxe v neck and its the best guitar I have ever played. Im in love with the neck, the way she feels and plays is unbelievable. I rarely use the S one switching but I look at it as a bonus. Everyone is different so I would personally play all three and take your time before you purchase. cheers

Never played a Johnson but I do own a 57 Hotrod and a American Deluxe.

My take on it is.

The American Deluxe is a great instrument capable of many many tones. It plays nicely, it sounds nice. It's a guitar for all occasions. Consequently its a bit generic sounding/feeling. Dont get me wrong its great at the sounds it does do. It's never going to sound like a humbuckered guitar or a traditional strat as well as a vintage guitar or humbuckered guitar do. Thats not a knock, just a fact. It's brilliant at what it does do, you could take it into any band situation and adapt it to suit. I personaly dont like the delta tone control, I think it adds a harshness that wiring without a tone control doesnt give. With the thing set to 9 though you'd never know it was there. It's not the way it responds to the pickups either. I've tried it with numerous types, humbuckers and singlecoils. It added the same flavour to all. Some may like it, I'll pass thanks. It's usable far more usable than having the bridge pickup wired without a tone control in a lot of respects. A ideal studio guitar that is going to face a different task every day. I haven't tried the latest deluxes.

The 57 Hotrod
The guitar that broke my heart. The finish on this thing is so delicate. Its made to age, fast. I've given up trying to keep mine looking new, its impossible. Just look at the thing in a way that could be taken as threatening and a new mark appears.
The pickups are ofcouse a matter of taste. I like the configuration particularly the bidge bucker and neck singlecoil (though really their both humbuckers voiced differently) which I think offerers a more usable modern tone than 2 singles. I cant think of a situation I cant use that guitar for.
The neck as you know is like Jesus himself crafted it (and given recent allegations made about the no' of Mexican employees at Corona he probably did ). My only gripe was the stickiness of the neck when new, that soon wore away with use though.
I'd say you'll know where the extra dough has gone with this guitar.

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Jim,

I believe the AmDlx has the C shaped neck. It's a great feeling instrument. I used to own a couple, but as previously mentioned, they do sound somewhat generic. What I did like about them was the fretwork - it was perfect. I've never played the 57, so I couldn't comment on it. I've messed around with the EJ a bit. It didn't feel as good as the AmDlx, as crazy as that sounds. It has the 12" neck radius, which is different from the AmDlx (though the new AmDlx has a varying neck width as you move down the neck). What I did not like about the EJ was the high gloss neck. It seemed to create unnecessary friction as I played - made it tougher to get up & down the neck. I never plugged it in to see how it sounds. If you're worried about price, Best Buy is blowing out the 2-tone EJs for $1400, at least down here in DC. Maybe you can score a deal where you live as well. Good luck.

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'10 Gibson LP Studio Faded
'09 Fender American Standard Stratocaster
'08 Fender Classic Player 60s Stratocaster
'07 Fender Classic Player Baja Telecaster
'05 Breedlove AC 25 SR Plus

Thanks for the input.

It looks like my best choice for playability and sound would be the Hot Rod as long as I could put up with the fragile finish.

Niki - knowing what you do now, would you still buy one?

My local GC has a Deluxe on the rack that I haven't tried yet. I'll get out there sometime this week to take a test drive. I'm curious to see how the compound radius feels.

Thanks again!

P.S. to Strattastic - As far as I can tell, the Am Deluxe's come in both C and V necks, but my preference for the 2 tone burst is only available with the V shape.

As funny as it may seem, I love the 2 tone, but don't care for the 3 tone bursts.

Yeah absolutely, I wouldn't think twice about buying another if anything happened to mine.

In fact I have a sneaking suspicion that their going out of the catalogue. The black option has gone, that's usually a precursor to the line being dropped. I'm thinking of buying another red one.

The finish is fragile but it's nothing to put up with once you resign yourself to the fact that its going to get marked.

ZZDoc just bought one for a bargain price. I'm sure he'll fill us all in on it soon.

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As much as I hate having someone else's name on my guitar, unless you're a collector. I would buy the guitars mentioned in reverse order, EJ first, Hot Rod then Am. Standard. The EJ is a very nice and well made guitar. But what do I know, I like being the one to put the dings and such on my guitars, not the sanding bench worker at Fender.

I think your best bet is to just go and play a bunch of high end Strats as you have the scratch, so even check out some artist series like a Clapton or Beck which are great axes and get the one you connect with the most.

I'm the reason niki's broken hearted. I sold him on that guitar. "tis twice told tale which has been heard often 'round these here parts. Lemme-C''
-first...I'm still waiting on the HR....
-The HR used to share pickups in common with the Deluxe until this year. I own an '08 Deluxe FSR VG which was built with a V-neck. With the synth bypassed, its basically a Deluxe V-neck minus the S-1 circuit. In the past I had the CS build me a Clapton-based guitar with SCN's, about the time the Deluxe was first issued. I did so because they weren't offering a V-neck in that guitar at the time and the SCN's were being touted as the best thing since sliced bread, in that Bill Lawrence designed them. Niki likes those pickups, as well. Now the Deluxe carries N3's, the explanation of which can be found elsewhere. In the summer of '08, when the GC commissioned the FSR, I was out lo lunch. I had just purchased an '89 Clapton on Ebay, and the Gilmour project was being readied. In October, I contracted a serious case of G.A.S. and swapped out my CS and a PRS Hiland for a Gilmour NOS a.)because the guys on this Forum who bought them were all over the place about 'em, and then I saw one up close and personal. When Fender canned the VG, I learned through the Forum that there were some Deluxes around, and I got one for a steal. So now you have a sense of what my current Strat arsenal consists of.

If your looking at a two-tone burst, it's probably the Fender standard V-neck. I don't know if the radius on the V-neck is compound or not. The HR neck is closer to the Clapton in profile and feel. I'll repeat my sneaking suspicion that it's the neck profile from the old Blackie resurrected for this guitar. It's too damn close to the Clapton in feel to be anything else. Definitely no where near the modern C which is their standard one-size fits all. I've been sitting on the fence about this HR since its debut in '07.
I briefly played one in Seattle around that time and then again more seriously, auditioned it against a CS Clapton in Manhattan. A very similar feel. Niki was salivating for a '57RI at the time and I told him, in all seriousness, to look at the HR. He never looked back, and with the gradual price drop over time and the chance to save an additional %15 and buy it with the vendor's money at no interest, I dove in. I don't give a crap about the nitro finish. That kind of prissyness, in a different time and place, cost me my '58 Strat, but that's another twice told tale around here as well.

The EJ is a totally different beast, designed to the discriminating tastes of a master player, to the nature of the woods, frets, radius, the setback of the headstock, and on, and on, and on.

In closing, I will ultimately own four monster guitars, each with it's own character and voice, but with subtle things in common...that is....the vintage vibe I cut my teeth on half century ago.

With all that, and the valuable, always unselfish input of the others, it always distills down to the quest of playing them, and taking home the one which speaks the loudest to you. In my case, there were four. Each in its own time, became one of the herd.

Keep us posted.

Doc.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I appreciate everyone taking the time who replied.

As it turns out, I picked up my new Am Deluxe today. When I first tried it out I fell in love with the compound radius neck and contoured heel. I'll try and post some pics as soon as my son can show me how.

There was some major Karma with this purchase. 1st, since I was trading in and this item was in stock, I got an extra 15% discount that wouldn't have been available if I had to order one. 2nd, after I dropped off my trades and went into work for a couple of hours, I got a call from my sales guy at GC. It seems that while they were checking out my old strat to determine the trade value, another customer came in and wanted to buy it. I ran in and completed the side deal netting me an additional $150 in cash. It worked out good for the other guy as well since he probably saved $150 if he would have bought it off their rack.

A great day all around.

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A regular coup d'guitars all'round I would say.
Rock on

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"Another day in paradise!"

Congratulations!! I've got to get in and try that particular neck out myself just to see how it feels!!

i have only been playing for about a year so i am not as experienced as you guys but i did trade in my mim standard for an american deluxe 2 tone with the vneck and love it !!! I cant believe how much i love the neck, its so comfortable !!!! but i cant speak for the other guitars because of my inexperience but i ,love the american deluxe !!!

Majjackdog

Their a great guitar mate. Between the 3 I couldnt say I favour one more than any other for every situation.

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