Hey guys
Just wanted to inquire about the neck and fretboard.
Is the fretboard of the newest (2008) am standard glossy? or is it a sanded finish.. or like a satin finish.. i dont particularly like the extremely shiny fretboards... also is the maple neck glossy or sanded for both rosewood and maple fretboards?

im trying to decide between the rosewood and the maple.. i have tried out the rosewood but din get a chance to check out the maple.. im guessing all the necks are maple?

also any other stratocastor that you guys could recommend that is similar sounding to the am standard and has a satin/sanded maple fretboard?
thanks alot!

Well i wouldnt buy an american standard 2010 cause i simply dont trust that new threatment they made on the neck and that new bridge + they remove the s1 swtiching .

IMO the 2009-2010 strat are cutdown in the finish and hardware from the 2007 and before . its easy to write better and improve on the spec sheet .

simple questions to ask yourself


Why is that new threatment on the mexican and American standard and not on the deluxe ?? If that new tinted neck threatment improve and better resonance and blah blah blah .. why did that improvement is not on the deluxe first ) . Its like saying : Honda has a new airbag system better than ever , more safe .. but its only on the FIT and CIVIC .. the Accord still has the old airbag system ) that wouldnt made sense . Higher end model should have the newer feature first . So if that new neck threatmeent is not on the deluxe ... than its not an upgrade in my mind .

Why did they remove the s1 switching ??? simply to justify more feature on the deluxe . A couple of years ago , many wouldnt justify paying 500 $ more for the deluxe , cause the american standard a great spec sheet . by cutting on the american standard .. your pushing the sell of the deluxe by selling additional feature of the deluxe . Theres no reason to cut the S1 switching on the american standard . if it was there in 2004 .. it should be there in 2010 .



Bottom line , in my mind ... the 2009-2010 american standard was cutdown ... call it upgrade on the spec sheet i dont care .. i wouldnt buy one . im looking for 2007 and under when i shop for a fender .

all in the purpose of selling more american deluxe IMO .

I have 2004 hss and its the best guitar ever and smoothest guitar ever . ohh and i have the s1 switching .

my 2 cents .. maybe im wrong ... but improving the neck on the standard mexican and american and not the american deluxe sound suspicious to me . And chrome face ... your telling me that the new deluxe now has the same feature as the american standard .. its all wrong . that new neck threatmeent should have went on the deluxe first . im pretty sure theyll cutdown the american deluxe too .

Theres something wrong with fender production .


in the end its a big company and its all about money . lower production cost = more profit .

im not saying theres not great guitar ... but i suspect something .

or maybe its plainlty better than it was before and all that stuff is in fact improvment . I wish they were but i still prefer 2004 over the 2009 i tried in the store .