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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:36 pm
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what's up Lads... i bought one at GC in NYC over the weekend .. it's great axe .. plain and simple ... Fender did a great job on this axe .. it has such great tone , I can't say enough ...


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Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 3:08 pm
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cu_jarrett wrote:
This is what I have read about them...

"Alder Body, Modern "C" Shaped Maple Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard with 9.5" Radius, 22 Medium Jumbo Frets, 3 American Strat Single-Coil Pickups, Master Volume, Neck Tone, Delta Tone, 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with New American Standard Bent Steel Saddles, Fender Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines, Chrome Hardware, 3-Ply Parchment Pickguard, 25.5" Scale Length, 1.6875" Width at Nut, Rolled Fingerboard Edges, H/S/H Pickup Routing, Unique Features: New Bent Steel Saddles with Elongated String Slots, Copper Infused High Mass 100% Metal Bridge Block, Thinner Undercoat Finish for Improved Body Resonance, Tinted Neck, Satin Finish on Neck Back, Gloss Finish on Headstock, 4-Bolt Neck Attachment with Micro-Tilt Adjustment, Bi-Flex Truss Rod System, Parchment Knobs and Pickup Covers, Rolled Fretboard Edges, Staggered Tuning Keys, H/S/H Pickup Routing, New Molded Fender/SKB Case with TSA Locks, Glass Reinforced Nylon Trigger Latches, and Form Fitted Plush Interior, $979.99 Plus Shipping & Applicable Tax."



The pickup routing is obviously for standardization on the production line because they build Strats with humbucker configurations. I would prefer the vintage S-S-S-routing giving the body more wood.

Satin finish on the neck back certainly makes the guitar more playable. I would have like to have seen the neck profile reverted to the one on the '57 Hotrod ( though I prefer the Clapton V-neck as an option). but the mod C, again, is a production line issue.

The rest of the package is 'very nice', which is what MY sources tell me.


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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:09 am
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Why are the new guitars still not on fender.com?

Shops here in the EU already sold out most of their old American Strats.

Is the paint on fretboard and headstock really that shiny? :cry:


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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:01 pm
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hoss33 wrote:
Why are the new guitars still not on fender.com?

Shops here in the EU already sold out most of their old American Strats.

Is the paint on fretboard and headstock really that shiny? :cry:



I would guess that they are waiting for NAMM. A friend in the business has already acquired one. Thinks highly of it.

As for the rest of your question. there's a writer on the forum who has one as well. Perhaps he will respond to the remainder of your question.


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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:22 pm
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zzdoc wrote:
I would guess that they are waiting for NAMM.

And this is a very stupid marketing move. The guitars are already in stores in Germany.

Fender, here is a quick lesson how to market new products:
http://www.apple.com

The moment the Apple MacWorld Expo Keynote speach is over, the new products are on the company website. Before that there is total secrecy, not even the premium resellers know anything.
This creates maximum product hype.

For this consulting advice I'll be happy to accept a brand new George Fullerton 50th Anniversary Strat with amp. :D


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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:21 pm
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At sweetwater.com are some very nice pictures of the new model...in Sienna Sunburst! I like that color.


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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:43 pm
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Both Guitar Centers in Paramus, NJ have 2 new Strats (both sunburst, one maple, one rosewood) and at least one new sunburst Tele. $999.99 for the Strat, didn't check the Tele. I didn't get a chance to try one out, but they looked nice.

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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:06 pm
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I went to my local guitar center, Northridge, CA, yeasterday, and they had a white maple fingerboard newer American Standard Strat. I played pretty good, but not really much of a difference in sound compared to last years model. The neck is thicker and the bridge assembly is much better. The tremelo block is the same size, but only made of steel. Not larger in mass as they claim. Not as big as the tremelo block found in the Highway One Strats. The pickups with delto tone are the same. The finish is better, thinner coating.

Overall, it is really not that a big of an upgrade compared to with the Highway One strats. had undergone

Sound the same, but plays just a tad better due to the thicker neck profile and better birdge assembly, but the sound is the same as previous American standards. The $50.00 price increase is justified here.


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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:35 pm
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Just got back from GC in West LA. They were unpacking them as I was strolling around. The minute they put one up on the wall I grabed it. The most noticable change is the neck. Plays and looks awesome. The glossey fretboard is smoothe. The finish makes it look slightly aged compared to the previous necks. Just an amazing feeling neck.

Congrats Fender for improving on perfection! I love it, as did all the floor techs at Guitar Center.


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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:01 pm
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Do they put glossy paint on rosewood fretboards, too? :?


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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:12 pm
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hoss33 wrote:
Do they put glossy paint on rosewood fretboards, too? :?


Of course not.

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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:12 am
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I bought one of these "new" American Standard Strats two days ago. As it compares to my 2006 American Series: the most obvious difference (to me) is the neck. I wouldn't claim it's any "thicker" (meaning more wood in the palm of your hand) than the old American Series, but I can tell you it is just a little wider (giving more string spacing on the fretboard). I purchased the maple-board three color sunburst model, but I also tried a rosewood-board sunburst model (also of the "new" persuasion), and I came away feeling like the maple-board model just plays and feels better (that really just comes down to personal preference).

On the maple fretboard, it is a very nice high gloss finish (they just buff it more). The headstock is also buffed to a nice glossy finish (think American Deluxe).

The frets are spectacular! By far the best fret-job I have seen a guitar. They are polished to the highest quality. Also, They are a little flatter; where on the old American Series, they have a standard medium jumbo feel. These frets are polished and flattened a bit where you would normally find the crown.

The saddles are probably the first thing a strat aficionado will notice that's different. They are of the older bent Fender stamped kind. I prefer them, they give the guitar that "vintage vibe."

The trem block looks a little heavier - which I would think gives the guitar better sustain - I don't notice much of a difference when A/B'ing my '06 American Series with my new American Standard through the same amp/settings.

About the finish - it's hard to say if it's thinner (I read some folks on this thread commenting on how the new finish is thinner) because my '06 is olympic white and it's hard to judge thickness unless I chip the instrument body (which I am not willing to do).

The pickups seem to be the same. I love that. I know a few people on this thread were hoping for an upgrade to the pickups, but in my opinion, I think the American Series/American Standard pickups are stellar. To me, they are more strat sounding that most other pickups out there (in terms of output, they put out 14dBV which give them 4dBV more output than the custom shop '54 strat pickups. Which gives the American Series/Standard pickups a better signal-to-noise ratio. It's worth noting that the smallest change the average untrained ear can detect is 3dBV.)

Overall, this new line of American Standard instruments is stellar. In terms of "upgrades," I would rather think of the changes as steps backward, to a time when strats were more simple, and conventional; what with the bridge saddles, glossy fretboard and headstock.

I have no complaints - I enjoy playing this new American Standard, and It just sounds and feels right.


*I used the terms "American Series," and "American Standard" to relate to the two instruments. The earlier generation (my '06 for example) for American strats was referred to as the "American Series," and now it seems Fender has gone back to "American Standard."


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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:44 am
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sfitch29, thank you for that hands on review!


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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:53 am
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Not a problem at all - Give me about an hour - I will have photos up.

As much as I can go into detail about these [for lack of a better word] details, pictures are what most of really want :)


Will soon be posted.


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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:10 am
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I'm wondering what i'll get when mine arrives!

I ordered an American Series Strat(lefty) from Soundcontrol in Nov and was told there were none in the UK so it'd come from the US in Jan. No problem, i didnt mind waiting.

Then i hear about the American Standard coming out after Xmas which annoyed me a bit as i would have waited if i knew a replacement was been released.

However, then my receipt arrives which states 'Am Std' as the product!!!
I'm hoping it is a new model, it may well be, would they import last years just for me?

Anyhow it turns up next week so all will be revealed, cant wait!!!!

All this messing about just cos i'm left handed!


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