Same old story for me.

Candy Cola strat ordered in February. Not here yet. According to the MF and GC sites that model is not due to them until August 3rd. Not sure how my local shop is affected.

I am almost sick about it.

I am seriously considering and have inquired into switching for an aged cherry Am. Deluxe, that is if one is available.

My first American guitar is beginning to be a royal pain to acquire.

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Support your local guitar shop.

All Fender Distributors are having trouble getting some Fender models. There was a big layoff in the Corona factory late last year and that could have affected production. The delays may also create more demand for the product because of the scarcity. I wouldn't be surprised if this is not figured into Fender's long term marketing plans. They have been awful quiet about this.

I've been wanting to get my hands on one of the new American Deluxe series myself. Oh well good luck with your quest Warner.

Available July 15:

I ordered my strat and it took 4 weeks for me to get it. I don't know if that is normal or not, but I would imagine that during high demand times of the year that Fender gets backed up. I ordered mine in May. If you are going to spend good money for a guitar I would rather have a good quality build than a rushed build with possible quality problems in the future.

Hope this Helps!

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English Learners and
Struggling Readers “Keep Moving Forward”
Susan

Only Black, BS and Sienna in stock. Everything else is backordered.

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AmDlx HSS
62 Hot Rod
Luke w/Piezo
Carvin Belair

Have had my eye on the American Standard "Ebony" Limited Edition for a couple weeks. Have gotten reports from "not even built yet" to "just picked one up this week at the store" (another thread here on the forum in fact). I snagged one from Ebay this AM for the same cost shipped that jr.com is pre-ordering them for. I kept my pre-order with them active in the event an issue arises with the Ebay one.

A Fender rep looked into it a couple times, and from what he can tell a few were built and sent out, but the bulk of the rest of the limiteds are waiting to be built. Apparently there are a lot of folks looking to buy the American Standards and they are really backed up.

i ordered a hwy 1 jazz bass in midnight wine back on March 19, still not here! seems to be mostly american made fenders that are on back order. i've been pissed off because i was told it would be in by april 1st, which was a long time back.

Well it seems the delays are mainly to do with colors that are not the most popular choices. I would just be patient and wait for the color ordered as most often the least popular colors tend to be the more sought out guitars in years to come.

I would expect the popular choices to run out first; not the unpopular choices.

I'm starting to wonder if Fender is coming out with some new colors in their
lineup. They may be building up some inventory of new colors before they
announce them. Perhaps in two months, I will get a call that says, "Sorry, they
don't produce that color any more. But we can sell you one of these new colors."

This is pure speculations. Does anybody have experience with changes in the
color lineup for previous years? How does that work? I didn't see any color
changes at the start of 2010.

I got an email from American Musical Supply. They say they got one in stock.

I had ordered an HSS American Standard (Sienna Sunburst w/rosewood fingerboard) from Sweetwater in mid-April. I was originally told it would arrive mid-May. When that date rolled around, I was told the ship date had been pushed back to August. My rep told me that Fender and other guitar makers slowed production because the bad economy left a lot of inventory sitting at retailers who, obviously, cut back on placing new orders. Now that a lot of that inventory has been sold off, many guitar makers have been caught flat footed and unable to quickly fill the orders coming in from retailers.

It certainly makes sense to me. If there was a production drawdown it seems likely to me that a company would cut staff, parts and materials, etc and all of that would have to be ramped back up as new orders started increasing. That has go to be time consuming.

BTW, instead of waiting for the American Standard, I found a nice 2010 Tobacco Sunburst American Deluxe Ash Strat at a dealer. I was wary of the sound of these things after watching some demos and reading comments online (dull, is the word that comes to mind). Thankfully I tried it out, because it is anything but dull. One of the best sounding and playing guitars I've ever picked up.

Was in my local dealer yesterday getting a bench and enquired about 2 Strats I've had on order since early April - A Jeff Beck in Surf Green and an American Deluxe Strat in Olympic Pearl with Maple Fretboard. They called their contact at Fender while I was there and he told them the delays have been caused by a change in paint vendors. Won't make my guitars get here any faster, but it seems the August delivery date has been moved up to early to mid July, with the Jeff Beck arriving a few weeks before the Strat. While I was there I got a Candy Apple American Special....nice feeling Guitar. Setup and restringing with 10's was done late yesterday and I'll pick it up today. My wife will probably send me to Guitar Buyer Rehab later this Summer.

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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost -

I think that Fender is definitely experiencing production problems and I do not believe that it is limited to American or Mexican made products. I have had an el cheapo black Frontman 25R on order forever with a ship date of August. I would not be surprised to find that this is because of Fender laying people off to cut costs. It seems like every shop that I go to is experiencing a drought of Fender products! The shop in Oxford Alabama that I go to quit carring Fender altogether.

My vintage hot rod 62 is back ordered too.

Oh thats a bad news for music lovers.