Fender's website says that the Vintage 57 has a nitro finish. But the Hot Rod has a 'thin skin' nitro finish. Are the finishes on your guitars the same?

Easy answer Mikey, their not the same. Their not far apart but the Hotrod is a much thinner finish. From what I can tell (without having chipped into the guitar) it's almost like they've only made 5 passes straight onto bare wood. Obviously their must be some kind of grain filler on their, but I'm damned if I can see any evidence of it. Also my 57HR doesn't have a deeper bridge pickup cavity. It's exactly the same depth as the mid and neck pickups.

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No no and no

I have a '57 with the nitro finish and two others a'59 and'62 HR with the "thin skin" and while you can tell a difference they in no way feel delicate...they will just wear a little quicker,actually my '57 seems a little "stickier" and shows every fingerprint...not as slick.

I guess I mis-wrote: to clarify, the isn't a difference in just the bridge cavity. The pickup routes are smooth, with no steps. But the entire pickup cavity on the VHR is 1/4 in deeper in the VHR than the AVRI.

The VHR has a smooth pup cavity route that is flat.

The AVRI has the worm wire route on the bridge pup cavity to give a little extra space for wires to slip under the pickup to the control cavity.

See the left picture at the bottom of the page.
http://www.fenderreissue.com/fender-stratocaster-reissue-strat-bodies

That route does not exist on the VHR.

I belive the reason its 1/4" deeper is due to the neck pocket is 1/4" deeper. So they must due this t o compensate for string adj.

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I need to try them both but difficult to find both in a store at the same time.

Other than that, I like the CAR available on the Hot Rod. But, I like that the AVRI has a slightly thicker finish.

I'm given to understand that the SCN pickups are taller which might be the reason for the deeper routing.

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"Another day in paradise!"

That's the problem with much of Fender's gear. Most of the stuff on the wall is low end product, attractive to a wider customer base, and moves faster. The first AVHR I ever saw was on a wall in Seattle not long after the guitar had been launched. Sometime later, I walked into a Sam Ash on 48th Street, Manhattan and they just happened to have one unopened. I had a chance to really get a feel for that neck, which was basis for strongly recommending it to nikininja when he was searching, and the man is by no means disappointed. The guys at Sam Ash in my area will order a guitar on spec for you to try and don't seem to have any issues about not making the sale. Guitar Center is not so generous in it's policy. You're going to have to do some leg work.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Man I haven't been on this forum in a while. I have had a 57 HR since winter of 08 and I love this guitar. I have sold every thing else. Except my American deluxe ash tele, necks are very similar. The reason I bought this over the avri was it had all the modern electronics and I didn't want the hum issuse that some of my vintage playing friends have. The tone unpluged is better than anything else I've played. Very happy with the scn's and the tone zone gets complements where ever I play. Also was wondering why it wasn't in the product list. Thats how I ended looking at the forum tonight. Always good info on this forum. Thank's for getting my questions answered in the past without me even logging on. Ho yeah I play my strat through a new twin. works out well. Have fun jim


www.Myspace.com/smokeshifters [/b]

On another thread I posted that Fender Consumer Relations advised me that the products list has some deficiencies which are being corrected. The guitar is still in production.
Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"

I've been thinking about each of these, but I still haven't been able to fins an HR57 to try. I just found an AVRI 57, and I liked it alot. The 7.5 neck didn't seem to be a problem. But, I'm still wondering about the HR57.

Keep looking. You can ask Guitar Center if they can locate one and have it sent for you to audition. They are in the $1500 price range, though.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Man wouldn't that be something. I think a white in the AVRI
HR 57 would be killer.

I have the AVRI HR, if only the neck was more like Eric Johnson
but 9.5 radius.
I find my hands to big for the neck, I'm a freak because
I'm not tall, lol

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"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."

oogway, kungfu panda 2008

Just to clarify this alphabet soup....I take it you'd like to see a "57VHR in white.
Well, I expect that you could have the Custom Shop do a teambuilt order that would end up not unlike Gilmour's 0001, if you did it up right....gold hardware and an anodized pickguard. Go into the Squier products listing and open up the Classic Vibe 50's Strat link and have a look at the Olympic White, one. Hot to trot, eh/

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"Another day in paradise!"

I have a Hot Rod '57 and MIM Classic Player's Strat. Does a normal Vintage '57 sound or play much different than the CP? The HR '57 is a vintage Superstrat, so I know that must have different tone. I like the whammy on the HR '57. The CP is a little more challenging to keep in tune, though a fine guitar.