Hi Everyone,

Thought it would be rude not to say hello first beofre jumping in with a couple of questions, so Hello I live down in Devon in the UK, and mainly play acoustic guitars, along with my guitar mad 15 year old daughter. We are just about to buy an electric, but we dont really have much knowledge of them, so we hoped to ask a couple of questions to make sure we dont make a mistake.

We have been looking at a new American strat. Which I think is a deluxe version with an S switch. We had been told the one we looked at has an Ash body, and the neck is rosewood. Cost is around £1300 in the uk.

When I happend to see a used 2004 50th anniversey strat. It has gold hardware, 2 tone finish, maple neck, abolone dot inlays, s switch, round heel with 50th anniversery plate, and an tweed logo case. price is similar to the new guitar. Would this be a better choice than the new deluxe? How can you tell if its a genuine anniversary? and are ther any things you need to check when buying a second hand strat?

Hope someone can help with the questions- Many thanks in advance

Chris

The 50th anniversary Strat would only be better in the sense of collectability. Far less of them made.

Hey there Captain Slow......When i think of that handle, I think of James May off of Top Gear! Welcome to the Forum! Anyhow, I would suggest you play the guitars and see how you like the feel. Sound and feel will be the most important issue for you.

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This guitar sound accurate to me. I own the '04 50 Anniversary American Series Strat. It's very similar to yours except mine doesn't come with some of the stuff yours does.

Some other things that will help you know if what you are looking at is correct:
1. Does it have locking tuning keys (Tuning keys with a little knob on the back of them that releases the strings)?
2. Custom-staggered pick-ups (If you remove the plastic pick-up covers you'll see that the copper wire around the pick-up bobbin is stacked)?
2. Does it come in a really nice case?
3. The Fender logo on the head stock chromed.

Let me know how it all turns out.

Hi,

Thanks very much for the nice welcome good advice and helpful information. The reason they call me Captain Slow is for the same reason as James May. I build expedition overland vehicles for a job and I don't drive them very fast! So I got the same name given to me from the guys at work! Regarding the Strat...

It does come in a really nice tweed case with an anniversary badge in the lining. The headstock logo is chrome and the tuners are locking but I don't own the guitar at the moment so I'm not sure about what is meant by the custom staggered pick-ups. I guess you would have to see the guitar to realise what you mean!

From what you've said, it all sounds good to me!

I'll let you know what happens.

Best regards,
Chris

Hello Captain, and welcome to the coolest forum on the planet! If you stick around I'm sure you'll notice that we even have a Martian who comes to visit regularly! And good to have another Brit on board! We now have quite a strong Devon connection too! Cool!
So again, make yourself at home!

The 50 anni sounds more interesting to me. The Deluxe is a great guitar, but I find it confusing to have too many dials (especially when coming from acoustic) and the N3 pickups on the Dlx sound a bit boring to me. But that's highly subjective...

Have you thought about an amp yet?

I found Mansons in Exeter a good adress to get a gear fix! Although they are not the cheapest, they offer great service and a nice selection. Maybe a good place to get some info.

Well mate, keep us posted on how you get on and enjoy the hunt!

Cheers,

Nutter

Hi - Great forum, makes a pleasant change to find so many helpful people. I have to say the guys at Mansons in Exeter are superb. They are well worth a visit, and Ive had 3 guitars of them now. All acoustic's. My favourite is a Martin HD35 which I love. In fact they are where I have been looking at the new Deluxe strat. The amp, which they have put aside for me is a Messa Boogie Express 5.25 which sounds great. It didnt seem to be to complicated- good for a beginner, and it looked like a well made amp to me. Also, it was an end of line amp and was almost half price.

I wasnt sure if a 2004 50th anniversary would sound much different to a 2011 ash strat deluxe. Are they very different? I dont know what an N3 pick up is

As you have correctly said, electrics are a whole new world and its a steep learning curve. The thing that makes me think the 2004 anniversary strat, which I'm sure now is a genuine one, is that used strats should be better value than a new one.. at least thats been my experience of acoustics. The HD35 was a used guitar.. although it had hardly been played, and I saved a lot of money.

Cheers
Chris

Hi Captain! Glad you're enjoying it here!

Is the used 50th also sold by Manson's? It's good to have a proper vendor, gives a little more security, specially on the first buy.

It would be interesting to have a few specs on the 50th, as I can't say from afar what pickups it has, for instance. However, making a wild guess I should say it's probably got a more "vintage" strat sound than the dlx, which has a set of N3 (Fender's new noiseless pickups). I've played the deluxe, it didn't comvince me, it sounded a bit dull, not as present and sparkely as a normal strat, and maybe not as much depth. But again, that's just what I feel.
Both are fine guitars, and you'll easily get Strat sounds out of either of them. As always the best advice is to play them both (your daughter too of course!) to see what you both prefer. As far as playability goes, the Dlx has a contoured heel and a compound radius'ed fretboard, which may be fore comfortable to some. Again, test and try before you buy, possibly through the same amp.
Mansons is an excellent choice. I bought a Freshman acoustic there, and I had some soldering done there when I was down in Devon on a trip. Always worth a visit!

Hope it helps! I'm no coinnesseur of Mesa amps, so I can't tell you much about them: I just don't know. But try them out. Amps have a high impact on the way a guitar sounds.

Cheers

Nutter

I just found out that this guitar has samarium cobalt pick ups and an s1 switch, and not the N3 pick ups that list on the new deluxe strat. Does this make a difference? Acoustics are so much simpler

It does make a bit of a difference, it's a different magnet megtal, and from what I've heard it's got a different sound. I am not sure though if the N3 were an improvement to the samarium cobalt.
BUT from how I read your freshness to electrics, and in general, it is hard tol convey those tonal diferences in words. You must test them back to back and see what talks to you.
It appears to be the previous deluxe series, which means (I think) no compound radius. This means basically it's a bit less easily playable than the new deluxe. But again, your fingers should decide, not the specs.

I agree, acoustics are much easier. But there too you can spend several lifetimes learning about the gear and still won't know everything.

Cheerio!

Nutter

I would go for the american standard with rosewood. But i would consider getting the HSS version. I have one and it is awesome. The HSS is much more versatile and you will be able to play in any style you want. 'Fender Stratocaster HSS Standard' it's the ultimate guitar.

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Maton ER90C

The 50th anniversary will be worth more in 50 years than that of a new one ,,, something to consider and dont forget to talk them down on the 50th and say it is now 7 years old and i would shave another 200 of the price ,,, good luck and let us know which you choose in the end ....