There have been threads here before (and not too long ago) about the VG Strat (though I personally can't say anything good about the Forum Search feature). More cons than pros, problems with battery life, electronics issues. They seem to be doing pretty well on eBay, though when Guitar Center was closing them out (they weren't around but for a few months) they were going for about 50 cents on the dollar. I almost bought one, but didn't pull the trigger. With all the other Strats out there, I wouldn't look for a VG to appreciate much in the near or distant future, though it is American made, it's still a freak.

Your call, though.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

If you play out alot or play many different types of music in the course of a gig its not a bad investment. It emulates several different guitars thru the Roland pick up and the different tunings can come in handy as well. It plays just fine as a regular Strat although you may find your tremelo use limited. This is because the closer you can get the Roland Pup to the strings without actually hitting them the better your emulated tones will sound. There are issues with battery life . Use rechargeables and keep extra sets on hand and change between sets, that way you can feel relatively safe. If they do go out the instrument will still play but only as a Strat, and you will have to move your control knobs to the appropriate setting quickly to avoid any awkward silences where your guitar should be playing. I have one and use it but its not my go to guitar. Have fun if you do get it... and post the obligatory picture as well.

I had a new one and convinced myself it was great, then I played my other Strats and sold it, which is unlike me... I still have all of the others.

I looked into reprogramming the chip to get an open E tuning but to no avail. I ended up just using it as a standard strat with the occasional acoustic blast. But the guys then told me that it wasn't as good as when I plugged the acoustic guitar in. So it went to some other excited person.

If its a good price buy it, try it and sell it on maybe.

Hey I recently played one they still are very cool imo!!But do you need batteries for them?That's kind of anyoing but I believe all fenders are worth something to someone in original form.

There's been issues with some having a sort of "ghost tone" in the background when you try to use the altered tuning feature on them; you can hear the original standard tuning in the background. I dont know if its a defect, or a design flaw, i havent gotten past setting them up.

My vg strat is my only strat, and I love it. It's a great American standard strat with bonus features. I consider the synth stuff as icing on the cake -- fun extras that add some great tones for variety. It cost me less than an American standard -- that sealed the deal. Anyway, it's a rare strat -- you'll be the only one at any gig with one. Have fun with it!

We were rehearsing one night and my sound gradually faded away. Luckily it was still useable as a standard American Strat.

I was fortunate during the close out in being able to secure one of GC's FSR Deluxe VG's with the V-neck, SCN's and Age Cherry Sunburst finish. It's a totally gorgeous piece of work and the electronic potpouri just adds to one's pallette of tonal colorations. You can certainly have a lot of fun with the thing. As with any other battery-dependent device in one's arsenal, 'be prepared' is the watchword.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Hi Doc

See now I want one with the V-neck, SCN's etc. I didn't know they did a deluxe version. Google here we come.

THEY didn't do a Deluxe version. Guitar Center ordered a limited edition FSR in the summer of '08 which I found out about shortly after I had acquired an '89 Clapton and an '08 Gilmour and had tapped out my G.A.S. budget for the year. When the closeout came in April '09, and one of the Forum members noted that he had seen this guitar available in his area, I immediately had my local GC do a national search and they determined that they had 85 of those still in their national inventory, and one not to far from me, so they did an interstore transfer. Now I guess its either Craig's list or Ebay for your search. Best of luck.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I bought a VG when they came out around 2007 or there abouts. It's great, the battery issue is no big deal, with the new alkaline batteries, they seem to last much longer. I especially love how you can change with a spin of a knob, tunings and tones. The acoustic is cool, with a 12 string jangle. The quality of the strat is killer, the neck is the best I've owned, next to my EJ, and like someone said, when the batteries die, you can switch to regular strat with no real interruptions.Because I was so impressed with VG, I bought a Robot when Sam Ash was selling them so cheap. It's at least a great Les Paul, even if you ignored the electronics part, which work GREAT anyway. For some reason, people use weird reasons NOT to do something different and sometimes you just miss out...

Pretty much what's been said has been this experience. Got one on closeout, 90+ % of the time it is played as an American Standard as rechargable batteries only go about 2-ish+ hours.

In this opinion, Fender should have manned up and licensed Line 6's superb inline 1-cord power source / connect-to-amp for modeling guitars, where you don't need batteries and the full range of tones is always alive.

VG sounds good, plays good. Nice guitar.

Yeah, Fender coulda tweaked the power source issue after they discovered some of these bugs as they unfolded. To just discontinue, there must be things that made it unprofitable.

.......like demand. It's a gadget and, from some of the comments in other posts and threads, not necessarily a turn on for many. At the end of the day though, the FSR American Deluxe version in Aged Cherry Burst finish, which Guitar Center had run, turned out to be one beautiful guitar, innards not-withstanding.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Yeah, I gotta agree with that, demand drives the engine of commerce (supply and demand). I bought a quadrasteer (all wheels turn) GMC truck in '03... what a dream to steer! The demand dropped enough to where they discontinued it in '05.