The title pretty much says it all...is the cable that comes with the american standard strat a decent amp cable? Same goes for the rest of the accessories that are included, like the strap. And i read somewhere that they came with strap locks, is this true? Or is that only the american deluxe?

I personally know of no new guitar model that comes from the factory with straplocks. This is something that you have to put on them yourself. The strap that comes in the case candy is just a standard Fender strap. I have two of them and they serve the purpose for which they're intended as well as any other strap.

I always toss the cords, or save them for patch cords or temporary replacements. Not saying that they're no good, but, as part of the "freebies" it stands to reason that no manufacturer is going to toss in the best cable they make. I'm very fussy about my cords, and for what is a good reason, IMHO. A guitar cord is potentially the weakest link in the chain between the guitar and the amp. If the shielding isn't good you're in for all sorts of noise problems. Cords also take a lot of abuse from being stepped on, tripped over, ripped out of their jacks, rolled and wadded up, and so forth. I don't skimp on cords; I shell out the shekels and buy good ones from my dealer. Believe me, that will pay off in the long run. A top-quality twenty-foot guitar cable will typically run $25 - $30 and they're worth every penny you pay.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

The American Deluxe came with strap locks, a real quality leather strap, and a pretty good chord too. I had an 07, I dont know if anything has changed, but as I remember, the chord was good. I think its just a Fender cable, but it may be another companies with the Fender Logo on it.

+100, Windwalker. First I've heard of any axe coming from the factory with strap locks. I stand corrected on that. The cord that comes in the case candy may be good, new, but the question is how long it will last?? You can almost bet that it's a cheapie. You may get a good one that will last for years -- and then you may not. It's kind of like that Forrest Gump line from the movie: "you never know what you'll get." I would still put some money in a good quality cord.

But, that's just me.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

My Am Dlx came with a leather strap, strap locks and a Fender cord, all good quality. I use the strap and cord everyday. I can't say how long the cord would last if you were gigging but I think it's tuned to a natural E.

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'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

I used it for years, the only reason it finally went was because I would plug in, then wrap it up and over the strap so I wouldnt pull it out stepping on it when I'd move around. it just finally gave, but I resoldered it, and it's fine. Top cables can get really expensive. 15-25ft can be upwards of +$100, though I've tried real expensive, middle of the road, and dirt cheap. Middle of the road is fine, and in some cases better than the high end. Once you get into real long lenghts of cable, you want to get cables with lower capacitence ratings(though this is really kind of a misnomer, but still a useable measurement). To be honest, I've been using Live Wires, the Guitar Center house brand, and their pretty good. I find Monster Cable's to be the most overpriced cables for the quality. They make good speaker cables, and cables for audio/video system's, but EVERY Monster Cable I've used; from instrument cables, to patch cables for pedals, end up crapping the bed VERY quickly. Again; ive used their mid-high grade, I find them over priced.
Believe it or not, one night i had a cable emergency, and they only place i could get to was a Radio Shack. I bought one of their 15Ft for a bar gig, and it wasnt a bad cable. ANother pleasant surprise were the Planet Waves cable kits. The ones that they give you a lenght of cable, a cutter, and several ends. I used it for my pedal baord at first. I always was of the mindset that if you didnt solder it to make a connection, than it will suck, but they sounded really good. I ended up getting one of their instrument cables, and bought a second scew on end piece for $10 that has a button that acts like a circuit breaker. When I want to change guitars, I hit the button, so you dont hear the POP when you unplug it. I tested the cable with a multi reader, and was actually getting a higher output at the end of the cable than I did with the expensive Monster cable that had the end give on it.

The kits for boads are about $60, a little more for the instrument one. George L puts out a kit too, but I've heard from reliable sources with very good ears that they though the less expensicve Plane Waves works fine. I didnt expect it to be good, Plant Waves make , I wont say cheap, but not top shelf, but this cable was fine.

Yeah thats pretty much what i figured. As long as its a decent cable it will do the job for me since I'll just be playing it around my house and the occasional jam with friends.

The cable that came with my US Deluxe is a "Whirlwind" Accusonic cable, it has both "Whirlwind" and "Fender" logos printed on it. It's a good quality 10' cable.

http://whirlwindusa.com/catalog/pre-wir ... ard-series

My Deluxe also came with Straplocks in a plastic bag and a nice quality Canadian made Leather strap as part of the case candy.



Snowy

Well, there you go, you got an answer. It is a good cable, its the best cable I've seen come with a new guitar. Then again, the only electric guitar I've bought new was that Am Dlx, that was stolen 2 moths after I got it, and a Korean Prs SE I bought to strip, upgrade everything, then flip it. That cable was comical. It was about as thin as a headphone cable, and the whole thing looked like it was stamped from one piece of plastic, its still coiled up in a desk drawer. I actually had it the night my main cable died and I had to get a Radio Shack special, I didn't even consider using it. The only reason I bought the PRS is because I orderd an acoustic on a Thursday morning, paid an extra $100 to have it overnighted because that weekend was supposed to be -10 degrees, and I didn't want it sitting in a cold truck over the weekend because I could guarantee it would be damaged from the cold (last winter I must have done a dozen repairs due to cold, and I was doing just the over flow. So after I reamed them out because it didn't go out in time, and they either lied & said it did, or were clueless, they took off 50%!, plus overnighted me a new one, and gave me 40% off. My next purchase & let me combine a 20% off coupon I had that was going to expire. They told me PRS, Fender US, Gibson, and pretty much any other. Desireable thing was excluded. I called them back and said PRS instead of Paul Reed Smith, and it went through.. then I never ordered from them again.

It would make more sense to me to pay top dollar for a quality cable when it is intended to be used in a studio setting rather than being stomped on at a bar gig.

My 2001 American Series, Standard Stratocaster came with strap locks...the strap and the little wrench and manuals/candy/papers.... I even snagged the Dealer Catalog for that year.

I dont recall getting a cord...dont think so.