Well I got the GC used American Strat in today to join my G-Dex3 30 amp and I think I'm gonna like the sound. However, the guitar is going back to my local store. They did not include the gig bag nor tremolo and there were a lot of dings on the body. Think I'll pay alittlebit more and get this new. With the$150 off coupon, a new one will only cost an extra $100. Love the clean sounds with this combo and the humbucker will do the trick. I'm still wondering how it compares to the pearly gates of an American Lonestar. Should I hold off and try and find the US Lonestar or go ahead and get the new Ameican Special?? Kinda back to square one.... Let me know soon... This Strat is going back this Friday!

Thanks again guys!

Dave

The 3rd and "missing" member of the family is the MIM Deluxe Big Apple Strat.

Going to GC on Friday to try out their new American Specials. They don't have any Lonestars in stock so I won't be able to try the Pearly Gates.. are there any other models that have this pickup so I can compare? I may also have a bite on a 2009 American Lonestar in Sienna Burst.. looks to be in good condition. Is this worth looking into for the right price? Should be able to get this under $700.
What exactly will the super switch buy me if I get in installed on an American Special? Overall, I'm impressed enough with the American Special as it is if I get it for around $700 or so after the GC $150 off.

Ideas on this?

Thanks again,
Dave

Oops. My mistake. The US Lonestar I'm considering is a 1999.. not 2009.

I used to have a '97 Lonestar (and I wish I had it back). It really was a nice Strat. I imagine that the American Special HSS would be somewhat similar as they both have the Texas Specials, but I haven't spent enough time paying an America Special to say how its bridge humbucker compares to the Lonestar's Peary Gates Plus. The one thing that I feel gives the Lonestar a bit of an edge is that it comes stock with the Super Switch which allows for coil splitting (BTW; why doesn't Fender offer his on the current MIM Lone Star? It has been offered on other Mexican Fat Strats). I modified mine so that instead of getting the middle pickup only in the third position, I got the neck + rear coil of the humbucker. As is, the stock wiring allows for the front coil of the bucker + middle in the 2nd position whereas the American Special HSS simply gives you the full bucker +middle which takes away hum cancellation and sounds a bit different which is not necessarily a bad thing. Have you also looked at the American Standard HSS? It has Tex-Mex singles rather than the Texas Specials and also has the 5-way super switch.

Update.. Went to GC today and took back the dinged up American Special. The were more than gracias with everything. Customer Service has really gone up since I was there last. Got my entire purchase price refunded without a problem. They didn't have any net AS Strats in sic but offered to order me one. I was able to use their $150 off, which I was surprised they would do since Fender wasn't a part of that, plus an extra $20 off... Plus an extra $20 in store credit. Hard to pass up a brand new AS for $679!!

Never heard back from the guy with the US Lonestar... If I can get a deal on that, I can get back my money within 30 days on the AS...

The JB has almost twice the output of a PG. More output adds mid range and therefore a much fatter tone. The JB, like the PG, has a lot of treble but given the added output the harmonics and the pick attack will pop out much more.

The interesting thing about the PG is that the 2 coils are mismatched in output. 1 coils is 4k and the other is 4.5k giving a total of 8.5k. This mismatch of output causes a mismatch of frequencies and therefore an off balance and brighter tone. The mismatch will even cut through high gain and keep it's original tone much better. I had a custom made set that had a 1k coil mismatch and it would tame my Soldano.

If your PG came with your Fender Strat, is Tremolo spaced and is white then you probably have a Pearly Gates Plus which has an alnico 5 instead of an alnico 2 magnet. The more powerful magnet adds more punch to the PU but takes away a lot of the smoothness. In other word you're getting a slightly more distortion friendly PU at the expense of the access to a unique mellow bluesy tone.

The reason people praise the JB so much is because it's a PU that will sound different in the hands of different players. It's powerful and like I said has great pick attack so it will emphasize aspects of your playing. I love the fact that my pinch harmonics just ring out while others will love how open chords sound so articulate even through high gain and others will have other reasons. Regardless, it's all about making the strings resonate better.