Need pics!!!

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-T

"You can't spend what you ain't got, you can't lose what you ain't never had" ~ McKinley Morganfield

A group pic with the HSH FSR.

I own two Stratocasters (1982 Vintage '57, Strat Plus), two Telecasters (MZ woodgrain, Rolling Stones "Shine a Light" Special Edition) and a Classic Vibe Duo-Sonic. I own various brands of guitar (30 total) but consider myself to be a Fender guy all the way. Give me a nice Strat and I am happy.

Therefore, I was disappointed to see all the negative comments about the "hand stained" finish series.

I saw one yesterday during one of my monthly religious pilgrimages to the local Guitar Center. It was set up on a stand on the floor atop a tripod stand.

This instrument is beautiful. This one was a reddish sunburst and the only thing that kept me from an instant purchase is a lack of pesos. I would have bought it before you could say "Ritchie Blackmore".

I saw nothing of any kind of "cheapness" in the look. The appearance to me was fabulous. Remember--you are not going to get a mirror gloss with inch-thick lacquer on this model. It has a matte-like finish.

If you like the instrument but dislike the appearance of the finish, I have had a lot of experience in dealing with this kind of surface.

I own several Danelectro Reissues that come in a very cheap-looking, plasticky finish that is so bad the guitar looks like a kid's toy. A lot of hand-rubbing with auto polish turned the rough surface into a bright gleam that makes the guitar look like metal--and a much more expensive-looking instrument.

Closer to home is a recently acquired Peavey T-15 with a very similar finish as the hand-stained Strat. Three coats of polish later, it gleams--not like a mirror, but the 30-year old instrument went from dull to shine with a little elbow grease.

I suspect the same would apply to the Fender instruments.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, to be sure. Not everyone will like this kind of matte finish. I do not care for the matte black Fenders (but again--easily fixed with some hand polishing). But these hand-stained models look fabulous to me!

I really thought I'd like them, but when I saw them in the store, I wasn't as impressed. They look much different from the photos on line.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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