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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 1:50 pm
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I wouldn't trade my upgraded MIM for any new stock American..

please ignore the fingerprints

http://i48.tinypic.com/2m4p374.jpg

lace sensor plus pack
cts 250k pots
orange drop .022uf
schaller locking tuners
full size steel trem block
bone nut

frets leveled and dressed, new nut, action is low and fast..


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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:45 pm
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I did end up selling my MIM Lone Star and was looking at the MIM FSR Antigua and the new MIM Pawn Shop 70s Deluxe... but I ended up getting an FSR American Special in hand-stained honeyburst.

I do not expect it is a huge upgrade from my ole Lone Star... but the Texas Specials in this guitar seem to be much brighter than the TSs in the MIM Lone Star. I also think the neck feels a lot better.

Any advice from the pros out there on how to care for the body on this strat? I used Fender polish/cleaner on the polyester body of the Lone Star... but should I use it on a hand-stained strat? What is a hand-stained guitar finished with?

Image

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Tiger J

my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 8:31 am
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93greenstrat wrote:
I'd go for an American Standard. The American Specials are nice, but I feel that the American Standard is the better value...especially now that they come with Fat 50's!


According to Fender: The FSR American Specials DO have Fat 50s while the "regular" American Specials have Texas Specials.

However, most of the online music stores are misleading in the specs they list for the FSR and are saying they have Texas Specials.

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Tiger J

my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 10:17 am
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Where did you see that the Am Spcl FSR has Fat 50s?

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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 10:35 am
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There is an earlier thread discussion about it and a Fender Forum Moderator checked with marketing and confirmed that the FSR American Specials have Fat 50s and not Texas Specials.

It seems most of the European/Australian/UK music store websites are properly advertising the FSR but the American Music Store websites are not.

I wish I new how to copy a link to the original discussion thread but I don't. The title of the OP was something like "Help identify my brand new Stratocaster."

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Tiger J

my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 10:49 am
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Tiger J wrote:
93greenstrat wrote:
I'd go for an American Standard. The American Specials are nice, but I feel that the American Standard is the better value...especially now that they come with Fat 50's!


According to Fender: The FSR American Specials DO have Fat 50s while the "regular" American Specials have Texas Specials.

However, most of the online music stores are misleading in the specs they list for the FSR and are saying they have Texas Specials.


Hmm.. I see same on both sites.

"Texas Special™ Single-Coil Strat®"


http://www.fender.com/en-GB/guitars/stratocaster/fsr-american-special-stratocaster-ash/


http://www.fender.com/en-US/guitars/stratocaster/fsr-american-special-stratocaster-ash/

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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 4:15 pm
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Ok...checked with the Marketing folks. Yes TWO (count 'em) Two spec changes- 1) the finish is a hand stained satin lacquer; 2) the pickups are Am Std Strat pickups.

Sorry for the confusion.

Cheers,
rob


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rob Schwarz
Director,Fender Customer Service
Proudly serving Fender Customers
for over 30 years

Quoting Rob Schwarz...

I think Rob is right... my new AS sounds nothing like my old MIM Lone Star and the poles on my new AS pups are staggered as per the description of the new Fat 50s that have been the standard pups since March of last year.

_________________
Tiger J

my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


Last edited by Tiger J on Tue Feb 12, 2013 4:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 4:18 pm
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.....just because i use google too, doesnt make me a bad person........
ran across this the other day...pretty good ;O)

http://www.samash.com/opencms/opencms/s ... ckups.html

Around the middle of the page....pretty good explanation.

All the best,
rob

PS- The American Std's changed to Fat 50's in March of this year.


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rob Schwarz
Director,Fender Customer Service
Proudly serving Fender Customers
for over 30 years

Quoting Rob Schwarz...

_________________
Tiger J

my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


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Profile
Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:56 am
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I am still confused. What did you get -- a 2012 or 2013 FSR American Special?

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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:44 am
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My AS was made in 2012 but I don't know the exact date (late in the year I imagine since it was just shipped to GC Crestwood and had not even been put out on display yet when I bought it.) Specifically, it is a FSR American Special hand-stained honeyburst. There are previous discussions on this forum and on the strat-talk forum... these beauties purportedly (by Fender) have Fat 50's in them instead of Texas Specials.

GC website specs it as having Texas Specials. I am happy with the guitar... it sounds fantastic! But I think what I have are Fat 50's and not Texas Specials.

There is one other person who left a GC user review also making the claim that the guitar has standards and not Texas Specials. Might have been the guy who started the previous thread discussion.

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Tiger J

my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 8:08 pm
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DetroitBlues wrote:
Are you getting a better guitar? Not really, I've found the American Specials to be the lowest production quality out of Fender's USA facilities. Fretwork isn't that great, no tinting to the neck.


"production quality" - The collection of features and characteristics of a product that contribute to its ability to meet given requirements. There are three views for describing the overall quality of a product. First is the view of the manufacturer, who is primarily concerned with the design, engineering, and manufacturing processes involved in fabricating the product. Quality is measured by the degree of conformance to predetermined specifications and standards, and deviations from these standards can lead to poor quality and low reliability. Efforts for quality improvement are aimed at eliminating defects (components and subsystems that are out of conformance), the need for scrap and rework, and hence overall reductions in production costs. Second is the view of the consumer or user. To consumers, a high-quality product is one that well satisfies their preferences and expectations. This consideration can include a number of characteristics, some of which contribute little or nothing to the functionality of the product but are significant in providing customer satisfaction. A third view relating to quality is to consider the product itself as a system and to incorporate those characteristics that pertain directly to the operation and functionality of the product. This approach should include overlap of the manufacturer and customer views.

I don't know what attributes or requirements are being referred to, but I have not found any issue with the quality of my 2012 American Special, nor it's reliability, in the year I have owned it. My choice of this guitar was based on how it felt and played at the store. That is subjective, but was my preference, upon playing and comparing to other and more costly Fender Strat models. Certainly, alone, the price should not be the sole basis for choosing. Play and listen and draw your own conclusion from that. This presumes you understand some fundamentals regarding component wants and needs, and therefore, what your getting for the money.


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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 8:14 pm
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I think the hand-stained honeyburst American Special FSR Strat was also offered as an HSS model with a humbucking pickup in the bridge, black pickup covers w/ matching plastic parts and a rosewood fretboard, though I'm not as 100% certain.


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Post subject: Re: MIM Deluxe vs. American Special
Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 8:22 am
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Chromeface... that sounds awesome too! I really wish that Fender would keep a "visual library or index" of all of its FSRs and discontinued products... a product graveyard so to speak.

_________________
Tiger J

my gear:

Jackson USA Phil Collen PC-1
Warmoth Custom-Build Stratocaster (The Andersong)
Fender American Special Stratocaster
Squier J. Mascis Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang GT40
Eleven HeadRush w/ two Alto TS212 FRFRs


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Profile
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