Fender American Stratocaster Review

Sound: 5/5
Playability: 5/5
Construction Quality: 5/5
Finish: 5/5
Overall Value: 5/5

The latest version of the Fender American Stratocaster has a thinner finish than older models, is finished in a nice nitrocellulose lacquer. The neck also features a nice finish, not super glossy but thicker than the Mexican made.

The pickups have a professional sound. The bridge is not overly piercing in the high end and the other 2 have a superb sound, especially when combined in positions 2 and 4. The deluxe version has locking tuners and the Innovative S1 switch which offers a bunch of different wiring options.

In sunburst finishes the body is made of ash and the grain of the wood is visible. The tremolo bridge offers a modern and smooth 2 point pivot design. The fretboard feature rolled edges making it very comfortable when you move up and down the neck.

For more info,
-->Fender American Standard Stratocaster

Sound: 4/5
Playability: 4/5
Construction Quality: 4/5
Finish: 4/5
Overall Value: 4.5/5

The Fender Standard Stratocaster features a basswood body, maple neck, choice of maple or rosewood fretboard and 3 single coil pickups. The finish is based on plastic materials that look very shiny but hardly change with time other than showing scratches.

This is not to imply that the finish is not good. It's offered in a variety of colors. The frets are finished very well, not having the very rough edges that seem to plague some Squire guitars.

The bridge pickup can get a little shrill if not equalized well. The neck and the middle pickup sound very pleasing, specially when combined. The bridge is the classic 6 screws design.

For more info,
-->Fender Standard Stratocaster

One of the great things about Stratocaster guitars is that every part of it is available separate: pick guards, pickups, necks, tuners, saddles, knobs, bridges, molded cases, you name it.

There are hundreds of ways to personalize this guitar. With the American version costing over a thousand dollars, it's way more of a compromise to start messing with those. But with this one you can let the imagination run free.

Some popular upgrades for this guitar are:


-->Fender Stratocaster/Telecaster Molded Case


-->Seymour Duncan SHR-1 Hot Rail Stacked Single Coil Pickup Bridge


-->EMG EMG-DG20 David Gilmour Pre-Wired Pickguard/Pickup Set

For lessons about the techniques of players like:

Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton

I recommend checking,
-->Playing Through the Blues

As a thank you for visiting this lens you can access a FREE copy of my Ebook

-->"7 Modes For 7 Days: Theory of the Modes of the Major Scale for Electric Guitar"

This will teach you:
-->How to build major scales
-->How to build modal chord progressions
-->How to find the key a chord progression
-->How to play the chords of a given musical key

-->Here!