Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

*A Brief History of the Fender Stratocaster*
After having introduced the groundbreaking Telecaster('50) and Precision Bass ('51), Leo Fender produced yet another masterpiece in 1954, the Fender Stratocaster. Before Leo, most electric guitars were simply acoustic designs with an added pickup. Radical features of the original strat included a solid, contoured body (based on Precision bass), a bolt-on maple neck with inline tuners,, patented vibrato bridge, pickguard-mounted electronics, and splashy new colors like Daphne Blue, Surf Green, and Fiesta Red. The world of electric guitars was being turned topsy-turvy.

Though the Stratocaster was embraced enthusiastically by many, such as Dick Dale, Buddy Holly, and even the Beatles, most big-name musicians used solid body guitars made by established companies, such as Gibson. Leo sold the company to CBS in 1965 (who reportedly considered dropping the Stratocaster line soon after taking over due to poor sales). Many credit the turnaround in the Strat's popularity to Jimi Hendrix. Nowadays, the "pre-CBS" Fenders routinely fetch thousands of dollars in the vintage guitar market.

*The Strat Today*
The anchor of the current lineup is the "American Series Stratocaster" (Am Se), but there is a vast selection of Stratocaster guitars. A quick count at the Fender website yielded over 100 models. There are lower priced imports, led by the Mexican import "Standard Stratocaster" (commonly referred to as a MIM), which is very closely modeled on the Am Se Strat. If you have some more to spend there are various American-made Signature models, Limited-edition models, as well as "Custom Shop" models, including many that try to reproduce '50's and '60's models as closely as possible. Another new twist is models that are carefully "pre-damaged" (Fender prefers to call them "relics").

Strat players use terms like "bell tone", "quack" and "spank" when talking about the Stratocaster's tone. It is a clean, full-ranged tone, unlike the midrange-heavy and sometimes muddy Les Paul, for example. As such, a very wide range of sounds can be had, because it is a lot easier to accentuate a part of the spectrum than to add what isn't there. The same guitar can yield the twangy surf of Dick Dale, the clean, stacatto flurry of Mark Knopfler, the dream weaving of David Gilmour and the Edge (U2), the wailing wall of sound of Robin Trower and Stevie Ray Vaughan, or the screams of Jimi Hendrix.

Design changes over the years have been focused upon refinement and modernization; the guitar is fundamentally the same. Since the early days, the neck has become a bit wider, the fretboard a bit flatter with larger frets, the trem now has a 2-point fulcrum, replacing the vintage model's 6 inline screws. A 22nd fret was added, the nitrocellulose lacquer finish gave way to a more durable polyurethane, the 3-position pickup selector now sports 5 positions, and the middle pickup had its magnets and coil winding reversed to cancel hum when combined with the bridge or neck pickup. More recently, Fender introduced "Delta Tone", which uses the second tone knob for the middle and bridge pickups and includes a "no load" position, bypassing the tone circuit completely.

*The American Deluxe Stratocaster*
The American Deluxe Strat (Am Dlx) debuted in 1998. It is an upgrade of the Am Se, but still priced below the specialty, signature and custom models. It's primary features were "Vintage Noiseless Pickups" (a stacked double-coil design), locking tuners, select wood, and a host of other refinements. The specifics have varied somewhat since '98, so I will list some of my 2005 model's goodies:

-Two-tone sunburst (similar to the original '54 model--cool!)
-One piece maple neck/fretboard (this was actually discontinued for years by CBS. It was cheaper to glue a separate maple fretboard to a maple neck)
-Soft-V neck contour (nice!; not available on Am Se Strat)
-New Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups (developed by Bill Lawrence and introduced in 2004)
-Extra detailing on the nut and fretwork (which is already purty durn nice on the American Series Strat)
-Contoured neck heel (with my hand at the 17th fret, I have a nice rounded contour in my palm instead of a pointy corner)
-S-1 switching system, which combines pickups in series for a fatter sound (in addition to the normal single/parallel-pair positions)
-Silver headstock inlay and abalone dot markers on the neck
-Straplocks (which you would put in anyway, right?)
-Pop-in trem arm (easier to install/remove; no spring to lose; much less likely to snap)

*Analysis*
The SCN pickups do a good job of sounding like a Strat while doing away with the noise that plagues single coil pickups. They are not as bright as a vintage-style Strat (musicians refer to this as "darker"). The difference is apparent when A/B'd with a single coil Strat, less so otherwise. But the sound is very similar, perhaps more so than most other "noiseless" attempts. When combined with the shielded pickguard and body-routing, the Am Dlx is completely free of noise and hum. The SCN's also sound great with high-gain amps.

My American Deluxe plays as well as any guitar I have ever played. It is a comfortable guitar to play thanks to the contoured body, and the V-neck is one of my favorite features. The fretwork and nut are as good as I've seen on a production guitar. It plays fast and clean and stays in tune day after day.

The construction is first-rate as well. The neck is straight and perfectly aligned. The wood, electronics and hardware are all quality goods. I tend to be a tinkerer, but I like this axe as-is. Some may decry the bolt-on neck and pickguard-mounted electronics, but I prefer that functional design.

*Summary*
The Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster is a highly refined tool for the working musician or serious hobbyist. It's not a wannabe, a piece of vintage memorabilia, or a "fine example of the luthier's art". It comes ready to play.

*******See my Profile for a link to some pics************