player opinions
Fender Standard Fat Strat
Name: Alex
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Band: -----
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Model Year: -----
Price Paid: $900 (AUS)
Performance
This guitar plays great, especially for beginners, and is a good introduction to the Strat. The Bullet strings that come with it are fine, although I replaced mine for heavier gauge strings to get more sustain. The action is slightly higher than I would like, and could do with a little adjusting, possible deadening the bridge might help. I'd give it 4.5 in this category, it's not perfect due to the height of the strings.
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Performance Rating: 8
Sound Quality
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This is where the guitar shines. It sounds excellent, whether you are switched to the fat neck single coil, or the screaming bridge humbucker. The neck pick-up has that distinct “glassy” (as my teacher would say) Fender sound when clean, with a lot of bass, so it's great for blues. It sounds real muddy when distorted, although I personally find this desirable. The tone is classic Fender, if you want the largest variety of sounds, a Strat is the way to go. Five pick-up settings, including the funky “in between” selector positions and treble-cutting knobs, give you a wide range of tone to play with. The sustain is the only weak part of this Fender, most probably due to the cheaper, lightweight Mexican body. This feels like a feather compared to a Les Paul.
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Sound Quality Rating: 10
Construction
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Unfortunately, being a Mexican Strat, there are a few flaws, at least in the one I got. First off, I ordered mine in a rush for Christmas, straight from Mexico. I advise everyone to inspect and play what they are purchasing in a store first. The guitar seems solid, but lightweight at the same time, and this is not good for sustain. The fretwork was shoddy, with smalls gaps visible under the frets on the side of the neck. This does not affect the playability or sound, but you would expect more from Fender. There was also some slight string buzz on the bridge, not audible when playing through the amp, but still worrying. Note: these were fixed under the 1 year warranty from Fender. The sunburst finish is pretty good, though knobs and plastic bits are pretty ugly. The pickups (HSS) look nice and clean, especially the mean-looking humbucker. There's no point getting a Mex Strat if you are in the US, you don't have to pay high tariffs or put up with a weak dollar! All in all, a great sounding and playing guitar, let down a little by mediocre build quality.
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Construction Rating: 6
links
Average Ratings
- Performance: 8
- Sound Quality: 10
- Construction: 6
Ratings Key
- 10: Excellent
- 0: Useless
Company
- Fender