NGD - American Standard Strat

[duhvoodooman]

:dance :dude :happy

I've been looking for a good deal on this specific Strat model for awhile and came across one on eBay for a very reasonable BIN price last week. It's an American Standard with an ash body, sienna sunburst finish and a rosewood fingerboard. I really lucked out on this one because it turned out to be a 2012 model, so it has the upgraded Custom Shop Fat '50 pickups which sound fabulous--power & clarity both, which can be hard to get in a single coil. Nice chunk of ash--three pieces, seamlessly joined together--and the grain pops out more than the photos show. Not too heavy, either. The sienna sunburst is the only American Standard color that Fender offers in ash, and I've loved this color since I first saw it. Though the guitar was sold as "used", it had obviously never been played--not a mark on it, protective plastic on the pickguard and rear cover plate, HSC with all the accessories (cord, strap, polishing cloth & trem bar) still wrapped up in the factory packing. Any marks you see in the photos below are just smudges from me handling it, or light/flash reflections. The seller was a music store in southeast Missouri, so I don't know if this was close-out stock, or a display model, or what. In any case, a beautiful guitar in unplayed condition. Set-up & intonation are spot-on--all I have to do is play it! Which I intend to do. A lot!

And if you'd like to help me pay for it: http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/21205

A few pics:

 

[marnold]

I thought I heard someone playing "Foxy Lady" very loudly somewhere out east!

Looks sweet! HNGD!

 

[Robert]

Congrats! Play the crap out of it!

 

[Bookkeeper's Son]

A classic!

 

[riverrick]

It's a beauty...ENJOY!!!

 

[Eric]

That's a pretty guitar, Bob. Movin' up in the world, eh?

Are you mostly a strat player or do you mix it up? I really respect you guys who can jump around from instrument to instrument; it takes me a long time to really get comfortable with a guitar and use it for all it's worth.

 

[guitartango]

Wow now that's what I call a strat ! Love the colour, always wanted one like Clapton's or Buddy Holly's.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Are you mostly a strat player or do you mix it up? I really respect you guys who can jump around from instrument to instrument; it takes me a long time to really get comfortable with a guitar and use it for all it's worth.

While I probably play my Strats more than anything else, I've never had trouble jumping between them and the shorter scale Gibson type guitars. I'd like to think that I can sound equally bad on pretty much any guitar! :rollover

 

[Tig]

Nice find, DVM! I love the subtle no black burst on it, and the wood grain is delicious.

 

[mrmudcat]

Love this color always have since its intro and of course im an ash man:socool

Sweet looking fo-sho:rockya

 

[Spudman]

Nice looking guitar. Congrats. Does that come with locking tuners?

 

[duhvoodooman]

Nope--very nice staggered height ones, but not locking. You have to go up another $400 to the American Deluxe Strats to get the locking tuners.

 

[tjcurtin1]

Gah! Why did I have to see that! I never knew there was such a thing of beauty as an American-Standard-ash-with-sienna-burst-finish-Strat before, and now I lust for one! Thanks for nothing!

Congrats, DVM - nice snag! Have fun!

 

[Algonquin]

Dibs if you ever want to sell it! We can meet up halfway in Watertown and I'll buy lunch!
Nice looking guitar DVM... Congrats!
David

 

[keletcaster]

Wow thats really nice.

 

[Katastrophe]

Gorgeous! Beautiful Strat, DVM, and congrats!

 

[duhvoodooman]

Thanks, guys! I'm really enjoying this guitar. The Fat '50's pickups are really impressing me--the tone through my Tweed Royal or AC15 is to die for, both clean and with light to moderate overdrive.

One correction, which I added to my original post--the body is three pieces of ash, not a single piece. I came across references to a "3-piece ash body" a couple of places online, and when I looked VERY closely, I could discern a discontinuity in the grain about 2.5 - 3" from center on either side. But I can't see any discernible seam where the pieces are joined, and there's no change in shade between them--pretty impressive job of matching up the three pieces. The closer I look this guitar over, the more impressed I am with the workmanship.

 

[mrmudcat]

Gah! Why did I have to see that! I never knew there was such a thing of beauty as an American-Standard-ash-with-sienna-burst-finish-Strat before, and now I lust for one! Thanks for nothing!

Congrats, DVM - nice snag! Have fun!

I am sure DVM can attest to the fact that the siennaburst is way better looking than pics can convey!!!:AOK

That strat has the newer fat fifties pups and better circuitry than the older ones a plus for sure and a nice ash

DAMN VOODOO MAN:drool

 

[piebaldpython]

Glad you're having fun with your new axe Vood.

 

[duhvoodooman]

I am sure DVM can attest to the fact that the siennaburst is way better looking than pics can convey!!!

Very true, Muddy. The shots I took were indoors with a flash, and I had to shoot at an angle to keep the flash reflections at bay. Unfortunately, that mutes the appearance of the wood grain--you can see that especially well in the body shot, where the grain shows pretty well on the upper part of the body but really fades out down lower. Hope to be able to take some daylight shots out on my front porch this weekend....after the Nor'easter blows by!

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Wow. That's sharp! Bosstastic, congrats.

 

[NWBasser]

Yowza. What a sweet-looking strat!

Congratulations on your new baby DVM.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Never one to leave well enough alone, I'm in the process of changing the pickguard and doing a pickup wiring mod on the guitar. As gorgeous as the wood and the finish on the body are, I found the plain white pickguard (yawn) a bit pedestrian. Ordered one in vintage pearl from Warmoth, got it on Monday, and moved the electronics over to it last night. Not only does it dress up the guitar, but I also like the match with the aged white pickup covers & control knob a lot more. Here's the guitar as it currently stands:

The guitar isn't all the way back together because I also have a push-pull pot coming to let me add a switch for my favorite Strat pickup wiring mod, namely adding the bridge pickup in series to whatever other pickup combo is selected. Details here: http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/9616

 

[piebaldpython]

We are not at all surprised that you modded the Strat. :thwap

 

[marnold]

We are not at all surprised that you modded the Strat. :thwap

Not only that but he took the bridge clean off! That's hard core. That's old school. He can rawk without any strings!

 

[kidsmoke]

Beautiful guitar DVM, congrats. I have yet to bond with a strat, and I believe the p'ups are the culprit. For sure comfortable hanging around your neck.

On a separate, but related note

The Fat '50's pickups are really impressing me--the tone through my Tweed Royal or AC15 is to die for, both clean and with light to moderate overdrive.

Have I missed your review of this amp, now that she's been up and running for a little while?

 

[duhvoodooman]

....Have I missed your review of this amp, now that she's been up and running for a little while?

Just posted at some length in my Tweed Royal thread: http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/21009?p=232510#post232510

Not only that but he took the bridge clean off! That's hard core. That's old school. He can rawk without any strings!

Strings?!? We don't need no stinkin' STRINGS!! They're just a crutch for second-rate players. Since I took them off, I haven't played one bad note on the guitar....

 

[tjcurtin1]

Interesting - 2 point trem. I was reading somewhere recently about Suhr strats "not sounding like a strat unless they have the 6-point trem"....

 

[Robert]

Congrats DVM! Yeah those strings are way too slinky. Can't even see them.

 

[duhvoodooman]

New pickguard & series switch work complete--take a look at the first two photos in my original post in this thread to see the guitar as it looks now.

Interesting - 2 point trem. I was reading somewhere recently about Suhr strats "not sounding like a strat unless they have the 6-point trem"....

Hmm, that's pretty strange. The higher end Fender Strats have used the 2-point trem system for many years now--much better tuning stability than the old vintage 6-screw trem. The two point trem uses the same kind of knife-edge-in-a-pivot-slot system that a FR trem uses, just without any of the string-locking stuff. And I assure you, this guitar sounds exactly like a Strat should!