Narrowed down my options......

Jam10

After doing a tonne of research on the Fender website and reading lot's of reviews, I have finally narrowed down my options for a Strat. I haven't played them all yet because stores don't carry all the models but after reading the specs and the reviews I have narrowed down to (in no particular)

The American Standard Strat
The soft "v" shape neck American Deluxe Strat (I really like that neck)
The Mark Knopfler Strat


Decisions......Decisions.......I'm not sure which one I want yet. All 3 of them have things that I really like about them.

I'm sure a lot of people here have the American Standard but does anybody have the Deluxe or the Mark Knopfler and what do you think of them?


Please Help!

Anon

Just finished reading your post in the musicians friend thread. Sounds like you are really keen on the V neck deluxe strat. You could still buy that one, ditch the butterscotch color pickguard, (cause you clearly don't like that), replace it with the whitey, and it would still be cheaper than the knofler one, and you'll have a beautiful guitar.

If the only thing you don't like about the v neck is the pickguard, then it's easy to fix.

Now that you've narrowed it down, hit the guitar stores close to you and test them out. It's the only way. You'll know which one, when you're holding that baby in your arms and playing it.

Good luck with it!

Jam10

Thanks Pj Gurl, you always have great advice!

Novawind

Replacing the pickguard is really no big deal if you think about it. Get the body color and neck that you want, and the new pickguard is like what, $25 bucks extra? That's nothing compared to the guitar itself. For example, my next guitar is probably the American Standard Strat in Charcoal Frost with a maple neck:

http://www.fender.com/products/prod_images/guitars/0110402769_xl.jpg

And to cap it off, I'm gonna replace the pickup covers, knobs and 5-way cap to black, and make the pickguard a black pearloid. I might also replace the pickups to SCN, not sure about that yet. I would just get an American Deluxe but they don't offer this color that I want. So with the upgrades, it's probably about the same price I just have to install the stuff myself. But I'll get what I want. And you should too. After all, if you're going to drop serious money (> $1000) on a guitar, shouldn't you get what you want????

kitfoo

I have an American Deluxe, and it's my favorite guitar. It just plays and sounds so good! If you're siding on the American, just spend a few more bucks and go for the Deluxe.

Jam10

That's what I'm thinking.

ianvomsaal

I'd say go with that Vintage Hot Rod '57 Strat you asked about: http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=292653
It's a nice playing American Strat with all the features you like - Soft V Neck, Great Red Color, Nitro Finish, etc . . .

keeponrockin

kitfoo wrote:

I have an American Deluxe, and it's my favorite guitar. It just plays and sounds so good! If you're siding on the American, just spend a few more bucks and go for the Deluxe.

I prefer the American, to me it just sounded better (believe me, I was in Jam10's spot a few months ago!)

Jam, go out, play them, don't listen to what we say when it comes to opinions. Close your eyes, play the two, pick the one that sounds and feels the best. When I opened my eyes, it was the American Series.

Jam10

That's a good point keeponrockin. That's exactly what I'm going to do.....close my eyes have my buddy pass me each guitar on at a time and whichever one feels and sounds best will be the one I'll get. I didn't even think about closing my eyes. That's probably the best way to decide. That way I won't get caught up on all the specs and prices.

keeponrockin

Of course, pick the color, etc, you want, but closing your eyes helps.