NGD. American Pro Strat

Alnico

Thanks Fender,

This time it's right. The mixture of the few small differences add up to something profound.

Out of the case it plays well, the action a little high but polished frets made me smile and even though i don't play 9 gauge strings it felt good.
I spent the afternoon cleaning and polishing it, rubbing oil into the board and setting it up.

My only gripe is that the nut could have been cut with a little more finesse but that's the only thing on the whole guitar and was fairly easily solved for now. A set up won't hurt and will finish off that last % that i can't do myself.
I set up the neck, action and intonation on D'addario XL110's it plays just the way it should now.
I've set the tremolo to float with a (Near) perfect whole-tone up action to it and the whole feel of it now is just amazing.

The narrow-tall frets are a joy. All the height of jumbo's but without the bulk and the need for hairspray.
If this makes sense, you can hang off the frets and really phrase the the note better.
That makes sense to my mind anyway........

I've photographed a few things which Fender have changed.
First is the front strap Button position, it's way further into the guitar, i can only presume to improve strap security.
Also the strap buttons appear bigger which helps.
Nice one !

The second one is the obvious one, the neck profile.
Try one but you'll probably end up liking it, it's not drastically different, just enough to make it great. A better handful, bigger but not to be too much. This and the frets have "Fixed Strats" for me.

The pickups are, without wanting to sound liek a broken record, what you think a Strat should sound like but with a very nice balanced new edge to the sound. VERY clear but the depth is frankly amazing. The tone control runs the middle and bridge pickup so there's no harshness where it's not needed and the whole thing is very quiet for any single coil guitar, especially a Strat.
Well done again Fender !!

The paint finish and satin laquer on the back of the neck (Gloss on the headstock) is all perfect and this time Fender have toned down the amount of 'Mint Green' they put in these scratchplates. The spec says it's Mint Green and i guess in certain lights you can see that but mostly it's just a really nice compliment to the Olympic White and the Aged White plastics.

One of the few guitars I've ever owned that i don't want to upgrade or change anything on. It's even got a really good tremolo block !

It just needs playing and loving, it's fucking stunning !

RandallFlagg

Alnico said:

The paint finish and satin laquer on the back of the neck (Gloss on the headstock) is all perfect and this time Fender have toned down the amount of 'Mint Green' they put in these scratchplates. The spec says it's Mint Green and i guess in certain lights you can see that but mostly it's just a really nice compliment to the Olympic White and the Aged White plastics.

where did you note the spec was mint green? It's listed as Parchment on the Fender website and certainly looks parchment to me.

Alnico

RandallFlagg said:

Alnico said:

The paint finish and satin laquer on the back of the neck (Gloss on the headstock) is all perfect and this time Fender have toned down the amount of 'Mint Green' they put in these scratchplates. The spec says it's Mint Green and i guess in certain lights you can see that but mostly it's just a really nice compliment to the Olympic White and the Aged White plastics.

where did you note the spec was mint green? It's listed as Parchment on the Fender website and certainly looks parchment to me.

I think i must have got it from online shop descriptions and then it's welded itself in there as fact.
You're right and i thought it looked like parchment when i first saw it.
Fender do indeed list it as parchment.

I'm just that little bit happier now !

GavRichList

Looks lovely - congrats

Adam_MD

As @Alnico said I was playing this last night and it's a stunning guitar.  I instantly connected with it as soon as I picked it up which is odd for me as I'm not a strat player.  The necks a little chunkier than any US standard I remember playing and the trems really smooth.  

The best bit for me though are the pickups they're really really good.  Fender has done a fantastic job with these.  

Voxman

Many congrats, & very tasteful choice of colour that goes beautifully with the aged yellowy off white plastic parts and the rosewood board.  You can't go wrong with classic colours.  Nicely chosen sir, and enjoy! 

Dave_Mc

Sweet  

Does it have a no-load tone control? I noticed on the spec on the Fender site it doesn't mention thatt, which would be a shame considering the other upgrades to the electronics.

Alnico

Dave_Mc said:

Sweet  

Does it have a no-load tone control? I noticed on the spec on the Fender site it doesn't mention thatt, which would be a shame considering the other upgrades to the electronics.

No.
The detent at 10 to take it completely out of the circuit is not there so i'm presuming they're standard pots.
They work very well though.

Dave_Mc

Thanks That's a shame since, as I said, I'm very much in favour of the other electrical tweaks they've done but I like the no-load tone as well.

stickyfiddle

The choice of tall narrow frets is spot on. I've had the same ones out on every guitar I built or refretted and wouldn't choose anything else now. 

Adam_MD

Dave_Mc said:

Thanks That's a shame since, as I said, I'm very much in favour of the other electrical tweaks they've done but I like the no-load tone as well.

I never really liked the no load tone when I've had it before so I liked when I was playing this on Saturday to realise it didn't have it.  

Alnico

Dave_Mc said:

Thanks That's a shame since, as I said, I'm very much in favour of the other electrical tweaks they've done but I like the no-load tone as well.

What i didn't like about the detent at 10 was that if you were in a split second hurry to change it, it made it more difficult to go on or off the detent. These feel smooth without feeling too loose and the treble bleed thing is really good, it really works well.

Alnico

Nice touch !

To adjust the tremolo tension you deck the tremolo downwards and it exposes the tension grub screw, set into the back of the block, just under the baseplate.
Adjust (Allen key supplied), let it back up and test.

Note - increased tension on the arm means the feel of the 'click' in and out when you fit and remove the arm changes. If you made it tighter, it's a little harder to fit and remove. I found that once i had increased the arm tension slightly, taking it out was easiest when above the guitar pulling directly upwards and not very easy from the normal playing position, but not actually impossible.

They've increased the height of the arm too so now it's where you're fingertips expect it to be and not trying to take the tops of the volume and tone controls as it spins. The change in shape REALLY makes a huge difference to using it and it's not something i noticed straight away, mainly because it just works ! You don't notice stuff when it works really well. Even if i have more 'Up' travel than i have now which is roughly a whole tone, the arms still stays well clear of the scratchplate / controls and still at the right height for my fingers to reach easily.

The combination of the new arm shape and the push in / tension fitting has transformed using a strat tremolo and as it's 2 point it's deadly accurate. The new block looks really substantial and i can't complain at the punch of the sound it makes, it's VERY good.

Nikko

Wow, you've been busy. Happy new guitar day! Still got the PRS?

Alnico

Nikko said:

Wow, you've been busy. Happy new guitar day! Still got the PRS?

Thanks and yes i do still have the PRS.

It's with @Adam_MD as of the other night, mainly because he doesn't get loads of time to get to my place and play it.
As i just got the Strat and there's a Jackson here too, i've lent him the PRS until February.
If i'm honest the nut slots are cut too shallow for my taste and the the resulting action is too high for me. It needs to go and see Howard in Leicester but i just CBA until well after new year, so it makes sense that he borrows it now because he likes a high action.

Between This Strat, The EMG Jackson and the P90 PRS i really like the ground i've got covered.
Each one has it's own feel and character which suits the actual noise it makes.

That said,
As nice as the other two are, this Strat is leagues above them.
They all have their place and purpose and none of them are cheap or rubbish, i like everything about all of them but if you said i could only keep one, it would be this Strat.

I know there are many more out there that are more expensive and much *more* than this is but this is the most expensive Strat i've ever had and it's the best (Although i realise that's not always a good benchmark to use, in this case it works).

It's a revelation for me.

Nikko

Nice one. Yeah, you've definitely got a lot of bases covered with those. GAS over, or is there anything else in the pipeline?

Alnico

Nikko said:

Nice one. Yeah, you've definitely got a lot of bases covered with those. GAS over, or is there anything else in the pipeline?

Currently redistributing funds to save up for the Free the Tone Reverb and Chorus pedals (Deposit Paid), then in February - April it's another ML Deville.

I think i'm done with guitars for now though.

I think............

Dave_Mc

Adam_MD said:

Dave_Mc said:

Thanks That's a shame since, as I said, I'm very much in favour of the other electrical tweaks they've done but I like the no-load tone as well.

I never really liked the no load tone when I've had it before so I liked when I was playing this on Saturday to realise it didn't have it.  

Haha I guess everyone likes different things. I definitely like having a tone for the bridge, but having the no-load means I have both options. But I do agree with @Alnico that the wee click does make it slightly more awkward to adjust quickly.

Alnico said:

Dave_Mc said:

Thanks That's a shame since, as I said, I'm very much in favour of the other electrical tweaks they've done but I like the no-load tone as well.

What i didn't like about the detent at 10 was that if you were in a split second hurry to change it, it made it more difficult to go on or off the detent. These feel smooth without feeling too loose and the treble bleed thing is really good, it really works well.

Yeah it can be awkward to adjust quickly, particularly if you're trying to set it for "tone control on 10".

And yeah I like treble bleeds- my first guitar had one so any I try that don't have one feel a bit lacking (doesn't stop me buying the guitar, of course, but just I'd prefer to have it). I guess a bit like the no-load tone the absolute ideal would be to have the option of both on a push-pull or similar, but I never get round to doing stuff like that (plus on some guitars with limited knobs you can't really afford to waste the one knob you have on a luxury like that when coil splits or similar would likely be a lot more useful).

Alnico

Dad's original embroidered 60's guitar strap looks rather good with it !

http://i.imgur.com/9ox652d.jpg

It was handmade in Mexico and bought when Dad was in the Army, Belize, Circa 1967.

The ends fell apart years ago and it needs some kind of backing to be really use able as it's quite thin material so it's being sent to Heistercamp soon to be recommissioned.

For my eyes, the Real Thing on the 60's inspired guitar looks stunning and in some sentimental way, it means something.

The last time that strap would have been used by him would have been to entertain troops in the naafi, Germany 1970.
It started life in some tiny Mexican rural village and was made by someones Wife to sell on their stall outside their house, along with leather goods and whatever the whole Family could make.
It was on Dad's guitar when we were kids and i used it when i was learning to play in the early 80's, my Brother used it with his 70's precision special Bass when we were in a band together in school.
Now it's draped over my new Strat looking perfect and (to me) just begging to be put back into service and become THE strap for this guitar.

I would be really interested to hear what people think about this?

Suits it or not ?

Adam_MD

Dave_Mc said:

Adam_MD said:

I never really liked the no load tone when I've had it before so I liked when I was playing this on Saturday to realise it didn't have it.  

Haha I guess everyone likes different things. I definitely like having a tone for the bridge, but having the no-load means I have both options. But I do agree with @Alnico that the wee click does make it slightly more awkward to adjust quickly. 

I really prefer having the tone control on the bridge all the time.  I've never had a strat where I used the bridge up full I always have it down around 7/8.