Fender Standard Fat Strat HSS (Maple) User Reviews at zZounds

"Awesome guitar, amazing sound, decent price...you rule Fender!" submitted August 21, 2008

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: Hobbyist, Backing Guitar/Bassist in a newly formed band

Music Style: Rock, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock, Grunge, and a pinch of Metal

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

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Sound: This is my first guitar so when I heard that you should NEVER buy your first guitar off the internet I was very reluctant but Im SO happy I went with it. The sound is WAY better than of all the SG's and Les Paul's that I've played. I use a AlesisFX foot pedal and a Fender Frontman 25R and it sounds simply magnificent. It comes out of tune fairly frequently, but not so much that you have to tune it every other day. The high E does choke but rarely...its a small price for the awesome sound. A little weak for Metallica and the like, but awesome anywhere else. From Hendrix to Aerosmith and Switchfoot to Nirvana, it'll blow you away. Feature: Selector switch, two tone knobs, a volume knob...the works. The humbucker however is a awesome addition to the tried-and-true Strat, and even though they're the same price on zZounds you get WAY more out of this one than the other. The Fender Super Bullets are incredible as well, and the free gig bag was a life saver in my small budget. Ease of Use: Its a Fender...tune it, plug it, shred it! Quality: I bought mine in Arctic White and it looks sooooo awesome...maybe not as great as the Brown Sunburst would have been, but catches many eyes (especially girls.) Put a diamond pickguard on it and you'll never take your eyes off it. Value: As I said, alot better than the Epi SG's and Les Paul's that usually run 3X the price. Manufacturer Support: Haven't dealt with Fender, but I ordered it along with the Frontman mentioned above, and when the guitar came in but it didn't, I called up zZounds. The service there was sooo nice and VERY polite! I asked the guy (Josh?) about it, he asked for my name and order number, and in less than 10 minutes since I found the amp missing he told me UPS would be there tomorrow. Sure enough there it was on my doorstep! If only everyone had Z's service! The Wow Factor: I've had so many people asking me what color it was and where I got it its not even funny...I recommended them all to zZounds! You guy's should be paying ME to take the guitars with all the business im getting for y'all! =D Overall: This is everything I could hav e ever wanted out of a $400 Fender. Ill definately keep this for a good long while before I replace it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WITH THE FRONTMAN 25R!! ROCK ON FENDER!!

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"Great Guitar" submitted April 23, 2006

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: Active Musician

Music Style: Rock, Folk, Country, Metal

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Sound: The sound is great on this. It's plenty versatile and I can achieve the sound I want with any music type i want to play. Metal, country, funk, anything really. That's what it's all about isn't it? Feature: 5 way selector switch, volume and 2 tone. Decent tuning machines, hardware is very comparable to USA quality IMO. Ease of Use: The pickup selector switch easily enables you to dial in any sort of sound you wish. I adjusted the height of my pickups and that beefed up my neck position single coil and I can get a great bluesy sound with plenty of balls which is great for an SRV lead tone. Quality: Had a USA Standard Strat that got stolen. Couldn't afford the $950+ price tag to replace it so I went with the MIM Fat Strat. I can say that I was NOT disappointed at all. This is NOT the same MIM strat from 5-6 years ago. There are FAR less complaints on these than the latter. The neck is smooth and feels just as good at my old USA strat. Sound wise, the MIM single coil pickups sound just as good as the USA ones. The Humbucker is no Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan but delivers as well. The trem isn't as smooth as the USA one but I only use it for some fine vibrato. If you're wailing away on it and dive bombing, even the USA standard two point tremolo will go out of tune. If you want to dive bomb and make siren sounds, spend the extra money and get the Floyd Rose version. But all said, you cannot go wrong with this purchase. Value: I paid $379us for it. Free shipping too. I've never bought a guitar via mail order or the internet before and I was a bit nervous but it came set up and relatively in tune. I've heard complaints of bad action ,etc. That wasn't my experience at all but I realize that it's pretty much a crap shoot as anything can happen during transit. If it comes and the action stinks, take it to your local guitar shop and have a pro set up. Manufacturer Support: Giving it a 10 simply because I ASSUME that Fender stands behind this product. Haven't had to use support. The Wow Factor: Looks great, sounds great, feels great. What more can you ask for? This is my main guitar. Overall: Rating it a 9 only because I intend to modify it with a Seymour Duncan of some type humbucker and 2 Fender Texas Special Singles with a wiring modification as well but I'm in no hurry because it still sounds great as is.

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"Great guitar, very good price, solid value." submitted September 17, 2004

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: Rock/Blues

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Sound: The guitar sounds great right out of the box. Very versitile. I wanted to juice mine up a bit just to be different, so I installed Fender Custom Shop 69 single coils, and Dimarzio Super Distortion Humbucker in the bridge. Not that the tone needed to be changed, it was great before. Now it is still great, but different than factory. Feature: Straight forward and easy to use. The way a Strat should be. Quality: One thing to always check on a guitar is to see if there are gaps between the neck and body. Mine is a very tight fit. I have this one which is the Mexican version and I also have an American Strat. Value: You cant go wrong with this guitar at 399.00. If you are only buying one guitar in your life and didnt want to spend alot of money, this is the one you should buy. If you only play heavy distortion music you may want a guitar with 2 humbuckers instead having single coils and only one humbucker. Short of that issue this guitar can cover all the bases. Manufacturer Support: I havent had to deal with Fender on any of my equipment. There are plenty of dealers out there, so I wouldnt expect any problems. The Wow Factor: This guitar sounds and looks awesome. Overall: I could sell mine for more than I paid for it. Especially since I installed the expensive pickups, but I like this guitar so well that I have it on a stand in my living room. Its like a piece of the furniture. I truly think I'll keep it forever. My American Strat spends most of the time tucked away in the case, but it is also an amazing guitar.

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"love it!" submitted July 6, 2007

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: hobbyist

Music Style: punk, alternative, classic rock

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Sound: it has a nice sound to it, but you might want to replace the pickups with something with a bit more sustain. good for any kind of music except heavy metal. can play blues, classic rock, punk, funk, whatever you want to on it Feature: the only thing i can think of to make it have better features would be better pickups, but that coasts more money. for the price very good Ease of Use: its very playable. has good action, nice neck, very easy to get completely different sounds just by using the tone knobs Quality: i have not had any problems with it at all, put together very well, good paint job, good harware Value: great buy for the price Manufacturer Support: i havent needed to contact fender about anything yet, nothings gone wrong yet The Wow Factor: nothing special, but it does have some nice features, like the humbucker, that you dont get on other strats Overall: i think i will have this guitar for quite a long time, it seems like it can take a lot wear and tear and it is very easy to change parts if i ever would need to

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"Awesome for all types of rock - Heavy Metal is another story" submitted October 23, 2005

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: Garage band

Music Style: Blues, All forms of Rock, Metal

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Sound: The sound on this guitar is great. The way that Fender designed it, you can play all different styles of music and still sound good. Except for metal and really-distorted stuff. I gave it a 9 because even though it's great for all kinds of rock, you might be better off with a guitar with EMG's if you're going to be playing a lot of metal. Feature: As far as guitars go, this thing has a lot of features. A five-way switch and two tone knobs make for many different settings on this guitar. Quality: Outstanding guitar. I've never had paint chip off of this thing, despite all the horrible things its been through. Take care of it and it will last you 20+ years. Just ask my neighbor. Value: Very, very good value. Mexican strats have all the same matierials as normal American strats, but they cost less because of where they're made. Manufacturer Support: Never had to deal with them, but I hear that they're very helpful. The Wow Factor: Very nice looking guitar, but it does look rather normal-ish. If you want to really stand out, you might invest in a cool graphic. However, my light blue finish is really quite beautiful. Overall: Excellent guitar for intermediates who want a good deal, or even beginners if they don't want to waste their time on Squiers. I am planning on getting another guitar for playing metal and heavy distorted stuff, but this one is great to play too. If you're thinking about buying it, you should be very satisfied with this guitar.

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"A well-played guitar with ann all-round sound." submitted March 2, 2008

By a customer from gmail.com

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Musical Background: Guitar addict.

Music Style: Heavy Metal, alternative, instrumental

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Sound: The sound of my Stratocaster just gets better the more i use it. I play Iron Maidenperfect, the sound there is amazing, with the pickups you can be Afrian Smith, and the humbucker for the smoother tones of Dave Murray. Not so good for metallica and slayer and the likes. Still, i even am satisfied with EJ songs with this product, Feature: Good tuning, it never has to be tuned, almost. E string (high) sometimes "Chokes", but that is rare. Ease of Use: It is so easy to play! It is a dream to play, and even sweeping is pretty good, Quality: It is made pretty well, but one of the tone knobs almost immediately fell off. Value: You get more than you pay for. Manufacturer Support: Never tried it.. The Wow Factor: I have, so obviously..It is the best first guitar i could ever had. Overall: The best is the playability. But i am unhappy with the tone knob..

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"I like my fat strat!" submitted September 7, 2006

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Musical Background: hobbyist

Music Style: blues, rock, classic rock

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

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Sound: The sound is great. You get that fender sparkle and spank with the single coils (especially with the maple fretboard)and the humbucker is surprisingly hot. I do play through a marshall though so that helps. The sustain isn't quite as good as my epi les paul, but the sound is sharper. Feature: Would be nice if it came with a hard case. Ease of Use: The med jumbo frets making sliding slightly less smooth then on my epi les paul. Slows me down just a hair. Quality: No complaints so far. Value: great value, plays as well as anything I've played. Manufacturer Support: haven't dealt with them but the warranty stuff looks ok The Wow Factor: Its a fender strat man! Overall: I'll probably have this one a while.

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"A little mod goes along way" submitted April 27, 2005

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Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: rock

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Sound: I replaced the standard pickups with: SD split rail/neck, fast track 1/ middle, X2n/bridge. SD and fast track are a little thin, but the X2N kicks butt. Of course I had to modify the pickgaurd to accept a bucker. Next move is either Dimarzio SDS-1 or X2N in the middle. Feature: Not bad. Someone told me the Mexicans cross the border to make American Strats Quality: well built Value: 300 bucks for a 400 dollar guitar Manufacturer Support: N/A The Wow Factor: No comparison

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"Is Like Every Hot Girl Youve Ever Seen In Your Life, All Rolled In To One." submitted July 12, 2004

By a customer from hotmail.com

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Music Style: Punk, Pop Rock, And Other Bits And Bob's Like That

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Sound: The Sound Is Amazing !!! The HumBuckers Sound Just Amazing On My Fender Champ 110 Amp. I Was Going To Get Some New Pic Up's For It But Now I've Herd It It I Dont See The Pont !!! Feature: No Accessories To Speek Of A-part From The Wammi Bar. Quality: To Be Fair I've Only Had It A Week But It Seems To Be Very Very Good Quality. I Cant UnderSatnd Why Any One Would Want To Buy An Amercan One More Money Just So You Know Its Been Made In The U.S.A. Who Cares! Value: It Just Damm Good. No Problems At All And For The Price Is Amazing Manufacturer Support: I Sent A Eamil To Fender And All Of 2 Munits Later I Had A Reply !!!! The Wow Factor: This Is Not In Any Way The Date Your Mum Sets Up For You With Next Doors Daughter Who Looks Like There Son !! No This Is Every Hot Girl Youve Ever Seen In Your Life, All Rolled In To One. Who Needs A Flash Car To Pull Girls Just Walk Down The Stree With One Ove These Babyes (Mines In Sage Green Matalic) And Damm You'd Have A Chick On Any Thing That Could Hang On To !!! Overall: Just Good. No, Very Good. No, Very Very Good. No, Very Very Very... Well You Get The Point

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"Fender Strat - My New Obession" submitted February 11, 2005

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Sound: i give it a 7 because the stock pickups are pretty decent, but it sounds great now after i had them replaced. Feature: 5-selector switch, 3 of which i use. two tone controls I never use. Quality: looks like it's built beautifully. get it set up after you buy it because most likely intonation and fret buzz will be bad. Value: talked the price down to $400. i don't regret that one bit. Manufacturer Support: havent dealt with them yet The Wow Factor: i love the sound and feel fender. Overall: This is a big jump from my Ibanez RX. I was a unsure at first when I played this at the store and bought it. I took it home and i was feeling a lil insecure and regretful, but as soon as I spent some money to get it adjusted and had pickups replaced I fell in love with this guitar. I can't go a day without playing it. This guitar is driving me nuts! If you love the feel and sound of strat, you should get this. It has become my new obsession..

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"Good for Beginners (only)" submitted November 13, 2004

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Musical Background: Metal-God

Music Style: Heavy Metal

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Sound: real good sound, nice and clean and great acoustic sound too Feature: why no 24 frest????:'( Quality: i have banged it against walls, dropped it, used the whammy bar till ut was exhausted and still hasn't failed Value: this guitar is great for beginners, but once you pass that line youll find yourself lusting for an ESP or a Jackson (NO 24 FRETS!!!!) :'( Manufacturer Support: hevnt used it yet

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"A guitar for all occasions." submitted October 13, 2004

By a customer from mission-automation.com

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Musical Background: Weekend Gigger

Music Style: Rock/Blues

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Sound: The humbucker gives it a solid, biting growl for rock/blues leads, while the single coils provide the classic strat sound. I've got a Les Paul Classic '75 and a Strat HM, love them both, but this axe does it all. Feature: Sounds, sounds, and more sounds. The pickup selector gives you just the right mix of tone/volume from just the right pickups. Quality: Needed to change the factory setting of the tremelo, but everything sets up nice and works well. Value: You can't find another guitar like this for $400. Manufacturer Support: Never had a problem, so don't know. The Wow Factor: This is a super looking guitar... I got the agave blue and it is awesome! Overall: I'll keep this guitar and give it to my son way on down the line.

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