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I researched and read all reviews on this product. Although I am always going to local guitar center and trying out these guitars and already new what a great high quality guitar this strat is. I said that I was going to guitar center to check out guitars, but I buy my instruments at zZounds who makes it easy with pay as you play plan to purchase quality instruments. I have bought 2 banjos and 3 guitars from zZounds and am well pleased with all five purchases. But we're talking about the American special strat and just picking up this guitar you realize the quality of this guitar. I still believe that an American strat is still the best guitar made. The guitar sounds great and makes practice a whole lot of fun. I am definitely a fender stratocaster fan. I am bias. Love this guitar.

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Not a bad deal for an american strat. .. Im loving the HSS setup... It seems finding a new guitar that you know is not only going to age correctly, but may even get better as you play it is getting harder and harder to come by... Even if said guitar has a high end name on it... I feel like I got lucky with this one... Buying a guitar like this can be an intimidating investment... Considering your ordering one you have never seen or much less played... I took a leap of faith... I am glad that I did... zZounds is such a great company.. Especially when it comes to returns and making it right... Kudos to them... Finding a company with great prices... Easy payment plans...... And integrity?!?...... Shoot!! Next to impossible these days... Don't you agree? If you're looking hard enough to read this review... That means you're seriously thinking about this buy... Go for it! No risk, no reward... And the juice is definitely worth the squeeze on this model...

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Ordering through zZounds was painless and dealing with their customer service was a breeze. They answered emails promptly and answered all my questions. Now, the guitar. My 1st American Special Strat arrived when promised but I was disappointed as it wouldn't stay in tune and the intonation couldn't be corrected even after following Fender's guide and videos. The low E string saddle screw was stripped and fell out. I was a little concerned about the quality considering it was an American made Strat. Contacted zZounds and was given a return label and shipped my guitar out. As soon as they got confirmation It was received by UPS, my new American Special Strat was sent 2 day. My 2nd Strat arrived as promised and has been flawless out of the box. Great sound and action. Pleased so far with my choice. I'm giving it 4 stars for quality because of the first Strat that was far from stellar but the second is great.

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This is the first Strat that was perfect out of the box since I bought my Clapton in 2003. I bought the American Standard HSS a year ago with the Fat 50s and I like this one much more. The Texas Special singles and Atomic Hum. is the most balanced HSS configuration that I have played. If I had bought this a year ago, I would not have purchased the Standard. The only thing that slightly bothers me is that the middle pickup does not have a tone control, just the neck and bridge has a tone. However, the middle still sounds great and combined with the neck and bridge, the tone can be tweaked just fine. Don't let the Texas Heat fool you. You can still get the clean, sweet, bell and chime by bumping the volume down to 8. SRV knew what he was doing and this thing will raise the hair on the back of your neck. I may have gotten the one in a million but I seriously have zero buzz in this thing. It doesn't sound or play like an entry level American Strat. I strongly suggest saving the money and buying this over the American Standard.

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Just purchased a blemish model at a real nice discount from Zzounds. Very nice guitar.The finish is flawless and I really like pickups.Plenty of brightness but with more midrange bight than the 50s pickups.The guitar had really high action when I got it but Adjusted the bridge by screwing it almost flat and slightly tightened the truss rod and it’s fine now.I agree with one reviewer that said there was buzzing on the high registers.I will eventually check the frets and maybe sand them down a little but not a huge issue.The neck plays really nice.Shallow “c” with no sharp fret ends and the jumbo frets are easy to bend.The Greasebucket circuit works really well. Using the neck pickup and tone on about 6 or 7 gives you a really warm jazz sound.Is the guitar perfect?No, but with some minor tweaks it plays and sounds and looks great.I honestly can’t find anything wrong with this blemish and got it for about $400 more than my Squier Strat and it’s a much much better guitar.Gig bag is ok but so what.It does it’s job and keeps the cost down.I may eventually buy the maple neck model as well.BTW mine is SSS not H in the bridge.

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I purchased this Strat because of the price. It has a few features that are obviously there for cost cutting reasons like the gig bag instead of a hard case, no Schaller strap locks included and a vintage style bridge. Those features have no real affect on build or sound quality.

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I have owned several Strats over the yrs, MIJ, MIM, Americ,an standard, American deluxe so I have a good idea what I want when it comes to Strats. On this purchase I looked at them all. The American special has the 22 jumbo frets that I wanted (slightly bigger than the medium jumbos on most other models), they make string bends very smooth. It also has HSS with two Texas Specials which I already knew would gibe me sweet tone since they came on my American Linestar yrs ago. Wasn't sure about the Atomic humbucker but after playing with it for a couple of months I am very happy with it, I had originally planned on swapping it out for a super distortion or pearly gates but it has turned out to be way better than I thiught it would be, so it's staying. Thought the bridge was cool looking, has the vintage look to match the headstock but figured it would probably be a headache with these standard tuners. I have been shocked by how well it works (very smooth) and stays in tune. Had planned on installing locking tuners but there is no need for that. When I got the guitar the setup sucked, was way off with fret buzz and choked notes all up and down the fretboard. Spent about three hrs dialing it in and was able to dial it in right were I want it. I am extremely happy with this guitar, plays great, sounds sweet and looks cool. This thing has really good sustain also, aim the humbucker at your amp and it will feedback as much as you want. Clean as can been also, I prefer the Texas specials for clean tone and for some reason this guitar seems more "alive" for lack of a better word. Idk, maybe its the large headstock or the single action truss rod but chords ring out longer than on my other Strats. Very happy with this guitar.

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I ordered a "blemished" guitar on line for my son's 18th birthday. It came within a few days and it's absolutely beautiful!!! He loves it, is playing it now as I type this. I saved over $300 on this guitar and it's just phenomenal. So I highly recommend ZZounds. I wrote them back and forth before I bought the guitar since it's a little scary buying something "blemished" sight unseen and they responded promptly every time. I have no idea what the blemish is, but we sure never found it. So, thank you again, we will definitely be purchasing from this store in the future.

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I’ve spent the last year ordering and returning guitars from this zZounds (which they’ve been super cool about, by the way), in search of the perfect guitar for me and my musical needs. I just received this beautiful Strat, and immediately it blows every other guitar I’ve had out of the water. As soon as I got it out of the box I played it for about four hours straight and wrote one of the most awesome riffs of my entire musical career. This thing has a soul of its own. A Strat will bond with and adapt to its owner like a loyal dog. If you’re searching for the perfect guitar like I’ve been, let me save you some time... buy a Strat. Any genre or style of music, a Strat will be your best friend. Although if you’re more of a metal/hard rock player, it could benefit from a pickup swap. But either way, can’t beat a Strat.

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I am completely impressed and blown away with this excellent sounding and playing axe. I am 42 years old and have been playing since I was about 12 years old. I learned how to play on a Squire Strat and have been playing mainly Les Pauls for more than 20 years now. For a while now I have wanted another Strat and as luck would have it, I got this beauty for Christmas ( thanks to the wife). Mine is the black on black and it is a beauty. The atomic humbucker in this guitar is in my opinion very under rated. It can do metal to hard rock to blues very easily. Hate to admit it but it can stand up to my Les Paul with not much effort. The Texas specials can clean up very nice and get pretty dirty all the same. Put the switch in the middle and get very close to vintage Strat tone ( not perfect but very close). The thing that impresses me the most is the neck. Maybe it is because of how long it has been since I have played a Strat, but I have got to say this guitars neck is lightning fast and as smooth velvet ! I play through a Marshall DSL 40C and a Peavey Vypr 75 watt , I play everything from Metallica to Garth Brooks and this guitar does it all well. The more I play the more I like, I really cannot say enough. Zzounds were great throughout my ( wife's) purchase and shipping was very quick. Buy this guitar while Fender still makes it at this price , you WILL NOT regret it ! I gave the manufacture support 5 stars but I honestly cannot answer that because I have not had to deal with that.

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I was looking for a guitar with balance. After much consulting with friends and other guitar players I finally played four different guitars . I was searching for clarity and clean tones but wanted the ability to play rhythm with warm feel. I tried a epiphone lespaul, a fender American standard statocaster, a Mexican strat HSS, and this American HSS special. And honestly, this guitar won my heart. The epiphone was too muddy. The American standard strat was warm, but not hot enough, not bright like I wanted. But the Mexican came close, weird I know. After it all, the American Special took it. I'm not an expert, I'm still a beginning guitarist, but I've played bass over 8 years and I know what type of sound I want.

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I really love this guitar. I could not have done a better purchase with the amount of money that I paid for it. I would truly recommend this guitar to everyone. There is surely better strats than this one but this baby is a warrior. It can play virtually any style of music, specially since it has those humbuckers for extra power. I am super happy with this guitar.

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I owned a 1962 fender jaguar. this strat comes as close to it as any. but being a newer fender of course the sound is different . better sound than the jaguar I owned plays great out of the box. there is just too many good thing to say about this strat to mention. I could write a review all day. just purchase it and you will see. it is a keeper so far for me. have not had to contact fender that's why 1 star.

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Bought this guitar from zzounds it was shipped crazy fast and looked perfect out of the box. The factory set action was a little high for my taste but, after a little adjustment i couldn't be happier. I normally tend to swap out pickups in strats but, this one with the texas specials and the atomic humbucker is just perfect. I even sold my other strat because i knew it would never be played again. I played this guitar and a American standard and liked the special better. I am super happy with my purchase and with zzounds A++ for them Thank you zzounds for doing exactly what you say you will. I will definitely buy again!

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I would say this was the guitar along with my fender nashville deluxe are all guitars i will nmeed for a long time, I just wished ZZounds would carry fender roland ready guitars try and get these please;