The following commemorative 50th Anniversary strats are new @ Swee Lee:
American Series (List: $2,100)
American Deluxe (List 2,600)
I’ve tested both these guitars out- thumbs up!
The Am Series strat is a very sensible offering, I’m attracted to it more after hearing its tone in action. The pickups on offer here are the
Custom Shop Vintage 1954 s/c which sounds very intimidating driven & immaculate clean. It’s a departure from the default Am Series units, which I suspect, has some midrange trimmed off, hence a little nasal in certain combo. If your life depends on clean tones, this strat won’t let you down as I’ve found out after plugging it into a Fender Twin amp- crisp, crystal clear clean tones. IMO, Fender’s clean tones at its best. As I’m a drive enthusiast, I was obliged to check these pickups out at high gain & they deliver loads! Humbucking guitars would be shamed by the mid + bridge combo, which can pull off metals riffs easily. The neck & bridge pickups on their own are darlings for single note clarity. Even at the upper frets, the neck unit didn’t mud-out.
Feel-wise, this commemorative strat was a breeze to play. The neck is
slimmed down a tad to faithfully recreate the ‘50s profile & it’s shred friendly, with sufficient chunk to please the avid benders among us. Every other detail is in accordance to the modern spec of the Am Series offering, less the pickguard. This is where I think Fender missed the point & dished out a mark of confusion- it’s
single ply. Yes, you’d say it’s commemorating the ‘50s strat which sports such a pickuguard back then, but the hardware on this guitar are modern attributes. In any case it misplaced its true manifestation of itself- vintage/ modern? Identity crisis aside, this strat gets my nod of approval, the best modern strat I’ve tried thusfar.
Moving on to the Deluxe, it’s not a cosmetic superior of the Am Series in any way despite the gold hardware & abalone dot inlays suggesting just that. This strat is
alder (Am Series = Ash), tuners are
locking, pickups are the
Noiseless models & it sports the much anticipated
S-1 switching system. With this in mind, it’s no susprise that the palette of tones on offer here differ form the Am Series model. Some of us would revere the Noiseless pickups, they sound clear & dynamic as the afore-mentioned Custom Shop 1954s, but less intimidating in the treble spectrum. Putting the S-1 switch into action, it beefed up the single coil tones per se & offer a series connection for certain selections (eg: mid + neck), hence making the strat a humbucker intimidator to say the least.
The neck profile of the Deluxe also differs from the Am Series, it’s slightly beefier & rounder, a very comfy overall feel. The alder body also makes the Deluxe less hefty.
Conclusion
I like both these strats, they reward the reserved & more outgoing players simultaneously with the features on offer. At the end of the day, the individual will decide whether they’d invest $500 more on the Deluxe version as it all boils down to taste, needs & preference.
A little caution on the S-1 switching system: Upon activation, it gives a
volume boost but at this level, it sounds as loud as the Am Series which is devoid of the system. If there’s a wiring anomaly with the model I tried, then I sincerely hope it’s a unique case. All in all, two fantastic offers from Fender, commemorating perhaps the most fantastic electric guitar ever made. I’m still a little sore about the finish- these are only available in sunburst… but will get one anyway. Also, the package comes with the book ‘The Stratocaster Chronicles’. 8)
PS: For those who have tried/ bought these investment pieces, please offer some comments. Thanks!
