RYAN1987M
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2013
- Messages
- 190
- Reaction score
- 206
I just wanted to post this NGD Thread to share my new Fender FSR American Special Strat.　
I got it new from Long & McQuade (a Canadian Retailer) for what I thought was a very fair price. They were blowing these particular FSR American Specials out for $830 CDN. I did email Fender Customer Relations out of curiosity and learned that this particular guitar was built in October 2013 - so NOS I suppose. Anyhow, I was looking for a Strat and, as I said, this seemed like an unbeatable value (especially considering how our Canadian Dollar has weakened). As far as I can tell, the only thing that made this a 'FSR' was the fact that it came with a tort pickguard and a SSS pickup format combined with a rosewood board (for a time, I believe Fender was only producing SSS American Specials with maple boards). 　
For some context, I've noted the Canadian prices of various other Strat's (and used XE to convert the USD equivalent) - 　
MIM Standard Strat - $800 CDN ($613 USD)　
My Fender FSR American Special Strat - $830 CDN ($636 USD)　
MIM Classic Player Strat - $1,080 CDN ($828 USD)　
American Special Strat - $1,350 CDN ($1,035 USD)　
American Standard Strat - $1,760 CDN ($1,349 USD)　
Anyhow though, enough griping about exchange rates - time to talk about the guitar! So far, I'm loving this thing. I appreciate the aesthetic of the vintage-style 6-point tremolo combined with the feel of the modern string spacing. I've also always been a fan of jumbo frets. And, you know what else? I like the large '70s style headstocks. Phew, it's a relief to admit that in a public forum!　
I've had Strat's with Texas Specials before and although I think they're fine pickups, I did decide to swap out the pickups on this guitar. I acquired a loaded mint green pickguard from Porter Pickups. I chose the 1960's Strat set with the Emerson pre-wired assembly (with the bottom tone knob acting as a blender). These pickups sound superb - the quintessential Strat tone to my ears! They do the early '60s Strat thing perfectly. I always measure Strat pickups against my ideal Strat-tone - the clean intro of Pearl Jam's 'Yellow Ledbetter' - this set can do that beautifully (and so, so much more)!　
Long story short, I'm adoring this guitar. If I had to pick a single gripe, I'd choose the relative lightness of the rosewood board. This is to be expected though, seeing as how the guitar sat untouched for over two years. Luckily, I'll be able to easily remedy this as my oily fingers are going to be all over this one!
I got it new from Long & McQuade (a Canadian Retailer) for what I thought was a very fair price. They were blowing these particular FSR American Specials out for $830 CDN. I did email Fender Customer Relations out of curiosity and learned that this particular guitar was built in October 2013 - so NOS I suppose. Anyhow, I was looking for a Strat and, as I said, this seemed like an unbeatable value (especially considering how our Canadian Dollar has weakened). As far as I can tell, the only thing that made this a 'FSR' was the fact that it came with a tort pickguard and a SSS pickup format combined with a rosewood board (for a time, I believe Fender was only producing SSS American Specials with maple boards). 　
For some context, I've noted the Canadian prices of various other Strat's (and used XE to convert the USD equivalent) - 　
MIM Standard Strat - $800 CDN ($613 USD)　
My Fender FSR American Special Strat - $830 CDN ($636 USD)　
MIM Classic Player Strat - $1,080 CDN ($828 USD)　
American Special Strat - $1,350 CDN ($1,035 USD)　
American Standard Strat - $1,760 CDN ($1,349 USD)　
Anyhow though, enough griping about exchange rates - time to talk about the guitar! So far, I'm loving this thing. I appreciate the aesthetic of the vintage-style 6-point tremolo combined with the feel of the modern string spacing. I've also always been a fan of jumbo frets. And, you know what else? I like the large '70s style headstocks. Phew, it's a relief to admit that in a public forum!　
I've had Strat's with Texas Specials before and although I think they're fine pickups, I did decide to swap out the pickups on this guitar. I acquired a loaded mint green pickguard from Porter Pickups. I chose the 1960's Strat set with the Emerson pre-wired assembly (with the bottom tone knob acting as a blender). These pickups sound superb - the quintessential Strat tone to my ears! They do the early '60s Strat thing perfectly. I always measure Strat pickups against my ideal Strat-tone - the clean intro of Pearl Jam's 'Yellow Ledbetter' - this set can do that beautifully (and so, so much more)!　
Long story short, I'm adoring this guitar. If I had to pick a single gripe, I'd choose the relative lightness of the rosewood board. This is to be expected though, seeing as how the guitar sat untouched for over two years. Luckily, I'll be able to easily remedy this as my oily fingers are going to be all over this one!
