Otis '71
02-12-2006, 02:28 AM
Well a week ago i bought an "American Series" brand new Strat (sunburst rosewood)...what i was playing before that was a black Mexi Strat which is a "classic"...i thought well what i really want is the higher quality American version of this...in the store i asked for a regular basic American Strat and was directed to the "American Series".
now don't get me wrong...the "American Series" that i had for a week was/is a wonderful guitar...i posted a number of questions about it on the web and the responses all were positive...but i thought to myself, "this is not like my old "Mexi Classic" in look and feel' and not like the ones in the old rock pics of my hero's"...the bridge was different (and i must say it stayed in tune quite well even when using the tremelo alot), but most importantly the neck had a totally different feel to me , i believe it is contoured on the edges slightly, for playing ease but this just always gave me the feeling (because i just simply was not used to this), that my high "e" would run out of sidewalk and slip off the fret board all together....but still i loved the sound and it was a high quality instrument...hmmm...what to do.
Today i finally gave in though...i went back to the store and exchanged it... i put down the extra downpayment money and had the monthly rate adjusted in order to walk out with the "Fender Vintage '62 series Stratocaster"...and now i feel like i finally have what i have wanted my whole life (well since i was a little kid and saw George Harison playing one and Jimi and Dylan)...the case is classic fancy (as opposed to the contoured piece of crap of a case the "American Series" unfortunately comes with ) Fender ...my only regret is the Fender logo is missing from the side of the case and is only on the handle area, hardly a big deal though...the bridge comes with an ashtray and is the same old classic Strat bridge (as the name suggests it is a spec by spec reproduction of the classic '62...the classic '57 is also available but i prefer rosewood and have always like the '62 in particular)...most importantly though i don't feel as though my "e" strings will slip off the neck due to subtle sleek contouring of the neck done to the new series...i'm sure new and old Strat players alike will love that feature but for me it was just weird....
Do you have either or both of these guitars or have played them at the store etc.?...got any comments?...got any opinions of the "Vintage Series Strats"?...please reply...thanks
Cheers - Otis
now don't get me wrong...the "American Series" that i had for a week was/is a wonderful guitar...i posted a number of questions about it on the web and the responses all were positive...but i thought to myself, "this is not like my old "Mexi Classic" in look and feel' and not like the ones in the old rock pics of my hero's"...the bridge was different (and i must say it stayed in tune quite well even when using the tremelo alot), but most importantly the neck had a totally different feel to me , i believe it is contoured on the edges slightly, for playing ease but this just always gave me the feeling (because i just simply was not used to this), that my high "e" would run out of sidewalk and slip off the fret board all together....but still i loved the sound and it was a high quality instrument...hmmm...what to do.
Today i finally gave in though...i went back to the store and exchanged it... i put down the extra downpayment money and had the monthly rate adjusted in order to walk out with the "Fender Vintage '62 series Stratocaster"...and now i feel like i finally have what i have wanted my whole life (well since i was a little kid and saw George Harison playing one and Jimi and Dylan)...the case is classic fancy (as opposed to the contoured piece of crap of a case the "American Series" unfortunately comes with ) Fender ...my only regret is the Fender logo is missing from the side of the case and is only on the handle area, hardly a big deal though...the bridge comes with an ashtray and is the same old classic Strat bridge (as the name suggests it is a spec by spec reproduction of the classic '62...the classic '57 is also available but i prefer rosewood and have always like the '62 in particular)...most importantly though i don't feel as though my "e" strings will slip off the neck due to subtle sleek contouring of the neck done to the new series...i'm sure new and old Strat players alike will love that feature but for me it was just weird....
Do you have either or both of these guitars or have played them at the store etc.?...got any comments?...got any opinions of the "Vintage Series Strats"?...please reply...thanks
Cheers - Otis