Anyone played one of these?

Phrasemaker

Phrasemaker

New member
Anyone here got any hands on experience with the Fender American Special Stratocaster HSS? I don't own a Strat and I'm considering getting one like the image below. I don't want to break the bank, I do want an American built instrument and this seems to fit the bill, especially with the humbucker at the bridge so I'll have plenty of punch for lead work. I also like how it looks in this colour combination. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks

Tim Strat.jpg
 
Everyone (except Greg) should own at least one Strat. That one looks nice.

Can you split the humbucker? That would be something nice to have to get that traditional single coil bridge Stratocaster sound....other than that, I'd recommend trying to audition the guitars in person, if possible.
 
My friend has a Deluxe HSS from last year - with the S1 and fast pass switch and maple neck. It also has a roller bridge, N3's and locking tuners. Cost him 1700 new. Worth every penny. If I ever need another Strat it's high on the list.
 
No you can't split the humbucker and I appreciate that it would be a good option to have that option available. I only own one other guitar with single coil pickups, though I do have an LP with coil tap on both pickups. This Strat model ticks every other box for me so I can probably live without that option, or mod it or get another one with all singles if the need becomes such. Yes I'll go play one or two first just to be sure. Thank you, much appreciated.
 
Thanks ido, I'll check out that model, though it's probably more money than I can justify at this time, however I could hang on a bit if the model you mention grabs me in a big way.
 
He was shopping for a Strat and it was between that and a Clapton. As I own a Clapton that was my recommendation - even after playing it in the store. BUT he bought it for the variety - I think it has 9 different pickup combinations. After he got the one he ordered (different color) and I played it a couple of times I really liked it.
 
Looks good Phrasemaker.
I don't have anything else to offer though as I don't have one or any sortof strat for that matter. Let us know which way you go.
 
Ok, I played one today albeit in black which wasn't to my eye as appealing as the one in the pic. Hooked it up to an AC15 it met my expectations and probably more. The neck pickup had an almost glass like transparency on the clean amp setting, playing just into a crunch setting sounded great on every pickup selection, the sustain from the neck when the amp was driven was pretty awesome up to around 12th fret and quite handy there after, not quite like an LP in the higher registers but certainly superb and maybe better than LP lower down. Obviously it takes more than half an hour to acquaint one's self with an instrument but first impressions pretty much sold me this model. ido, I downloaded the PDF from Fender and scanned the wiring diagram, it would be easy enough to split the humbucker, perhaps I'll fit a push/pull replacing one of the tone pots to enable that option. I don't want to alter how it looks in any way and as I probably won't live long enough for it to become a seriously sought after item, swapping a pot and adding a couple of wires is not an issue, I'd keep any displaced parts and not chop wires about. Ray, I'll certainly offer some feedback if I get one, I've had a mad start to the year in many ways, hence my lack of participation here and most other places beyond work. Things are getting back to normal slowly so hopefully some time to catch up everywhere.

Many thanks

Tim
 
Got it today, having played it a little it obviously needs a full set up once acclimatised. Action is too high for my taste. I'll post my impressions once I get it how I want it.

Stratocaster.jpg
 
Thanks Wish14. Today, I spent a couple of hours setting it up. Got the truss rod tension how I wanted it, set the height of each string and got the intonation pretty close. I noticed before I started tweaking an issue with the G string beating, even after re tuning a number of times, it was still present after the set up. Lowering the pickups cured it straight away. I then set at a combination of heights which suits my taste, being a balance between sustain and volume and tonal balance across the strings. Up until this point I wasn't especially impressed and the set up wasn't going to alter that feeling.

I have to admit that I was ignorant in respect of a Strat sound and I hold my hands up wonder why I have never taken the time to pick one up and see what I get out of it in a fully engaged way. It's been my loss as I now realise that certain sounds I've tried to recreate on other guitars belong to this instrument. It sounds daft that a person could play for years and listen to a fair bit of music and not become aware just how much some tones only come from a Strat. Iv'e been on it for a couple of hours tonight and have to say I love it. Once settled I'll check everything and make some small adjustments and then just play it. Well chuffed.
 
A couple of weeks in with the Strat, still impressed with it and have found some of its limitations as well as the areas where it excels. The main thing I'm happy about is the way it sounds through small to medium output valve amps for studio use. It seems that a few guitars I've bought lately have the pickups set quite high to the extent the amount of sustain when played at sociable amp levels is hindered by the magnetic pull from the pickups. When played loud through a bigger amp and cabinet it's not an issue as the resonance from the sound pressure produced assists. I have concluded that this instrument is never going to sustain like the LP studio pro I used as a point of reference when playing frets 10 upward.

It's possible that it's just my individual Strat, I'll find out when I get another US, made variant at some time. I did experiment a whole lot with many aspects of the set up when hunting down the best sustain I could achieve while preserving the tonality I like. It is what it is, basically a range of sounds I have been missing out on which will provide some great recording options, or use for playing out.

SofaStrat.jpg
 
Nice review. Thanks for sharing.

Don't be afraid to lower the pickups if you think they are too close to the strings. It might just need a little tweak.

Enjoy!
 
Thanks Wish14, I got the pickups lowered to the point at which the sustain is best for my application, I'll get another US strat with all single coils this time to keep it company when I've saved up again. Got my eye on this one.

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HI I got a 2009 American HSS strat. It is a beautiful instrument. I just wish I had bought one without the bridge humbucker. For live it is really great having the hum as it gives you more flexibility of songs you can play with it, but I would have liked to get a single coil one.
 
Hello Ray, it's a bit of a tale of woe so far this year. Work has been really busy and the wife has had me making furniture and decorating. Hence a lack of time to knuckle down in the studio. Things are getting less manic now so I have planned some recording over the coming weeks which will give me a chance to see how the strat comes across in a track or two. I hope all is good with you Ray, I'll be in touch.

ex351d,

I absolutely see where you are coming from in respect of the humbucker at the bridge. I do intend to get another strat with all singles so I have that option. I've mostly played Gibson guitars and a mix of other instruments with humbuckers over the years albeit I had a big break from playing music due to some interesting life circumstances in-between. Having had a few negative experiences with some pretty poor strat variants ect when I was younger swayed me to stick with what I knew. I recently had the opportunity to play a decent strat and found it delivered a sound I really like. My thinking has been that I'd get the American special with the humbucker as it would still have the bridge option I'm more familiar with. I also considered that I could always coil tap it if required by instigating a small mod to the wiring and the fitting of a push pull pot. However I've been pretty blown away by the instrument so have decided to compliment it with another US strat with all single coils and not mess with the one I have now. I have settled on the vintage white instrument shown in one of the pictures I have on this thread. I'll add to this post once I have it and offer some thoughts on how it compares. It's loaded with custom shop fat 50's as opposed to the Texas specials on the one I currently have.

Many thanks

Tim
 
As has been suggested in respect of the HSS I began this thread with, a single coil option at the bridge is a useful one. I tried a few and settled on this one. It's immaculate as a new instrument should be, though will likely need a few tweaks in the set up department once it's settled in to my environment. I'll give a more detailed review as I did with the HSS once I've become fully acquainted with it. The strap inclusion is a nice touch as it matches the instrument which saves me searching one out.

Many thanks for the input and advice, appreciated.

Tim

WSTRAT.jpg
 
I've now had a chance to do a basic set up on the second Strat. Like the HSS it needed some major adjustment although this time it was because the action was way too low. Having got the HSS pretty close to ideal for my playing style I pretty much replicated all the measurements on the FSR. Firstly the truss rod to get the curve of the neck settled, I measured the gap between strings and frets all the way along the neck on both instruments and carefully adjusted then played, adjusted and so on until the curve matched the neck on the HSS. I then moved to the saddles and again having done the HSS I set the string heights to the radius of the neck using the measurements of the HSS. On the HSS I worked out the height of the strings using a combination of finding the point at which fret buzz kicked in when played with some intent on the lower three strings and raising each until it was no longer present. This gave me a rough formula which I applied to the upper three strings and then it was a matter of personal preference in respect of feel to make fine adjustments.

The fat 50's on the FSR deliver a little more chime to my ear and seem to drive the amp a little harder when playing in a spirited way. The lacquer finish on the FSR is superb. According to Fender the undercoating on the particular FSR model is thinner than usual to allow more body resonance. The only visual difference seems to be that I can just barely see the undulation of the harder and softer features of the wood when looking across the surface at certain angles in good light. The vintage white is damn difficult to really capture with a digital camera as they seem to think the know best when deciding on white balance, but I got it fairly close on body image here. The hard case is great, I bought a tweed genuine Fender case for the HSS which obviously is nicer than the one which the FSR came with but I have no complaints with the case it looks fairly bombproof.


2.jpg1.jpg
 
Nice guitars, Tim! See you also (me too) have a Schecter Guitar Research bass. What is that gorgeous maple top acoustic? Pics please!!!
 
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