Fender Deluxe Fat Strat - opinions?

[deathofamind]

I'm somewhat of a beginner at guitar playing... I've been playing for about two years, and I have very basic beginner's gear. But now that I sort of know what I'm doing, I think it's time for an upgrade.

I've been playing on a Yamaha EG112. It's your basic strat copy with a H/S/S pickup configuration. The pickups have become noisy over time, and there are probably other problems that I don't even know about. You see, I haven't taken very good care of it.

But now that I'm getting serious about this stuff, I'd like to upgrade. I'm looking for something that is very versatile, because I play a variety of styles (well, I try to). I did a little reading, and I think the H/S/S configuration is probably what's best for me. So I started looking at the Fender Standard Fat Strat, which is around $400. But for around $490 I can get the Deluxe version, which supposedly has better pickups! I looked up some user reviews online, and the number one complaint about the Standard Fat Strat was that the pickups weren't the best. So the Deluxe model seems like the natural choice to me.

Does it sound like I'm making the right decision? I don't have a fortune to spend.

And any comments on the version with the Floyd Rose Tremolo? I don't use a trem bar much at all, but for the extra $50 maybe I should get it anyway. You know, just in case I ever want to use it. Okay, time for a stupid beginner's question... normal tremolo bars are only able to tilt one way (like on my piece of crap Yamaha). Well, the Floyd Rose Tremolo means that it's able to tilt both ways, right? I played a Jackson guitar like that once, and I just wanna make sure I'm understanding this right.

Thanks!

 

[64Firebird]

Your POS Yamaha just might be a better guitar than you think. Have you ever looked under the pickguard? What you want to see under there is a differant hole for each pickup. The new Fenders have one BIG hole for all three and it kills the tone IMHO. If your guitar has the 3 holes then it very well could be a better guiter than any of the new Fenders except some of the costom shop models.

Before you buy a new one, take it to a guitar tech and ask about you problems. While your there, have him set it up for you. You may find that you like the old guitar after all.

 

[mrbigputts]

A floating tremlo is one that will go both ways. As far as the Fat Strat and the Delux Fat Strat I dont know I haven't played both of them recent enough to tell ya but you could buy the Fat Strat and upgrade the pickups later....that would save you some money up front. Just a suggestion.

 

[chair_guy]

if you've played both and YOU can't hear the difference, I'd say you should go with saving the money, if the difference bothers you later, you could always change the pickups then.

 

[Clive Hugh]

I'll go with the others, most of us are guitar or gear pack rats, I have had 27 guitars over the years and with the brilliance of hind sight I should have kept the first one and just changed the pickups, 42 years of countless gigs later the action is not really any better, and shit I could have paid my mortgage off.

Get a good tech to set it up and then put some custom pickups and pots in, there was a really good posting some time back about Bill Lawrence pickups, you can check his website, and don't forget Dimarzio, I've had a great run with them.

Good luck, and keep playing.