50's strat.

[John M]

Any feedback from members on the fender 50's strat... fiesta red with chrome hardware retailing around the £450 mark.
It looks tempting as a backup.
I assume its a made in Mexico job at that price but any info would be appreciated.
Spotted one today in a Glasgow dealer, but was pushed for time so didnt have the chance to investigate further.

john m.

[RUSSET]

I have a mate who has an F.Red Fender Mex 'Classic Series' Strat, like you mention. It is a great guitar & very well made. It's the Mex version of the USA Vintage Reissue series & has Alnico magnet pickups. It's also easy to upgrade with classier hardware & pickups if you want to go that route. If you want an even less expensive option, there's the Squier Classic Vibe 'Simon Neil' Biffy Clyro Strat in F.Red at around £260, although this has a Rosewood board, so is more of a '60s version.

Tony.

[steve.t]

Hi john, i`ve got the 50`s classic & for the price they are good tho i notice they`ve gone up in price abit. i got mine last year for £389. As tony has mentioned, i did an upgrade with fender 57/62pups & gold h/ware & she looks & plays great, but still a good guitar upgraded or not. enjoy.
steve.

[George Geddes]

Yes, the Simon Neil Squier is indeed a fine guitar (without the need to add 'for the money' but that too). As my preference both visually and for playing is a rosewood 'board, my Japanese Hank Marvin Sig. model is now relegated to backup. But I'm not selling it, John, for reasons you know...

Why not try a Burns?

George

[cshore58]

HI I bought one last year it is a great guitar made in Ameica assembled in Mexico.
I've upgraded the pick ups to Toneriders Vintage and changed the capacitor and the scratchplate to a pearly one.
Looking at the pick ups that came off it they are the same as what was on my Hank Marvin signature strat before I put on Kinmans.
I now use this on every gig.

[John M]

I decided to go for it.
Purchased it on Thursday evening after a quick test in the store.
WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!
On getting home I fired up the amp ready to bash thru some numbers.
A quick test of the tuning showed it needed some adjustment...so that done, off I went, or so I thought.
After just a few picks of the strings it went out of tune.
No issues here... new strings.. just need a little stretching to settle them in..nope!
After another few picks of the strings they were now going sharp!
Using the trem bar (which was quite loose for a new guitar) only made the problem worse.
Strings would go sharp then go flat.
The problem is probably the nut not letting the strings move freely, allied with the bridge not settling properly after a bend up or down.
Its a nice body and neck but if the thing wont play properly, its not fit for purpose.
Its going back Monday.

Gave my thoughts To George Geddes this morning... he reckons I'm just unlucky...must be a (late) Friday afernoon job.

[kipper]

hi i find when i buy a new or used guitar and bring it home it always seems to need a couple days to settle down. i also found i needed to settle down and get to know the guitar. if thats the expectation and excitment over the new or used guitar i dont know but give it a couple days. peter

[petercreasey]

hi i find when i buy a new or used guitar and bring it home it always seems to need a couple days to settle down. i also found i needed to settle down and get to know the guitar. if thats the expectation and excitment over the new or used guitar i dont know but give it a couple days. peter

....And lubricate the nut with pencil lead

[neil2726]

Had mine a few months now. I tightened the trem spings a bit and bent the arm to suit me, I find Strat trems far to high to hold comfortably . It stays in perfect tune, nice to play. May think of updating the pick ups though. Think its prob because Im a Burns man and the Strat sounds a bit thin!

[Mike Honey]

Oh dear, wish i had a pound, or a euro for every time i've heard this tale of woe. when you visit a music shop give it a good workout. Its your money and the shop owner wants it. he wont mind what you do (perhaps best not to take the neck off!) Detune the guitar,retune, verify the machineheads work ok etc etc. I have never bought a guitar from a shop that couldnt be improved. Ok if its a pigs ear dont buy it but at least if the basics are there dont give up on it. For gigging i use two strats, 1 US and 1 Mex ,my backup guitar was bought from french ebay for 30 euros but after giving it a decent set-up and changing the pick-ups for some more to my liking it plays fine. The money you pay for a guitar is not always a guarantee of its quality. there are lots of stories around about the friday afternoon fenders!!

Mike