fender Lite Ash

[PennyroyalTea]

Anyone ever played one of these? Either the strat or tele? I am considering getting one, but I am not sure if I can find one close to me to test out.



I think I would want the tele, but I'm not against the strat.


any opinions?

[tone4days]

Re: fender Lite Ash

i am on a waiting list at two stores hoping to play one of these with the expectation that i'd get the tele if it looked, felt, and sound good .. they get pretty good reviews but the word seems to be that quality of the fretwork, nutwork, setup is hit or miss

let us know if you get your hands on one .. i'll do the same once i play one

cheers
t4d

[That90'sGuy]

Re: fender Lite Ash

I like the build, looks and unplugged tone of the tele a lot. I think it's a great instrument for the price. However, the AIIPro pickups, while making the Tele much warmer, kinda loses it's signature twang so I'd recommend replacing them with something else (unless you don't really want the natural sound of a tele).

[stratsandaks]

Re: fender Lite Ash

t4d,

I don't know if the Towson GC is too far away from you or not, but they have one on the rack with a really nice looking birdseye maple neck. I didn't play it, but it looked sweet.

[PennyroyalTea]

Re: fender Lite Ash

the closest guitar shop to me is fat sound guitars (Fat Sound ). And they only seem to carry very high end equipment... Ill have to search around some more.

[Mincer]

Re: fender Lite Ash

i tried the strat, very nice...i don't like the plain headstock that just says 'fender', or the fact that it was actually pretty heavy.

[tone4days]

Re: fender Lite Ash

t4d,

I don't know if the Towson GC is too far away from you or not, but they have one on the rack with a really nice looking birdseye maple neck. I didn't play it, but it looked sweet.

thanks S&A .. i am on their list - ******, those idiots didnt call me

i might swing up there tomorrow

thanks
cheers
t4d

[JimiHWannaBe]

Re: fender Lite Ash

played one it was alright but nothing special the nut really sucked on it wasnt a nice bone one and the figure on the "birdseye" maple neck is nothing like in the pictures online

[PennyroyalTea]

Re: fender Lite Ash

guess its more luck of the draw on getting a good one or not

[JimiHWannaBe]

Re: fender Lite Ash

i would suggest looking into used american strats if theres any good guitar store near you just go there and play every stratocaster and see which one you like the best

[Jeff_H]

Re: fender Lite Ash

I played the strat at a GC in Denver. I was impressed with the overall feel and appointments of the guitar. The frets on the one I played were well dressed, and the birdseye maple neck had some nice figuring to it. The APS pups were a nice treat also.

I was not pleased with the thick finish on the neck, but it wasn't horrid...just too thick for my taste. At a price of $699 it's an OK deal. You can pickup used Am Series strats for the same price or less. Fender is also running a $100 rebate on some of the strats. I played a 50th Anniversary Deluxe today in Ash that could have been had for $999.

I'd rather get the American Series and upgrade the pups, or even better IMO is the Hwy 1 strats....I like my Hwy 1 better than the Am Standard I owned.

[tone4days]

Re: fender Lite Ash

hey all, just got back from GC .. played a buncha teles - all with maple necks/boards ... will jot down my thoughts on each .. all were played through a tweed hot rod deluxe with jensen speaker

lite ash ... nice guitar ... the grain was not as 'figured' as the pic above .. all the grain was basically 'straight' lines, but clean and crisp ... the body finish was nicely uniform and not too thick ... moderately light weight ... the neck was lightly satin finished (almost unfinished in feeling) and small-ish feeling (i had been hoping for a 50's C shape), the frets were medium to slightly large (which was good - i feared it'd have the tiny little vintage frets) and dressed nicely, the nut was plastic and a little sloppily set .. the birdseye fingerboard was interesting, especially with the little knotty things and the abalone dots ... it too was either lightly satin finished or entirely unfinished ... no fretting out or buzzing anywhere i tried to play ...

the brass saddle bridge was nice, as were the sealed tuners .. looked very sturdy and probably would not need replaced ... the electronics were solidy attached and had no scratchiness when switching or turning the pots, might not need to replace these either unless they acted up over time

the SD AIIP pups were very good ... there was no height adjustment screws on the neck pup, so i dont know how/if one could change height ... i checked the clean sounds first ... the neck-only tone was reasonably full and warm without mud, but somewhat undistinctive - rolling down the tone, a usable jazzy tone that was better on single line licks than chords using the low E and A strings as root ... the bridge only tone was MUCH louder and had a nice snap to it with pretty nice warmth where "the icepick" might be expected ... that said, there was tons of highs and 'sting' when using right hand fingerstyle instead of plectrum ... the middle (both) position was also very cool with a twangy, quacky, spank readily evident .- this was probably my favorite overall position on this guitar .. was nice to have three distinct and usable clean tones .. i probably wouldnt chord with the neck only, but would with the other two .. i probably wouldnt arpeggiate pretty first position / open string chords with the bridge only, but would with the other two .. i'd clean solo with all three ..

with the drive channel engaged, all three were cool, with the middle being best and the 'neck only' being least fav for good ol 3 chord rhythm / stones style licks ... dedcent definition in chords and decent sustain for soloing - but netiher with a wow factor ... very responsive volume knob took it from a litte gritty to raunchy .. i'd use all three for chords or solos depending on the needs of the tune ...

happily, both pups were very quiet ... i dont know if the guitar is shielded or not, but these made very little noise even on the gain channel

all in all, i'd give it an 7.5 out of 10 ... the neck feel wasnt what i'd hoped for and the pickups, while good, didnt have that 'something' .. price tage said 599, i think it could be had for around 550 .. it'd be a great backup guitar ... and if you like a smaller neck (width and thickness), it might rise up to 9+ out of 10

continued ...

[tone4days]

Re: fender Lite Ash

highway 1 - unplayably bad .. was very sad ... didnt even play it a full minute .. pickups sucked, neck feel also was miserable .. ivory/whitish finish was dull and uninspiring .. volume knob and pickup switch tip were both missing ... there was a grind-y quality about bending strings as if the frets werent smooth or the strings were just too corroded or both ... 0 out of 10

american - nice guitar, but not worth ~400 more than the lite ash ... neck felt a little better (larger) in my hands ... craftsmanship was fine - very similar ash grain as the lite ash - slightly heavier finish ... no notice that modern bridge detracted from tone as compared to 3 brass saddle style on lite ash ... i liked the glossy-ish fingerboard / medium jumbo frets better on this one .. was a bit noisier, but again, all the h/w and electronics seemed sound (but pickup switch tip also missing) ... very nice lightweight ... probably a 7 out of ten (given that it isnt considerably nicer than a guitar hundred less expensive)

nashville tex mex - hated the pickups - no subtlety at all, but pos 2 and 4 were kinda fun ... neck felt somewhat better but overall the guitar just didnt feel right ... neck wasnt in pocket very well and was missing a tone knob

(what is it with fender / GC and missing parts? do people steal them? do they not notice or do they notice and just not replace them? man, is it that hard to keep the merchandise playable for buyers?)

oh well, thats enough of my rambling . .. i hope to find a decent player one of these days .. but it looks like its gonna be a lot of frog kissing ...

cheers
t4d

[PennyroyalTea]

Re: fender Lite Ash

Hey, I would like a smaller neck.... thanks for the info. I was also considering a highway 1 instead of the lite ash, but I am not so sure know. That review was pretty bad looking for the highway 1.

Thanks for the info, very helpful in making my decision.... if only I could find a lite ash to play, that would probably sink the deal.


I would probably change out the pickups if I did get it... I want to be able to have moderate crunch and nice twang. Maybe a lil 59 in the bridge? Not sure what I would want in the neck.

[tone4days]

Re: fender Lite Ash

i know some guys on these boards have had great luck with hiway 1's ... this one might be just a random dud .. you might find one in your hands that feels, sounds, and looks great ...

as for the lite ash pups, dont be too hasty to swap em til you've heard em .. you might find they work for you as well .. the biggest question for me is about the adjustability of height ...

good luck
t4d