93 american standard (laminates??)

[fenderiarhs]

I'm copying what Boston Joe said on another thread:

"On the '99, look out for the infamous poplar core with laminate alder tops and bottoms--you can see this on a 'burst body if the black color overextends on the contours to mask the laminates. This was practiced from about '92 to '98, but I saw this stuff floating around as recently as two years ago."

Now, i've got a 93 am.std and i was curious to find if it is one of those "laminate" strats.Infact the contour on the back of the guitar is painted black but not so the front contour.The fact that a sunburst strat of this era has the back contour painted black automatically means that it has a laminate alder top, or painting black the back contour was a common practise for fenders of this era?
Apart from that is there any other way to spot if mine is a poplar with laminate alder top?
THanks

 

[Gamera]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

The fact that a sunburst strat of this era has the back contour painted black automatically means that it has a laminate alder top

As far as I know, yes. If the entire back "tummy cut" contour is painted black you probably have one. Regular sunburst's only have a black edge of equal thickness all around the body. You may be able to check under the pickguard to verify this. Especially if you have one of the swimming pool routes I imagine it'd be easy to view a cross section of the body.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

If Fender can sue companies for copying the strat, I think customers should be able to sue Fender for putting a sticker on the front of a new guitar that says "Alder Body" or Solid Alder Body. Why not? It's false advertising, no matter how they word it.
I notice a difference in tone. I've had a bunch of 90's strats, and the one's that always sounded dead to my ears were those ones with bodies made of glued together alder/poplar. I've been told that they usually reserved those for the painted finishes, not the bursts, which might be one reason bursts are an upcharge. All those little lies that are told by Fender just turns me off to their products. I don't even think they have a right to use the word Reissue, when their Reissue Amps and Guitars aren't constructed EXACTLY like the original.

 

[CsaRvoX]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

does this apply to 99' strats?how can I be sure that mine is alder body or lamineted poplar body???my strat is black with white pickguard...

 

[Norman_T]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

You will need to take the pickguard off and look very closely at the body (around the pups area) and see if it is a laminate placed on top of the body. This should be easy to see (or even feel) because the laminate will have a slight thickness to it. You could if you feel confident have a sharp penknife or blade and just poke it near the end to check and see if the laminate if it is there will lift. Other places you may need to look at is the jack socket and also the back cover plate. The guitar should also feel smooth particularly near the contours and if there is anything that you can feel with your fingers then chances are that it is a laminate. Although poly finishes may disguise this.

I don't know about knocking the body in various places to check for different sounds of the wood - I have heard that you can do this but I think you have got to be very knowledgeable in hearing these differences.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

I would think taking the neck off would be the best method since there is generally no finish in the neck pocket.

 

[CsaRvoX]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

You will need to take the pickguard off and look very closely at the body (around the pups area) and see if it is a laminate placed on top of the body. This should be easy to see (or even feel) because the laminate will have a slight thickness to it. You could if you feel confident have a sharp penknife or blade and just poke it near the end to check and see if the laminate if it is there will lift. Other places you may need to look at is the jack socket and also the back cover plate. The guitar should also feel smooth particularly near the contours and if there is anything that you can feel with your fingers then chances are that it is a laminate. Although poly finishes may disguise this.

I don't know about knocking the body in various places to check for different sounds of the wood - I have heard that you can do this but I think you have got to be very knowledgeable in hearing these differences.

I've checked the finish around the edges by removing the jack socket and removing the back cover and there were no signs of a laminate layer on top as I could see...so hopefully mine is all solid alder body I presume cause the reason I bought USA strat is because of the alder body and its sound so It would be a shame for fender to make them this way...even now I'm not 100% sure that if mine is poplar or alder??? :evil:

 

[Skullkrusher]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

This is rediculous. You can't even buy a "quality" guitar anymore without finding some ugly lie later on. Makes me mad.

 

[midnite_man]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

As far as I know, except for possibly a custom series model, all Strat bodies are anywheres between 3 and 7 pieces of wood glued together. I don't know if that technically makes it a true statement to say that it's a "solid alder body," 'cause in my book that's called laminated. Solid, to me, means just that. A slab of wood big enough to carve a guitar body out of.
Now that's a guitar I'd like to have.
-Bob

 

[midnite_man]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

Here's a cool comparison of MIM/MIA Strats and various components of the guitars posted at www.allthingsstrat.com

http://www.allthingsstrat.com/strattable.htm

I've emailed Chuck McCrory there a few times about Strat-related issues, he's very knowledgeable about the guitar and gave me detailed responses.
A very nice gentleman.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: 93 american standard (laminates??)

One way that makes it difficult to tell is that sometimes it's not a laminate, but like Midnight said, it's made out of 3 or more pieces, usually with the center core Alder and the upper and lower out of Poplar.

This is sometimes the reason why you could play 100 strats, and only find 10 that sound and play great.