I would like to know the same thing about Gibson guitars that are the same way. If you want a vintage style Strat without dropping 2500+, go buy the Eric Johnson Strat because it is obvious that a guitar that is made for a tone freak such as him to be so much like his vintage Strats that it's gotta be good, I don't think Gibson or Fender could say that about any other guitar they produce. You really are getting the bang for your buck with a guitar like that, whereas the people who will spend over 2000 bucks for a vintage reissue are just doing it because they have money to piss away on gimmicks.
I hate some of the artist models that Fender makes to be honest, the Dick Dale model is just a normal Strat with a hardtail bridge, Custom Shop 50's single coils and a reverse headstock, for the price they are charging I could put together one with Warmoth made neck and body and it would cost a fair bit less and be every bit as good. What they don't even take into consideration with that guitar is the fact that Dick Dale uses strings far thicker then any run of the mill string pack on the market, I think the high E string is a .13 guage and the low E is as thick as an D or G string on a bass guitar. It is a joke that the guitar doesn't come stock with strings like that.
