ganzosrevenge
New member
American Special Stratocaster HSS (Seymourized) Review
By Jason S. Ganz
It seems that this stratocaster is growing a little following on the SDUGF, so I'm going to write a subjective review of mine to give everyone a good idea what you get from Fender for the approximately $1,000 to $1,200 that this guitar goes for, as well as the modifications that I put in my strat to get it the way it is now. As has been stupidly well documented through several threads, this strat has been a 3 month process to put everything together, but well worth it in my eyes both cosmetically and functionally. The modifications put in were as follows, Luxe Capacitors (one 1958-1961, and one 1961-1968), Callaham American Deluxe upgrade system, 2 Seymour Duncan SSL-1s, 1 Seymour Duncan Brobucker (11k), black hardware for pickup screws and pickguard screws, and 250k Pots with 10% tolerances. Ultimately, I sought to uncut the perceived corners that were cut by Fender in their interest of keeping this guitar at a somewhat reasonable price.
As a mahogany bodied / maple neck / rosewood boarded stratocater, its inherent properties emphasize less of the high-end, move its midpoint a bit lower than an alder or ash strat's mid, and brings out the lows a bit more. Think of it as making strat single coils a bit more P-90ish and you'll have a decent idea of what I mean. Now this doesn't mean that you're going to instantly get into SG Jr. Territory by putting in a strat single coil in it, but, it does mean that a traditional strat single coil will have a bit more bark / low-end to it than if it was in a more traditional strat. The configuration standard is HSS, however with an HSH body rout, the ability to change pickup configurations is limited pretty much by one's imagination; the ease of changing this guitar into a more traditional S-S-S, superstrat style X-X-H or H-S-H, or even tele style (S X S / H X S) is feasible so long as one can finid the right pickguard. Such modularity of pickguards to fit into the strat facilitate ease of switching out the stock pickups for those that better cater to the user's needs. Another key point of this body is the contoured heel designed to enhance access into the "high notes". While useful for those who play this guitar righty (as this is solely available to righties), those choosing to "Jimi it" will find no enhancement here except maybe a comfy place to rest one's pinky while going beyond the 16th fret. Nice if you need it, doesn't hurt the guitar if you don't need it. (I must note as a disclaimer that this guitar does NOT play nicely with the warmoth pro necks... the location of the truss rod adjuster is right where the contoured screw goes and the screw could seriously mess up the truss rod.)
Speaking of neck department, the Neck is fairly standard American deluxe fare (9.5" radius, C neck profile, 22 frets, abalone inlays), save for the tuxedo-style black paint / silver spaghetti logo headstock, a VERY nice aesthetic touch that compliments the black pickguard, but simultaneously limits choice to a black pickguard (or you risk running into the "mismatched colors" dilemma, which is especially prominent on a black-stocked guard. American Deluxe necks are often capable of being on a Custom Shop instrument, displaying nice straight grain, or a fairly consistent flame (in my case, a solid and fairly consistent A flame with tight striping exists) and have the rolled-sides for easier playing, medium jumbo frets to facilitate soloing, locking tuners (variable, some are true schallers, some are fender/schallers with the late 60s F's on them, mine are the latter... no functional difference, but they just look a little cheap for me), and exclusive to HSS variants, the LSR nut. The LSR nut deserves special attention for several reasons. Some people say that the LSR nut sucks tone away, or that the LSR nut's ball bearings get lost easily. Although this may be true and admittedly a trade-off, the LSR also allows for one to change string gauges without fear of strings binding in holes too small, or wiggling in holes too big; in essence a modular, low-friction nut that doesn't catch strings, doesn't require cutting or changing for different gauges, and allows for more dramatic vibrato action without losing tune. Going back to the aforementioned downsides, I will concede that losing one of the small ball bearings is probably going to cause some nightmares when trying to tune / divebomb, but with reasonable care the LSR nut should provide enhanced stability when used with the supplied Locking Tuners.
By Jason S. Ganz
It seems that this stratocaster is growing a little following on the SDUGF, so I'm going to write a subjective review of mine to give everyone a good idea what you get from Fender for the approximately $1,000 to $1,200 that this guitar goes for, as well as the modifications that I put in my strat to get it the way it is now. As has been stupidly well documented through several threads, this strat has been a 3 month process to put everything together, but well worth it in my eyes both cosmetically and functionally. The modifications put in were as follows, Luxe Capacitors (one 1958-1961, and one 1961-1968), Callaham American Deluxe upgrade system, 2 Seymour Duncan SSL-1s, 1 Seymour Duncan Brobucker (11k), black hardware for pickup screws and pickguard screws, and 250k Pots with 10% tolerances. Ultimately, I sought to uncut the perceived corners that were cut by Fender in their interest of keeping this guitar at a somewhat reasonable price.
As a mahogany bodied / maple neck / rosewood boarded stratocater, its inherent properties emphasize less of the high-end, move its midpoint a bit lower than an alder or ash strat's mid, and brings out the lows a bit more. Think of it as making strat single coils a bit more P-90ish and you'll have a decent idea of what I mean. Now this doesn't mean that you're going to instantly get into SG Jr. Territory by putting in a strat single coil in it, but, it does mean that a traditional strat single coil will have a bit more bark / low-end to it than if it was in a more traditional strat. The configuration standard is HSS, however with an HSH body rout, the ability to change pickup configurations is limited pretty much by one's imagination; the ease of changing this guitar into a more traditional S-S-S, superstrat style X-X-H or H-S-H, or even tele style (S X S / H X S) is feasible so long as one can finid the right pickguard. Such modularity of pickguards to fit into the strat facilitate ease of switching out the stock pickups for those that better cater to the user's needs. Another key point of this body is the contoured heel designed to enhance access into the "high notes". While useful for those who play this guitar righty (as this is solely available to righties), those choosing to "Jimi it" will find no enhancement here except maybe a comfy place to rest one's pinky while going beyond the 16th fret. Nice if you need it, doesn't hurt the guitar if you don't need it. (I must note as a disclaimer that this guitar does NOT play nicely with the warmoth pro necks... the location of the truss rod adjuster is right where the contoured screw goes and the screw could seriously mess up the truss rod.)
Speaking of neck department, the Neck is fairly standard American deluxe fare (9.5" radius, C neck profile, 22 frets, abalone inlays), save for the tuxedo-style black paint / silver spaghetti logo headstock, a VERY nice aesthetic touch that compliments the black pickguard, but simultaneously limits choice to a black pickguard (or you risk running into the "mismatched colors" dilemma, which is especially prominent on a black-stocked guard. American Deluxe necks are often capable of being on a Custom Shop instrument, displaying nice straight grain, or a fairly consistent flame (in my case, a solid and fairly consistent A flame with tight striping exists) and have the rolled-sides for easier playing, medium jumbo frets to facilitate soloing, locking tuners (variable, some are true schallers, some are fender/schallers with the late 60s F's on them, mine are the latter... no functional difference, but they just look a little cheap for me), and exclusive to HSS variants, the LSR nut. The LSR nut deserves special attention for several reasons. Some people say that the LSR nut sucks tone away, or that the LSR nut's ball bearings get lost easily. Although this may be true and admittedly a trade-off, the LSR also allows for one to change string gauges without fear of strings binding in holes too small, or wiggling in holes too big; in essence a modular, low-friction nut that doesn't catch strings, doesn't require cutting or changing for different gauges, and allows for more dramatic vibrato action without losing tune. Going back to the aforementioned downsides, I will concede that losing one of the small ball bearings is probably going to cause some nightmares when trying to tune / divebomb, but with reasonable care the LSR nut should provide enhanced stability when used with the supplied Locking Tuners.
fftopic::banghead:
