What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

astrozombie

astrozombie

KatyPerryologist
I'm looking for any kind of information: If you saw one, owned one, played one, heard a word of mouth opinion on them, anything.

I want to learn as much as I can about this model and it's quality, it's features and it's worth.

thank you!

PlusAdd1989.jpg


strat-plus.jpg
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

ive had one (plus deluxe) for over 20 years. Love it. Bought it new. Ive owned other fender strats too (4 in all) but this is the one that ive kept and will keep till im an old man.
I dont know why, but this one just sounds better and resonates longer than the others. Better wood maybe? Ive played a few pluses and although i can't speak for the fender company, i really think they used the best sounding woods for the plus and deluxe models over their standard counterparts.
Lace sensors are not my thing anymore but pickups are no big deal. That kind of stuff is replaceable/customizable. Ive had 8 sets of pups in mine over the years, cos the actual guitar itself resonates too good. Pickups are like changing clothes. You might like them. They dont hum and the red lace is as hot as a hot humbucker.
The bridge is excellent. Pop in arm. Smooth. stable and long sustain.
The wilkinson nut will only accommodate up to 10 guage strings tho, so if you want to go heavier you need the newer fender roller nut (ive done that too). You use light strings so it wont be an issue i think.
Sperzel locking tuners save heaps of time when changing strings - just make sure you don't drop the locking screw (not really a big issue)
All in all, probably the best bang for buck fender around at the moment on the second hand market too, cos the purists dont like the non-vintage look of the nut and tuners.
They are great sounding, great playing axes. That's pretty much it. Much better than standards IMHO.
DSC_0405_zps60fcbee9.jpg

and now if you want to have a good chuckle...this is a video of my band back in 1994 (strat plus included)
 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

gibson175 said:
ive had one (plus deluxe) for over 20 years. Love it. Bought it new. Ive owned other fender strats too (4 in all) but this is the one that ive kept and will keep till im an old man.
I dont know why, but this one just sounds better and resonates longer than the others. Better wood maybe? Ive played a few pluses and although i can't speak for the fender company, i really think they used the best sounding woods for the plus and deluxe models over their standard counterparts.
Lace sensors are not my thing anymore but pickups are no big deal. That kind of stuff is replaceable/customizable. Ive had 8 sets of pups in mine over the years, cos the actual guitar itself resonates too good. Pickups are like changing clothes. You might like them. They dont hum and the red lace is as hot as a hot humbucker.
The bridge is excellent. Pop in arm. Smooth. stable and long sustain.
The wilkinson nut will only accommodate up to 10 guage strings tho, so if you want to go heavier you need the newer fender roller nut (ive done that too). You use light strings so it wont be an issue i think.
Sperzel locking tuners save heaps of time when changing strings - just make sure you don't drop the locking screw (not really a big issue)
All in all, probably the best bang for buck fender around at the moment on the second hand market too, cos the purists dont like the non-vintage look of the nut and tuners.
They are great sounding, great playing axes. That's pretty much it. Much better than standards IMHO.
DSC_0405_zps60fcbee9.jpg

and now if you want to have a good chuckle...this is a video of my band back in 1994 (strat plus included)
Click to expand...

On the video: Hey man, it's a lot more creative than some of the stuff bands put out these days.

on the guitar: hows the playability?

how would you rate the trem?

If im not mistaken, the old wilkinson nut can be replaced with the new LSR without much modification right?
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

I also own a Deluxe Strat Plus from 1994. Mine is the version with the LSR roller nut, staggered locking tuners, micro adjust neck, Floyd licensed locking bridge & Lace Sensors w/ TBX. I find it to be a very "modern" sounding Strat. (A part of the reason I started the "Great Strat" thread is due to my guitar) I originally bought it (used, in 1999) because of all the "stats", and being one of the top of the line American Strats in its era.

Changing strings takes like 3 minutes, it stays in tune with trem use and it plays great with low action and a smooth modern neck. I've long since ditched the Laces (I found them very sterile) for APS-1s and now SSL-1s & RG Stelly. I think with all of the modern upgrades you lose some of the vintage tone. I think the locking bridge, tuners and roller nut all contribute to this. They are a great value, if you can get along with the features and tone.

Here are some crappy old pics, need to take new pictures of the whole stable. (Pickup change came with new knobs too)


 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

playability = more or less same as current USA strats. They standardized the neck profile back in 1985. I think its a 10 1/2 inch radius?
The trem = 2 point is excellent. The sustain is good too. Those big bridge saddles kick ass in terms of sustain and tone. I've always liked it. Not a traditional thin 1960s strat tone, but old is not necessarily "better" - neither is new of course. So its not "vintage correct" but in terms of sustain and tone it is damn good. New USA strats still use the same 2pt trem, but they now use the rolled steel saddles for a vintage look (but a step down in terms of sustain and beef).
The trem system is very smooth and stable. Pluses and deluxes also have the advantage of the pop in arm rather than screw in wjich makes things nice and fast.
Yes you can put in the LSR easily. You just need to fill the old screw holes with glue and matchsticks and drill 2 new smaller screw holes. The LSR comes with a plastic spacer for retrofitting on the wilkinson nut route. I dont think it improves tuning stability really. I just did it so i could use 11 guage strings. One thing, if you do change to the LSR nut, you need to install a string tree too. The wilkinson doesn need string trees.
 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

gibson175 said:
One thing, if you do change to the LSR nut, you need to install a string tree too. The wilkinson doesn need string trees.
Click to expand...
If you have the staggered locking tuners, it doesn't need a string tree.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

PFDarkside said:
If you have the staggered locking tuners, it doesn't need a string tree.
Click to expand...

the plus comes with the Schaller locking tuners... but I don't know if they're the locking type that are staggered.

You guys have got me feeling pretty good about this Stratocaster!
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

I had one for about ten years. I never really bonded with it but that's more about me and Strats than that particular guitar. It was well-made but mine was on the heavy side.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Glenn. As you will have read above, there have been several generations of the Fender American Stratocaster Plus.

Lace Senors are definitely a matter of taste. The solid stainless steel saddles are a distinct improvement over the powdered and compressed version. The plug-in vibrato arm is convenient. The Fender Floyd is handy for Stunt Guitar styles. The main thing to look for in the specs is a Premium or Select tonewood body.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Funkfingers said:
Glenn. As you will have read above, there have been several generations of the Fender American Stratocaster Plus.

Lace Senors are definitely a matter of taste. The solid stainless steel saddles are a distinct improvement over the powdered and compressed version. The plug-in vibrato arm is convenient. The Fender Floyd is handy for Stunt Guitar styles. The main thing to look for in the specs is a Premium or Select tonewood body.
Click to expand...

I assumed they only came in alder.. I do believe the natural finish model is ash..
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

astrozombie said:
I assumed they only came in alder.. I do believe the natural finish model is ash..
Click to expand...

Just to confuse matters, some Nineties examples feature figured front and back facings over spreads of Alder.



EDIT - Glenn. Which Dan Erlewine book(s) do you have? Numerous string tying methods are illustrated that would do away with the need for locking machineheads. This, and several other of the features that you desire in a Fender American Stratocaster Plus, can be achieved by modifying the less expensive Am Std model.

If you desire a seriously upmarket modern Fender Stratocaster, look to the Deluxe American series with its huge frets and compound radius fingerboard.
 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

yeh. mine is alder for tone with an ash veneer for looks.
Am. Stds are nice, but in my experience, they are not built from the best sounding woods compared to the deluxes. Im sure if you play a handful there are some that kick ass tho.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

I had one for acouple years. It was the first strat I ever really bonded with. I had several before, but they just did not do it for me.

I played it exclusively for 2 years. I picked it out from about 6 others at Venemans Music in Springfield VA around 1992 or 1993. The rest of them sucked..it was a huge difference. They were typical plinky weak sounding strats. Mine was a see through blue, with an Ash body with excellent grain.EDIT- see now these may have been veneers? IDNKT. I ended up putting a new pickguard and a full size JB in it. I kept the silver and blue lace sensors.

Overall I prefer vintage strat tone and appointments. I would not buy one today because of the "features"and skinny necks. At the time it was simply the best sounding strat I could find for the heavy higher gain stuff I was into. I joined a band a couple years later where we did alot of Peter Frampton, and Thin Lizzy,..70s crunchy stuff, and the strat would not cut it against the second guitar players les paul. I sold it and went back to my Gibsonish stuff ( a heritage 150c).

But I am rambling. Good guitars if you find one that sounds worth a crap.
 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

gibson175 said:
ive had one (plus deluxe) for over 20 years. Love it. Bought it new. Ive owned other fender strats too (4 in all) but this is the one that ive kept and will keep till im an old man.
I dont know why, but this one just sounds better and resonates longer than the others. Better wood maybe? Ive played a few pluses and although i can't speak for the fender company, i really think they used the best sounding woods for the plus and deluxe models over their standard counterparts.
Lace sensors are not my thing anymore but pickups are no big deal. That kind of stuff is replaceable/customizable. Ive had 8 sets of pups in mine over the years, cos the actual guitar itself resonates too good. Pickups are like changing clothes. You might like them. They dont hum and the red lace is as hot as a hot humbucker.
The bridge is excellent. Pop in arm. Smooth. stable and long sustain.
The wilkinson nut will only accommodate up to 10 guage strings tho, so if you want to go heavier you need the newer fender roller nut (ive done that too). You use light strings so it wont be an issue i think.
Sperzel locking tuners save heaps of time when changing strings - just make sure you don't drop the locking screw (not really a big issue)
All in all, probably the best bang for buck fender around at the moment on the second hand market too, cos the purists dont like the non-vintage look of the nut and tuners.
They are great sounding, great playing axes. That's pretty much it. Much better than standards IMHO.
DSC_0405_zps60fcbee9.jpg

and now if you want to have a good chuckle...this is a video of my band back in 1994 (strat plus included)
Click to expand...


Janie Lane was your singer?? LOL :)
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

JeffB said:
I had one for acouple years. It was the first strat I ever really bonded with. I had several before, but they just did not do it for me.

I played it exclusively for 2 years. I picked it out from about 6 others at Venemans Music in Springfield VA around 1992 or 1993. The rest of them sucked..it was a huge difference. They were typical plinky weak sounding strats. Mine was a see through blue, with an Ash body with excellent grain.EDIT- see now these may have been veneers? IDNKT. I ended up putting a new pickguard and a full size JB in it. I kept the silver and blue lace sensors.

Overall I prefer vintage strat tone and appointments. I would not buy one today because of the "features"and skinny necks. At the time it was simply the best sounding strat I could find for the heavy higher gain stuff I was into. I joined a band a couple years later where we did alot of Peter Frampton, and Thin Lizzy,..70s crunchy stuff, and the strat would not cut it against the second guitar players les paul. I sold it and went back to my Gibsonish stuff ( a heritage 150c).

But I am rambling. Good guitars if you find one that sounds worth a crap.
Click to expand...

The Brown Sunburst models like shown above are solid Alder, while some of the other bursts (such as the transparent Blue Burst above) the will have Ash laminated front and back on Alder, thus the dark burst edging is used to cover up the lamination seams.

Blue_Burst%20Ash.jpg
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Mine had a standard white pickguard, and was a darker blue. I do not recall it having darker burst edges..if it it did it was subtle. It was 20 years and a lot of booze ago, I could be misremembering
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Some info on the Strat Plus & Deluxe I found. I almost bought one of these back in 87 but decided on a 57 RI instead. I felt it had a more traditional sound then the Strat plus did, but this is/was a very cool guitar. Most were equipped with thre Gold Lace sensors and the TBX tone control. Roller nut, etc. I am pretty sure the radius was 9.5" not 10.5" but I am not 100% sure.

The Strat Plus model was introduced in 1987 as an upgraded version of the mid-1980s American Standard Stratocaster (first introduced in 1986) featuring three Gold Lace Sensor pickups (used by Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy), Fender/Wilkinson needle-bearing roller nut (changed to the LSR nut in 1993), Sperzel locking machine heads (later models came with Schaller staggered locking tuners), a TBX tone control for the middle and bridge pickups and a Hipshot Tremsetter.[2][3] The Strat Plus was the highest end production model next to Fender Custom Shop guitars. Models were available with both maple and rosewood fretboards.
Strat Plus Deluxe Model[edit]

The Strat Plus was followed by the Strat Plus Deluxe of 1989,[4] the same guitar except for the addition of an optional white pearloid pickguard (certain Deluxe Pluses came with a brown tortoise shell scratchplate), a Blue Lace Sensor in the neck, a Silver Lace Sensor in the middle, a Red Lace Sensor in the bridge and an optional Fender/Floyd Rose locking bridge.
During the first two years of production, the Strat Plus Deluxe guitar came with a Gold Lace Sensor in the neck position, a Silver Lace Sensor in the middle position and a Blue Lace Sensor in the bridge. It also featured an American 2-point tremolo, with the Deluxe pop-in bridge becoming a common option between 1989 and 1993.
Discontinued in 1999, the Strat Plus and Deluxe Strat Plus guitars were replaced by the Fender American Deluxe Series models that were introduced in 1998.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

i love those old Strat Plus's... i find those Lace Sensors are great for me... i'd buy one
 
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