What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

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

So I had custody of one of these at one point, and REALLY liked it. An early Wilkinson half-contained nut thingie, and it was an Ultra or whatever the top of the line 'Plus' was, with the trem-stop etc.

It had the multicolored Lace set and... I wasn't totally impressed. They were higher output yet very clean, even pickups but also quite dull sounding. They had a lot of quack, but not a lot of twang, or sparkle. In a way, they reminded me of G&L MFD singles with the tone rolled permanently down. They're good pickups, but I prefer alnico singles overall.

As much as I loved the feel of the Plus, I wound up with a Strat American Select to get the roller nut (a lot like a Deluxe, but without noiseless pickups.) Then again, I replaced the pickups in that anyway :)
 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

I have an '89 and '90 Deluxe models, and I would not sell them. However, I would rather have the standard that does not have the swimming pool route and LSR nut.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

My Select/Deluxe has an LSR, and I think it's better than the Wilkinson that the old Plus models had, which ultimately stopped rolling quite so smooth. The LSR was a selling point of the guitar (and the Strat Plus) to me. I don't think there are any cons to the LSR even if it isn't totally a necessary device; had to remove some shims from mine though.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

I found Lace Sensors work fairly nice with an active tone system. I have a Strat with a mid boost/cut knob as well as a TBX modded to be used as a high/low pass filter. They were amazing little tools to color the tone.

How did these Plus's compare to the Elites that came out around that same time? I had an Elite and it was wonderful.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Chistopher said:
I had an Elite and it was wonderful.
Click to expand...

Too bad they're impossible to Google any more. I think there was a few years of gap between the two models though... (EDIT: Checked. Wikipedia says the Elite ended 1986 , and the 'Plus' series started the next year.)
 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

I have one with the Wilki nut and it just sits in the case. The other I pulled the entire guard (still have it) and swapped out the tremolo for a Gotoh a few years back.

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

I seriously looked at buying one way back when but didn't. I don't know what it was, but the low E just did not ring out...no sustain, no twang. Was it the Wilkinson? The Lace Sensors? Don't know. Found the same issue with a Jeff Beck Sig. But, a friend had the Ultra version, and I loved that guitar. He used a Twin Reverb II, just a great combination.

I wanted so much to like the Strat Plus, and while it never seemed to work for me, I still hold them in high regard.

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

When you could buy then cheap, they were a great value. Now you have your choice among nice guitars in the same price range.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Hey OP, here's a fairly extensive history of the strat plus: http://xhefriguitars.com/page2.html

Years and years ago, I came across something called an Elite Strat (not the same model they're putting out these days) in a music store. Made in the 80's. Similar concept to the Strat Plus, I believe. Second best Fender I ever played (best was a MIJ shortscale P-bass)
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Coma said:
MIJ shortscale P-bass
Click to expand...

Wow, that's a combination of a lot of things I don't like/aren't my preference :D

As far as the Elite, Christopher touched on it above. It has a very different trem system (often called the "System 2" on Japanese guitars) that only required front routing (similar but different to the Freeflyte trem or System 3 fine tuner bridge,) and no roller nut. The pickups are apparently alnico singles with covers and some hum-canceling circuitry, rather than the ultra-quiet unit contained Lace Sensors. I've never played one or even seen one, but have always wanted to.
 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

These are among my favorite Strat models, if not my favorite. They had quite a few innovations that actually made sense, and was before Fender just started mixing/matching parts from different eras and calling it a new model.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Silence Kid said:
Wow, that's a combination of a lot of things I don't like/aren't my preference :D
Click to expand...

Heeeeeh. I normally can't stand having to play anything made by Fender, so once they deviate from their own designs, it works great for me.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

I have one (strat plus deluxe) but I modded it for HSS. I wasn't happy with the stock red, silver and blue sensors. The nut is a Wilkonson roller-excellent. The bridge and saddles are super low so you can get your pick hand really low on the body. It's a quality strat. My only complaint is the fret shoulders are short compared to my other guitars. So fast runs often have the E strings slip right off of the edge of the fret. The neck is modern and slim with a 9 or 12" radius.
 
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Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Mine was an ‘89 Custom Shop Limited Edition (25 Maple Board/25 Rosewood Board) and it was THE BEST Fender I have ever encountered.
 

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

^nice! What is that color called? And whatever became of the guitar?
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

Charcoal Burst. Unfortunately; the '89 CS Strat, a '78/'79 Marshall JMP 2104 Combo and an '82 Gibson Les Paul Standard Custom Color were sold during a divorce in 2013.
 
Re: What do you know about the Fender Strat Plus?

I've had mine for 20 years now. I removed the hipshot tremsetter for four springs in the back last summer.

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

1990 Plus blue pearl burst. All original.

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