From: templon@paramount.nikhefk.nikhef.nl (Jeffrey Templon)
Subject: StratoFAQ - First Posting (all about Stratocasters)
Summary: faq
Keywords: stratocaster
Organization: NIKHEFK
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 13:49:53 GMT


Here it is.  Hope it helps.  Comments welcome.  Thanks especially
to Don Tillman who did most of the hard work (even though he
isn't the one is posting it!)

I will post it occasionally (whenver I see a good Strat question
on the net.)  Can someone tell me how to set an expiration
date on an article (I'd like to make it a month or so.)

					JT

--------------------------------------------------
This StratoFAQ was composed by Jeff Templon
(templon@paramount.nikhefk.nikhef.nl) and Don Tillman (till@lucid.com).  We
used the Fender _Frontline_ Catalog, as well as information gleaned from
magazines and our vast experience.

Stratocasters

This FAQ explains about the different models of Fender Stratocasters, why
they exist, what the difference is between them.  Last check showed forty
different models (that's forty models with the name "Strat" in them, with
seperate model numbers, not counting colors), and they do not always look
very different at first glance, so be careful.  Above all, let your fingers
(or maybe those of a trusted player-friend if you are a beginner) be your
guide!

We're going to be splitting them up by country of origin, not because we
really care about where they were built, but because Strats from different
countries use different materials and are of different designs.

Also we're not going to list prices; these are already available
on the internet.

Disclaimer: We come down hard on the "Hot Modern" sort of Stratocasters,
since they aren't really true to the original Stratocaster concept.
Your mileage may vary.  As always, you should listen to your fingers
first (if YOU like 'em, then buy 'em!)  Actually, one of us [-jt]
sort of objects to the Plus and Ultra models too.

U.S. Stratocasters
------------------

U.S. Stratocasters are intended to be the deluxe, "proper" Stratocasters.
The bodies are made of Alder just like the originals.  Top quality hardware
throughout. 

   U.S. Vintage 1957 Stratocaster
Maple fingerboard, single layer pickguard

   U.S. Vintage 1962 Stratocaster
Rosewood fingerboard, triple layer pickguard

Both models: Alder Body, Nitrocellulose lacquer finish; "medium" neck, 21
small frets, 7.25" radius; pickups have lacquer-coated windings, staggered
polepieces and cloth-wrapped wire; 3-position pickup switch (with kit for
5-position operation); nickel plated hardware, vintage tremolo unit and
tuners.  These models are intended to be pretty close to exact
replicas of the '57 and '62 models.  I have played a '62 reissue and
found it to be really nice [-jt].

   [USA] American Standard Stratocaster [Rosewood fingerboard]
   [USA] American Standard Stratocaster [Maple fingerboard]
   [USA] American Standard Stratocaster [Lefty, Rosewood fingerboard]
   [USA] American Standard Stratocaster [Lefty, Maple fingerboard]

Block style saddles, satin finish neck, TBX tone control, satin finish
necks, 9.5-inch neck radius, Fender-Schaller tuners.  I have one of these
and like it a lot [-dt].  I have one too, and ditto [-jt].

   U.S. Strat Plus [maple fingerboard]
   U.S. Strat Plus [rosewood fingerboard]

The Plus's have Lace pickups, Wilkinson nut and heads, hipshot tremsetter.

   U.S. Deluxe Strat Plus [maple fingerboard]
   U.S. Deluxe Strat Plus [rosewood fingerboard]

The Deluxe Plus's additionally have Ash body laminates top and back,
multicolor Lace pickups.

   U.S. Strat Ultra 

The Ultra additionally has an Ebony fingerboard, figured maple body
laminates top and back, bridge pickup is a pair to emulate a humbucker
sound. 

   [USA] Set Neck Stratocaster 
   [USA] Set Neck Floyd Rose Stratocaster 

Mahogany body with figured maple top and back laminates, ebony fingerboard. 

   [USA] Floyd Rose Classic Stratocaster [maple fingerboard]
   [USA] Floyd Rose Classic Stratocaster [rosewood fingerboard]

Trendy heavy metal abominations.

   [USA] H.M. Strat Ultra

Basswood, trendy heavy metal abomination.

   [USA] Eric Clapton Strat
   [USA] Malmsteen Strat [maple fingerboard]
   [USA] Malmsteen Strat [rosewood fingerboard]
   [USA] Stevie Ray Vaughan Strat
   [USA] Robert Cray Strat (no tremolo)
   [USA] Buddy Guy Strat

Signature series.  Intended to be like the ones played by the artists
who have their name written on them, but it sounds like this is usually
not the case.


Japanese/Mexican Stratocasters
------------------------------

The Japanese and Mexican Stratocasters are intended to be the best value
for the money.

It seems that the Japanese instruments are made with Basswood bodies and
the Mexican ones are made of Poplar.  I don't know much about Basswood, but
it appears to be much lighter and less resonant that Ash or Alder.  It's
also used by most of the other Japanese manufacturers (Ibanez, Yamaha,
Charvel, etc.)  I don't know much about Poplar either.  [-dt]

It could be argued that Basswood or Poplar are inappropriate woods for
Stratocaster bodies, making the instrument not a heck of a lot different
from, say, an Ibanez Roadstar.  But certainly the use of Basswood is
completely incorrect for an instrument that claims to be a "Reissue" model.

Questions: Are the Japanese and Mexican factories actually owned by Fender
or are the instruments built by other companies?  I don't know [-dt].  I
don't know either [-jt].  It probably doesn't matter too much, but do these
factories also manufacture other brands of guitars?

   [Japan] Reissue 50's Stratocaster
v-shaped maple neck, single-layer pickguard,

   [Japan] Reissue 50's Hardtail Stratocaster
as above but without wang bar.

   [Japan] Reissue 60's Stratocaster
u-shaped neck with rosewood-slab fretboard, triple-layer pickguard

These "reissue" models are intended to be "good deal" reproductions of
old-model Stratocasters.

   [Japan/Mexico] Standard Stratocaster [Rosewood fingerboard]
   [Japan/Mexico] Standard Stratocaster [Maple fingerboard]
   [Japan] Standard Stratocaster [Left handed]

These are the ones you typically see on sale.  I have heard that the
Standards are no longer made at all in Japan [-jt].  The Mexican
Standards that I have played seem to be very nice guitars,
especially for the money [-jt].  I have had professional player
friends tell me the same thing.

   [Japan] HRR '50's Stratocaster [maple fingerboard]
   [Japan] HRR '50's Stratocaster [rosewood fingerboard]

Trendy heavy metal abominations.

   [Japan] H.M. Strat [maple fingerboard, 1 humbucker, 2 single coils]
   [Japan] H.M. Strat [rosewood fingerboard, 1 humbucker, 2 single coils]
   [Japan] H.M. Strat [maple fingerboard, 2 humbuckers, 1 single coil]
   [Japan] H.M. Strat [rosewood fingerboard, 2 humbucker, 1 single coil]

More trendy heavy metal abominations.  17" neck radius.

   [Japan] Malmsteen-san Standard


Squier, Squier II Stratocasters
-------------------------------

Very inexpensive Korean instruments made with cheap plywood bodies and
cheap hardware.  They can be had new for around $180.  There are some
people (a "cult following"?) who prefer these guitars to the Fender models,
once the pickups have been replaced.  I have no idea what the difference is
between the Squier and Squier II.  [-dt, jt]

The Squier name comes from a manufacturer of strings that CBS bought in the
late 60's.  Fender uses it for their cheap instruments, so as to cash in on
the low end of the market, but keeping the business somewhat separate from
their main market.  (The phrase "Plausible Deniability" comes to mind.)

Questions: Is the Korean factory owned by Fender? Does this factory also
manufacture other brands of guitars?  Toasters?  Motorcycles?

   [Korea] Squier Standard Stratocaster [maple neck]
   [Korea] Squier Standard Stratocaster [rosewood neck]
   [Korea] Squier II Standard Stratocaster
   [Korea] Squier II Standard Stratocaster [trendy pickup option]

12-inch neck radius.

Some Commonly-Asked Questions About Stratocasters:
--------------------------------------------------

Q: How can I tell if they are "American" Stratocasters?

A: Look on the headstock, underneath the Fender logo.  It will state in
which country it was made.  You can also tell by the first few
digits of the serial number [we need the digits in here -- jt]

Q: What is the difference between a rosewood neck and a maple neck?  

A: Actually, both versions have a maple neck; the rosewood fretboard is
added on top of the maple piece.  There are two important differences:
first the maple is usually smoother and harder due to the fact that there's
a finish over it while the rosewood fingerboard is bare, so there is a
different feel when you play the guitar.  Secondly, the woods have
different physical properties, so the way they carry the vibrations is
different, which gives the guitar a different sound.  Most people say the
maple-neck models sound "brighter" and the rosewood-models "smokier".

Q: Why the difference in the neck radii?

A: Leo originally designed the curved neck to be easier to chord, while
more recently a less radical curve is in demand to allow more extreme
string bending without "fretting out".  The original and reissue models
have a 7.5-inch radius while the HM models have a 17-inch radius.

Q: What's a TBX tone control?

A: Fender claims that the TBX tone control is an advanced design tone
control that can not only roll off the highs, but boost them as well.
Specifically between full counter clockwise and the center detent it acts
like a normal tone control and between the center detent and full clockwise
it boosts the highs.  Actually at full clockwise it's effectively out of
the circuit, as you turn it toward center it shunts the pickup with an 82K
ohm resistor, and from center down to full counterclockwise it shunts the
pickup with a capacitor like a standard tone control.  So it doesn't boost
the highs at all.  I don't like the TBX myself; being a double ganged
control it's more difficult to spin with your pinky, and the interesting
part of the adjustment range is all cramped between 2 and 3 or so.  Next
time I open up my Strat I'll probably replace the TBX with a normal tone
control.  [-dt]

Q: What's the out-of-phase position?

A: A misnomer, the pickups aren't really out of phase.  The original
Stratocaster had a 3-position pickup switch that would choose only one
pickup on at a time and folks eventually discovered that they could get two
additional neat sounds by rocking the switch in between positions 1 and 2
and between positions 2 and 3.  (This is because Leo correctly chose a
make-before-break switch.)  Soon 5-position switches were readily available
in the parts market, and soon after that Stratocaster came equipped with
5-position switches as standard equipment.
		
These two addition positions soon became known as out-of-phase positions
because the nasal sound of two pickups on in phase and physically located a
couple inches from each other is superficially similiar to the sound of the
neck and bridge pickups on a two pickup instrument on out-of-phase.  And
the name has stuck.  [-dt]

Q: What's the deal with the middle pickup?

A: The middle pickup on current model Stratocasters (with standard pickups)
has its magnets mounted oppositely to the other two (north pole up vs.
south pole up), inverting the polarity of the signal, and is wired with its
electical connections swapped, inverting the polarity back again.  Doesn't
sound too useful at first, but when the middle pickup is on at the same
time one of the other pickups is on (positions two and four on the selector
switch), hum and noise from external sources will cancel.  This is the
humbucking principle.  Most guitars with two single coil pickups also do
this (ie., the Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazz Bass, etc.).  [-dt]

Q: What's a Lace Sensor Pickup?

A: Fender claims that the Lace Sensor pickup "is not a pickup at all, but
an Audio Emission Sensor (AES)".  Pure marketing drivel.  Insulting too;
AES actually stands for the Audio Engineering Society, a professional
organization.  Anyway, it's a standard single coil pickup that, because of
its design, is less sensitive to hum and noise than typical single coil
pickups.  It sounds similiar, but not exactly like, standard Fender single
coil pickups.  They're available in four models (Gold, Silver, Blue, Red)
with different amounts of high end rolloff.  The Lace Sensors only come in
one magnetic polarity, so the middle pickup hack mentioned above doesn't
apply.  [-dt]

Q: What's the deal with the tone controls?

A: The original Stratocaster and current reissue model have the first tone
control connected to the neck pickup (and thus in effect only when the neck
pickup is selected), the second tone control connected to the middle
pickups (and in effect only when the middle pickup is selected), and the
bridge pickup without a tone control.  Modern Stratocasters have the second
tone control in effect for both the middle and bridge pickups.  [-dt]

Q: Isn't the phrase "Current Reissue Model" a triple oxymoron?
A: Yes indeed, these are very rare.