Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by GrantB »

This is from the Fender site - still say Made in USA? When zoomed...copy n paste into a browser.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by JHorner »

Hi, I'm your new Fender rep. Yep, this is the new 2017 pro. Yeah we call it pro now, not standard. she's got a compound radius board and a sticky whammy bar and shitty pickups. Only comes in khaki. Oh yeah they all say Fendur Calaphornia on them now. Do us a review. You've got 5 mins.

Boss. I've done the whole world all the way down to noo zeeland. Get me on a plane back to Tennesse right now.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by mr_sooty »

GrantB wrote:This is from the Fender site - still say Made in USA? When zoomed...
It definitely doesn't on the production models. It just says 'Carona, CA'.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by mr_sooty »

JHorner wrote:Hi, I'm your new Fender rep. Yep, this is the new 2017 pro. Yeah we call it pro now, not standard. she's got a compound radius board and a sticky whammy bar and shitty pickups. Only comes in khaki. Oh yeah they all say Fendur Calaphornia on them now. Do us a review. You've got 5 mins.

Boss. I've done the whole world all the way down to noo zeeland. Get me on a plane back to Tennesse right now.

Woah, it's like you were there!

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by Molly »

Three piece body on a sunburst. Ugly tuners. Twenty two frets. Two point trem. Headstock-end truss rod adjustment. Fugly string tree.

It's everything I hate in a modern Strat.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by HackSaw »

mr_sooty wrote:I have made a couple of changes to the review. I had the guitar in my hands for 5 to 10 minutes, and wrote the review the next day. I have taken out references to a compound radius which it apparently doesn't have (the Fender rep told me it did), and changed some parts around the tone control configuration.
If I am listening correctly, apparently the neck profile itself has some gradual thickening higher up the neck. Maybe the rep confused that with the fretboard radius. I did get bored halfway through this though, so it's possible I wasn't understanding right...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adqDosE3wCk&t=145s

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by Zaulkin »

Molly wrote:Three piece body on a sunburst. Ugly tuners. Twenty two frets. Two point trem. Headstock-end truss rod adjustment. Fugly string tree.

It's everything I hate in a modern Strat.
Haha. Basically everything I would look for. Apart from the three piece bit.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by Bg »

Molly wrote:Three piece body on a sunburst. Ugly tuners. Twenty two frets. Two point trem. Headstock-end truss rod adjustment. Fugly string tree.

It's everything I hate in a modern Strat.
It's everything that is a modern strat... stick to your fauxjo custom shop relics, leave the good stuff alone. If you actually use a trem, you have to have the 'ugly tuners', the two point trem and the 'fugly string tree' else you have to smother the thing with vaseline ;) if you don't use the trem, be satisfied knowing that you have a guitar with a feature you don't know how to use so you ignore it :D
So, is that low alcohol or no alcohol at all? mmmm, no alcohol, do you want to try it? Noooooooooo.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by mr_sooty »

Bg wrote: If you actually use a trem, you have to have the 'ugly tuners', the two point trem and the 'fugly string tree' else you have to smother the thing with vaseline ;) if you don't use the trem, be satisfied knowing that you have a guitar with a feature you don't know how to use so you ignore it :D
[/quote]

I agree with you about the string tree, the modern one is a much better design that reduces friction and is a definite improvement over vintage, but I don't agree about the tuners. I think kluson style vintage tuners work great. If you cut the string to length first then put one end down the centre hole and then through the slot on the post before you wind it around a couple of times you're effectively locking the string in. I think they're really good for tremolo use. I also prefer the vintage look. My American Standard has after market Klusons.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by Bg »

Sorry but you really need about 1 wind or less for any issues to be removed at the tuner end, you can only do that with a locking tuner. Once you've put a couple of turns around the post, its a compromise - the more windings you have, the more chance for tuning issues.

When you dive the bar, if its not a locking nut, the windings around the tuner get slack. There is no guarantee they are going to end up the same when you release the 'bomb'.

This is why locking nut trem systems are so much more accurate and why locking tuners are better, less than a turn of string is the ideal.

I'm not saying you can't use any tuner, I'm just saying its always going to be a compromise.
So, is that low alcohol or no alcohol at all? mmmm, no alcohol, do you want to try it? Noooooooooo.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by mr_sooty »

Yeah locking tuners obviously have advantages , but the 'fugly' tuners Molly was referring to aren't locking, so I'm not sure how they're any better than vintage style. I'm saying I like the way Klusons hold the string compared to the regular tuners American Standards and Professionals use.

The pin-lok tuners Reverend do are awesome, they look classic from the front but are locking and work really well. There was a new Mexican Fender model that had a very similar style of tuner, vintage style heads but locking. Can't remember the model but it was effectively a Mexican Deluxe - as well as locking tuners it had noiseless pickups and a variable active mid boost. Nice guitar.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by Molly »

Bg wrote:
It's everything that is a modern strat... stick to your fauxjo custom shop relics, leave the good stuff alone. If you actually use a trem, you have to have the 'ugly tuners', the two point trem and the 'fugly string tree' else you have to smother the thing with vaseline ;) if you don't use the trem, be satisfied knowing that you have a guitar with a feature you don't know how to use so you ignore it :D
Maybe I should've said: "It's everything I hate about the modern Strat" but I think it was obvious that was what I meant.

Dive-bombs aside the vintage trem works fine and holding one note whilst bending another works better since it's less 'knife edge' sensitive. Anyway, for the most part I put five springs in and a square of foam under them so they don't pick up sympathetic vibrations and sound through the underside of the pickups. I hate that about all Strats.

Vintage-style Strats are elegant things: beautifully contoured and proportioned. You might have to play around some of their limitations (radius for one, and frets - fat frets are my concession to 'modern' spec) but not everybody chooses function over form. So, I'll stick to my noisy 'fauxjo custom shop' [sic] relics, and you stick to whatever you prefer.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by mr_sooty »

The radius and the frets are my main issue with vintage Strats, otherwise I prefer vintage style also. I also prefer 22 frets but EVH managed for quite a while with 21 so I probably could too. There's a gorgeous Wildwood 10 Strat on Trade Me for a modest 5k or so that'd do nicely. Custom Shop relic with a 10" radius and 6105 frets.

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by Molly »

mr_sooty wrote:The radius and the frets are my main issue with vintage Strats, otherwise I prefer vintage style also. I also prefer 22 frets but EVH managed for quite a while with 21 so I probably could too. There's a gorgeous Wildwood 10 Strat on Trade Me for a modest 5k or so that'd do nicely. Custom Shop relic with a 10" radius and 6105 frets.
I know that gentleman actually. He buys a lot from Wildwood. I've had a few guitars from him in recent years. That one's a bit pricey for me but it is bloody nice.

True that EVH managed just fine with 21 frets. There's a whole history of people doing amazing things on vintage-spec instruments so maybe the detractors just need to practice more. ;-)

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Re: Review: 2017 American Professional Stratocaster

Post by null_pointer »

The above might be true, however EVH ain't still playing 21 frets so obviously once he moved he was happier else he'd still be jamming it on 21 :p. To be honest I hardly ever noticed 21 until one day I was playing my Tele for Run to Paradise and ripped up to do the final bend in the solo and had to manufacture a 1.5 note bend at the 21st. Right then I was thinking 'that extra fret is a great idea!' Getting up the second octave on 21 is just that little harder (especially on 11-49s). Or maybe I'm just a Nancy bender...

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