Another NGD - Amazing 09 Fender Fat Strat

[bigG]

Hello again, boys and girls!

As threatened in my NGD Taylor SolidBody Classic review, here comes a review of my latest purchase. Picked her up Friday evening. I present:

The upgraded 2009 Fender MIM Standard Strat HSS, or Fat Strat. Right off the bat, I'll tell you I am IN LOVE with this guitar! I had been looking very seriously at the Fender Highway One Strat, and quite liked it and was 99% there to buy it Friday, but I thought I'd check the Fat Strat out, simply b/c I don't much care for, and rarely use, the bridge pu on a Strat. I liked the look of the guitar (Lake Placid Blue w Rosewood Fretboard) and the humbucker in the bridge position just got me to thinkin' I might like this ax.

The Highway One is made in the USA (well, the electronics are made in Mexico, the body and neck are USA made, and it's assembled in the USA). The Fat Strat is MIM. The Highway One was down from a street price of $899 to a sale price of $699, which really made it tantalizing! The MIM Fat Strat streets at $499.

I have played MANY Strats over the years, so I know them pretty well, but I'm no expert. When scoping out the Highway One, I also played the Fender Standard USA Strat for comparison. The USA Strat was nice (I played two of 'em), but I thought the Highway One to be just as nice, if not slightly better in tone and action. Also, the Highway One comes w a nitro laquer finish, which lets the wood breath - doesn't have that heavy indestrutable poly finish, which I also liked.

Which brings me to the one Fender I hadn't even yet considered: The 2009 upgraded MIM Fender Fat Strat. I was in the shop Friday fully ready to buy the Highway One for $699, but wanted to check out the beautiful Lake Placid Blue w rosewood fretboard Fatty at the last minute (I hadn't even noticed it before), and...wouldn't you know it, from the moment I visually and mechanically checked her out and plugged her in to a Traynor 30w tube amp, this beauty IMMEDIATELY rang all my bells and whistles, and I knew, right then and there, after some 5 - 10 minutes of playing, that THIS was MY guitar! (OMG, you should hear it thru my Swart! It's like heaven on earth. Such beautiful clean and overdriven tones!)

The action, fit and finish are superb. The build quality is superb. The action is sublime! Of all my guitars, this might just be THE ONE that I've always been destined to have! It just fits me and all my expectations like a glove! (I know I'm in the honeymoon period, but I've been there before w many a guitar, and only one or two others, in more than 45 years of playing, has earned my affection and respect so deeply, so immediately!)

The single coils are just the slightest bit warmer than "standard", but still that unmistakeable Strat quack. Simply beatiful tones for playing clean and w just a bit of overdrive. And although there is some 60Hz hum in positions one and three, it's not very much at all, compared to any other Strat, including my other two. Which brings me to the final straw that broke the camel's back for me: the HB in the bridge postion. This gives the guit so many tonal variations and possibilities for rhythm and lead work!

As I write this, I had just finished another 2 hours of playing my baby, after playing her for a solid 3 1/2 hours last night, before I wrote the Taylor SolidBody Classic review. I just can't say enough about how smoothly and effortlessly this baby plays, and I've been using all 5 blade switch postions, varying from playing some jazz chording to rock chording and riffs to flat out rock and blues leads (and those fantastic turnarounds, even more of which I've discovered on this beauty since last night!). This Fat Strat definitely brings out the best in my playing, and I'm playing some relatively new licks and riffs almost effortlessy, as if I'd been playing them for years.

I think this proves a few things for me: The price of a guitar does not guarantee that it's the best simply b/c it costs more / Fender Mexico has REALLY gotten their act together w these new, upgraded 2009s / DO NOT overlook a Fender guit because it's MIM! / Play EVERY guitar you can within your price range, even if you initially had your heart set on a given one (within AND outside of the brand you're looking at) / you just might find that you, personally, fall in love w a different, perhaps even less expensive guitar...and some other stuff that slipped my mind, but you get the idea.

I do love every guitar I own. Each has a uniqueness and a personality that I love about it. They range in price from that 1983 Fender Bullet (now worth abt $500 +/-, and rising!) to my Peavey HP Special USA Custom Shop (which I paid $1500 for). In between are the others in my signature, including my dearly beloved Taylor SolidBody ($1299) and Peavey HP Signature EXP ($599). But, I gotta tell ya, this MIM Fender Standard HSS is feeling right now like the one I was meant to own, of all the rest! THE ONE that had my name on it!

An absolutely amazing guitar, and for $499! And I'd put it up against any other Fender Strat made anywhere in the world, and it would hold its own and then some! At this point in my storied guitar career, this, I think, is the one I could NEVER part with, for any reason!

Thanks for reading. I know this may sound a bit over-the-top, but every word is true and heartfelt. I have found MY guitar - for me, everything about it is perfect!

(Here's a link to MF's page for this guitar. Click on "color/options" and select Lake Placid Blue w Rosewood Fretboard. This is my baby:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=501160
The color is a bit more striking in person, but you get the idea.)

G

(EDIT: Please don't think I'm showing off like some rich guy who can afford any guitar he wants. The purchase of this guitar and my Taylor SolidBody was only made possible by the monies from the sale of my Ric 360/12 and my Ibanez S520EX. Thank you and goodnight. )

[rugbynyc]

Nice axe...great write up! Congrats!

[sunvalleylaw]

Nice! Congrats on the new guitar! I feel the same way about my MIM 60th. I tried other strats, including American made Highway Ones, and kept combing back to the MIM 60th. At that time, that guitar felt a good step up from the regular MIMs. Good to know the MIM line is playing so well overall now.

[marnold***]

Sounds like a great score, bigG. Enjoy it!

[Kazz]

I looked up your old Ibanez....now I have GAS big time.

[peachhead***]

Nice review- sounds sweet!

[just strum]

Damn G, you are causing all kinds of GAS around here. I'm down to my Wildkat as the only guitar I am willing to sell, so there won't be any sell and buy for me.

I still want the white strat with maple fretboard.

I am happy for you getting the two nice guitars, but please - feel my pain.:

[bigG]

Thanks, all! Much appreciated!

Kazz: that Ibanez S520EX is a great guitar! It just didn't fit my style, but a fantastic speed machine - very fast neck, but I'm no shredder, and some cat who is is gonna get a great guitar! If metal and speed are your thing, I highly recommend it! (And Ibanez' double-locking trem system is hard to beat for staying in tune after much dive-bomb abuse!)

strummy: I feel your pain, man! I'm down to where it'd be really hard to sell or trade any guit I now have (but you and I both know it's gonna happen, and probably sooner than later ) My "spare change" situation is in dire straits. Man, this economy and some recent losses in income have combined to put a hurtin' on me, and alot of other folks I know! Bummer! But, hey: !!!!

Thanks again!
G

[bigG]

Hey Robert, I'm talkin' Fender Strats here. Nothing to do w your Suhr, which is in a whole 'nother league!

Not saying you took any offense, but wanted to clarify that, just in case

If I could afford a Suhr, I'd be all over it like white on rice, you can bet!

G

[Brian Krashpad]

Congrats G!

Did I miss how much you paid? Am assuming the street of $499? Or could you talk them down any?

I had a S-S-S '90's MIM Fender Strat for awhile, it sounds like they're better than ever.

And, oh yeah, PICS?

[Robert****]

Hey Robert, I'm talkin' Fender Strats here. Nothing to do w your Suhr, which is in a whole 'nother league!

Not saying you took any offense, but wanted to clarify that, just in case

If I could afford a Suhr, I'd be all over it like white on rice, you can bet!

G

Haha, I'm not offended G! I miss threads sometimes.

Anyway, congrats on that Geetarrrgh! I believe there are jewels among Fenders, whether they are cheap or not. I have played some Standard Strats that were outstanding. You just never know...

Have fun with it, and by the way - WHERE ARE THE CLIPS? :

[mrmudcat]

Nice the upgraded trem/block etc etc makes it well worth the price on the standards!


I do own a highway 1 (not modded) and love it and mary jane is a Highway body!!!!!


I went for these because of the finish as you stated,but a standard in lake placid blue sounds nice I bet!!!!!

The only fat strat I own is my japan foto-flame (modded of course):

Enjoy !!!!!!

[bigG]

Thanks Robert and mr. mud! The love affair continues unbroken w my little blue fatty!

[mrmudcat]

Hey I like that as her name!!!!

MS. LITTLE BLUE FATTY!!!

[bigG]

Hey I like that as her name!!!!

MS. LITTLE BLUE FATTY!!!

...and so it is, mud! From now on, that's her name! :

[bigG]

Congrats G!

Did I miss how much you paid? Am assuming the street of $499? Or could you talk them down any?

I had a S-S-S '90's MIM Fender Strat for awhile, it sounds like they're better than ever.

And, oh yeah, PICS?

Naw, Krash, I paid $499. There's only two local shops here, and both match online prices. I roughly know the mark-up on this stuff, so I gladly pay the street (online mega-dealer) price. They don't make that much profit matching prices, and I want 'em to stay in business. (Lord knows they don't sell the volume of gear that a MF or zZounds does, although I try to remedy that as much and as often as possible! )

But I am well-known and appreciated at both shops, and constantly am offered free picks, strings, gig bags, etc...first phone calls on used gear they get in that they think might especially interest me. So, that's nice, I get the online price and they stay in business - it's a win-win situation!

[EnglishJW]

I am one of the many that often fight for the lowest price but I admire and fully agree with how you support your local dealers. I'd like to add another consideration. If I get to play a guitar I like and ultimately buy, I always buy it from the dealer where I got to play it - even when there are better prices available online. If no one has a guitar I am interested in (which happened with a Michael Kelly I bought), then I shop price almost exclusively.

It was great to read about your connection with your latest Stratocaster. Keep 'em coming.

[MAXIFUNK]

I have a 06 MIM Strat and the that is one well made great sounding guitar my #1 axe.

To Be honest I tried out the Highway one series and they just did not do it for me at all. My 06 MIM was better made than all 4 Highway ones I tried GC.

CONGRATS

[Commodore 64***]

During my first failed attempt with guitar playing circa 1999, I bought a MiM fat strat. Back then it was called the "48th Street Edition". I got married and entered the real world (got a job). It sat in the closet unplayed for a few years. I sold it along with an amp (Crate GX something), and multi-effects pedal (Zoom 99) for ~ $175 shipped in order to upgrade my computer.

Yeah. I suck.

Edit: LOL. I found the original FS/FT thread from 2003. Back then, I thought that "pick-up" meant single coil, and humbucker meant double coil. Man, what a douche.

makes me sick.