I spent my lunch hour today obliging the fine chaps at GuitarGuitar Camden to a run through of their strats (a potential trade with a classic 60's strat neccesitated trying out some 7.25" radius, vintage fret instruments that didn't come off so well)
I tried out the new EJ thinline and it was great - it sounded wonderful and was very resonant, it felt like there was more body to it - but the real stand out guitar was the American Original. Nitro white, looked the business and sounded great.
I'm sure there are equivalently appointed strats out there which aren't the £1600 asking price, but it sure did play nicel.
Comments
I really liked the one I tried a while ago. It wasn’t heavy and the neck was great. The CS Strats I’ve tried in the past have all been pretty good, but I liked this at least as much and it was significantly cheaper.
I think in a way these new strats embody the production line vibe that Fender would have originally had. Custom Shop guitars seem like expensive replicas of old guitars. Not sure if I’ve explained that well, but I know what I mean!
The neck was pretty chunky on the one I tried, but very nice. I like the idea of a new box fresh Fender that will age with you. CS don’t appeal in the same way.
Am I happy with it? Yes!
Would I do it again? No......
I'd build a partscaster for half the money and a similar spec...
What's the specs?
Likewise in Mexico, consistent, high quality. I’m now seeing reports of poorly dressed frets, sharp edges and weights going off the scale.
Might be rubbish, but I’ve got a feeling that they’re not quite what they were a couple of years back.