50th Anniversary Strat

[phlame]

I just recieved a 50th Anniversary American Deluxe Strat today and am concerned with the quality of the instrument. The strings are mot even close to centered on the fretboard, favoring the treble side causing the high e to slip off the neck easily. This also makes the strings not line up right with the pickups Most of the reviews I read before purchasing the instrument stated that this was one of the problems a lot of people were experiencing with this guitar. Luckily I checked into the exchange policy before I bought the instrument because I figured I was going to have to send it back at least once in order to get a good one Has anybody else experience problems with these strats Are strats supposed to not have thier strings centerd on thier fretboard(this is my first strat) Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks

[jemsite]

http://www.jemsite.com/tech/t_3other.htm#neckpocket
...glen

[wemedge]

The neck misalignment is not uncommon in strats and does not necessarily indicate a defect. As the previous post shows, in most cases this can be remedied during setup by loosening the neck bolts, adjusting the alignment to your liking and tightening the screws. good luck and hopefully you can enjoy your new guitar. For further reference see also Dan Erlewine's book, section on strat setups.

wemedge

[phlame]

Well, I think it worked the strings are a lot closer to centered but it's still not perfect. I'm going to send it back anyway because there is aleady some pitting on the trem on hell plate, it must have been a florr model. Anyway, I'm sure the next one will have the same string centering problem so thanks for the tip

[sitting duck]

If it's not right then definitely send it back. Particularly for what that guitar costs! FWIW I played one of these in a local store recently and the neck alignment was fine, but all four Strats that I played that day had huge bows in the necks. Usually not a big deal to fix, but these "big box" stores just don't keep the instruments up and it makes it hard to tell if the guitar is worth buying or not.
Hope you find one you like!

[frankfalbo]

I don't mean to go off topic, but it seems that it's par for the course with Fender. If you go read the thread on Gibson, you can pretty much echo the sentiments with Fender too. They have a whole different set of issues than Gibson does, but they share the same attitude. If you haven't at least considered a G&L Legacy or George Fullerton, I would advise you to just give it a chance over the 50th anniversary. Otherwise best of luck to you. I'm sure if you send it back with a list of complaints, you'll get a hand picked one, because they won't want to have to deal with you.

[BeastofLove]

Agreed Frank- if I didn't have my '83 Strat Elite already, I'd certainly look at buying a G&L S-500 well before looking into the current crop of production Fenders.

-Ben

[whatshisname]

This isn't a current problem. In fact, I never really thought of it as a problem, at all. I've had to deal with this issue on a few of the Strats that I've owned(including 2 83 Elites), and other bolt-ons. Out of the thirty odd Strats I've owned, it wasn't all that common of a thing, anyway.

All I had to do, was loosen the bolts a little, tug the neck back over, and retighten. Problem solved. The neck probably just shifted in transit.

It's arguable how much a tighter neck pocket has an affect on anything, anyway.(And I won't get into that argument right now... I know better )

I wouldn't send the guitar back, unless you cannot get the strings to properly align, by doing as suggested.

Oh, and I would never compare Fender's quality to Gibson's. I've seen WAY too many stinkers come from them. but I've NEVER(and I do mean never) met a Strat that I couldn't get it on with.

[sitting duck]

"Oh, and I would never compare Fender's quality to Gibson's. I've seen WAY too many stinkers come from them. but I've NEVER(and I do mean never) met a Strat that I couldn't get it on with."

That's a good point - I feel like I can adjust/fix most anything on Fenders, but the two new les pauls that I've owned in the past were such dogs that I had to get Gibson Cust Service involved in both. Just bad luck maybe, but I find Fenders easier to deal with if they need adjustment. Of course one will never sound like the other......

[frankfalbo]

Normally I would let it rest, but I did just want to clarify a couple things from whn's post. I'm not really concerned with the neck shifting. Like you, I see it as a shipping thing, and it's usually correctable. And I don't really care about a looser neck pocket from a factory guitar either. It's just that phlame thinks he moved it all the way over and it still wasn't centered. So we agree that you would send it back if you couldn't get the strings aligned.

I prefaced the Fender/Gibson comparison by saying they both have different issues. The stuff I've seen Gibson do is much more obvious (and unacceptable) but their attitudes are similar. That's all I was pointing out. So while you won't see a "magic marker" paint fix, or a fretboard with huge sanding grooves in it, Fender is still guilty of falling way short of their marketing claims, and their price/value ratio. Although I have to say the Mexican stuff is getting very good and it now quite possibly represents the best value in it's class. It's going up against Korean and Taiwanese product in it's price points and I feel it's of better build quality. It's just when they get into US made guitars for around $1000 I feel there are better alternatives.

By the way I didn't want to do a hijack, but I think even if you disagree with what I've said, its okay because I don't feel so forcefully about this that I'd start a flame war or anything. I can agree to disagree on everything I've said. That's why I'm not saying "aw Fender sucks you should get a G&L because they're better" I just felt like if phlame hadn't ever considered it, then now could be an excellent time. He's already shelled out big cash for an expensive Strat and found it less than perfect.

[phlame]

Well, I sent the guitar back and the man I spoke to in the guitar department at grandmasmusic.com was cool about it and he said he would personnaly hand pick the next one out of the 4 others he has in stock. If I end up getting another lemon I think I will shop elsewhwere. I haven't really considered any other type of strats because the strat that I want is the 50th Anniversary Am. Dlx. Fender Strat, not a Suhr or G&L or anything else, even though I am sure they are excellent guitars.

[sitting duck]

Phlame - I hope you get a good one. I like the deluxe mainly because of the alder body (I believe the 50th AM Series is ash) and it's a beautiful guitar. Keep us posted!

[phlame]

Sure thing, I'll definetely post when I get the next one. Probably even some pics

[jemaholic]

Hey Frank, you're right.
Fenders can always be tweaked and corrected, but if a Gibby electric comes through bad, chances are it's shot forever.

I've got a GREAT idea >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Let's all just stay with Jems and Universes!

[Grev]

^ And why is getting a dud Gibson means that you're doomed forever?