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Fender continues to make revolutionary products today! The Fender Deluxe Stratocaster is a super versatile guitar.
It’s just waiting to compliment the play style and popular music today! Let’s take a look at what makes it a top pick and how it can complement your style!
Features
First, let’s take a look at some of the key features of the Fender Deluxe Stratocaster guitar.
- Alder body.
- 3 color sunburst.
- Maple C shaped neck.
- Pau Ferro fret board.
- 25.5 inch scale with 22 frets.
- Vintage noiseless single-coil pickups.
- Killer sounding strat.
PROS
- Materials and design.
- Vintage Strat tone.
- Feels great to play.
- Quality pick-ups and hardware.
- Different colors to choose from.
- Left-hand models are available.
CONS
- A set-up may be required out of the box.
Body and Construction
The alder body is very comfortable, feels great, and comes in a few different finishes. The ash body also has a great balance of brightness, warmth, and midrange pop!
The vintage-style pickguard has been used on this guitar and looks great! Overall, it is a great-looking guitar and feels like a very high-end Stratocaster.
This guitar will wow you with resonance and sustain from the body! Once you are able to stop staring at its beauty long enough to actually play it!
Maple Neck
The Fender Deluxe Stratocaster guitar neck is a screw-on type made from maple wood. This C-shaped neck is easy to play and very comfortable, especially if you’re a fast lead player.
The neck sports a 25.5″ scale and 22 frets and, like other Stratocaster guitars, is a great neck type. The headstock is a well-known Fender style with some string alignment clips. This is to aid in string positioning and tuning.
Hardware
The Fender Deluxe Stratocaster is loaded with 3 noiseless, vintage single-coil pickups. These are excellent pick-ups that provide an amazing tone and are smooth and full of life!
Paired with the ash body, these pickups provide an excellent Stratocaster sound. The additional controls as well as a 5-way switch allow for some great tone variations. This is for incredible versatility.
The Stratocaster bridge is a 2-point synchronized tremolo with bent steel saddles. It has a front-mounted connection jack.
Thanks to the bone nut on this guitar, the sound comes alive in your hands. An added bonus is the chrome tuners that hold tune well and feel good when adjusted.
Sound Performance
So, how does it sound? You might come to the conclusion that it is the best and your tone hunt is over!
This Stratocaster is very bright, chimy, and full of great tone! I was impressed that it sounded so much like an American model!
The noiseless pick-ups were a bonus as the single coil buzz was eliminated. The mini switch is a very impressive feature, as it allows the bridge pickup to be active in positions 4 and 5!
I recommend the Fender deluxe Stratocaster for both beginners and experienced players! This guitar will give you an American strat vibe in both tones and build without the big price tag. You won’t be disappointed with this guitar!
Playability
Feels like a higher-end Stratocaster! But I have to admit, I am not surprised. The quality of lower-priced guitars seems to have improved a great deal. Which is absolutely awesome for players today!
The action was bang on and the guitar just feels good, especially when you really dig in. It’s an amazing Stratocaster, playing it is an awesome experience!
Conclusion And Final Thoughts
Without spending a lot of money. The Fender Deluxe Stratocaster is as close as you will get to an American-made Fender! I can recommend this guitar to all players, from beginners to experienced ones.
You will not be disappointed! Fender is a pro builder. They have been making quality instruments that are very affordable for many years.
They keep getting better and better with every new version they release. This guitar is a Mexican-made Stratocaster and not American. You will be pleased with the sound and feel! There is something for everyone in this guitar, no matter your play style.
This is your next Stratocaster!
I purchased this model in the HSS version. I have an American pro II Stratocaster also so I was able to compare the two. At almost $1000 for the Mexican Strat I can honestly say buy American. The Mexican strat deluxe has several issues that need to be addressed. The first is the frets…mine needed a fret level, crown, polish, and a setup in order to set the action correctly. It took two technicians to get the job done and it is still not 100%. On the bridge saddles, the bridge saddle springs are too short and vibrate when playing. The locking tuners are not bad but I one of them is a little sharp and I keep breaking the B string when changing strings. Also, the high e string has a tendency to slip off the fretboard very easily. All that being said, the fret work and upgraded saddles cost less than 200 dollars but it was a necessity. After all of that, I am happy with the setup and the guitar does have a great sound.
What I like about the 2021 Mexican Deluxe Model is the noiseless pickups. The neck and middle are noiseless and so lower output and when you switch to the bridge position (which is a humbucker) it is like a built in boost. The S1 switching works well and the neck is very comfortable. I changed the string gauge from 9s to 9.5’s and it made a world of difference.
By comparison, the American Pro II Strat is perfect right out of the box. No buzzing frets and no issues. It does not have noiseless pickups or locking tuners but honestly, has a better sound. The playability is outstanding and the fretwork is excellent.
At $1000 for the Mexican model plus $200 the work it will need vs $1500 for the American model…I would recommend the American model.