My children bought me this Squier Strat from Guitar Center in 2007. It wasn't in a box so it could have been a floor model or used. There is no serial number or "Made In" markings. I changed the pickups to 3 Seymour Duncan Vintage single coils. The original pickups were a little muddy and needed changing. The body is heavy solid wood and the neck is beautifully grained maple with a real walnut skunk stripe. This guitar absolutely plays like butter. The frets have been dressed smoothly and professionally. With the new pickups it has that beautiful round bell tone that Strats are famous for. Even on my cheapo Fender Frontman amp it sounds good enough to gig with. I've owned and played other American made Strats and I would not trade for this one. The guitar tech at GC couldn't tell me where it was made and it is unlike most of the other Squiers we looked at. It is one of those "Once in a life time" guitars we all hope to find. I just got lucky and my kids got it for around a hundred bucks. The Seymour Duncan pickups are phenominal and, yes, they did cost more than the guitar itself. The total investment was under 300.00 . So I would recommend when you're looking for a Strat to buy. Checkout a few of those hundred dollar Squiers hangin' on the wall, you might get lucky.

Last week I collected my new 2008 American Deluxe Ash Strat in Cherry burst with a Maple fretboard. You'll have to wait for a review of how it plays though.
'Cause all I've done since I got it home is stare at it. IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!
Kidding aside, unless you’re into REAL headbanging, this baby can play ANYTHING!
The Cobalt pickups are the best coils on any Strat I’ve ever owned. Classic Strat tones and silent. ZERO hum.
Press the S1 switch and you’ve a whole set of new and meatier sounds. There's even a quasi humbuckin’ tone in there.
I can’t praise Fender enough for the build quality and feel of this gizmo. (After all it's an "of the rack" instrument) It fits like a glove.
Although it’s early days, it feels like an axe you could chop down trees with.
This guitar is a work of art and I believe will become yet another classic Fender. (If it’s not already).
If I picked up one of my old Strats now, I’d feel like I was cheating on the wife. Already established as my soul-mate.
Cheers Fender. Leo’s smilin’ down I’m sure.
PS.
Do I get any freebies for the write up guys?

Yngwie J. Malmsteen Fender Stratocaster signature series. Vintage white, scalloped maple fretboard for better grip and technique. 3 signature YJM Dimarzio single-coil pickups. The guitar is fantastic for the virtuoso guitar player. Ive played off and on for about 10 years really expanding my guitar skills and this guitar is like no other. I personally recommend the Yngwie Fender Strat for every guitar player if they want to experience a fantastic sound and guitar. Ever since I bought the guitar I've never stopped playing, everyday I have a reason to make music, I love this great guitar and I hope all of you would too.

I've got a creme colored 1984 Fender Stratocaster. It is American-made. This guitar has 3 pickups and a 5 way switch. It also has a volume control and a tone knob. However, my particular strat does not have a whammy bar. It also does not have the metal-sleeve cord-jack that most of them have... my cord jack looks like a nut mounted directly on the guitar... this makes it so that straight-ended cords stick out from the guitar, but they seem to work better than the L-ended ones. The guitar sounds really good played out of a Line6 Spider III modeling combo amp. It did not sound good at all with the little Fender Sidekick amp that I bought with the guitar years ago (but obviously that was an amp problem). My guitar has the maple neck which is smooth and fast. My frets are pretty low, which I don't mind but it does make bending notes difficult. Also, the paint on the guitar has held up well, but the frets themselves have become a bit corroded looking even though this guitar is routinely cleaned and played. This guitar is light and comfortable whether I'm standing or sitting. It will stay in tune for several hours of play, but then I usually end up slightly tuning one to three strings each couple of days. I like this guitar and will keep it (and continue to play it)... My other guitar is a Guild Acoustic Jumbo and I'm eventually going to buy a Gibson Les Paul Custom. Then, I'll be able to create all of the sounds I'm interested in.

The Fender American Stratocaster is a well made american electric guitar priced less than $1,000. It stays in tune well and can get a variety of sounds from the five position toggle switch. Unlike the Les Paul it has a lighter brighter sound. The American model comes with very light 0.09 strings which I upgraded to 0.10. And unlike the Gibson it comes with a 25.5 inch scale neck versus the 24 3/4 on the Gibson. Therefore, those of us with smaller hands will have stretch further than on the Gibsons to reach the same note. Buying this guitar is a sure bet that it is a quality instrument that will last for years and will not empty your bank account.

The feel: She plays like a dream, man. The neck is a slim "C" shape, and suits my slightly smaller than average hands nicely. It features Fender's classic Rosewood "slab board" fretboard, with the classic 7.25 radius (more rounded than modern boards) and small vintage-style frets. This, frankly, makes string bends more difficult, and high up at the 15th or 17th frets you may find some notes are killed off altogether if you bend them right up. Having a good luthier set up the action and truss rod just right will help a great deal though. This is a trade-off I'm okay with, I actually really enjoy the feel of this fretboard, and it doesnt take that much getting used to. A couple of hours practice a day for a few days and you'd be used to it. Its actually perfect if you're a rhythm player!

The weight: Very light really. Not much more than 7 pounds. Very comfortable! My other Strats are 8 pounders. Weight will vary with the density of the wood I guess.

Tone: Now this is probably the best thing about the guitar, however there are a couple of modifications that must be noted. First of all I'll tell you about what they call the acoustic or "primary" tone. That means what the guitar sounds like played unplugged:

Unplugged: Quite loud, sweet and resonant, with very good sustain. This is always a good sign. Whenever you buy an electric guitar, play it unplugged in a quiet spot and hear its acoustic nature. Bad pickups can always be upgraded, but a lousy acoustic tone cant really be helped that much.

Mods: My pickups are Seymour Duncan Antiquity's. I highly recommend these. They're the best Strat pickups I've heard. They're exact replicas of pre-CBS Strat pickups (pre-1965). They're not modern noisless pickups, but in a well shielded guitar they're fine. A tiny bit of hum is worth it for the tone you get. The neck pickup is a dead-ringer for Hendrix's Little Wing clean sound. The "custom bridge" pickup gives a meaner sound, never thin or wimpy. Great "quack" tone

the 2001 standard is modofied a bit with a Seymour Duncan at the bridge, spergel tuners ( big improvement ) and the bridge has a matching set. This is one hot guitar! I have owned strats that would now be worth big money but I wonder why as the standard of today is much better. The Highway 1 is totaly different. Same 5 position switch and no mods. I was turned off a bit when the nut cracked at first practice. Now after I replaced it I use it for blues type songs.

This one just felt right after trying three different ones. I like the S1 switching setup a lot, more flexibility. Finish was good, the silver, but I changed the black pearl pickguard to the white pearl. Other than that it is stock and a keeper.

I don't even know what model - this purchase goes way back, and at the time it was the first I'd heard of Squier. Got an obscenely good deal on a "returned-unused" model, and it's been my constant companion ever since. The electronics needed shielding and I put on a custom nut and some cosmetic frills, but basically this is one sweet Strat. I'd recommend playing around with some at the local music store, you might get lucky too.

This is my 2nd fender guitar. It is made in indonesia. I know it can't be any good. But it has a flawless silver finish 2 single pickups and 1 humbucher. Right out of the box ; great tone , really the best guitar I've owned. Just in case I got a second opinion. from a freind who has been in the music business for 40 years. His reply: I don't know how they do it , this thing is hot, smooth. Don't know how this only cost 130.00 to the door. What else can i say.