Fender Stratocaster American Standard

INFO
The pickups on this strat are Custom Shop Fat '50s with a vintage-style stagger to the magnetic slug pole pieces.
 
"Clean tones have it all - from the timeless funk in the mixed positions to the clean, bell-like projection from the darker neck pickup and the bright-enough-for-most middle pickup."
 
The wiring is modern Fender: a standard five-way, master volume, neck tone and a notched no-load tone control for the bridge and middle pickups that, when fully on, effectively bypasses the pot, adding a soupçon of high-end. Other than that, things are very similar to the previous models. It shares the same mainstream 'C' profile as the new Tele Standard - it's very slightly thinner-depthed, but it's minimal.
 
The two-post vibrato block has deeper drilled string holes so there's less dead string in the block, like a vintage-style vibrato, and the block is tapered at the rear to allow a little more down-bend. The arm still screws in - there's no tension adjustment but, as supplied, it has generous travel.
 
Tuners are the familiar non-locking modern types. The low E and A string tuners have a higher post-hole position; the other four tuner post-holes are closer to the face of the headstock. With only one string tree this helps to provide enough down-pressure over the nicely cut synthetic bone nut. The Strat's neck is all maple - there's no separate fingerboard. The frets slot into the face of the neck, which is then finished.

There is some pooling of the finish either side of the frets, and it does look a little thicker than on a vintage specification maple board. It also slightly widens the fret size and, perhaps more importantly, reduces the height of the fret above the playing surface. Fender (SKB) hardcase Incl.