Talk of the Town!
Written: Aug 31 '06 (Updated Sep 02 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great look and workmanship equal to Fender USA Stratocasters.
Cons: The overwound Tex Mex pickups may be a little bright for some tastes.
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a vintage 50s style Fender Stratocaster and have under $800 to spend, I don't think you can beat this deal, and many others agree.
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| edtvntenn's Full Review: Fender Jimmie Vaughan Signature Tex-Mex Strat Elec... |
Ever been driving home with the radio on, and hear the familiar strains of a oldie, such as "Sultans of Swing," and once again hear the sweet tone of an electric guitar complimenting the melody? More than likely, that tone is coming from a vintage 50s or 60s style Fender Stratocaster. Up until lately, these were available only to the higher-end guitarists in the playing spectrum, because of rarity and pricing. This is where the Jimmie Vaughan Signature Stratocaster steps into the picture.
This guitar features some high quality Fender USA appointments found on much more expensive vintage Fender guitars, at a very reasonable price, including:
1) Vintage 50s style "Soft V-shaped" neck
2) All Fender USA Electronics
3) Fender USA Tex Mex Alnico pickups (overwound and very bright)
4) Fender USA vintage tuners
5) Fender USA vintage bridge and saddles
The first thing that impressed me out of the box about this guitar was the overall beauty. Mine is a striking two-tone burst, which is faithful to the original 50s styling, and gorgeous to behold, with the contrasting gold and dark brown colors. Secondly, I was also very pleasantly surprised at how easily the neck played on this guitar. I was under the mistaken impression that the "V shaped" neck was larger and rounder than the more current and popular "C shaped" one that I am more used to, but that definitely was not the case. The V neck is smoothly tapered so that the further up the neck you play, the more shallow it gets. It really makes playing leads up around the 12th fret a lot easier, but it's done so gradually that you literally have to look at the back of the neck to notice it.
Another important point I would like to make that I don't hear anywhere else is that this $600 Mexican made guitar is strikingly similar to the very popular and more expensive USA made $1300 Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster that so many people are talking about. At a distance you can barely tell them apart, and they both have the high quality USA hardware on them, and they both feature very bright and vintage sounding pickups which is typical of the older 50s type tones. The tone controls are custom wired on both of them exactly the same also, which is a feature that many guitarists really appreciate, wiring the second control to the bridge pickup, instead of the middle. If you love Eric's tone, but can't afford to shell out the bucks to buy his ignature Stratocaster, I would heartily suggest that you try them side by side if possible.
One word about the Tex Mex pickups that come standard on this guitar. They are some of the brightest sounding pickups I've heard on Strat in my 30+ years of playing and definitely take some getting used to. From all the other reviews I have read on these, it seems like people either love'em or hate'em. But if you've ever heard the clear rich tones of Eric Johnson, you know that extremely bright can also mean extremely beautiful. I'll put it this way....the clear tonal characteristics that set a Fender Stratocaster apart from other guitar tones, are heightened to their full extent with these pickups. I would strongly recommend having a nice equalizer in your setup to be able to adjust these extremes to suit your personal taste.
Do you see why guitarists at all levels are talking so much about and recommending this guitar as a dollar for dollar no-brainer, and the best deal in the whole Fender inventory? These are features that you find on custom shop guitars selling anywhere from $1300 - $2000, and really reflects an increasing quality in the Mexican made Fender guitar lines.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
edtvntenn
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Location: Jackson, TN
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Plays blues/rock guitar, watches lots of movies,likes stereo equipment.
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