Fender Stratacoustic--Don't Let The Stratocaster Reputation Fool You
Written: Jun 18 '02 (Updated Sep 16 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Sorta looks like a Stratocaster
Cons: Everything else
The Bottom Line: Even though this guitar is designed to look like the Stratocaster, the similarities end there. The sound is incredibly bad. You should avoid this one.
|
|
|
| sparkospunky's Full Review: Fender Stratacoustic Acoustic-Electric Guitar |
The Fender Stratacoustic acoustic-electric guitar is for all intents and purposes an acoustic version of Fender's venerable Stratocaster electric guitar. If you viewed this guitar straight on (and from a distance), you could almost mistake the Fender Stratacoustic for the real thing--the shape and body style very closely resemble that of the Stratocaster. Unfortunately, that's about the only favorable thing that I can say about the Fender Stratacoustic.
Before I discuss the virtues, or lack thereof, of this guitar, let me give you its' specifications. As I said before, this is an acoustic version of the Stratocaster. It has a thin, streamlined body that's probably between two and three inches thick, and it comes available in two different colors--black and Olympic white, with either color topped off with a high gloss polyurethane finish. The biggest part of the Fender Stratacoustic is not real wood--the back and sides are made of pure fiberglass, not the ideal material for resonance and sustain. The top is made of spruce and the neck is maple, with a rosewood fingerboard and dot inlays. The headstock is almost identical in shape to that of the Stratocaster, and the tuners are die cast chrome with small tuning buttons. The oval soundhole provides an unusual aesthetic touch, but I wonder why the company bothered, as the acoustic sound of this guitar is non-existent, as I'll discuss in a moment.
The Fender Stratacoustic comes equipped with a Fishman Claccis 4 Piezo pickup, which I suspect is a low end electronics rig from the pre-eminent manufacturer of acoustic electronics in the world. On board is a three band equalization unit to help the player adjust the electric sound of this instrument.
Construction and Looks
I couldn't really find much to complain about concerning the construction and workmanship of this guitar. I mean, you aren't really expecting much in the way of quality from a guitar that retails for $250.00, are you? No glaring defects jumped out at me, but there was really no indication that any particular care had been taken in building this guitar. Material-wise, it just screams "synthetic", with the fiberglass back and sides and the polyurethane finish, certainly not components of traditional guitars. I still sort of wonder if the spruce top was real wood or a laminate--the weight of this guitar, which was about average, really didn't give me a clue, and I couldn't peek far enough into the soundhole to inspect the bottom of the soundboard.
For the price, construction and workmanship of the Fender Stratacoustic was acceptable, but nothing to write home about. The synthetic materials are definitely a negative.
The Fender Stratacoustic is built in the same style as the Stratocaster, so it has those traditional good lines that made the Stratocaster a classic. Either color is rather drab, and the polyurethane finish gives it the look of formica. I give the design a thumbs up, but the Fender Stratacoustic will never win a beauty contest.
Playability
I rate the playability of this guitar as average. I love rosewood fingerboards because they have a "soft" feel, and the cutaway at the treble side allows the guitarist ample access to the high frets. The thin-profile neck was a shade too little for my tastes, but the action was reasonably fast for an acoustic guitar--certainly nothing to write home about, but I've played worse. I think that soloists would do better with this guitar than the fingerpicker, and the rhythm player should look elsewhere for an instrument--I'm getting ready to tell you why.
Sound
The Fender Stratacoustic has no acoustic sound--the fiberglass body and the (probably) laminate top are completely lacking in resonance and depth. I can best describe the acoustic sound of this guitar as being scratchy, tinny, and completely disagreeable.
The electric sound doesn't get much better--I fiddled with the three band EQ for over an hour and never got any sound that could be characterized as rich and full, which is why I say it's not suited for the rhythm player. I did get some pretty piercing high-end tones that would allow the soloist to punch through almost any mix imaginable, but that's about it. The electric sound of the Fender Stratacoustic is pretty much one dimensional, and it lacks the bass spectrum that would lend it any real versatility.
Who should buy this guitar? I honestly can't recommend it for anyone because of its' sound, but the price of the Fender Stratacoustic makes it a good entry level instrument for the beginning guitarist. Its' lack of an acoustic sound makes it one dimensional, and its' limited electric sound make it even more so.
My advice is to pass on this one--Fender's attempt to cash in on the classic Stratocaster name leaves a lot to be desired here.
Thanks for reading.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
sparkospunky
|
 in Musical Instruments |
 - Top 100 |
|
Member: Mike Mosier
Location: Jackson, Tennessee
Reviews written: 608
Trusted by: 745 members
About Me:
Send my credentials to the house of detention, I got some friends inside...
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.