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Fender Classic 50s Stratocaster

 

Review of the Fender Classic 50s Stratocaster by The Man in the Jar

If you like Strats you're going to need a change of underwear...

Features of the Fender Classic 50s Stratocaster 

Tuners - The vintage Kluson-type unbranded, covered (not sealed) tuners have vintage-style split capstans and small knobs. Although they are reproductions of vintage hardware they benefit from modern machining technology, making them smooth and stable. 

Headstock - The headstock is slightly smaller than later variants and I think this size is in better proportion with the body. A single tree holds down and guides the 1st and 2nd string. All the strings are treated to a perfectly straight line path across the nut to the tuning capstans. The Fender logo is in vintage spaghetti-type. Truss-rod access is uncovered but beautifully finished.

Nut - The white set-in-slot style nut is perfectly finished.

Neck - This will be a bit of a revelation for modern players due to the profile of the neck and the radius of the fretboard. The bolt-on one-piece maple neck has a soft V profile rather than a smoother, modern C profile. You have to disregard the initial reaction you may have and persevere for 5 or 10 minutes to acclimatise. Once you get used to it the V profile feels very natural in the hand and I found the more substantial feel of this neck help to prevent fatigue in my fretting hand. On the apex of the V profile is the traditional skunk-stripe, a strip of chocolate coloured rosewood inset to fill the routed channel made to install the truss-rod. The maple has been dyed to give it that slightly orangey tint that the wood normally acquires with age. 

Fretboard - As this is a one-piece neck the fretboard is fashioned from the front face of the neck material. This means there's one fewer jointing plane to interfere with your tone. The radius of the fretboard is just over 7 inches. This refers to the curve worked into the board in the direction in which the fret-wire runs. The higher the radius measurement the flatter the neck (a typical Les Paul for instance has a radius of about 12 inches). So the rather pronounced curve on this fretboard will make it easier and more comfortable to play chords up and down the neck, but over-wild string bending is likely to choke out. As the fretboard is an integral part of the neck material, the gloss polyurethane finish that covers the neck also covers the fretboard. I personally prefer the feel of this (as I grew up with the sealed maple neck of a Shergold). Fret markers are traditional black dots mirrored on the player's side of the neck.  

Frets - 21 thin-profile vintage-style frets provide an authentic playing feel.

Action - Once the vibrato bridge was properly balanced the action was blisteringly low.

Body - This is labelled as an original contour body. The differences from a modern body seem to be a less extreme contour on the front under the picking forearm and a slight "two-tiered" comfort contour on the back. 

Bridge - This is the classic Fender vibrato (trem) bridge assembly. The bridge is fixed at the front with six screws. The back part of the bridge has a metal block that extends into a cavity in the body. The block is attached to three springs. The bridge therefore pivots slightly on the six holding screws when the balance of tension between the strings and the springs is altered by the player depressing the vibrato arm. This alters the pitch of the note being played and was originally designed to imitate the wobbling vibrato of a singing voice. Note that this trem is not suitable for heavy metal style dive-bombing or any other type of extreme pitch changes. The strings are inserted through the vibrato block at the back of the body and each saddle is fully adjustable for intonation and string height. An essential feature of this bridge is the necessity for the bridge plate to lay parallel to the body surface when the guitar is at rest (in concert pitch tuning and no pressure on the vibrato arm). If it tips back towards the tail of the body it means the springs holding the vibrato block are too tight and need to be loosened. If it tips towards the neck those same springs need to be tightened. Gain access to the body cavity by removing the plastic plate on the back of the guitar. You will see the springs attach to a claw device that is fixed to the body with two large screws. It is these screws that need to be tightened or loosened as appropriate. Adjust them evenly by half a turn or so and then retune the guitar. Once in tune check the position of the bridge and continue adjusting and retuning until the bridge plate is parallel. Once adjusted correctly you will enjoy the best possible action (string height from the fretboard).    

Pickups - Three vintage-style alnico single-coils in aged plastic covers.

Controls - Master volume, tone for neck pickup, tone for the middle pickup and a five-way selector switch.

Scratchplate - Vintage-style single-ply white.

Strap-buttons - Two medium-sized strap buttons, one on the base of the body and one on the upper horn.

Output Jack - In the front of the body in the classic Stratocaster dish-plate.

Finish - This Mexican-made instrument is really well finished throughout. The two colour sunburst looks a lot nicer in the flesh than it does in the photo.

Accessories - A padded Fender gigbag.

 

Sound of the Fender Classic 50s Stratocaster

I have to admit I've being playing this guitar for a lot longer than I needed to for the purposes of this review. The sound is of course classic Strat, that's why it's called a Classic Stratocaster. I was struck by the almost delicate nature of the three tones of the pickups played individually. You get great clarity from the bridge and bluesy guts from the neck but I'm fast becoming a fan of the Strat's middle position and this particular example delivers a terrific country-rock and boogie tone, think Fabulous Thunderbirds and you'll know what I mean. Adding the middle to bridge gives you perhaps the best known Strat voice, the Sultans of Swing sound and running middle and neck together flattens out the plummy bass response of the neck pickup and delivers a cool jazzy tone. Nice.

 

Overall Impressions of the Fender Classic 50s Stratocaster

I absolutely love this guitar. The vintage neck dimensions make it a unique playing experience and the distinct, sharp-edged definition of the Strat tones make it an exciting instrument to explore. I'm not a great fan of relic features like "aged" plastic and dyed maple (particularly when aged pickups are sitting in a pristine white scratchplate) - I prefer my aging to be done by time. But that's the only gripe I have with this magnificent instrument. Amongst all the Strats and Strat-types I've played this one has to be my favourite, I may not be able to give it back.  

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