I see Fender has after 30 years retired the American standard series for the American Professional series line up, interested to see what it offers in features.
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I see Fender has after 30 years retired the American standard series for the American Professional series line up, interested to see what it offers in features.
Tim Shaw pickups for one. The AmPros have been getting raves in the mags, but then again, the articles read more like Fender-created press releases than objective reviews.
I will say the one I played a few weeks back was a stellar guitar. But the $2,200.00 sticker shocked me a bit..
If I weren't super in love with my Tele, I'd go for one of the lefties in Butterscotch Blond, such a great looking guitar.
Actually, they retired the American Standard in the early 2000's and replaced it with the American Series. Then they brought it back. Fender is constantly trying to reinvent the same guitar to make it "new and exciting".
It will still be the same guitar.
But OA, the buzz words change... So OBVIOUSLY they've finally found the secret recipe that will once and for all make the best guitar ever!!! :D
Probably the same kind of geniuses at Gibson who decided robot tuners on everything.
Yes it is hard to imagine "a better" guitar than the 'ol Stratocaster....but Leo and gang were revolutionary thinkers from the start, remember The Broadcaster was what eventually led to the Stratocaster, unbeknownst that Fender would end up with two separate lines of electric guitars,but rather refinements in design and thinking on Fenders part.
So in reading about the "new" line(s) it was refreshing to see that Fender and the new blood(so to speak) was going back to Fender's initial philosophy of thinking all things through and coming up with tweaks to make a better product as a whole. So it will be interesting to see what they have decided on as these tweaks in the final production model(s).
I suspect the "tweaks" will be more the product of lean manufacturing kaizen event than actually trying to make the guitar better.Quote:
Originally Posted by GregsGuitars
The design is mature ( to say the least). Anything The Corporation does to change it will only be to reduce production costs and increase profits.
OA, I agree with you. There's no improvement to the things people often complain about--the quality of the bridge and trem block, for example.
A corporation has to show profit, and that's where Fender is right now. Quantity over quality.
That's not to say that Fender isn't putting out great products. I love my 2008 Strat and 2011 Tele and don't think I'll ever need to buy another Fender. But then again, I'll probably only ever buy one guitar before I die, a Rickenbacker 360 or 330 12-string.
Oh, just marketing and the usual minor adjustments. You know... Standard Stratocaster, then American Standard, followed by American Series, back to American Standard, now American Professional... In a couple of years, American Standard is back... Am Prof is a very goos instrument, just as the Am Std was. It's just the good old Fender's "standard" stratocaster.
These tweaks will be spun in a way that makes them sound like they make the guitar better for the customer. I feel a little cynical saying that, but Gibson has worked this angle pretty heavily.Quote:
Originally Posted by Offshore Angler
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Originally Posted by Offshore Angler
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Originally Posted by Don
I myself think that Fender is slightly less irresponsible and didn't screw up as big time as Gibson did in 2015. Their American guitars were never as hugely messed up as Gibson's were.
The "tweaks" do have something to do with tone and playability, although they might not please everyone.
John Suhr is trying to push the design forward.Quote:
Originally Posted by GregsGuitars
He is putting R&D money into finding better solutions to the same old problems Fender has had for a long time. A big one is Suhr has a dummy coil matched single coil which isnt noiseless but is a much better compromise than true noiseless types IMO.
He has invested in machines that can handle stainless frets. They are significantly more wear resistant. Obviously working with such hard materials beats up on your machines.
It's a bit ironic as John used to work at FCS and they really didn't let him do much inventive stuff. Now Fender is following him.
Not that I thinks Suhrs are necessarily better but in terms of pushing the design forward while still retaining the essence of the thing, I do think he's a bit ahead.