Fender US Stratocaster Deluxe

'Noiseless' pickups and subtle, cool, retro looks

Over the years, Fender have made several attempts at designing a Strat with that bit extra, but the results have often floundered in the market place. Maybe a reflection on the quality of the US Standard - many players believed it needed no upgrades.
Recently, Fender has adopted a more practical approach to their customisations - just look at the success of the Roadhouse and Lonestar Strats. So what have Fender added to this recipe?
A translucent ivory finish shows off our guitar's grainy ash body, while pink and green abalone inlays are subtle, yet classy. But that chrome Fender logo is the absolute dogs proverbials.
But it's the Fender Noiseless pickups which separate this guitar from other Strats. Although designed to sound like 50s and 60s pickups, they're actually stacked humbuckers.
Aged parts complement the brown shell pickguard whilst the pickups themselves bear the inscription 'Noiseless'. Whilst at first I wasn't so taken by this, I must admit that the script - similar to that of the Danelectro logo - has a retro cool about it and it didn't take long for them to grow on me.
The tuners are of the Fender Deluxe locking variety and work reasonably well with the American Standard trem which goes down dangerously close to slack.
Virtually every guitarist has played a US Strat by now, even if only briefly on a Saturday morning in the local music shop. The neck is a comfortable medium 'C' profile and the jumbo frets and sleek finish make it a dream to play. The trem arm stays where you put it, unlike some cheaper systems and the trem itself feels smooth and machine-like in operation. The action's not as low as some might like, but intonation is impeccable and chords stay in tune wherever you find yourself roaming on the fretboard.


Copy-cat Strat
There's one thing missing from this Strat's sound... noise. Whilst the humbuckers attempt a Rory Bremner-worthy impression of single coils, there is a little more bass and mid than usual. This is less noticeable on clean sounds which are twangy and bright, but further up the gain scale it becomes apparent that these are no ordinary pickups.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. The bridge pickup alone sounds stronger than usual on overdriven sounds and the in-between settings are still vibrant, with a little extra bass.
It will be mine...
What you're essentially paying for here is a US Standard with upgraded pickups and better looks. Whilst the pickups could be retro-fitted, the finish, inlays and logo could not. So really it's a matter of whether or not you like the look of the guitar. And you can't put a price on beauty.
Don't make the mistake of dismissing the Deluxe as a simple souped-up Strat; it's much more than that.
I've been playing this guitar for a while now and I think it's really grown to like me. It seems to appreciate my individual playing style and that's why I'm never going to giving it back...