Wrong way around? No chance! (Fender Stratocaster lefty)

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Fender Stratocaster lefty
Date:	15/12/03 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great quality, Its Left Handed, Sound and build

Disadvantages: Lack of colours

Walking into a guitar shop you would think that us guitarists are unlimited when it comes to styles,colours and tastes.
In the most part you would be right. Ironic that I use the word RIGHT as it plays a large part in limiting the market to certain individuals.
Im talking about Left handed guitars here. Yes. Some of us are NOT right handed. Something most guitar manufacturers forget. Only 1 in 50 Guitarists are Left handed! I am the "one".
Due to the rariety, most manufacturers tend not to cater for us. Instead they neglect us and carry on with the mass produced machine built guitars.
Enough of my ranting. It time to "big up" the Fender Guitar company and congratulate them on not forgetting about us Lefties!
Yes, Fender have been producing guitars for many years and it is thanks to these guys that so many of us Lefties are able to own decent quality Guitars at resonable prices.
While most manufacturers (Ovation,Gibson) are quite happy to stick an extra £100+ on the price due to it being Left Handed, Fender ask no more than the Right had equivalent. Top marks there straight away.
In fact, I would suggest that the build quality of the Lefties is actually slightly better due to them being constructed in a totally different way. Without the Machines playing such a large part in construction, the hand built Lefties offer superb sound and excellent playability.
Fenders are also made in 3 build qualities and these are al lreflected in their price and build location.
The Cheapest Fenders are produced in Korea. These use Cheaper parts and cheaper labour. The care and consideration taken here is a lot less than the other locations.
The middle level of the Fender market is catered for by Mexican Strats. These are better quality and in fact somewhat closer to the top level guitars.
The best quality guitars are manufactered in the USA and are far superior to the cheaper family members. You wont get much change out
of £800 for an American Strat while a Korean one will cost nearer £300.

However, it is a bit of a double edged sword.
Due to the limited number of Stratocasters Fender make for the left hand market, the range of colours is very limited too. While you can select the average Stratocaster in roughly 10 colours and a choice of Rosewood or Maple Fretboards for a Righty, a Leftie will only appear normally in Black or White (occasionally others a re available) with a Rosewood Fretboard.
Ok if you like Black. I do and I opted for a Black one.
Mine actually comes from the old Japanese Factory in 1990 just before they closed it and moved production to Korea and Mexico.

Looking at my Model, It plays fantastic. In the 13 years I have owned it, I have changed the strings regularly but little else is needed. I have had one overhaul in that time at the guitar shop and I must admit, the guitar has got some crackly pots that need replacing and a crackly jack socket but all are simple repairs that any guitar would need.

The pickups are very well made and very precise in sound replication. Some pickups on cheap guitars can sound very "treble high" but you can tell where the extra money goes with Fender.

The neck is strong and rigid and seems to be immune to warping as some necks tend to do with the tensile pressure of the strings. There has een no movement in it despite it being kept in a less than dry environment!

The Paint finish is great quality and lacks any cracks or runs. However, I get the feeling that the wood joins are taking on some moisture in the body now as it is slowly showing raised lines in the paint where the body parts meet.

Overall, it is a great guitar recognised the world over. It sounds great, looks great and is an absolute gem of a musical item. Highly recommended and a big thank you to Fender for making it affordable!

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