Background: I've always had a love/hate relationship with Strats. I tend to own them for about 6 months then get annoyed with something and flick them, only to want another one 6 months later... and so the cycle goes. After about 15-20 Strats, I think I have finally figured out all the specs that I like and don't like. This led me to a couple of Suhrs and a Tom Anderson, which are outstanding guitars. The new(-ish) Fender Elite series caught my attention because, on paper, it has everything I like. So how does it rate?
1. Build and finish - excellent. Nice low action, no buzz. Best Fender I've come across.
2. Locking tuners, short posts - yep. Still has a string tree, but that's OK.
3. Bone nut - well cut.
4. Maple neck with maple fretboard - this is good for stability and construction (no skunk strip on back of neck). Nice grain.
5. Neck shape - decently solid C which morphs into a D up the neck, you notice it around 9-12th frets onwards. Also satin finish, feels really comfortable.
6. Fretboard - 9.5"-14" compound radius. Perfect! Medium jumbo frets, my preferred size. Fretwork is very good, nice feel all the way up the neck.
7. Cut away heel.
8. Truss rod adjustment - front bottom of neck. Easy.
9. Bridge - nice feeling Trem, pop in arm - yay! Stuff the screw in ones. Block saddles are more comfortable than bent steel ones.
10. Pickups - OK this is the one I was worried about. 4th generation noiseless. Stacked coils like Tom Anderson, as opposed to Suhr's inductive coil system. Much improved from previous Fender noiseless SCN and gen 3 that I've had before. Fairly neutral, not ultra twangy or bitey, not hot, but pretty damn good, typical Strat sound.
11. S1 switching - hmmm, jury still out. 2 positions are good and usable - neck and middle in series, and bridge and middle is series (making effectively wide humbuckers).
12. Case - very smart ABS moulded case.
All in all, this Elite is an outstanding Strat. It plays beautifully and looks great with the sky burst finish, which is metallic and looks bluer in different light. This is the most suited for me Fender Strat I've ever had, and it's right up there with Suhr and Tom Anderson Classic/Icon models (not hot pickup versions). Plus it has the proper shaped headstock. I might actually keep this one.
