Adrian Smith Sig

[Grahf]

The difference in body shape is obvious. I prefer the real Dinky, so I'm inclined to buy a DK1 rather than an Adrian Smith strat. I've never liked the feel of a Fender Strat (I owned a Strat copy as a teenager).

Try a real strat then. copies dont come close. I have a USA strat and they definately rival a USA jackson for quality(obviously not as good, but almost).. especially for the price you pay.

[wilkinsi]

Try a real strat then. copies dont come close. I have a USA strat and they definately rival a USA jackson for quality(obviously not as good, but almost).. especially for the price you pay.

I've played a friend's USA Fender Strat too back in 2003. It's those necks I don't like. I have very long fingers

[m2pmd70]

I guess they couldn't call it the ASS strat.

[wilkinsi]

They could, but they won't

[gregthatshreds]

i don't like fender's 9.5 inch neck radius that they have on most of their guitars. Too much curve for me.

[triplehold]

The Adrian axes must sell out as fast as they are shipped because every time I look to see what dealers have them, nobody does.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Try a real strat then. copies dont come close. I have a USA strat and they definately rival a USA jackson for quality(obviously not as good, but almost).. especially for the price you pay.

I've owned a few, and I don't think the American Standard is anything to write home about at all. I mean, putting aside the fact that feature-to-feature comparison to a USA Jackson leaves me wondering what in hell Fender is thinking charging nearly $1200 for the guitar, there's still the 10" straight-radius neck that would leave me wishing for less ridiculously high action.

[Grandturk]

I like the American Standard strat - especially the latest models with the good saddles. They play well, sound great, and look the business. Its absolutely worth 1100-1200 in my book. Sure, 1000 would be better, but whatever.

Now, the upscale model Fenders - signature guitars, RI's, Deluxe's are noticably nicer than the Am Stds, as expected. And I would think, from a quality perspective, about the same as a Select Jackson. The difference, of course, is in the final product. A 57 RI Strat is vastly different musical instrument than a SL2H.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I got mine for I think $899 and I thought that was a fair price for it.

You are right, it's hard to judge the quality because they're so different.

I guess what I was thinking is, that there's not much to show off "quality" on in an American Standard Strat, which was devised to be a "cheap" instrument in the first place. There's no binding work, no fancy inlays, no neck-through construction, no angled peghead with luthier's joint, the routes are all covered by one thing or another with a 1/2" of overhang.

Rosewood and maple boards would most likely be fretted by a machine, where ebony won't. I doubt there is much "hand work" done on a newer American Standard Strat at all, just CNC and bolt-together by assembly line workers.

Maybe there is some workmanship/quality there, but... I don't know where they are hiding it. :think:

[Grandturk]

Maybe there is some workmanship/quality there, but... I don't know where they are hiding it. :think:

I'm not sure where you really see the workmanship/quality on a $5,000 Masterbuilt Strat. If they do their job right, it should just look like a Strat.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Yeah, pretty much. I don't get the point of those, either.

[Grandturk]

Yeah, pretty much. I don't get the point of those, either.

I get that you should feel a difference. But I think its more likely you'll believe there's a difference.

I've always said there's a point of diminishing returns with a bolt-on/strat-style guitar once you hit the $2,000 mark. Basically, at $1,000 you get a good guitar. At $2,000 you get a great guitar. At $2,500 you still get a great guitar. At some point, maybe at $5,000, you get a good story and a great guitar.

Personally, and I admit, I have not played them all - A Fender Strat doesn't get much better than something like the Eric Johnson Sig level - so figure you've about maxed out at $2,200. After that, if it don't make your dick move, you shouldn't be spending the coin.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Sounds about right to me.