Stratocoustic Review

Laminated spruce tops, state-of-the-art, one-piece fiberglass bodies, and electric guitar necks with the trademarked Fender headstock design. Fishman Classic 4 electronics.

Features:	7.7
Sound:	7
Action:	9
Reliability:	8
Impression:	7.7
Overall rating:	7.9
Users rating:	8.9
Comments:	3

overall: 8.4

Featured review by: Synectics, on january 03, 2006

Price paid: $ 175

Purchased from: Musician's Friend

Features: I recently received my Fender Stratocoustic and right out of the box, I was amazed. This was the first Fender instrument I've ever purchased, and if all Fender's are like this, I must say I will become a believer. The Stratocoustic consists of a fiberglass body with a laminated spruce top, and a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard (21 frets), and a standard Stratocaster headstock. The body is only 3" deep, making it almost as thin as a standard electric. Being an acoustic / electric, the guitar has on-board preamp, with bass, treble, mid, prescence (mid-sweep), and volume controls, with a low-battery indicator light (requires an included 9v battery). The tuners are great, and I haven't experienced any tuning slippage yet. And on top of all this, the black finish looks amazing. The guitar is absolutely beautiful, and will steal the flash from a dreadnought anyday. // 9

Sound: The fiberglass body takes a lot away from the overall volume of the guitar, along with, unfortunately, some of the tone. I found it pretty difficult to get it sounding nice and loud while finger-picking, and strumming with your thumb, it just isn't as loud as a regular-shaped acoustic. Despite these short-comings, the guitar has a very unique tone, and sounds great when played properly. And plugged in, the guitar sounds somewhat similar to a semi-hollow body. The built-in preamp adds a great dynamic to shaping your tone, and lets you dial in exactly what you like. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: This, I believe, is where the Stratocoustic shines the most. The guitar is absolutely beautiful, and seems to glisten. The neck, being identical in almost every way to a Stratocaster's, is a joy to play on. While I've heard some people complain about the action out of the box, I experienced no problem with fret-buzz, nor have I had a problem with the strings being too spaced from the fretboard. It's a wonder to look at, and amazing to play. // 9

Reliability & Durability: My first plugged-in session had me worried I would be shipping the Stratocoustic back. The onboard preamp felt very touchy, and I couldn't quite get it to stay on, even though it was plugged in. After some messing around, I got it to come on, and have since had no problems. The spruce top is so beautiful, that I'm afraid anytime I accidently bump it into something, it'll leave a nick on it. If anything, I'd be worried about accidently denting the top. Otherwise, the hardware is solid and unbreakable, and the finish will last. // 8

Impression: This guitar is my new baby, I can't even let it rest in anything but a proper stand. I love the feel of the electric, but the practicalness of being able to have an acoustic jam session anytime I want. It's a great buy, and is a great fit for almost any style, though, obviously, it's meant for the many styles of rock, due to the very electric feel of this acoustic ax. If only the body was a little more solid, to uphold the tone and help raise the unplugged volume, I would deem this the perfect acoustic guitar ever. // 9

overall: 6.4

Reviewed by: matthew_z31, on april 07, 2005

Features: // 6

Sound: The Stratacoustic doesn't really fit my main style of music (I'm a Zep-head) but I suppose that it is well suited for learning the basics and some simple riffs and such. As I stated earlier I've only had the guitar plugged into an amp once and it sound pretty good on it. Beware, when going acoustic the guitar has a rather flat tone to it. It has no bass reponse whatsoever, but hey it's a thinline. // 6

Action, Fit & Finish: The action of the guitar well suits me. I'm not sure if it's just because I've gotten so used to it or what but I really have to adjust to play on other guitars. The finish of the Stratacoustic is very nice and a pick-gaurd would come in handy as the guitar doesn't have one. Other than that I haven't came across anything. // 8

Reliability & Durability: // 6

Impression: I play a lot of classic rock, some metal, some country, some blues, well heck I play a little of everything and to be honest the tone doesn't fit my needs. In my opinion though, the guitar is great for learning on. Like I said earlier I've been playing about 5 months on this guitar and 5 to 6 months my buddy's prior to me purchasing the Stratacoustic. May God be with the soul that trys to steal my guitar. Afterall it's my first guitar, I love that thing ('nuff said). I love the durability, I would prefer a fuller, richer tone. Played several others while shopping for this one, a Martin, a Taylor, an Ovation and I wound up with the Stratacoustic. Why it over a Martin or Taylor? Because I couldn't afford a Martin or a Taylor. // 6

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 13, 2004

Price paid: $ 200

Purchased from: Musicians Friend

Features: This is a decent 21 fret acoustic/electric guitar. It features a durable fiberglass body (that doesnt seem to hurt the sound too much). It features Fishman classic 4 piezo pickup system (that actually sounds pretty good plugged in). // 8

Sound: This was my first acoustic guitar. There is a slight stock fret buzz that seems to go away with a little peg work. I would say it is a very versitile guitar: you can play pretty much anything with it (even some moderately difficult solos). // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: There wasn't any body damage, the guitar came in great shape. However the pickup was hanging out of the inside when it arrived, but it was no problem, I just pushed it back in there and never had a problem with it. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is extremely durable. The fiberglass body is very sturdy. // 10

Impression: Overall this is a really good guitar. You will have to mess with the pegage to get rid of some of that fret buzz, it is pretty bad out of the box. I have had mine for like 7+ months and havnt had a single problem with it. It is soooo lightweight, you can take it anywhere. I would say this guitar would be good for someone looking for a good ac/elec. // 8

Comments

[tlfdfirefighter]

I own this guitar, This is not what I expected by looking at it...it has an amazing tone for how it looks. It is great for just practicing and even performing. This guitar will not loose its sound quality in amplification like other electrical acoustics. This Acoustic really does have the format to fit an actual strat.

[NoobMuncher3000]

Haha, man this thing is badass. If I played acoustic-based music, I'd get this.

[Eat_0n_Kent]

I'm getting one for xmas, i'll put a review up soon