2010 Fender American Deluxe Strat with N3 pickups REVIEW

[rjworks13]

I have several strats including and American standard, a select with tex-mex pups, and this one in deluxe Tungsten Maple with N3s. I suspect your rig because I have absolutely no 60Hz hum or any noise whatsoever. I like them so much I pulled the tex-mex out of my select strat and loaded them with N3s to complement the Atomic Humbucker. Stacked N3 and S-Duncan pups have have more gain than tex-mex. SCNs have lower gain than N3s. Suggest you double-check the Fender spec sheets.

[shield400]

Beautiful guitar! I have the '11 HSS version w/rosewood fretboard and love it. I can go from classic clean Fender tones to modern day dirt. The N3's are very versatile and like others have mention that "quack" sound is all Fender. My tele has tex-mex pickups and they are okay. I find them to have no extended highs or lows but the dirty rock tones are fair. I won't buy another guitar with tex-mex pups but that's just my preference much like like sugar & cream in your coffee. :)

[TheMAJofficial]

a duck is what a strat is supposed to sound like if you don't like it don't buy strats plain and simple

[AusShinDig]

I like the 'duckie' sound from the neck/S1 pickup. Hope to pick one of these up next month.

[lockpicker2k]

It's the Fender Nickel Plated Steel strings that make this guitar sound so jangly. Combine that with the maple neck and those string sound even spankier. First thing I do on a new Fender is change the strings and unless I'm looking for that vintage sound I go for a rosewood fretboard. Btw, Tex Mex pups are the worst.

[PlasticC4]

Why is this N3 noisier than the SCN model?

[busterswt]

Button "IN" for the most part Sucks...Mine is a 2005 and with the Switch in 1, 2, 3 positions (button in) sounds OK...but 4 & 5 are far too warm...All positions better for lead and not rhythm (Button "IN")

Overall, it's a well made guitar and if you're a good player...it'll be fine. Just don't use a POS Fender Amp...(New Models)

[ViciousMaximus]

Hey man How is the heel axcess???

[spigeddynmeetbawlz]

@ViciousMaximus i dont notice it...good or bad ? idont know....:)

[Nevigo]

I bought one of these 2 month ago.Now I just need to get it scalloped,then it will be real fantastic.IMO the best Strat Fender has made.

[plindsey3]

Your "quacking duck" comment at 3:31 cracked me up, since that's the sound that sold me on this guitar. I can see using it to highlight certain parts of a song.

[wmiranda21]

Really nice review dude !!!

I´ll got to USA next week and I´ll buy one of this model...your review helps me a lot to decide !!!

Regards,

Wanderson

[MrAlvatroz]

Ok thanks for the advice, I had a Stratocaster Olympic Pearl MN

in my hands 2 days ago and I can"t get her of my mind! You are right about the S1 switch. Still it felt very nice.

[MrGuitardude92]

Got this guitar couple of weeks ago and it IS brilliant. noiseless pickups really ARE noiseless and if you tweak it, you can get a great tone.

Tried it in two stores, one of which had a tube amp and it sounded crystal clear and really fat. all i did was add some hybrid strings, bring the pick ups up a little and bring the bridge back (strings brought it up) and its perfect. my only complaint is that although the S1 switch is good, the 'neck' position with the S1 on? sounds thin and horrible...

[MrAlvatroz]

@MrGuitardude92

HI! PLEASE CAN YOU ADVICE ON WITHC GUITAR IS BETTER FOR MOSTLY JAMING, BUT I HAVE EXTREMLY GOOD TASTE

Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS Sienna Sunburst

Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Sunburst MN

[MrGuitardude92]

@MrAlvatroz

well if your only going to be jamming, then i guess you should go for the standard strat. remember, HSS means it does not have three single coil pick ups. it has one hum bucker pick up (bridge pickup) and the neck and middle are single coils. this means the bridge sounds a bit different, and a bit more powerful and punchy than a single coil.

and depends. if you only jam, why waste loads of money on a deluxe? and think about if you prefer a HSS or SSS (three single coils) that help?

[MrAlvatroz]

@MrGuitardude92 I have a big dilema, in 2 weeks get my Fender strat dlx2010. need to decide betwen Vox VT40+ - Marshall class 5 - Fender Super Champ XD

Fender Mustang III

Thanks in advance

[MrGuitardude92]

@MrAlvatroz

hey man, k first of all, im not really too familiar with all of these amps lol. so i did some googling for ya and heres what i found.

Vox- sounds a bit thin to me.

Marshall - sounds better, hasn't got much in the way of effects and needs to be cranked up to distort it.

super champ- loads of effects and also uses tubes, which gives a great tone

mustang- nice and fat sound, LOADS of EQ and effect control.

IMO? its between the fender and the super champ, but i like fat strat tone.

[MrAlvatroz]

@MrGuitardude92 Hi man , I went for the vox vt 40+ , and I'm really satisfied with it, thank you for influencing me in buying the Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster "Ash Aged Cherry Burst MN" . What a beauty, I'm in love.!!!!!

[MrGuitardude92]

@MrAlvatroz

aw sweet, enjoy it man. sounded slightly thin to me but might have just been the quality of the video i watched, but if you like it then i'm glad for you dude. and yeah it is a beautiful guitar with some great sounds. just play around with the settings on the amp and the guitar for a couple of hours, and you will find your new perfect tone :3

and hey if you're willing to pay for it, you can get your self some great cheap pedals too.

Happy playin' dude.

[marcellocorreia]

LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINDA!

[Evertale1]

That second sound with the neck pick-up sounds quite like a tele-ish neck pickup sound... That's quite cool actually.

[StainIessChina]

The N3 pickups do not sound at all like a traditional fender, they're not bad they just don't have that fender sound I was very disappointed by that, also to let everyone know they are humbuckers they're just disguised as single-coils because the coils are stacked instead of side by side

[Nautilus987]

@StainIessChina but that is only if you hit the switch. no?

[StainIessChina]

@Nautilus987 No actually once I spent some more time with them they are actually pretty terrible, I swapped them out for some custom shop 69s. Regardless of what position either switch is the N3s are technically humbuckers, and contrary to popular belief the S-1 doesn't switch coils, in fact the guitar comes with a diagram that shows you what it does, all it does is activate all 3 pickups at once than you can use the 5-way to either invert the phase or blend to bridge and neck pickups.

[Nautilus987]

@StainIessChina bummer, I wanted to have a semi-humbucker sound for lead distortion, but also a single coil sound =( i thought the s1 switching would help

[StainIessChina]

@Nautilus987 Well they changed the way the S-1 works for this model, I'm not to sure but I think the old S-1 does have coil splitting, but if you want something that sounds like a humbucker the N3s do sound like humbuckers because they technically are, they're just really low output like lower than a typical single-coil, so I would recommend a PRS, it sounds similar but much higher output, and most of them have coil-splitting.

[MrGingerJez]

I bought this exact guitar and cannot put it down! Such a dream to play, so many beautiful sounds (especially with the S1 button), so inspiring to experiment with. If you're thinking about it, buy it.....

[halffulltome]

That "quacking duck" noise is an out of phase sound. I'm not sure why they did that either, but I could see that being a useful sound in the right situation. And it's pronounced abalone-ee. Like bologna or baloney.

[StainIessChina]

@halffulltome Technically it's not if you actually test it, it doesn't actually invert the phase it just weakens the signal a tad bit, but the phase doesn't shift at all as opposed to like a Phase 90 where the phase actually does shift, 90 degrees to be exact, hence the name Phase 90.

[prettdboy]

Ibanez SV5470 has a better tone!!

[StainIessChina]

@prettdboy Ibanez doesn't have any guitar than can even begin to hold a candle to a Fender, in fact they used to rip off Gibson's and Fender's designs all the time until their asses got sued.

[TheStratman2617]

This is a really beautiful guitar. I gotta have one of these.

[horsezens]

I think that the black dots on the maple neck are black pearl. They're using pearl on the rosewood this year too. BTW..nice video. N3s are a vast improvement over the original noiseless Fender pups.

[horsezens]

I think that the black dots on the maple neck are black pearl. They're using pearl on the rosewood this year too. BTW..nice video.

[horsezens]

I think that the black dots on the maple neck are black pearl. They're using pearl on the rosewood this year too.

[tellycastin]

I tried out this model today - it plays really well and the metallic finish is great.

Might go back and buy it!! Good post.

*Check out my Strat demo.

[spigeddynmeetbawlz]

I have already tried changing the pickups and decided to sell the guitar as stock with the original pickups. It's a fine guitar but I am really a modern player and I have no interest in "vintage". Stay tuned for some other reviews.....

[fender83085]

how would you rate the action on the factory setup?

[spigeddynmeetbawlz]

If you are looking for VINTAGE sounds the N3 pickups are good but I would rather choose a non noiseless pickup like Tex Mex . The N3 sounds like there is a noise gate on them. They are very jangly and even brittle but the noiseless feature is nice but not necessary . Overall I would never buy more N3 pickups. I prefer the SCN pickups because they are hotter for high gain stuff

[lighteningboy]

@spigeddynmeetbawlz Have you ever played a club with dirty power? Everyone should have a noisless guitar in their case for times like those. I have one of these, but much prefer the vintage pickups, like the ones in my American Standard Tele. You are right, but these noisless pickups really make a difference when playing a place next to a taxi company, or full of neon lights etc...cheers

[StainIessChina]

@spigeddynmeetbawlz The N3s don't sound anything at all like a vintage strat, they sound like a PRS with incredibly low output, they have no power, and no bite, fender should just stick to classic single-coils the only noiseless pickups that aren't complete garbage are lace sensors, coincidentally they are also the only noiseless that are true single-coils.

[PlasticC4]

@spigeddynmeetbawlz I thought the N3 is considered as the noiseless pickup??? I have the SCN and i use marshall 100W Tube amp which is great setup for blues/rock type of stuff that i play. But i was going to sell the guitar and get the 2010 model. Any feedback welcome.

[fangio7]

if you wanna hear while playing go to 3:30

[bebalafrance]

I have this guitar it plays beautifully and sounds awesome its the best guitar I ever had, playing since1972

[spigeddynmeetbawlz]

The neck position s1 switch does bring some interesting tones with different amps. I have found that my new BLACKSTAR amp actually sounds great in that position. The satin urethane finish is great and this strat is exceptionally well made. Thank you all for the corrections. The pearled inlays are a major disappointment compared to the previous abalone. The pop in tremolo is far superior to the ancient screw in type. Overall I still prefer the SCN pickups because they are hotter.

[megajames3000]

@spigeddynmeetbawlz so can you get good feedback if you want? like hendrixy stuff. and how's that neck's compound radius in comparison to the 9 1/12

[Tele1964]

Thanks for posting this. I have the same model & colour (except for rosewood fretboard) on order, should be here late March. Personally, I didn't mind the funky sound with the 5th position and S1 engaged. How did you like the satin urethane neck finish?

[cactification]

From what I have heard the 2010 models have pearloid inlays not abalone that why you can hardly tell!

I prefer the abalone as would anyone else so why did they change that feature?

[MikeyGee001]

@cactification I'll take darker dots on a maple neck any day. I hated the lighter abalone dots.

[KZ4USA]

My Dots on mine are not that dark.

[wogan1962]

Mine has an Ash body and at high-gain the N3 pickups generate absolutely zero noise whatsoever - nada.

[rtfan13]

is it chuck norris shit

[who8allthepies]

the S1 on , on the neck pickup is suppose to be the thin quacky 1950 vintage sounds..

[who8allthepies]

the body is 2 piece premium grade alder . usa standard strats use 3 piece alder body.

[2009bluehat]

This was very helpful -- I just got one of these. It would have been nice to get your opinion on the pop in tremelo (as opposed to the screw in whammies). Thanks!

[xxPunKxxForeveRxx]

what delay do you used in this video?

[tdurden777]

Position 5 with S-1 engaged is "out of phase", so is position 4. Some people like it, some don't. I like to play blues with it through a light dirty gritty gain setting.

[spigeddynmeetbawlz]

This stil the best guitar out there in this price range. I play it every day !

[Ignore14]

is it worth the money?

[Lyudiato]

Does the strings really stay in tunes when you're using the tremolo ? And what about some bends ? Because i need a good bridge to play some jeff beck's songs ?

[chqtarzan]

they say it is black pearl dots not abalone

they changed the abalones dots

[AirgunAddict256]

my dad picked up some kind of custom model of this... i'm not sure how, but he found it used for a good price. it is all black (including the pickguard) and has the Stevie Ray Vaughn style, really dark-finished maple neck and some kind of gold inlays. great guitar. lots of sounds, very full, huge tone to it, pretty decent neck (i'm a fan of thinner necks, however), and it just feels great to play.

i hope to get the HSS version sometime soon... i just need 2 grand....

[mrCONTROLEDCHAOS]

its actuall sunset metallic i think. cant wait until i can buy this baby. ive played it a million times and love the tone paired with the fender hot rod deluxe. anybody got a spare $2000 lying around? hehe

[daveshaw18]

great review.

[notpopebuthope]

Thanks! Great Demo of new 2010 Deluxe! I own one too and I agree with you: Body-weight is a bit more than on all my other American Std. Models; N3-Pickups are not 100% noiseless. There is a small rest of noise! Yes, they sound different to the SCN PUs - as you said, a bit 'brighter', a bit more to orig. Single Coils. You named that color a 'Sienna Sunburst'. Maybe this is wrong. I think they call it 'sunglow'. Neck Radius/Fretboard is new and different to all types before. I like this new Strat.

[Nautilus987]

@notpopebuthope which ones do you recommend? for distortion lead?