NGD!

[OldStrummer]

@ch willie has his new Dark Night Stratocaster, and now I'm joining the Legion of Super Heroes with the addition of my 2019 Fender Hybrid '50s Stratocaster FSR Sherwood Green w/ USA Pickups, MIJ. Alder body, one-piece maple neck, Fender black bobbin pickups, USA-made CTS pots, a two-point vibrato unit, locking vintage-style tuners, larger fretwire, a modern fretboard radius, and a silky smooth satin "V" neck profile finish.

It arrived yesterday from Seattle and I let it sit in its box overnight to acclimate. It was worth the wait!

[phantomman]

Prettiest thing I've seen all day!

Congrats.

[ch willie]

Stunning, OS. Congratulations!

[OldStrummer]

Prettiest thing I've seen all day!

Congrats.

Thanks. The photos I took with my phone don't do it justice. And I didn't/don't have the time to take "real" photos of it. Here's some "reference" photos that render the color truer to true.

[Offshore Angler]

Cool! I love the way that thing is spec'ed out. A real player's piece.

BTW, you don't need to let a poly finish come to temp slowly, you can pop that case right open. For nitro, yeah, we avoid rapid temp changes to protect from finish checking. Of course, when you pay $10,000 for a Murphy Lab guitar they add the finish checking - so go figure.

Only a guitar buyer would go to great pains to avoid what you pay extra for, lol!

Also, no need to detune. The only thing I do when put my guitar in the road case is put a piece of paper between the strings and frets. In fact, when you detune for shipping the fret wear is even worse. The paper is the one thing that I'd insist on.

Chuck

[phantomman]

How does it feel, play, and sound?

[OldStrummer]

Cool! I love the way that thing is spec'ed out. A real player's piece.

BTW, you don't need to let a poly finish come to temp slowly, you can pop that case right open. For nitro, yeah, we avoid rapid temp changes to protect from finish checking. Of course, when you pay $10,000 for a Murphy Lab guitar they add the finish checking - so go figure.

Only a guitar buyer would go to great pains to avoid what you pay extra for, lol!

Also, no need to detune. The only thing I do when put my guitar in the road case is put a piece of paper between the strings and frets. In fact, when you detune for shipping the fret wear is even worse. The paper is the one thing that I'd insist on.

Chuck

The seller did a fabulous job wrapping and shipping it! No expense was spared to swaddle it in bubble wrap, and as you mentioned, they de-tuned it and very professionally placed a fretboard paper guard between the strings and board, and then used a paper strap to hold it in place. All in all, this was a guitar player's guitar shop. I'm quite impressed!

How does it feel, play, and sound?

Well, I'm not the most detail oriented or massively critical kind of guy, and I've only been able to bang on it for a short while, so here are my very first impressions:

At first I thought the guitar sounded dark and atonal. But I had to dial in the amp before I could make it sing, and once I cranked up the volume, I didn't have to do much with the amp. The five-way selector switch really does allow for major tonal changes, and the action is fast and low.

I wasn't sure about the "U" neck profile. It didn't bother me, but I've just come from playing my "soft-V" EC Strat, and the neck feels a bit "chunkier." It's said that the V and the U are good for players who like to wrap their thumbs, and in that case, I had no issue. I like the locking tuners (I know some people don't), and since I had to tune it up after unpacking, it's nice that they didn't slip during the process. My CS Robin Trower Strat has locking tuners, and I think I'm a fan.

My warm-up song was Spirit's I Got A Line On You, which is pretty much all barre chords (except for the lead) and it played and sounded pretty good.

It came with its original gig bag, but I think I'd prefer a hard case for long-term storage. I looked at the G&G "authentic" Fender cases, but one pays a premium, and I'm not sure if one is paying for the name, or if the G&G cases are actually better than those offered by Sweetwater, GC, Musicians Friend, etc?

[Offshore Angler]

For the price of a Fender case just buy an SKB and be done with it.

[OldStrummer]

I like SKB cases! I bought one made to fit a Taylor GS Mini, and it's perfect. Turns out it's the right size for my Breedlove, so I bought another. The top prize goes to the case I bought for my 1957 Gibson ES-225 to replace the original, which was falling apart. Quality construction and perfect fit! I wouldn't hesitate to buy another!

[gibsonjunkie]

Thaat is one purty guitar!

[Offshore Angler]

I like SKB cases! I bought one made to fit a Taylor GS Mini, and it's perfect. Turns out it's the right size for my Breedlove, so I bought another. The top prize goes to the case I bought for my 1957 Gibson ES-225 to replace the original, which was falling apart. Quality construction and perfect fit! I wouldn't hesitate to buy another!

I will gladly take the 1957 Gibson case off your hands regardless of condition.

[phantomman]

I like SKB cases! I bought one made to fit a Taylor GS Mini, and it's perfect. Turns out it's the right size for my Breedlove, so I bought another. The top prize goes to the case I bought for my 1957 Gibson ES-225 to replace the original, which was falling apart. Quality construction and perfect fit! I wouldn't hesitate to buy another!

I've got an SKB case for my Ibanez PF120 and it fits like a glove. Solid construction throughout and reasonably priced.

[Offshore Angler]

My SKBs have been warped by the rain, driven by the snow, they're drunk and dirty don't you know that they're still willin'.

[Bill Moore]

A little over a year ago I bought a couple of SKB shaped molded cases for a little over $100 each delivered. Back in the fall I picked up another Strat, and nothing was under $150. Musicians Friend had a deal on a tweed wood case for $75 so I bought it, but it is "YELLOW". Found a deal last month on a square molded Fender case, (before the TSA latches), and the Strat is a lot more comfortable in it!

[Michael Smith]

I have a Musicians Friend's case for my Strat from about 20 years ago. It smelled at first, from the lining or the glue, but it is fine now.

[Offshore Angler]

Regarding the molded Fender cases and why I don't use them:

The hinges are only pressed into the plastic and WILL come loose. Also the hinges are crap to begin with and rust up the first time they get wet. This only makes the fact that they are only pressed in even worse.

The even worse issue is the glue they use on the fabric is water soluble. It's only a matter of time until your case gets left open at an outdoor gig. This happened to me and I packed up after the show, went home and opened the cases to let them air out. Guess what. When I lifted the guitars out the lining had become glued to them. When the casings dried the glue that had migrated into the fabric dried again and the fabric is now hard. I have these cases if anyone wants to see them.

So nothing but good road cases for me. If you just want to store guitars in the house as a hobby the factory cases may be adequate, but once you start using them to move guitars between shows they give up pretty quick. The old Lipton cases excluded.

If you're on the road, use a road case.

Chuck

[cka73]

Wow! Really pretty guitar. Love that color.