StRanger7032 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I've owned 3 USA Fenders in the last few years: A 2014 Strat Standard, a 2013 Tele Standard, and a 2013 Strat Deluxe. The two Strats have both had major fretboard problems. The 2014 Strat was so bad it got returned to Guitar Center. The 2013 Strat just went in to have all the frets glued back down and a major fret job ($120). The guitar has been played maybe 10-15 hours. Its been kept in the proper humidity, so that's not the issue. While Gibson's quality seems to have been on the rise in the last few years, my experiences with Fenders from the same model years have not inspired confidence. I would expect this kind of problem with a Chinese Squier, not a high dollar USA made instrument. At least the 2013 Tele has held up well so far. Anyone else have problems with USA Fenders lately or is it just me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american cheez Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 had a 2006 strat that absolutely refused to sound like an LP. i totally got rid of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Hayden Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I have a 2012 American Fender Select Strat and 2012 American Fender Tele , no problems with either one. 4H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingarmadillo Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I have a 2004 Strat, a 2005 Tele, and a 2007 Strat 12. No problems with any of them and they're extremely stable - much more than my Gibsons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny V Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I have owned 5 different Fenders over the years and had no issues with any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I have 4 US Fenders, 4 MIM, 3 Chinese, and 1 Japanese. They include A Strat, Teles Jazzmasters, Jaguars and a Marauder. I bought my daughter a couple of Squiers on top of those as well. They are all truly fine guitars, though the Chinese Marauder and one of my kid's Squiers were shoddy wiring jobs. No fret problems, no tuning issues, no hardware issues. The MIM Fenders honestly are well and truly some of the best electric solid body guitars for their price, and offer really great value for money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 The only US Fender of mine is my Telecaster Deluxe Ash made in 2012. The problems due to workmanship were: - Both the threads in the wood for mounting the control and switch plate were dull. The Thomann service used woodplugs for repair. - The soldering point of the bridge pickup's hot wire at the blade switch was bad. No problem for the Thomann service though. - One of the string ferrules fell off during the first string change. I glued it back in using paper glue. There also has been what I think is a design fault. The one-ply pickguard bulged and vibrated annoyingly. I replaced it with a three-plies laminated one which solved the problem. Other than that she's an exceptionally great guitar. All of my pals are stumped and amazed by tone and sustain. The latter keeps up with most Les Paul guitars. I believed in an instant that Jimmy Page used a Tele for recording his "Stairway To Heaven" solo. My alder-bodied MIM Teles can't compete. However, the American Standard Ash Tele of the bandmate who sadly passed away five weeks ago is very close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 had a 2006 strat that absolutely refused to sound like an LP. i totally got rid of it Hysterical. .. My most recent fender is a 2014 US standard which has been great cept it also won't do the Les Paul thing at all, I don't know what is causing this,,,, doh!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster1 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I have a 2010 Standard Strat, 60th Aniv. Tele, 2013 Standard Strat & and a 60th Aniv. Strat. All pretty much flawless and I was delighted they didn't sound like a LP or I would have had to get rid of them!!! Fit, finish, sound, electronics etc. beyond my expectations. Esp. on the Annie's, & 2013. Aster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 1999 American STD Strat and a 2007 American STD Tele. Slight paint issue on the Strat, no issues on the Tele. Both great guitars. 1996 and 1998 Studio LPs, both perfect. Three Memphis ES-335s from around 2005 that all had neck and fret issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 had a 2006 strat that absolutely refused to sound like an LP. i totally got rid of it Hysterical. .. My most recent fender is a 2014 US standard which has been great cept it also won't do the Les Paul thing at all, I don't know what is causing this,,,, doh!!!! You brought me a hell of a laugh, mates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69tele Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 10 different Fender guitars, and 2 basses, no problems with any of them what so ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I once owned a real nice Indonesian Affinity Telecaster that was a decent guitar, a couple Affinity Strats, and my only complaint on any of them was the beyond-crap-tuners, otherwise they were great players. Right now I have a dumpster save in a Johnson Stratothingy with a Starcaster neck that after a few minor tweaks and re-solders is the best playing/sounding of ANY of the others. Last Fender I had was a MIJ Strat with a floyd/license bridge that was one of my favorite guitars until it, among others, was stolen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I've got a Chinese made Modern Player Strat and it's a great guitar. Nothing wrong with it at all. Even the wiring is ok (I changed the pickguard). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Hello! I am a happy owner of a 2010 MIM Standard Ash Tele (FSR), and a 2013 AM Deluxe Strat. Both were great out of the box. After a bit of personalization of the setup, they are both perfect. And the Tele does the Les Paul thing too! One of my main shredders. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I have like 10 or 11 Fenders, teles, strats, coronado - have no issues or complaints about any of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I have 3 USA Fenders......... 2011 American Standard Tele. 2011 American Special Strat. 2013 American Select Tele HH. The Am Std. Tele is a good straight up guitar. It plays well, sounds like it should, etc. ZERO complaints, but it honestly doesn't WOW me. Not sure what it is.......again, good guitar. Well built. No problems. The Am Select Tele is amazingly beautiful......its the one with the blackwood top. Looks great. Plays great. Very "solid" feeling......just has a stronger/beefier feel than the Am Std. The Am Sp Strat is the surprise of the bunch........the cheapest by far, but it just blows me away. The neck is amazing. It is truly a joy to play. Sounds great. Have not had a bit of trouble with any of them. Quality is very good. I will say I bought all of them used, so I can't say if the original owner had any issues, but no complaints here. NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Looks like the consensus is Fender quality is OK. Good thing too. I have my eye on a new American Deluxe Strat right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I have a lifetime since 1971 using Fenders. I can't imagine a home without a few. I've had dozens of them, none of them ever had a problem you wouldn't expect from them. "I use Fenders because I love them, I hate Fenders because I use them". A famous guy said that to them long ago, and I didn't even get yelled at, they were fine with it! They are tough to play, and just tough, I love them. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 Its good to hear that most of your USA Fenders have been good quality. I guess I just got extremely unlucky with my 2 Strats. Things should be much better next week when I get the 2013 back. I took it to a very highly regarded luthier for the fret work. He showed me that the frets are pulling up in the center instead of the edges, which is unusual. He said he's seen plenty of new and nearly new Fenders and Gibsons with fret issues. None of my Gibsons have had any fret issues at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 ...He showed me that the frets are pulling up in the center instead of the edges, which is unusual. Yes, pulling up from the center is a fret that wasn't fully pressed properly. Drive south to I40, make a right, stop in Winslow AZ and at the Meteor Crater, then head over to CA, left on I15, down to the Fedner factory and experience the chaos first hand! You'll see how it is quite possible for some frets to not get done right, that place is knutz. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I own many Strats and Teles and haven't experienced any of the issues you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingarmadillo Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Hysterical. .. My most recent fender is a 2014 US standard which has been great cept it also won't do the Les Paul thing at all, I don't know what is causing this,,,, doh!!!! I saw an interview with Carlos Santana who said they spent two years on the pups for the new PRS Santana model "... trying to get it to sound like a strat..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StRanger7032 Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 Yes, pulling up from the center is a fret that wasn't fully pressed properly. Drive south to I40, make a right, stop in Winslow AZ and at the Meteor Crater, then head over to CA, left on I15, down to the Fedner factory and experience the chaos first hand! You'll see how it is quite possible for some frets to not get done right, that place is knutz. rct The luthier pretty much told me the same thing (minus the road trip). He said they just don't take enough time to get the frets perfect, even on USA made models. I'm optimistic that it will be perfect once he's done with it. I actually tried to sell it twice, but couldn't get anyone to pay what it should be worth. I decided that I'd want another Strat eventually, so it would be best to just keep this one and get it fixed to my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 The luthier pretty much told me the same thing (minus the road trip). He said they just don't take enough time to get the frets perfect, even on USA made models. I'm optimistic that it will be perfect once he's done with it. I actually tried to sell it twice, but couldn't get anyone to pay what it should be worth. I decided that I'd want another Strat eventually, so it would be best to just keep this one and get it fixed to my liking. I am certain he will fix it up just fine, Leo wanted them to be repairable. Well, maybe not brand new repairable. mmmmmm...road trip...I wear the San Juan Mountains on my left middle finger, carved in sterling by a lady up in Ouray. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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