Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Plus!!! HOLY $#!%

[jay4321]

I'm fine with pluck & chuck parts for some things.

Still there's something reassuring guitars equipped with common, non proprietary parts you can buy anywhere cheap. If Fender isn't successful with this and calls it quits after two or three years, will they support owners with replacement parts for 10 years? 20 years? 40 years? And what will those parts cost?

It seems like Fender and some of these other companies are skipping over a pretty sensible step. Namely, making the entire setup solderless. Not just the pickups, but the pots, output jack, even the ground wire. If you want to do anything complex let it happen across the wiring. I could appreciate that especially if the parts themselves were stock types.

 

[Cagey]

I just want to clarify that when I commented ''NOT cool'' I was speaking strictly from my own perspective. Clearly we're back in the realm of the subjective here, and all that matters is what turns each of us on individually. Whatever 'works' for any guitar player I wholeheartedly encourage!! I happen to prefer analog and tubes--I like the tone, and it suits the music I play--well, SO WHAT?! I just didn't want my comment to sound like a blanket judgement of the technology or especially of Josh. If it 'sounds' ( :icon_biggrin good to you, go for it, and I hope it turns out to be all you ever wanted in your musical gumbo!!  :icon_thumright:

No need to apologize or explain. If they can get $2,500 for a cheaped-out production Strat, you should be able to get $6,000 for one of yours. At least there's some unique talent applied and exposed on your units.

 

[Great Ape]

You're too kind, Kevin...on second thought--just kidding--thank you for the kind words...Now, back to our sponsor.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Possibly due to backlash, but on about the second or third day of NAMM they started reassuring us that they'll bring out something that allows you to connect any pickup, any brand.

 

[Ddbltrbl]

Possibly due to backlash, but on about the second or third day of NAMM they started reassuring us that they'll bring out something that allows you to connect any pickup, any brand.

Well, that's encouraging at least! Now, if they'll start offering 2-point bridges, locking tuners and the thicker necks on a bigger selection of guitars they will be almost as good as a cheap Warmoth guitar!  :toothy12:

 

[Cederick]

If you were going to do this, why not just build all 3 cards / circuits into the guitar and then make them selectable on the front? :dontknow:

EXACTLY! That was the first thing I thought of too when reading about this.
Maybe the third knob on the pickguard could be a rotary switch that switches between tons of options, I don't know.
Maybe even a push-pull knob that has additional options when either raised or lowered...

Eh, this card thing doesn't impress me at all. EMG pickups are mostly solderless too so I don't see the new thing with that either

 

[stratamania]

Selecting between three cards wouldn't work as they plan to bring more cards out in the future apparently, so you can indulge in more card swapping as the muse takes you.

 

[line6man]

Card swapping is hilarious. This is like something you would find on a toy guitar at Walmart. There is nothing they can put on a card that can't be done with switches and such, in a more dignified manner. And what happens when you lose your cards, or the flimsy plastic door on the back breaks off? Or some other tragedy that renders this silly system useless.

 

[Cederick]

Selecting between three cards wouldn't work as they plan to bring more cards out in the future apparently, so you can indulge in more card swapping as the muse takes you.

Not really between different cards but maybe having a very "sophisticated curcuitry" inside... I know nothing about electronics hahahaha

 

[stratamania]

Yes the longevity of this may be short lived, but I guess time will tell.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

They can start selling cards with things like active mid boost. Can't do that in a dignified manner with switches and stuff. There's room for a 9V battery in the cavity, but you only need to buy active circuitry if you want it.

 

[line6man]

Selecting between three cards wouldn't work as they plan to bring more cards out in the future apparently, so you can indulge in more card swapping as the muse takes you.

Not really between different cards but maybe having a very "sophisticated curcuitry" inside... I know nothing about electronics hahahaha

There are only a finite number of things that you can do with three humbuckers, three pots and a five position switch, and the video says that the system is passive, so really, the only options you have are special passive filters, coil splits, and phase switching.

The thing is, almost every player goes through a phase of wanting a million different switching options, thinking it will be the best thing since sliced bread. At that point, they do their mods and experiment with things, and then come to find that there isn't much practical value to all of it. When you have 200 options, and 97 of them sound the same, 53 are useless, and 38 will never be used, you get a dozen sounds, and you won't even use all of them regularly. The vast majority of players end up settling down with just a couple of coil split switches and perhaps a phase switch. Most of the few that do find use for complicated switching schemes end up wanting to mod and tinker, anyway. So what you are left with is a very small market of people that buy into this stuff.

Then again, there are a lot of kids with rich parents that might see this and think it's the coolest thing since the last thing that was the coolest thing since sliced bread. There could be a market.  :dontknow:

(For the record, I'm not a traditionalist. I'm just more concerned with the practical value of things.)

 

[line6man]

They can start selling cards with things like active mid boost. Can't do that in a dignified manner with switches and stuff. There's room for a 9V battery in the cavity, but you only need to buy active circuitry if you want it.

It's a passive circuit, however. They did not design it to be able to use a battery.

And the reason for this, I'm sure, is that a lot of uneducated people see a battery in a guitar and instantly assume it has to sound bad, and that they will have to live out the rest of their lives in terror, praying they won't ever forget to change the battery every Tuesday, as they await the day that the system fails, mid-gig. You can do a lot of great things with active circuits, but a great number of guitarists fear batteries.

 

[Cagey]

... a great number of guitarists fear batteries.

It probably depends a little bit on how old you are. I fear batteries, but I remember how unreliable they used to be and how fast the damned things would leak and ruin whatever they were installed in. I know that for the most part they don't do that any more, but the memories of ruined toys and flashlights just won't go away. Kind of a "once bitten, twice shy" sort of thing.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Nope. I was at NAMM and I asked the guy demoing the guitar if future personality cards could possibly be active. And he said, sure, there's space for a battery in case we decide to do that.

But you're right, at the moment they're emphasising the fact that it's analog and that it's passive so as not to scare Luddites away.

 

[DavyDave53]

Just one question...

Will the guitar work without a card in it?

 

[Jumble Jumble]

No.

 

[Great Ape]

... a great number of guitarists fear batteries.

It probably depends a little bit on how old you are. I fear batteries, but I remember how unreliable they used to be and how fast the damned things would leak and ruin whatever they were installed in. I know that for the most part they don't do that any more, but the memories of ruined toys and flashlights just won't go away. Kind of a "once bitten, twice shy" sort of thing.

Not to mention gettin' HOOKED-UP to one!!

 

[Cagey]

I've never been worried about getting hooked up to one, as most of them aren't of a high enough voltage to have any effect. For most folks, a car battery is as tough as it gets, and they're only 12vdc. Can't even feel it.

Of course, now there are electric vehicles that run at much higher voltages that you don't want to touch lest you get knocked flat on your dick. But, those things are mostly segregated to tree-huggers who deserve such treatment.

 

[Ddbltrbl]

Not to mention gettin' HOOKED-UP to one!!

My mind is going wild trying to decide what past experience is behind that comment!  :evil4: Did it make you dance?  :cool01:  :toothy12: