Fender Classic Player 50s Strat in Sonic Blue

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Fender Vintera '50s Stratocaster - Sonic Blue

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Descended from the Strats of the '50s

Designed to capture the feel of the earliest Fender solidbody guitars, the Fender Vintera '50s Stratocaster oozes the vibe of a classic Strat without the price tag. Staying true to the originals, the vintage-style frets, single-ply white pickguard, and maple neck give you the look and feel of a real '50s Strat. When you plug this one in, you'll hear Tim Shaw–designed '50s pickups that are mellow without too much bite. Trust us, we love these '50s pickups here at Sweetwater, and we bet you will too. If you want a vintage-correct Strat at a price that won't force you to take out a second mortgage, the Fender Vintera '50s Stratocaster is the one for you.

Related Videos: Vintera '50s Stratocaster - Sonic Blue

Very comfortable "V" neck

The Fender Vintera '50s Stratocaster has the classic '50s soft V-shaped neck profile that feels incredible in your hand. This Strat's take on the "V" profile is softer and more similar to a U-profile neck. The 7.25"-radius maple fingerboard is complete with vintage-styled frets that feel incredible to play. This neck secures to the alder body with the traditional 4-bolt plate. This neck is such a complete re-creation of a classic Fender neck that it has a vintage-correct tint that makes it look amazing onstage or on your wall.

Classic electronics with modern switching

This Strat comes loaded with Tim Shaw–designed '50s pickups that use period-correct Formvar wire and staggered Alnico VI magnets. You'll notice that these pickups have that killer Strat tone that sounds amazing whether it's running at 10, 3, clean, or dirty. The best thing about this Strat is that it comes with a 5-way switch that gives you more tonal options than the traditional 3-way switch.

The Vintera Series — value-priced, vintage-styled Fenders

The Vintera Series offers Fender's most popular models in a myriad of shapes and sizes. These instruments are ideal for players who dig vintage-style Fenders, but feel that American Original and Custom Shop guitars are out of their reach. Vintera Series instruments are available in both Vintage and Modified configurations: Vintage models span the '50s to the '70s, with period-correct specifications for each era, while Modified models look like vintage instruments but include modern updates that contemporary guitarists will appreciate. All Vintera Series guitars and basses boast Tim Shaw–designed pickups and are available in a wide array of vintage-inspired colors. The guitarists here at Sweetwater have found the Vintera Series to be the perfect introduction to Fender's iconic lineup of legendary instruments.

Fender Vintera '50s Stratocaster Features:

• Alder body adds resonance
• Tim Shaw–designed '50s pickups capture vintage Strat tones
• Vintage-style tremolo bridge oozes classic vibe
• Soft "V" neck profile and 7.25" fretboard radius feel natural in your hand
• 5-way switching unlocks even more tones

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Tech Specs

• 6
• Right-handed
• Solidbody
• Vintera '50s Stratocaster
• Alder
• Gloss Polyester
• Sonic Blue
• Maple
• Soft V
• Bolt-on
• 7.25"
• Maple
• Black Dots
• 21, Vintage
• 25.5"
• 1.650"
• Synthetic Bone
• 6-saddle Vintage-style Synchronized Tremolo
• Vintage-style
• Vintage-style '50s Strat Single-coil
• Vintage-style '50s Strat Single-coil
• Vintage-style '50s Strat Single-coil
• 1 x master volume, 2 x tone
• 5-way blade pickup switch
• Fender NPS, .009-.042
• Gig Bag
• 0149912372

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Aesthetically pleasing and sounds great. The volume and tone knobs feel a bit cheap and loose compared to other guitars that I have. I'm used to more modern necks but the classic neck style does not disappoint. Plays and feels great. The only real downside to this guitar is now I want the modified version too.

I bought this guitar in November 2019. I had it pleked and the nut replaced with a graphtech. This guitar cam perfectly packaged and in perfect condition. Every note rings true and intonation on every fret is spot on. I hadn't had a neck pleked before, but every guitar I buy from now on will be pleked. My Sweetwater Rep, Dennis Konicki, did an awesome job and provided top notch customer service. I highly recommend him and this guitar!

This is a beautiful guitar and unique color! The soft V neck feels great (I usually play C shape guitars) and to be honest I am most impressed with the pickup system! Lots a great tones out of this guitar.

Bought this model (sonic blue Vintera 50's) new about 3 months ago.

Finish and quality: The finish on the body and the neck are worthy of the price. I have found no flaws in the finishing.
The neck, the tuners, the frets and the body all 'feel' as quality as any strat I've ever picked up. The input jack accepts several different brands of cords equally well (something my Squiers and Epiphones don't always do). The switch feels solid, as do the pots. (more on knobs later)
The bridge saddles seem fine as a replica of the 50's versions (but I wouldn't know because I've never played a real 50's edition), and definitely a notch or two in quality above the Squiers' I've owned. I definitely prefer the look, feel and action of my USA strat's two-point tremolo and the saddles it comes with, but the Vintera's is quite functional for the types of Ventures' uses I make of it.

Those volume and tone knobs, however, do seem to be significantly less dense than my USA strat's. I'm sorry, but they just don't feel like they belong... But if they bug me too much, I will change them out. The pickguard, on the other hand, is totally unacceptable. The single-ply looks and feels flimsy, and does not lay flat even if I take out all the screws. When I look closely at demo videos, I think I can see the same problem on some of those examples as well. So, unless the 50's pick guards were notorious for this 'feature' and Fender made it a priority to replicate it on the Vinteras (OMG why?), I think they were just plain careless in their proofing of prototype runs. Seems silly to let this detail slip by final customer previews.

The differences of the 7.25" radius and the altered 'v' shape neck are easily felt. The 50's neck is different, and pleasing. I won't say better or worse than my modern 'c' and >9" radius necks, just different. And definitely comfortable. My scrawny hands like both neck profiles. My USA strat has enough fret wear that I can't really attest to the impact of radius on string bends, but running bar chords in the positions near the nut seems 'easier' on the Vintera. (of course, that could be power of suggestion too.)

I love the sound of the pickups. I play mostly 'clean' with modest reverb and some tape delay/echo, so when I turn up the volume I expect the guitar to ring and chime, not get screechy and harsh like cheap ones will do. The Vintera pickups are great and again, a little different than my '87 USA Strat though I can't really explain how. Since I often play the 2 and 4 (mixed) positions of the switch, and I like everything I hear out of my '68 Deluxe Reverb Custom, I am not motivated to pin the tonal differences down. I suspect I could get identical sounds out of both with minor tweaks to the controls on the guitar and amp. Ultimately, you have to try them in person to see how they feel and sound to you.

Would I buy this again? Absolutely! But I would tell my dealer to fix the warped pick guard before I paid... for this beauty. (If I had known this flaw was later going to irritate me so much, I would have taken this advice myself. Because of Covid I haven't brought this to my local dealer's attention either.)

(I bought my Vintera from my local dealer, not Sweetwater. I buy many things online from Sweetwater, but not guitars because I absolutely need to play them to sell MYSELF on one. I'm sure, however, that Sweetwater would do right by me if I suddenly lost my local dealer or they didn't carry what I was looking for.)

It's impossible to imagine a world without Fender guitars, and if you're like many of the guitarists at Sweetwater, Fender not only made the first guitar you ever bought, they made the last one too. From being the first large-scale electric and bass makers in the '50s to pushing the boundaries of quality in the twenty-first century, it's no wonder Fender is one of the biggest names in the business. As one of the world's largest Fender dealers - with thousands of products in stock at all times - we're always getting our hands on their latest guitars, basses, and amps. We love to tell our customers all about them, so whether you're looking for your first axe or a Custom Shop creation, give your Sales Engineer a call.

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Source: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StratV50SB--fender-vintera-50s-stratocaster-sonic-blue

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