i replaced the stock pickups with fender lace sensors in the HSS config. red in bridge, gold in middle, and blue in the neck. This guitar is the most amazing non-trem equiped guitar. Its so comfortable and easy to play. I played my First Act V-dub guitar for a week, and when i picked my strat back up, it just felt like home. GOOD JOB, FENDER!

if you're lucky enough to find one of these GET IT! the added wood from not having the trem gives more sustain. it really is the perfect guitar - other than, say, 80's left over players. - who uses trem's anymore anyway! and even those guys used flyod rose ones . . . the body is routed for hhh so you have a wide array of possibilities w. this guitar. and fwiw w/ the fender pearlygates humbucker in the bridge it will ROCK any LP. (I've put it up against several, less sus than a LP but the tone is the same, if not better!! imo i now have 2 of these guitars and NOTHING compares!!!!

I dont now why i cant play on Stratocasters. When i try it just dosent work out. But when i play on a gibson SG Standard im playing without any problems. Good guitar really, even tho i cant play on it. I can complain about 1 thing on this guitar, expekt the playability that dosent work for me for some reason. That is...The volume knob. For me it is so incredibly missplaced. Its annoying when i try play on the guitar. It gets in the way and umm...yea you now its just beeing there and annoying me. Well im obviesly not a Stratocaster man. Still tho this is agreat guitar ;) For those that can play it. Personally tho, I prefer Gibson SG!

I have owned this guitar for about a year now and I have to say it is one of the all around best guitars I have ever played. The hard tail bridge provides for a perfectly tunned guitar every time. The volume and tone pots are high quality so buzzing is not an issue. Since I play a heavier kind of music I changed the pickups to DiMarzio HS-3 pickups. These pickups allowed me to add huge amounts of sustain and a warm/fat sound without eliminating the guitars overall clarity and top end. The body is comfortable and easy on the back, the neck is smooth and fast, and the quality of the guitar is top of the line. Overall this guitar is a great buy!

After playing standard strats (Mexican made)for years, and loving it, I just had to have an American start, and in the hard tail model. Its an absolute dream guitar! At first getting used to the slightly wider nut/neck width was a minor bother, but now the feel is in line with my other guitars of the same width, namely my Martin acoustics. Its a consistency that now feels absolutely perfect! (I want a white one for a choice of colors to match my attire.) The parchment (eggshell white) pickguard looks awesome against the black body. The maple board is sweet. This version looks a lot like the Clapton model, but with the modern C shaped neck, and modern bridge pieces, less the tremolo. (I never use tremolo) Best guitar on the planet! The only complaint is the case that came with this American start. It is less sturdy and less protective than the aftermarket Fender case that I have for my other start. Specifically, the compartment box inside is especially harsh to the neck, which rests on a sharp tip of the compartment box. I remedied this by pulling out the box panel, trimming it to mate flush with the neck.