From Our Research Team:

It's Been Called "The Best Value in Production Guitars Today!"

Ash is a desirable body wood because of its outstanding tonal qualities and classic good looks. Imagine the beauty of a lightweight, figured ash body with a natural finish and then add a lightly-tinted birdseye maple neck and fingerboard. You have the makings of a truly gorgeous guitar! Now mount a single-ply black pickguard and equip it with three specially designed Seymour Duncan pickups with staggered Alnico II magnetic pole pieces. This is without question the best value in production guitars today, particularly when you check out the surprisingly low Sweetwater pricing on this addition to the FENDER^® line!

Fender Lite Ash Stratocaster^® at a Glance:

• Lightweight figured ash body with black single-ply pickguard.
  
• Three specially designed Seymour Duncan APS single coil pickups.
  
• One-piece birdseye maple neck and fingerboard with abalone position markers.

A Whole Lot of Guitar for Your Hard-Earned Dollar
Many early Strats and Teles were built with ash bodies, and then given a translucent "blond" finish. Ash is a choice tone wood that often has very pleasing figure (or grain pattern). This shockingly affordable Strat^® starts with a "custom contoured" lightweight ash body and is finished in a natural polyurethane that shows off the wood beautifully. Unlike most production model Strats, this one comes with a single-ply black pickguard that is a nice contrast to the ash body. Mounted on the pickguard are three specially designed Seymour Duncan pickups with staggered Alnico pole pieces: APS-1N (neck), APS-1RWRP (middle), APS-1B (bridge). The pickups have black covers, and the tone and volume controls are also matching black. A two-point synchronized tremolo lets you bend notes or entire chords up or down with remarkable tuning stability. This Strat also comes with a birdseye maple neck with abalone position markers (see below).

The Trademark Strat Sound - with a Slight Twist
The original Strat had three single coil pickups, so it was able to produce sounds that no other guitar could deliver, particularly once players discovered they could lodge the three-position blade switch in those "in-between" positions to access neck / middle and bridge / middle pickup combinations. These were often erroneously referred to as the "out-of-phase" settings. The Fender Lite Ash Strat comes standard with a modern five-way blade switch, making it easy to access all the pickup combinations, but here's a surprise: Instead of three Fender single coils, this Strat sports three specially designed Seymour Duncan APS single coil pickups. They come with genuine Alnico II staggered magnetic pole pieces. Alnico II magnets are very musical. Their softer magnetic field provides a warmer, sweeter tone and eliminates the brittle, glassy sound sometimes associated with newer instruments. The result is a freer, more natural string vibration for greater sustain. The middle pickup is reverse wound and wired out-of-phase for a truly memorable tone in those classic "in between" positions. To hear the APS pickups, you can go to:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/SDToneWizard/strat.htm

Fast Playing Maple Neck with Deep, Thick Oval Shape
Leo Fender wasn't afraid to "think outside the box" when it came to guitar designs - after all, he was an engineer, not a guitar player. In the 1950s and well into the 1970s, the blond natural maple neck became almost synonymous with Fender guitars. The Fender Lite Ash Strat comes standard with a birdseye maple neck and fingerboard, which looks amazingly like the figured maple necks often found on ridiculously expensive vintage Strats. In keeping with contemporary player preferences, the fast playing neck is finished in a smooth satin polyurethane.

Fender Lite Ash Strat Features:

• Color: Natural.
  
• Body Type: Solidbody electric.
  
• Finish: Polyurethane.
  
• Neck Wood: Birdseye maple.
  
• Neck Shape: Modern "C" shape with 9.5-inch radius.
  
• Scale Length: 25.5 inches.
  
• Body Wood: Solid ash.
  
• Machine Heads: Cast / sealed tuners. 
  
• Fingerboard: Birdseye maple.
  
• No. of Frets: 22.
  
• Position Markers: Abalone dot inlays.
  
• Pickups: Three Seymour Duncan APS single coil pickups.
  
• Controls: Master volume, two tone.
  
• Bridge/Tailpiece: Two-point synchronized tremolo.
  
• Pickup Switching: Five-position blade switch
  
• Hardware: Chrome.

Specification Detail Manufacturer Part Number 026-5002-521

What Does "Special Order" Mean? A special-order product is one that we don't normally keep in stock. We order it from the manufacturer as soon as you order from us. We have great relationships with all the manufacturers we carry, so we can get your special order to you as fast as or faster than anyone else. Remember that special orders are non-returnable and non-cancelable, so make sure the item is right for you. A Sweetwater Sales Engineer can help you decide - call (800) 222-4700 for assistance!