Fender American Elite Stratocaster - Olympic Pearl with Rosewood Fingerboard Reviews
Over a dozen new innovations, such as fourth-generation noiseless pickups and high-mass, full-sustain saddles, conspire to make the American Elite Stratocaster one of the best modern Strats for the money. The classic tone cocktail of an alder body and maple neck provides the same punch, bite, and twang that built Fender's empire, but the expanded 10-way S-1 pickup switching system and comfortable compound-radius neck will give even veteran Strat players reason to upgrade. Fender's tremolo system is also better than ever for the American Elite, with a smoother response and a copper-infused bridge plate to help fight tuning slippage.
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Highest Rated Reviews
Top Notch Guitar
I've had this guitar about a week now, and it's probably the best purchase I ever made. Nice balanced feel, and the neck is amazing to play. I've grown accustomed to sanding the necks on my other guitars because I didn't like the feel of the finish. However, the satin finish on the neck is beautifully smooth, and the compound neck radius makes it just that much more comfortable. The Gen 4 Noisless pickups bring to life the classic fender single coil tones we all know and love. As for the body finish, pictures simply don't do it justice. It's absolutely gorgeous. Factory setup wasn't bad, but I play heavier gauge strings so it didn't matter much anyway. The included hard shell case is perfect. My only real complaint is that Fender sends these guitars out with only 3 trem springs in them. You'd think for that much money, they'd come with 5.
Very pleased
I've had this guitar for about a month now, and I will declare it the most stable Strat I've owned (and I've owned quite a few mostly American Standards, and a couple American Deluxes). It holds a setup pretty well.
Most of my other comments pretty much match other online reviews I've seen - the new noiseless pickups sound much better than the previous generation - but, they aren't as quiet. They are "mostly quiet.
Personally, I think the hit the balance point pretty well between tone and noise.
The compound radius on the fingerboard and the neck shape ... you don't really notice it, because it always "just feels right". The new neck heel shape doesn't fell a lot different than the old Deluxe heel, but then , I liked that one just fine.
I will probably end up getting another Elite at some point as a backup.
