I’ve wanted an American made Fender Stratocaster since the late 90’s but I’ve never been able to commit to buying one until today. Yesterday I was in touch with a Melbourne based custom guitar builder about building my dream Strat. His quote came in at around $1700-2000+ which I think is reasonable, and something I’d still really love to design and own one day, but it’s still no Fender. I was eyeing a few second hand Strats on eBay but they’re all interstate, and the risk that comes with a $2K eBay purchase kinda freaks me out. Last night I made a reddit post on the /guitar subreddit that went off, and I had a fair few people reply with words of encouragement to go and buy that US Strat I’ve been dreaming of owning for so long.

I found a lefty Fender American Pro II Strat in ‘Dark Night’ for $2,639 at Manny’s in Brisbane, seriously an awesome Batman inspired blueburst blue to black colourway. Sky Music in Melbourne has a sale on the American Pro II Strat at $2,349 (but they didn’t have the Dark Night colourway in stock) and Manny’s were happy to price match so I pounced!

The Fender American Pro II Strat will have a fatter neck than the neck on my Korean made Squier which I’m a little nervous about. I also can’t say that the Dark Night colourway is my dream colourway but hey it’s pretty badass! I would also have preferred a simple maple fretboard over the fancier rosewood fretboard on this guitar and maybe the version with the humbucker in the bridge would have been a more versatile choice, but hey, being a lefty means I always have less choices!

Either way. I’m both exhausted, excited and relieved! Definitely the most expensive guitar I’ve ever bought. I can’t wait until it arrives!

Specifications
Model: American Professional II Stratocaster, Rosewood Fingerboard, Dark Night
Country Of Origin: US
Body: Alder
Body Finish: Gloss Urethane
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Finish: “Super-Natural” Satin Urethane Finish
Neck Shape: Deep “C”
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5″
Number of Frets: 22
Frets Size: Narrow Tall
String Nut: Bone
Nut Width: 42.8mm
Bridge Pickup: V-Mod II Single-Coil Strat
Middle Pickup: V-Mod II Single-Coil Strat
Neck Pickup: V-Mod II Single-Coil Strat
Bridge: 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo, Bent Steel Saddles, Pop-In Tremolo Arm and
Cold-Rolled Steel Block
Tuning Machines: Fender Standard Cast/Sealed Staggered

Just a quick little video to compare the tonal differences between the Artist STHL which has ceramic pickups (a humbucker in the bridge) vs my 1997 Korean made Fender Squier which has Alnico Pickups (single coil in the bridge).

Volume and tone pots on both guitars are all the way up. Same tuning and 8 gauge strings on both guitars. Exact same clean and slightly dirty settings on my Boss Katana for both guitars, absolutely no post editing.

There are a lot of variables in this video (different pickup heights, different guitars) but yes the vague point of the video was for me to figure out which sounds I liked better (on review I like the Squier neck pickup for clean and a bit of dirty and Artist bridge humbucker for a lot of dirty) so my next potential move might be to look for a single coil humbucker like a Seymour Duncan hot rail, Little ’59 or JB Jr. for the bridge of my Squier and an alnico pickup for the neck of my Artist STHL.

Before and after.

I had to drill new holes to get it to fit but it’s come out looking so great!

As the sun rises.

Got up and had the urge to remove the Artist logo off the STH headstock. On the last Artist guitar the sticker was under the clear coat but on the STH there is no clear coat so I went at it with sandpaper and it’s come out tops! Also took off one string tree and replaced the other with a spare Graph Tech string tree I had lying around. I cleaned up the plastic nut a little too (I noticed the little e string grabbing on big bends), got some graphite on it, rolled the fretboard edges and put on a set of 8 gauge strings.

Also took delivery of a black pickguard in the mail today but sadly it doesn’t fit. Not only are the screw holes in the wrong places but the position of the humbucker cutout is completely off. All good, was a cheap purchase in any case. I thought about painting the existing white pickguard black but considering it’s going to get scratched a lot I figure that’s just not a smart move. I then thought about covering it with black vinyl, but yeah nah. I think I’ll just leave it as is for now.

No gaps.

I’m tempted to take one string tree off, and replace the other with a spare Graph Tech string tree I have lying around.

Brand name pickups on a $159 guitar, amazing!

Skinny Minnie.

The trem block on this guitar is super thin in comparison to the block in my Korean made Squier (the guitar body is thinner too which explains why the guitar is so light!). You get what you pay for though, right?!

We are family.

Video review.

That American made Fender Stratocaster continues to allude me! I bought myself another “cheap” guitar to add to my ever growing sub $500 guitar collection!

Was a bit too dark last night to take photos of my new STHL which arrived yesterday so I just took some photos today.
I bought this guitar on eBay from Artist Guitars as a customer returned guitar for $159.

Earlier today I checked the neck with a straight edge and I’m happy to say it’s straight! The action feels right but I checked it anyways and it’s set nice and low on all strings but the top 2 heavy strings which are a tiny bit higher than the rest (easy adjustment). I checked the intonation too and it was off on 2 strings but again, easy adjustment.

All in all it’s just so much guitar for the money. Really most happy with the neck. It feels great, fret ends are smooth, it’s really thin and I love the smooth satin finish on the back. The guitar is super light too which I appreciate as I play standing up.

I’m just going to play it as is for now, standard tuning (my MIK Squire is tuned a whole step down and my MIJ Squier is in Eb) but I’ve ordered a black lefty scratch plate and when that gets in I’ll change over to 8 gauge strings.

For more information on the STH visit Artist Guitars: https://www.artistguitars.com.au/