Menu
Oh, I just remembered one more thing. There was one relatively high-
profile user of the Strat Elite - Ty Tabor of King's X. That was his
main axe until Yamaha made him a signature model - heavily based on
the Strat Elite. He's the only one I know of, though. Black Francis
aka Frank Black (formerly of the Pixies) and Dave Davies of the Kinks
both used a Tele Elite for a while, I think.
--- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@g...>
wrote:
> Malcolm, there was also an Elite Strat in Songbird shop. I don't
> think I've EVER seen one of these in person - I guess they're all
in
> Toronto!
>
> Strat Elite was made around '82-'83 period, and was a big flop. It
> predates all the (much higher quality) Lace Sensor Strat Plus and
> Strat Ultra models, which were not produced until '88 or '89.
Strat
> Elite was done in the dying days of Fender CBS, right before they
> sold the company to current owners. Fender was bleeding cash very
> badly, and CBS finally got a few people in that understood the
Fender
> legacy. They capitalized on it by starting production of 1) the
> ultimately insanely successful and still ongoing Vintage Reissue
line
> ('57 and '62 Strats); 2) a simple, good sounding Strat Standard;
and
> 3) a modernized Strat intended for newer styles of music - that was
> the Strat Elite, and I think it was the top of the line. As you
> pointed out, it had active pickups with a dummy coil which acted as
a
> humbucker, while retaining some of the single coil sounds. It had
a
> radically redesigned tremolo, as well as the entire tone control
> circuit, with the pushbuttons. Also, the shape of the pickguard
and
> the routing underneath is non-standard, so don't buy it thinking
> you'll be able to replace the electronics - you probably won't.
> There were some good ideas there, but ultimately it all degraded
the
> sound of the Strat to something quite generic, from what I
> understand. In addition, Fenders made during this era didn't have
a
> good reputation for quality, though I'm sure there were more than a
> few that were fine guitars.
>
> That's all I can remember about it. I hope that helps. Unless you
> plan on playing in a real, gigging band, don't worry about the trad
> sound, etc. Most of the playing done around the house in unplugged
> anyway, so the feel is much more important than the sound, I
think.
> If you love how you feel, then it's got your name written on it!
>
> Have fun.
> Ivan
>
> --- In , MalcolmO <MalcolmO@c...>
wrote:
> > I was in Encore Music on Saturday and saw a Strat. Has a maple
> fretboard,
> > which I prefer. Has the narrow head and old logo. The neck and
> action were
> > amazing, played itself. The odd thing was... No pole pieces
> showing, just
> > white plastic. I thought it was some kind of aftermarket product
> but, upon
> > closer inspection, "Fender" was impressed in the plastic! I've
> never seen
> > these pickups before. The control knobs were different too. Had
the
> F. No
> > blade switch. Instead, 3 push-button on/off switches for the
pups.
> (Allows
> > neck & bridge with no swapping.) Finally, although the bridge
> assembly
> > appeared fused to the wood, there was a hole for a bar. The
Fender
> name was
> > on that too. And it said "elite" on the neck plate.
> >
> > I'd never seen ANY of this stuff before (I don't get out much.
<G>)
> The guy
> > there told me that this stuff was only used for 2 years in the
> early 80s.
> > Says there's some hum-cancelling deal inside and that the pickups
> are
> > active. Also said that the whammy is down-only.
> >
> > Do we like how it sounds? I didn't have it plugged in. (The wife
> had already
> > gone outside to wait.) I really really liked how it felt. Would I
> like it as
> > much to hear it?
> >
> > Thanks for comments, guys.
> > --
> > Malcolm <<-- not a signature
> > "They should know they're the Grateful Dead now." -- Phil
> > "It's never too late to be up-to-date" -- Dan Hicks
> > "My clock loses time like there's no tomorrow" -- Malcolm
