CryogeniX

I'm most likely going to be purchasing a 2012 American Standard Strat HSS. I've been looking into it for a bit and have come across the deluxe, costing between 4 and 6 hundred dollars more than the regular std depending on where I look.

My question is, if I am uninterested in the difference in pickups (I am most likely going to be changing them out anyway after a little bit), and the S1 switch really means nothing to me also, is there really anything else that stands out making the jump in price worth it? I have an open mind, so I'm willing to contemplate any opinions. Thanks!

Axe Murderer

Deluxe should be a little bit better quality wood. It has locking tuners, a contoured heel joint, compound radius neck. It also comes with strap locks. S1 switching is actually a pretty good feature for some meaty tones. Why would you overlook the S1? Id say go with the standard if the main selling points of the Deluxe dont impress you. I have an ash Deluxe and its pretty awesome.

bigblockelectra

Play both at the store. I purchased the standard. I play at least an hour or two every day and it stays in tune very well. I use the tremolo a lot and it still stays in tune. If the cosmetic and build features mean nothing to you as they didn't to me, don't waste the money on the deluxe, the electronics are not worth it, especially if you are going to drop a few hundred on new pickups.

If doing it over again, I would probably buy an HSS. I only use the bridge pickup for distorted sounds as the plain tone is just too twangy and country-western sounding. The middle and neck are excellent. I may purchase a new bridge pickup for more humbucker sounding distorted sounds.

Axe Murderer

The new standards have the 2point bridge system as does the Deluxe. The Standards should keep tune well. The locking tuners dont stabilize tuning IMO but make string changes easier. The drawto the Deluxe for me was the compound radius neck and the S1.

Dave_Mc

generally speaking, the deluxes have several little touches and "improvements" which aren't really strictly necessary, but may make things a little easier on you if you can make use of them. Conversely, if you don't need or want them, you're paying extra money for nothing (unless they use better wood... i dunno if they do or not).

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KenG

The precusor to the Deluxe was the Strat Plus. I had a 93 and it also included a hipshot tremsetter which was a nice touch but I'm not sure if this is true of the deluxe.
The biggest difference between them IMO is the compound radius neck. If you like to bend notes and don't want high action then a higher fretboard radius on a Fender is a very good thing!Noiseless PU s on a Single Coil guitar are also a good thing.
On the HSS vs SSS I guess it depends. The Strat has a unique sound based on SC PUs and the volume balance between HB/SC PUs will not be the same if you switch between them for any given amp/effect setting.. Also one characteristic of the Strat (that I really miss sometimes for clean) is the in between positions Neck/Mid or Mid/Bridge combinations. This sound relies on 1) the Mid PU is phsed reversed and 2) the 2 PUs are close in amplitude getting a fairly good cancellation ting happening. You'd not get this sound on a HSS version.
Just my 2 cents, I owned the Plus for 10 years but now am a die hard LP guy so.....

That being said IF I were to consider a Strat, I would spend the extra and go for the Deluxe hands down (i'd also consider the Ash body)

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CryogeniX

Thank you guys. The S1 just won't be a matter for me, I like to keep it pretty simple when it comes to what pickup combinations I use. Not that it's a bad system, I just know that when all is said and done, I won't be utilizing it much - if at all.

I will definitely be trying them both when D-Day comes and it's time to make the buy, so I'll know how the radius difference feels then.

I'm pretty set on getting the HSS over the SSS, I've played and owned both so I know what i'm getting into there.

Thanks everyone, obviously it'll always be a matter of seeing what happens when I play them, just wanted to hear everyone's opinions first here.

bigblockelectra

You might want to wait a few more weeks to see if Fender does the $100 rebate year end program again. I don't remember when it started last year, but I got my USA stratocaster for about 850 after the rebate.

Why does Fender offer so few color choices? Where are the shades of blue, orange, purple, green, yellow, etc.

2012 added that ugly muted green color.

-Ed-

I had the same choice OP and went for the standard. I've a hot rails bridge and jb jr neck - very happy. I'll stick a hot rails in the middle the next time I have the strings off..