Standard Fender Alnico

Categorized | Learn To Play Classical Guitar

Posted on 28 January 2010.

Standard Fender Alnico

Fender American Stratocaster, what are hand rolled fingerboard edges, Alnico V magnets, staggered tuning keys?

I'm in the market for an American standard strat and i was wondering some of the specs meant. Also does anyone know if Vintage tuners are compatible with an American standard or will any drilling etc. be required. If anyone has had a good experience with vintage tuners please let me know, I have doubts about them because Ive read a few bad reviews saying they go out of tune more easily (especially when using the tremolo bar, which i never use) any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Any non-locking tuner will go out of tune with a floating trem (tremolo bar aka whammy bar) or vibrato (bigsby, etc) over time over with usage. Inescapable fact, right there. How you wind your string has more to do with how fast it goes out of tune than whether its vintage or not.

You're talking about the tuner aka machinehead aka that thing you turn to make the strings get into tune, right? Yeah, me too. Alrighty then....

While I don't have personal experience with them, it seems to me that a tuner is really just a tuner - some are better made than others, some are locking, some aren't, some are shiny chrome, and some look faded and beat up and old. I have a sneaking suspicion that "vintage" tuners are mostly in that latter category. They don't touch the vibrating string, after all - the string essentially stops vibrating at the nut. I would say get it for looks, but not for tone. Again, personal opinion, and I consider myself willing to do almost anything (within my budget ha ha!) to get a better tone.

I have not heard of a hand rolled fingerboard edge. I imagine its a finishing trick that makes the edge of the fretboard a little smoother and rounder for a more enjoyable playing experience. I would consider it a minor detail, but if you have the cash for it, I wouldn't view it as a bad thing.

I haven't heard about staggered tuning keys per se. I mean, a headstock is a headstock... perhaps this is a marketing term to describe how every Fender Strat ever made has that distinctive head shape? I mean, Les Paul tuners are arranged differently than a Strat. I wouldn't view this as an important detail - I don't tune in the middle of a song, so when I tune I'm looking at the tuners. They're kinda hard to miss, it's not like they're going to run away....

There are different formulations of Alnico magnets - only a few are used in guitars, namely II and V, if I remember correctly. II is vintage - the type they used decades ago. V is the new formulation, and if I understand/remember correctly it has similar sonic properties, but might be a *little* hotter. Either way, Alnico magnets are going to have a smoother overall sound, especially when contrasted with the ceramic magnets that are found commonly in "rock" pickups. Pickups with ceramic magnets tend to have a more brittle trebly sound, very "attack"-y, if you will. Compare Slash vs Dimebag Darrell, Slash has Alnicos, Dimebag had ceramics (memory don't fail me now!). It's kinda apples and oranges, but the fundamental difference is there (beyond differences in amps, gain, EQ, speakers, playing styles, etc). Of course, that's just in a rock context....

The most important parts of guitar selection to me are in rough order how well the neck fits my hand, how smoothly it plays (fretboard radius, fret size), how it sounds acoustically (good wood = good acoustic tone, even with an electric!), and overall quality of construction (I want it to last). Everything else about the guitar can be swapped out - strings, hardware, electronics, pickups, jacks, knobs, etc - so if that stuff sucks and I'm willing to fork over the dough to fix them, I don't consider that stuff to be deal breakers.

If you are shopping for an instrument that you don't want to have to monkey with or an instrument that you want to keep (and play, hopefully) as a collectible, then you want all of that stuff, of course.

I wish you best of luck in your search! If you do ever want to upgrade your pickups, I heartily recommend the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails, they'll give you a bit more "ooomph" than the stock pickups.

If you think I can help you with other terms and details, I will be more than happy to help. You can email me if you go to my profile, it might take me a few days to respond though.

Again, best of luck!

Saul

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