The Fender American Stratocaster Electric Guitar is a Fender icon. Yep, even the Lefty. Juicy upgrades include a richer, deeper neck tint for a more elegant and expensive appearance. Glossed neck front for improved looks with satin back for smooth playability. Bent steel Fender saddles with classic look and great tone. String spacing narrowed for modern playability, saddle height screws re-sized to reduce rough feel, and string slot on saddle elongated to reduce string friction or breakage. Copper Infused Cast Strat® Bridge Block (steel with copper- 100% metal) for increased mass and improved tone. This Strat features the original headstock shape but has staggered machine heads losing one string tree and improving string angle over the nut. Custom staggered pickup magnets improve string-to-string balance and give the G-string better tone. Cosmetics include parchment/black/parchment pickguard and parchment pickup covers, knobs, and tips.The return of the American Standard Series Strat continues Fender's tradition of commitment to the people who play Fender instruments out there in the real world. Today's American Standard Stratocaster guitars are worthy heirs of their revered ancestors-mindful of player needs and taking full advantage of modern advances, yet remaining completely true to the elements and spirit that made these instruments legendary in the first place. Improvements include redesigned bridges, neck and body finishes, and a Fender-exclusive high-tech molded case. Still there are the beloved hand-rolled fingerboard edges, alnico V pickups and staggered tuning machines for tone and stability guaranteed to last a lifetime (with its limited lifetime warranty)! So make history with the redesigned American Standard!Redesigned American Standard Strat® Bridge Gives sought-after tone with modern smooth trem travel. Block retains the mass and tone of a vintage bridge block, but is chamfered for access to deeper dives. Saddles have the classic look and tone, but with modern improvements (spacing, slot elongation, height screw length).Bridge Component Specifics American Standard' saddles- The original vintage-style Fender bent steel adjustable saddle is one of the components that give vintage Fenders their tonal mojo'. Fender conducted tone comparison tests, and fell in love with them all over again. They have a wider tonal range and more character many other saddles. Then Fender improved them; narrowing the spacing to afford more room (and complement the bigger frets and rolled edges), and also elongated the string slot to reduce friction and string breakage, while improving the string break angle over the primary contact point. Tone-fusion' block- A typical cast bridge block is impregnated with a resin to eliminate voids' in the material and to bond it together this steel block is infused with copper, which makes the block 100% homogeneous metal. The result is a more musical, higher mass bridge that has more of

The THD UniValve Rackmounted Guitar Amplifier Head is a single-ended class A amplifier head with a single output tube that can be switched at will among many octal-based power tubes, including 6L6, EL34, 6550, KT90, KT88, KT77 and KT66, for different tones without re-biasing the amp. Likewise, the two preamp tubes can be any combination of 12AX7, 12AT7, 12AU7, 12AY7 or 12AZ7. The UniValve delivers tones from smooth and clear to very aggressive overdrive. It is quite small and light, yet easily capable of driving a 4 x 12" cabinet. It has a built-in hot plate power attenuator that allows for full output distortion at almost any volume. And it doesn't cost as much as you might think.What is a Class A? Class A is a term given to an amp that runs its tubes at full current all the time, unlike most tube amps that alternate between running one set of tubes and the other set, each for one half of the wave. The set not in use is turned off by a positive swing of the grid voltage. Single-ended output stages always operate in Class A. Most push-pull amplifiers, including the venerated Vox AC-30 operate in Class AB when overdriven, even if they are in Class A while clean. The upshot is that Class A operation has its own unique tone characteristics that set it apart from other tube amp classes. Class A amps sound great at low volumes, and even better as you turn them up. Thus, with the relatively low wattage of the UniValve you can turn up the amplifier to take full advantage of its stunning output distortion tone without deafening anyone. Why the self-biasing feature? The UniValve's circuitry senses the current needs of the output tube and provides the correct bias volt-age to the cathode of the output tube regardless of tube type or wear. This means that, without any trip to an amp technician, you can simply replace the output tube with one that has different sound characteristics. (Of course, you can also change the preamp tubes at will for even more tonal variations.) For example, a 6550 will stay cleaner at higher volumes, but when overdriven, yields an astoundingly "woody" character to the overdrive. On the other hand, an EL34 will break up earlier than a 6550 and gives a more British sound. The ever-popular 6L6 family of tubes gives a tight overdrive with less power than a 6550 but more detail than an EL34. Even within the same type of output tube there are "harder" and "softer" tubes, so two guitarists playing with the same guitar through the same UniValve, but simply switching the tubes to their preference, can have noticeably different tones.Controls and Features The UniValve has two inputs: one for high gain and one for low gain ranges. The low gain input with 12AX7 preamp tubes in the amp gives a wide range of clean sounds from country clean and crisp to jazz warmth. With the controls pegged and a relatively high-output humbucker, the low-gain input can deliver a very convincing Texas blues type of ov

The Les Paul Custom VOS re-creates the Les Paul Custom as it was at a pivotal moment in its history-the year when the PAF humbuckers became standard issue. These remarkable new pickups gave the Les Paul a thicker sound that was at the time especially unique. Like all VOS (Vintage Original Spec) Series instruments, the 1957 Les Paul Custom VOS is handcrafted for comfort and playability in the Gibson Custom Shop. The construction, neck profile, hardware, and electronics are period accurate, and a special nitrocellulose finish treatment gives it the patina of a gently aged vintage guitar. Includes Gibson Custom Shop case, a certificate of authenticity, and custom care kit.