Fender American Deluxe Strat tuning question.

[Progman]

So I'm in quite the dilemma. I am purchasing a new American Deluxe Strat this week and I am stumped on which one to get: HSS or SSS?

I play classic rock, 90's rock (RHCP), and blues, and I LOVE to use the whammy bar. I notice that the HSS model comes with the LSR Roller Nut, and the SSS model doesn't. My current guitar, a Gibson 68 reissue SG with a maestro Vibrola system, is a nightmare with tuning stability, so I really need a guitar that never loses tuning stability during play time. I dig the sound of the SSS model and it fits my needs better, but the HSS has more punch and also has the roller nut... will the SSS model stay in tune after whammy use or should i go the extra 100 for the HSS?

 

[SMark]

I have a dozen Strats and three of those have the LSR Roller Nut. I'm a fan of the LSR and I do really like it, and it's a fact that my favorite Strat is one of those three, but I also use the trem a lot and don't really find that the LSR makes what I would call a huge difference in tuning stability. At least, not when considering a properly (for me) set-up Strat in the first place. One thing that I do that is probably a bit different than most Strats in use today is that I "minimize" the break angle at the back of the nut. Which means I only use a string tree when absolutely necessary, and I almost never use a second string tree. The "almost" is because one of my Strat necks came with 2 string trees and this particular Strat stays in tune very well with them. It's one of those..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it" sort of things. Six of my dozen Strats don't have any string trees.

 

[Progman]

I have a dozen Strats and three of those have the LSR Roller Nut. I'm a fan of the LSR and I do really like it, and it's a fact that my favorite Strat is one of those three, but I also use the trem a lot and don't really find that the LSR makes what I would call a huge difference in tuning stability. At least, not when considering a properly (for me) set-up Strat in the first place. One thing that I do that is probably a bit different than most Strats in use today is that I "minimize" the break angle at the back of the nut. Which means I only use a string tree when absolutely necessary, and I almost never use a second string tree. The "almost" is because one of my Strat necks came with 2 string trees and this particular Strat stays in tune very well with them. It's one of those..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it" sort of things. Six of my dozen Strats don't have any string trees.

Thanks for the info man. I also realized that the Deluxe Strats have Locking Tuners either way. I guess I will try them both out to see which one gets to leave the store...

 

[MichaelSaulnier]

For me, there's no question that the LSR nut, along with the locking staggered height tuners, make certain I'm going to be in tune even after radical dive bombing with the trem bar.

I've never had any binding at the nut, and I can switch to different string gauges without having to file or replace the nut.

I also prefer to have a SSH setup on at least one of my gigging strats... so for me, it was a no brainer to go with the LSR / SSH style american deluxe model.

M