Fender Fat Strat Texas Special -vs- LoneStar - Question

[guitarman1956]

What's the difference? they both have Texas Specials and Seymore Duncan Pearly Gates. Both made in USA. Any differences between the two?

Thanks

 

[mcalldp]

I don't know the difference but I owned a Lone Star for a while. I liked the guitar over all, not a bad player and sounded pretty good. The pickups are a decent combination. There were issues though and I got rid of it eventually. The main problem was the thickest most plastic feeling clear coat available. I hope the fat strat is an improvement in that area.
If memory serves me right (and it may not) I think the Lone Star had a pearly gates PLUS model used in the bridge.

 

[Fro68]

They changed the name when Fender went to the new american and american deluxe series. The Fat Strat Texas Special is the same guitar with the upgrades like rolled fretboard edges.

 

[jezzzz2003]

I owned a "96" for years, worst Strat Ive ever played, sounded dead and had a swimming pool body cavity so its no real suprise, the rosewood was very dead sounding too.

 

[keith_t4e]

the new lonestar is mexican and has two texas specials and one pearly gates. I can't stand the PG Duncan but like the set up maybe with a change of the humbuker to something else.

 

[John Hurtt]

I owned a "96" for years, worst Strat Ive ever played, sounded dead and had a swimming pool body cavity so its no real suprise, the rosewood was very dead sounding too.

My main strat has a swimming pool route and is one of the finest sounding strats I've ever heard.

 

[Austinrocks]

I have the Texas Special, AKA American Deluxe Fat Strat, I got tried of the pickups after a year, the thin brittle tone got wearing on me, I installed a set of Rio Grande Dual Calibrated Fat Bottom pickups, with a split coil in the bridge pickup, love the tone, now.

 

[Fro68]

I had a 96 Lone Star, sold it to a coworker. Missed it so much I had to buy a Fat Strat Texas Special. Still love this guitar. You cant go wrong with either one, really the only difference is the rolled neck and one string tree instead of two.

 

[TheGuildedAge]

I have a lone star. Reddish burst, no swimming hole route in mine. Mine sounds great, although I did change the pickups to a s-s-s setup, and am now back to h-s-s, using dimarzios.

There's a mod out there, I forget the name, where you change the wiring to the bridge pickup sounds more like a P90. I forget what it was though. Sounded cool, but I wanted a change.

In it's original state, I found the pearly gates a bit bright and thin, and the texas specials were ok.

I have dimarzios in mine now, and like it a lot. It's one of only two guitars I have owned that will never be sold. I've gone through Gibsons, Fenders, Hamers, Rickenbackers, Ibanez, Jackson, etc., etc.

I love the neck on mine, feels like an old pair of jeans.

 

[P90Nut]

I have a 1998 Lonestar Stratocaster. I like it alot! The Duncan is a Pearly Gates Plus. It is wound a tad hotter than the standard PG. The trick with the Texas specials, is to screw them down almost flush with the body. Many people take them down even with the body, but I like my action set pretty high, so I leave them up just a bit.

Mark

 

[jezzzz2003]

lol, yeah sure.

The Rosewood was dead sounding???

Sounded dead because of the swimming pool body cavity???

Owned it for years even though it was the worst Strat you ever played???

Great review, thanks, is your surname, Seinfeld?

Thanks for your insight but yes, it was the worst Strat Ive played for quite some time, and yes I owned it for years because I didnt have the means to purchase another, this guitar was dead and alot of people will agree with me that the mid ninetees guitars were the worst theyve ever been,
sustain? no, thin? yes, neck resonant? no, big fat poly laquer? yes, horses for courses but this one wasnt for me, I also played a mates "97" and it was the same old story, may I ask what was so good about them?

 

[Roark]

Had a '97 lone star and sold it due to the thin tone, I hated to sell it cause it play it played wonderfully.

 

[Austinrocks]

Had a '97 lone star and sold it due to the thin tone, I hated to sell it cause it play it played wonderfully.

Thats the thing about strats, I love to play them, but until I have replaced the pickups I grow to hate them for their thin brittle tone, I however all my guitars have had the pickups replaced, strats and Les Pauls, its just had to know how the pickups are going to sound a lot of times in your guitar.

 

[telemike]

I have '97 Lonestar that has been a great Strat. I replaced the pickups and ended up putting the originals back in. The only mod now is a coil tap for the bridge pickup from a push pull on the lower tone knob. I also got the switch wired so that I can get the bridge/neck combo when the switch is in the neck position and the tone knob is up. For me it's a keeper.

 

[TheGuildedAge]

I got lucky with mine, it's just one of those weird pieces of wood that works, I generally hate strats.

 

[Dickie Fredericks]

Seems that most have changed out the pups on theirs. I was looking at them the other day in a catalog and thought Id go try one at CG. I didnt go cause I thought about it a little.

The new ones are MIM and Id change the pups too so.. Why not just buy a MIM Strat and change the pups. It will cost less than buying either of the 2 models mentioned and sound better.

Fender is charging an extra $150 for these guitars because of the pups.

Am I wrong here?

 

[guitarplayaman]

the neck is also vintage tinted....to me it seems to be better than the standard strat......I own a MIM and it's a great gigging guitar for those smoke filled bars

 

[jezzzz2003]

Just a side note,
was just flicking through the new Fender catalogue and I notice that the new Lonestar guitars have a serial number beginning with M, indicating theyre now being made in Mexico FWIW.

 

[John C]

Just a side note,
was just flicking through the new Fender catalogue and I notice that the new Lonestar guitars have a serial number beginning with M, indicating theyre now being made in Mexico FWIW.

You've gotta love how Fender sometimes recycles names - the current guitar called the "Lone Star Strat" is an upgraded MIM Strat that came out last fall, but it does have the USA-made Texas Special single coils and the Duncan Pearly Gates Plus humbucker like the old USA-made Lone Star Strats (1996-2000)/Fat Strat Texas Special (2000-2003).

Since the summer of 2003 the USA-made Strat with a bridge humbucker has been called the "American Series Strat HSS", but of course it has different pickups than the earlier versions (Tex-Mex single coils and some type of Fender humbucker instead of Texas Specials and the Duncan). Now who knows what will come out next week at NAMM; Fender is already advertising that a new "American Series Stratocaster" (and Telecaster) will be introduced. One assumes they will keep an HSS model in the lineup but you never know.

 

[P90Nut]

I have seen a couple of people here say that their Lonestar sounded thin. WOW! I must have a good one then. Mine is a fat ass Blues rock machine.

Edit: It's a 1998 American made model.