[MW Forums]

The Fender Strat is one of the most legendary guitars ever made and the company unveiled the future of the line at the NAMM show in Anaheim, Calif. The new Fender VG Stratocaster is the first Strat to offer onboard modeling. more

[yikesboy]

I'm actually here in Anaheim at the NAMM Show right now and had a chance to check out the new VG Strat today. I believe that they'll sell some - they are Strats after all - and it was a brilliant move by Fender to widen the appeal of their product beyond the same old, same old .
Let me say off the top that I've long waited for a company like Fender or Yamaha to give the Line 6 Variax a run for their money and was initially excited that a 'real' guitar would feature the promise of a dedicated modeling processor built in.
Verdict: I was deeply disappointed with the modeling.
The Tele sounded mediocre to me while the "Humbucker" model sounded better - quite Les Paul-esque. The "Acoustic" sounds were plain awful and lacked any realistic 'woody box' sound that so characterizes a real steel string acoustic guitar. Those faux acoustic sounds reminded me of a portable keyboard's take on a guitar - all high midrange zing and no thumpy substance. The 12 string was OK but without the ability to vary the pitch relationship between the octaves (or the E and B string duplicates), it sounded lifeless as well. Another disappointment is that you'll burn through 4 AA batteries in about 8 to 10 hours of playing time so the investment of rechargeables is necessary.
So, from this NAMM attendee's perspective, Fender's 'late-to-the-party' Variax doesn't even come close to the Line 6 product's take on most of the models. Having said this, the Strat (with all the circuitry disabled) sounded very, err, ummm...well, Strat-y. That's one tone that kicks the Variax!
Yikesboy

[JMA]

Thanks for the tone discussion, Yikesboy. Beauty is in the ear of the beholder, of course, but it's good to hear a comparison of the Strat VG and the Variax in terms of comparative tone. I've messed about with a Variax in stores, and was fairly impressed with its "Vari" nature but less so with its "Ax" quality: The tones were impressive (if imperfect), but the instrument didn't feel very substantial. A modeling Strat sounds on paper (and in the Macworld news piece) like it could've been a perfect remedy. If the VG Strat really sounds like an '80s Casio keyboard, though, maybe Fender and Line 6 should work out a tone-model licensing arrangement...
Cheers,
JMA

[mooncaine]

... because for once, Roland is offering a software editor for their VG, and it's cross-platform. Finally, Mac users can join the party.
The VG-99 seems like a better deal to me than the VG Strat or the Variax, but I'm biased: I've been using a VG-88 for 6 years now. No, it's not a perfect replica of your favorite tube amp, but it's close enough for most uses, most of the time. Sure is great for gigs. Anyway, the big plus of the VG-99, or even the earlier ones, is that you can use it with your guitar. In my case, that's a wooden Steinberger. Love it.

[Jim Dalrymple]

I actually liked both products. I wish I had more hands on time with both, but it's been a busy show. Hopefully I can give you more of a look at the Strat and VG-99 soon.
Generally I like Roland/Boss products -- I've been using Boss pedals for years and have a GT-8 that's pretty good too. As for the Fender VG -- I liked it. I think they did a good job replicating the tones of the Fender guitars, which is what they were after. I liked some more than others, but the same is true for my Variax -- love that too, but tone is such a personal thing.
Now a guitar was the EVH Frankenstein that Fender announced -- that has monster tone!
Jim

[dbater]

Quote:

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The Fender Strat is one of the most legendary guitars ever made and the company unveiled the future of the line at the NAMM show in Anaheim, Calif. The new Fender VG Stratocaster is the first Strat to offer onboard modeling. <a href="/news/2007/01/19/fender/index.php">[more]</a>

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Yeah, great story Jim, I am rushing out to pick up a few of them on Monday. It has nothing to do with MacWorld but what the hell, it is still interesting to have the info. I will blend it into my next conversation.

[Schneb]

Nice report yikesboy.
I wonder quite a bit about guitar modeling. Many times the tone you get also has much to do with the impedance match of guitar and amp. This tone changes from note to note, velocity etc. It is very difficult to recreate such things.
A good example is how Pete Townsend get that great sound on the Who's Next album. It was a delicate balance between the type of guitar, pedal, amp, and even the cable! Change any of it, and you lose that sound. Incredible.