Should You Buy a Fender American Deluxe in 2023?? 

Love my 2011 Deluxe HSS in Sunset metallic! Searched everywhere for one with a maple neck and got it for a steal on Reverb! LSR Roller nut is highly underrated! I like the N3's. With the stock humbucker I think they sound great.

How did you overlook the SCN pickups available around 2006? Those were what made the Deluxe a Deluxe. Incredibly versatile, and a couple steps up from Fender's N3 line.

in my humble opinion after owning more american strats than any one man should, the pre 2013 american deluxe strats were so great that theres nothing made to date that comes close to comparing to them. I personally own one strat right now that does all i ever wanted from a strat, its a 2012 FSR american deluxe in Aztec Gold, i love it so much i have owned 4 of them and they only made 460 world wide. They just dont make them like they used to anymore.

In 96 I bought a used 93 deluxe plus Strat. Almost brand new unplanned condition. Now I've had and worked this guitar for 27 yrs. When I got it, I added a Hipshot Tremsetter and set the F F Rose trem to whammy up and down. And have NEVER done another adjustment to any part of this work tool. When I researched this, in the guitar rags of the day , they claimed "As close to custom shop as you get". 30 yrs later , this still is the most perfect Strat I ever played. Not bad for a $750 used item.

I got that TS808 like you suggested and man my Strat jams now. I have had a long time hate relationship with guitar now I don't think I will ever let it go. Thanks

As an alternative view, those noiseless pickups are not only sonically solid - they are a must-have-feature if (like me) you play/record directly in front of a monitor/computer/audio interface with a wireless connection instead of a lead from the bygone days of yore.

Greetings from great Britain..nice review and playing...that said id have liked you to demonstrate its clean tones as it excells in those.....I own a 98 with rosewood fingerboard...and a reslly dark nice piece of rosewood it is too...ive had it about 20 years..its rock solid ...plays really in tune....mine hasn't got the S1 switch..they came in a bit later.....i quite like the noiseless pick ups..to me they compare favourably to my old 80s tokai copy pickups it sounds ....like a strat but no annoying buzz..lol..and .its a really well made guitar...almost custom shop level...actually as it has no flaws i guess its as good as a Custom Shop one.???...these 90s strats are a great way of getting a great "real" usa fender relatively cheaply as they have some modern improvements ( nothing too drastic as a strat was already kinda perfect)...that are not as fashionable these days..( similarly its a great time to buy really cheap CDs and hair metal super strats as in the UK floyd rose equipped metal guitars are considered hideous...so you can bag a super high quality guitar on the cheap...although your not going to get that gig in a oasis or The Smiths tribute band with that USA BC Rich gunslinger..lol..) .every one seem too want a vintage spec guitar with pretend wear and scratches...with a kinda ruined paint job cracked every where....you not fooling anyone...you're a rich guy playing a new guitar pretending its been played in hot damp smokey pubs for 60 years....with pretend dings where it pretended to get knocked over during a fight between some bikers that broke out in to pub you were playing....when in reality it sits in your tastefully decorated air conditioned man cave with your pretend Murphy lab 59 Gibson les Paul standard and you vinyl record collection...and your art posters of USA depression era memorabilia....Damm you got the blues...lol

Mine is the 2008 V neck version with Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups.

You didn't say if its a worthy guitar or if you should buy it. You missed the locking tuners, the locked in tremelo arm, the adjustable neck at the base plate, the locking strap connections (which I hate and replaced), the abalone dots in the fret board, the spegetti gold logo in the headstock, . You didn't give the audience how it performs through its options. No comparison between a Deluxe or a Standard. No price points. I am just saying you missed quite a bit there I was hoping for.

The deluxes can still be had for a bargain and are great guitars. Yours at 7.2 pounds is actually on the very light side of fenders outside of custom shop and extremely light for the fender deluxe models, which have locking tuners and stacked single coils. Even the current ultra and player plus line seem to be on average weightier guitars than other fender series in my experience.

I own a 2007 American Deluxe and I wish I could get it to sound as good as the one in this video. It sounds great on any clean channel ,but add gain and it sound like mud and I'm using a 5150 iconic. Is 2007 a bad year for the Fender American Deluxe or all of them like the one I have?

This guy missed so much here. These guitars are superior built to even the most modern ultra guitars. The N3 pickups are amazing sounding quiet & perfect for playing live. If he was a decent guitar player, he’d realise the sound is excellent. Don’t rip out the pick ups on such a great guitar; only a fool would.