Digital Wonder: the Fender VG Stratocaster Electric Guitar
August 8, 2007 by Jo Minor
Digital technology is here to stay, and guitars are feeling the change. The Fender VG Stratocaster electric guitar is one such innovative axe. Technology does not come cheap in this instance, with the VG strat carrying a list price tag of $2,428.56 - $2,478.56, depending on finish. It is available in black or vintage sunburst, with your choice of a rosewood or maple fingerboard.
The story of the Fender Stratocaster has been told and retold. In the early 1950’s, Fender and Gibson, and to a lesser degree, Rickenbacker, were competing to create the most popular solid body electric guitar design. Fender released the Telecaster, which was followed by Gibson’s Les Paul. One complaint waged against both of these guitars is that they were uncomfortable to play, feeling like a slab of wood pressed into your ribs.
Fender got to designing, and came up with the contoured, carved body style they called the Stratocaster. At the time, the name had a futuristic sound, but now that the future is here, the term strat doesn’t mean anything but a guitar. Anyway, the Stratocaster was an instant hit that has been often copied down through the years, and almost every guitar manufacturer has its own twist on the Strat body style.
To develop the Fender VG (”virtual guitar”) Stratocaster, Fender technicians and designers collaborated with the techs and designers from the music tech company, Roland Corporation. The motto for the research, which took 10 years, was “the complex art of keeping it simple.”
Advantages: A major advantage of the Fender VG Stratocaster over other digital modeling guitar gear is that you do not have to be some sort of a tech whiz to figure out how to use it. You merely plug it into an amp with a regular cord. Then you set your control knobs on the kind of sound you want. The digital part of this guitar works on 4 AA batteries. When the batteries are weak or dead, you can set the mode control knob to “normal” and totally bypass the digital circuit. When the digital circuit is in use, it is indicated by a blue light on the front of the guitar.
Another really neat thing is that you can change the tuning of this guitar with just a turn of a knob. You can go to drop D, or even DADGAD tuning, without messing with the tuners at all! That is pretty amazing. The acoustic and 12-string acoustic modes are very authentic, too. The nice thing about not having to change the tuners to change the tuning is that your string tension always feels the same, so you play better.
Also, if you are short of space, but love all things Fender, you will appreciate having a Strat, a Tele, and a fat Strat all rolled into one guitar. One terrifically comfy guitar, I might add. And if you are short of time, too, you can figure it all out in about five minutes. (No having to wade through a two inch thick tech manual to figure out how to use it.)
Disadvantages: The price seems to be a bit too high considering the limitations of this instrument. If you really want to get a lot of variation in sounds, look at the equipment available from Line 6. Their Variax guitars and PODs yield many more options for a lot less money, although they might take some time to get used to. There are other virtual options, too, on the market these days. The Fender VG is a nice guitar, but just seems a little overpriced.
At that price, you should at least be able to get it in a groovy color or something, too, instead of just sunburst or black. (And if you ask me, that blue light is dorky looking. If you want a vintage look or sound, both of which this guitar has, that blue light is going to ruin it. Sorry, but that is my opinion.)
Fender VG Stratocaster Specs:
- Made in America
- Ash body
- Maple neck
- Choice of maple or rosewood fingerboard
- 3 single coil pickups
- 3-ply parchment colored pickguard
- Chrome hardware
- Master volume control knob
- Master tone control knob
- Mode function 5-way rotary selector:
- Choose N for normal and bypass the digital electronics
- Choose S for regular ash bodied Strat
- Choose T for Telecaster sound
- Choose H for dual Humbucker strat
- Choose A for Acoustic sounds.
- Tuning function 6 way rotary selector
- Choose from normal tuning, drop D, baritone,open G chord for slide, 12 string, two others
Review / Buy Online: Fender VG Stratocaster
Other resources:
- Here is a review of the Fender VG Stratocaster electric guitar.
- Check out the Fender VG Strat webpage. If you click on “Media” and have a pretty fast internet connection, you can watch the clever little advertising video that explains the project. You can see it at a music store that deals in Fender guitars, too.
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2 Responses to “Digital Wonder: the Fender VG Stratocaster Electric Guitar”
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The blue light spoils the vintage look?
In my view it’s the coolest thing about this great guitar.
Purists will pooh -pooh it but Fender and Roland have built a great instrument at the right price.
I know this because I bought one and it’s the only guitar I take to gigs now.
Anyone want to buy a 77 black on black maple neck Strat?
It’s now surplus to requirements..
I really want one! Doing gigs will never be the same again…