The Fender Standard Stratocaster is probably the most modifiable guitar made. Every single part of this instrument is available in multiple choices. To the point that you could easily put one together from scratch with the same quality as any American made Stratocaster.
In this review I'll explain some of the most popular modifications that my experience has taught me for Fender Stratocaster guitars. It's impossible to cover them all, but I consider myself lucky to have interacted with a good amount of Fender fans and I always admire how passionate most of these are about their instruments.
Pickups
One of the most immediate ways to improve the quality of the Fender Standard Stratocaster, or customize the sound of the American, is to replace the pickups. There are literally hundreds of choices, they cover the whole gamut from super clean vintage style single coils to heavily distorted humbuckers.
There are different designs of pickups that fit in this guitar, regardless of it being the classic 3 single coils, the HSS or the HH version. For the most popular version, 3 single coils, there are plenty of choices. There are humbuckers made in the size of a single coil, as well as the stacked design that cancels the hum of single coils while still retaining most of their sound.
Here are some of the most popular replacement pickups available for this guitar:
-->Seymour Duncan SHR-1 Hot Rail
-->Fender Hot Noiseless Set
-->Fender Custom Shop '69 Strat Pickup Set
Pickguard
When changing the pickups is always a good idea to consider changing the pickguard also. For one because they're cheap and the one that came stock is going to have to be taken out anyways. With 9 to 11 screws holding it in place it's not the kind of thing you look forward to try a few to see how they look.
Another thing is that they give the guitar a more personal look. There are many colors to choose from, some of them with very interesting designs. Also have in mind that there are pickguards with pickups already installed. In the case of EMG pickups, these being active, they normally require more technical wiring, having them pre assembled makes it very easy to install.
-->Fender American Standard Strat 11-Hole Pickguard
-->EMG EMG-GC21 SA Prewired Pickguard Set
-->DiMarzio FG2108 HS Setup Prewired Strat-Style Pickguard
Control Knobs
This is mainly cosmetic but is a little step that can make this guitar look more your own. There are many different designs to choose from, some are very conservative like the vintage looking cream knobs, others are all out there with LED lit skulls and fancy stones on the top.
-->Q Parts Shell Dome Knobs
-->Fender Strat Cream Knobs
Potentiometers
Another is their electric resistance, measured in ohms, the most used values in electric guitars are 250K, 500K and 1 Meg Ohms. These are available in push/pull configuration as well. With these kind more advanced pickup settings can be wired in the guitar.
-->Fender 250K Split Shaft Potentiometer
-->ToneShaper Stratocaster SSS-1 Control Knobs and Switch
Saddles
One modification that I was very impressed with when I tried it in one of my guitars is these graphite saddles. The properties of graphite are well known for absorbing the vibrations of the strings very well while not wearing them out much.
I immediately noticed more sustain as well. Also the black color looks very cool in my opinion. After getting to the point of trusting them so much I got a lot more aggressive with my playing.
-->Graph Tech String Saver Saddle
Locking Tuners
Depending on how much the tremolo bridge is used the tuning of this electric guitar can be inconsistent. Some measures can help stabilize the tuning, like installing more springs in the back of the guitar or tightening the screws on top of the machine heads.
One easy way to fix this problem for good is to install locking tuners, these as their name implies lock the machine head. That way the tremolo bridge can be used and abused while the tuning is consistent.
-->Fender Schaller Locking Tuners
Nut
A problem with inexpensive plastic nuts is that strings can get caught up when being bend and snap out of tune all of a sudden. And the material of the nut is yet another feature that has an effect on the sound of electric guitars.
Some of the most popular materials used for this part are graphite, bone and brass among others. All these share the property of being hard surfaces that absorb the vibrations of the strings very efficiently, allowing them to sustain longer. In the case of brass it also makes the guitar sound a little brighter.
This new nut by Fender is really cool in my opinion, it features rolling edges.
-->Fender LSR Roller Nut
This can fix some of the problems in plastic nuts.
-->Big Bends Nut Sauce Tuning Lubricant
For a review of the American Standard Stratocaster please visit my Squidoo page -->Fender Stratocaster Review
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