Fender Modelling Strat

Fender has finally gotten into the modelling game. No, they won't be strutting down runways in Milan, but they are offering a new high-end american made stratocaster that includes a variety of modelled guitar sounds.  The Fender VG Stratocaster is clearly a response to Line 6's innovative Variax line of modelling guitars.  While Fender is late to the party, it has introduced a couple of interesting features. 

First of all, the good news.  The VG Strat is a high-quality made in USA Stratocaster, and likely a step up in quality from the top of the line Variax 700 series in fit and finish.  Additionally, the VG Strat looks and acts exactly as a conventional strat.  It just happens to have two additional nobs for changing the Tuning and Mode. Fender makes a rather pointed statement in their demos that there's no 13 pin cable, USB cable or external power supply required.  It basically adds a Roland GK pickup at the bridge which supplies all of the modelling capabilities,  You can use the Mode nob marked "M" to switch between a Telecaster, a humbucker, a 12 string guitar, an acoustic etc.  Use the Tuning nob marked with "T" to instantly change to one of 5 alternate tunings like Drop D, Open G, etc.  With these two nobs you can switch between playing a strat solo to a Keith Richards riff or an acoustic sound.

Now for the bad news.  The VG strat is not cheap.  The list price is $2400, for which you could buy several Strats or Variaxes and still come out ahead.  This puts the price out of the league of most non-professional guitar players and all but a few stock brokers.  Another serious shortcoming is that you can have any sound you want as long as its a Fender!  While the VG strat include a humbucker sound, don't expect Fender to start bragging about how they modelled a classic Gibson Les Paul, SG, Gretsch or Rickenbacker.  Although it's still early in the testing stages, it does appear that Line 6 has the edge not only in breadth of modelled sounds but also in the quality of those sounds.  We will have to see how good the Fender VG stands up in reviews in the coming months.  A final issue, which is the flip side of not requiring a custom cable or power supply, is that the VG Strat will chew up batteries pretty quickly, with an estimated 8-10 hours playing time.

Lets see how Line 6 responds.  They have been at this game a long time and I'm sure they've been waiting for the day when Fender or Gibson would get into the modelling guitar business.  My bet is that Fender's entry is actually good news for them.  My guess is it will increase awareness for this type of product, since Line 6 can instantly piggyback on all of Fender's PR.  And Line 6's price is a heckuva good deal.  But lets see if they can keep innovating.

Here's my wish list for Line 6:  How about a 24" Gibson scale guitar with both traditional pickups and the famous Line 6 modelling capabilities.  Add the ability to change tunings with a switch and package it in a nice quilt top finish weighing under 7 pounds.  Give me the ability to use either a standard cable to a standard amp or a special cable and connector that takes advantage of the greater capabilities of the Variax.  Make it a two-way communications between my guitar and a GuitarPod, Line 6 amp or a computer hooked up via GuitarPort.   They've got some smart guys there and I'm sure they're working on it.

Update:
And here's a more serious business analysis of Line 6's disruptive strategy and Fender's response from the site www.ondisruption.com

• Fender: VG Stratocaster, YouTube demo
• MacWorld: Fender Unveils First Modelling Strat
• Line 6: Variax Guitars, Amplifiers, Computer-Based
• Line 6 Forums: Report on VG Strat, Fender's Variax
• OnDisruption: 4 Management Lessons in Rock Guitar