What's the difference between the Fender American Standard and the Fender American Deluxe stratocaster?

It does depend on the year because they do change the specs from year to year. It use to be that the deluxe version had an LSR Roller nut but they have since dropped that from the current version of the deluxe version. here's what the current specs are for an American Standard Strat





* Solid alder body (urethane finish)


* Modern C-shaped maple neck with rich, deep neck tint, glossed neck front with satin back


* 22 medium jumbo frets


* 3 hot American Strat single-coil pickups


* Delta-tone鈩?no-load circuit (includes high output bridge pickup and special no-load tone control for middle and bridge pickups)


* Bent steel Fender saddles


* Copper Infused Cast Strat庐 Bridge Block (steel with copper- 100% metal) for Increased Mass and Improved Tone


* Thinner undercoat for improved body resonance


* American 2-point trem


* Rosewood or maple fretboard


* Staggered machine heads





and here's the specs for a deluxe strat





* Premium contoured alder body


* Modern C neck shape with slick finish and hand-rolled edges


* 3 Fender SCN (Samarium Cobalt Noiseless) pickups


* 5-way pickup selector


* S-1 switching system


* Polished chrome hardware


* String-thru-body bridge with polished stainless steel saddles


* Locking Fender tuners


* 22 medium-jumbo frets


* Schaller strap-lock ready





In my opinion the biggest differences that are going to make a difference are the locking tuners (for better tuning stability), the S-1 switching system, the Noiseless pickups, and the hand rolled edges on the neck. Hope this helps!