Review of: Fender American Special Stratocaster Guitar

by Brian Lamacraft

Fender American Special Stratocaster
60
%
Overall

  • Classic Stratocaster look
  • Very easy to play
  • Good pickups
  • Doesn’t offer anything different in terms of a Stratocaster
  • Lower cost than some Strats but still quite expensive

This guitar is a full-featured Stratocaster. It’s built to Fender’s specifications so you’ll get an excellent built guitar when you purchase it. The instrument is a lower cost than some Stratocasters, but you get what you pay for. It comes with the standard hardware you would expect a Strat to ship with. It has the regular volume knob, two tone controls, and the three single-coil pickups. The guitar also ships with a padded gig bag when you order. Let’s have a closer look at this Stratocaster to see what it has in store for you.


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Full Detailed Fender American Special Stratocaster Review

Fender is well known for its electric guitars. The Fender Telecaster and the Fender Stratocaster are two of the most iconic guitar brands in the industry. Fender makes a wide range of Stratocasters. You have many different choices to choose from. The type of Stratocaster that you decide on is going to be based upon your individual needs. To make it easier for you to find a Stratocaster, we have reviewed the Fender American Special Stratocaster for you. Let’s have a look at this Strat to see what it can do.

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Tones

This Stratocaster sounds very good. You’re not going to be displeased with the sound of this Stratocaster. You will be able to produce a wide range of tones. It’s the perfect guitar for blues, rock, country, jazz, and many other styles of music. You’ll get a great tone out of the three single-coil pickups. Fender guitars are known for their clean and tones, and this guitar delivers in that category. If you’re a fan of treble sounds you get these sorts of tones out of the pickups that come with this guitar. The pickups are a fender Texas special and they tend to have a more treble response. You may or may not like the extra trouble response, but most people should find that these pickups sound pretty good. 

Playability

This guitar is easy to play. It has the standard double-cutaway that all Fender guitars have. It’s easy to hit the higher Frets on the instrument. If you have smaller hands, they may get a little cramped on this guitar, but that is common on most Stratocasters. The neck of the Strat is a modern c-shape neck. This makes it easy to play the guitar because the neck is quite comfortable when holding it in your hand. It has a 25.5 scale length, which is quite standard for Stratocaster style guitars. The neck is nice and solid and made out of maple. You also get a regular bolt-on neck that Fender guitars ship with. The frets themselves are jumbo-sized and you get 22 frets. Most players, whether they are beginners or advanced, will have no problems playing this Stratocaster. These guitars are some of the easiest guitars to play. it gets full marks in terms of its playability.

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Hardware

The hardware on this guitar includes three single-coil pickups. These are Fender Texas Special pickups. These tend to have more of a treble response when compared to other single-coil pickups. Some people may like this sound, while others don’t. You’ll get quite a pronounced twang out of the pickups. This might be something that you are not looking for when playing rock guitar. One unique feature of this Strat is the grease bucket tone circuit helps to improve the tone of the instrument. This circuit helps reduce the muddiness of your tone.

The bridge and a tremolo system is a standard 6-saddle vintage-style synchronized tremolo that you will find on most Fender guitars. The tremolo itself is easy to use, and your guitar won’t go out of tune. The input jack for the instrument is on the top of the guitar. You also get the volume knob, two tone controls, and a pickup selector switch.  It ships with two strap buttons and you have chrome-colored tuners. overall, the hardware for this Stratocaster is pretty standard. 

Value

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This guitar offers you a tremendous value. You are getting a top-quality Fender Stratocaster when you purchase. There is nothing that you’re not going to like about this instrument. It will provide you. It has that classic Fender tone that we all love. Fender has always created excellent guitars. The craftsmanship and build of this guitar are superior. I especially like the pickups that they have installed. Some might not like the pickups because they are a little bit on the high treble side, but to my ears, they sound great.  The tone circuit is also another great addition to this guitar. It helps improve your tone and buy a great deal. It can help remove some of the muddiness in your tone and help the notes ring out when you play them. If you’re looking for a top-quality Fender Stratocaster, this is the one that you want to buy.

Build and Finish

Like all Stratocaster guitars, you are getting an instrument that is built to a high-quality. Almost all Fender Stratocasters are flawless out of the box. This guitar is no exception, and it is built to a high-quality. It has a nice satin finish and you can get the instrument in several colors. You have a solid Maple neck, which will last a long time. The body is made out of alder for extra resonance. When I got this guitar home, I checked it for any flaws and it didn’t have any. This isn’t to say that your guitar might have a couple of flaws, but in general, Fender guitars have fewer flaws when compared to other instrument manufacturers. The guitar itself is also quite lightweight, so it’s not going to hurt your shoulder or your arm while playing it.

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Feel and Action

This guitar is a joy to play, and it feels great. The neck is nice and comfortable thanks to the C shape so you don’t have to fight it as you do with other guitars. The Frets are all nice and rounded without any birds or edges so your fingers won’t catch on the frets. The guitar is well set up straight from the factory. The action that you choose will all depend upon your individual preferences. You might decide to raise the action so that bending is a bit easier. If you like to play fast, you might decide to lower the action. Fender guitars from the factory have a reasonable action. You might have to change it depending upon your individual requirements. the neck probably won’t need a truss rod adjustment. As the guitar ages and through weather changes, you may need more adjustment of the truss rod.

Overall Sound

The sound of this instrument is excellent. There is not a whole lot that it can’t do. I really enjoyed the fender Texas special single-coil pickups. They are great for blues, classic rock, jazz, country, and similar styles. The guitar tends to sound better with a moderate amount of distortion, as well as clean tones.  Fender Stratocasters don’t work as well with a lot of distortion because of the single-coil pickups. You may want to get a Strat that has a humbucker if you like more distortion. There are now HSS models that feature a humbucker into single-coil pickups. These give these guitars more versatility. This guitar has that classic Fender sound that you want.

Who is the Fender American Special Stratocaster Guitar Suited For?

This guitar really is suited for anyone that wants to play guitar. It’s perfect for beginners, intermediate players, or those that are advanced. The reason for this is that the guitar itself is very easy to play. It sounds great, and you’re going to get a lot of enjoyment out of it. There’s not a whole lot that this guitar can’t do. If you’re more into heavy metal style playing, it might not be the ideal choice due to the three single-coil pickups. For all other styles of music, this guitar shines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SPpwC3OSUM
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Conclusion

The Fender American Special Stratocaster is an excellent guitar. It has great pickups with the Fender Texas Special pickups. The neck is smooth, comfortable, and easy to play. There’s not a whole lot that is wrong with this instrument. It’s an excellent guitar, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional. It has the sounds that you want and will deliver top performance for years to come. 

2 thoughts on “Fender American Special Stratocaster Review”

  1. I have the 2018 SE with the Rosewood fretboard, Sonic Blue and Mint Green pick guard…I cannot disagree with the reviews. Great guitar!

    Reply

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