My Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster review.  The American Deluxe Stratocaster takes the classic silhouette and the upgraded multiple modern features.

The Fender Stratocaster is perhaps one of the most recognizable guitars of all time. It has been the long time favorite of popular guitar players such as George Harrison, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix.

Body 

The body of the American Deluxe Stratocaster is double cutaway Alder tonewood, which gives the guitar a distinctively bright and clear tone. It is also available in Ash tonewood in HSS configuration. Like most premium Fender guitars in today’s market, it is finished with a gloss urethane material to increase durability as well as to complete the classic Stratocaster look. It has a beveled neck heel to allow better access to upper frets.

Neck

On the other hand, the neck of the Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster is bolted on and is made using maple wood, which adds to the brightness of the guitar’s sound. Some guitarists also prefer having a maple neck due to its firmness. The neck has a modern C-shape that gives it a more comfortable feel. The neck has a satin urethane finish to add durability and ease of playing by allowing the guitar player to easily slide up and down, giving access to even the farthest of frets.

The nicely dark, edge-rolled rosewood fingerboard has 22 medium jumbo frets that facilitate easy bending, thus offering a more modern feel. It has Pearloid dot inlays commonly seen on many of Fender’s timeless instruments.  It is also available in maple fretboard, again adding brightness to the guitar’s sound and firmness when it is being played. It has rounded edges for more comfort and better ease of play.

Fender takes it up a step further by the fact that the fretboard also has a comp[ound radius which 9.5-inch at the first fret and 14-inch towards the bridge. This compound radius is an excellent design feature for easy chording on the lower frets while allowing while giving the shredders a fast neck on the higher frets.

Three Fender N3 Single-Coil Pickups

There are three N3 single-coil pickups featured on the American Deluxe Stratocaster; one each on the neck, middle, and bridge position. These pickups greatly reduce the distortion present during pitch changes, especially when using the vibrato bar. Another defining factor of this pickup is that it is noiseless, meaning it does not produce the humming most often attributed to the use of single-coil pickups. Another one of its added benefits is increasing the warmth and clarity of the guitar’s tone because of the highly responsive Alnico magnets used. Each of these pickups is fine-tuned to ensure that the guitarist reaps the maximum benefits from this upgrade.

Controls

It has a five-way knife switch plus an additional S-1 switch to control the pickups. It has two tone knobs and one volume knob.

S-1 Switch

Regarding pickup switching, the American Deluxe Stratocaster has a five-position blade to choose among the three pickups available. It also features S-1 switching technology, which increases the range of sonic possibilities when utilized together with the five-way pickup switching system.

Pushing  the S-1 Switch will give you additional options on the knife switch

• Position 1- all three pickups in series, the loudest and fullest sound
• Position 2- bridge and middle in series
• Positon 3- middle and neck
• Positon 4- bridge and neck out of phase in series
• Position 5- bridge and middle pickups out of phase in parallel which is the weakest of the selections.

Hardware

It has a synchronized tremolo-type bridge, patented by Fender, which integrates the tailpiece and the bridge. There are also six individually adjustable saddles on this type of bridge, allowing players to accurately set their preferred action for individual strings.

The metal parts featured on this Stratocaster model have a chrome finish, which adds an aesthetic value as well as durability and resistance to corrosion.

It also has staggered locking tuners, which increases tuning stability while the different post height will increase the break angle of higher strings thereby decreasing the risk of unnecessary vibrations of the strings in the headstock.

High-Mass Tremolo Block

A high-mass tremolo block, a feature that helps in increasing sustain, is another major selling point of the American Deluxe Stratocaster.

Pricing

This guitar retails at $1500 but it is available on Amazon at a much cheaper price of $1278.66 with free shipping.

Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, Rosewood Fretboard – Sunset Metallic

Conclusion

I don’t care much about the staggered locking tuners, the S-1 switch or even the N3 pickups as they can be retrofitted but the compound radius neck is a big upgrade over the Fender American Standard Stratocaster.

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