Fender American Special Stratocaster HSS Maple Fingerboard Electric Guitar Black Maple Fingerboard

I have been playing off & on for years. I have been playing an epiphone les paul but I have always wanted to get back into an American stratocaster. I went to GC and tried everything on my wish list ( Gibson - sg, smoke house burst, bourbon burst, fender pro series, fender american strat special, this is the one that spoke to me, Texas pickups and atomic humbuckers sounded great ( not as chimey as the regular pickups, and a modern c neck + better feel than the deep c on the pro series. I wasn't sure about the jumbo frets but they are manageable. every time i sit down with this guitar I am glad I made this choice :-)

Here's my son's review after a few weeks playing his new B-day gift American Special HSS...I have to admit, it's pretty awesome to hear him play it :) Around a month ago I got the Fender American Special (HSS). I previously was using a Squire SE but wanted something that sounded a little better. The Fender American Special is a beautiful guitar with a satin finished oak fretboard and jumbo frets. While at first I wasn't sure if I liked Jumbo frets, I now hardly notice them. Compared to my previous Squire SE guitar this American Special is phenomenal. You don't realize how nice the American Strats are until you play one. Overall, if your looking to upgrade to an American made strat but don't want to pay much more than a grand then this is the guitar for you.

I got this guitar as an upgrade from a Made-in-Mexico Deluxe Player Strat. This is an excellent American Fender Strat at an excellent price. I was actually considering a Fender Strat designed by the Edge from U@ which would have cost $800 more. If you look carefully at the product specs, they are basically the very same guitar and this American Special has the greasebucket tech which the Edge model does not have. Bridge pickups are Atomic Humbuckers, different than the D'Marzio pickups the Edge uses. Also that brigde is simply better than this American Special model. Speaking of which, the Tremolo bar became loose real quick. That's easily repaired with a bit of plumber's tape, but still, I expected the whammy bar to remain steady for more than one day. It's a screw-in Tremolo bar, not pop-in. All that said, this guitar for my purposes has performed magnificently. And the jumbo frets should not be underestimated. They do make it easier to be much more accurate and hold those chords and notes. Similar play to my Gibson Les Paul which has jumbo's too. Great guitar and the price is hard to beat for authentic American strats. Also, this guitar comes with a certificate of authenticity, which is a nice wall hanging in a frame next to the guitar. Should have come with a hard case instead of a gig bag, but I guess that's what help keeps the price low and if you look around, a hard case isn't that hard to find for a decent price. This is the real deal. Only a few minor issues, but on the grand scheme of the things, this is a rocker. I recommend uncoated Fender Bullet strings for this (blue package, not red which are coated). I use 9 gauge. Truly a happy and valued purchase.

Not liking the bridge humbucker pickups.

Looks and plays great....

Made in USA? Not the quality you'd expect from those words. Can't even recommend as an investment. Unless, the quality is so bad in a few decades that this junk looks good... Here's hoping for my dimes sake ;-). Gave it a less than deserved 2 stars for brand fondness & loyalty only.