FENDER AMERICAN ACOUSTASONIC STRATOCASTER

review
FENDER AMERICAN ACOUSTASONIC STRATOCASTER
94
GUITARIST MAY 2020
1. Just like its electric
cousin, you get the
familiar Strat headstock,
here tastefully etched
with the Fender logo
2. Like any classic
Fender, the neck is
held in place with four
screws. The heelplate
here is contoured and
inset, plus we have the
Micro-Tilt adjustment to
precisely set neck pitch
– very handy with the
acoustic-style bridge
1
THE SOUND ENGINE
A breakdown of the
Voices onboard
The key to the Acoustasonic platform is
simply the number of sounds, or ‘Voices’,
that we’re provided with, 10 in total, but
each of the five pairs can also be blended
together. Starting in what is normally
neck pickup position on a standard Strat,
position 5 on the Voice Selector, we have
what Fender calls the ‘Core Acoustics’:
a Sitka spruce-topped dreadnought
with mahogany back and sides (A); turn
the Mod control clockwise and we voice
sound B, a smaller slot-head Sitka spruce-
topped concert with rosewood back and
sides. Position 4 voices the ‘Alternative
Acoustics’: a short-scale guitar with Sitka
spruce top and walnut back and sides (A)
and a Sitka spruce/mahogany ‘Americana’
dreadnought (B). Position 3 is ‘Percussion
and Enhanced Harmonics’ where a single
voice, a Sitka spruce-topped Auditorium
size with rosewood back and sides (A),
can be blended with that top pickup
(B). Position 2, ‘Acoustic and Electric
Blend’, has an Englemann spruce-topped
dreadnought with rosewood back and
sides (A) and the magnetic Fender electric
clean pickup (B). Finally, position 1 is
fully electric: that same magnetic pickup
classed as ‘Fat/Semi Clean’ with a little
extra crunch (A) and then the same with
more gain, Fender Electric Dirty (B).
Powering for the extensive onboard
electronics comes not from a conventional
battery but a simple USB plug on the
circular output jack dish. And, yes, just
as you would your phone, you’ll need to
charge it before it’ll work.
Feel & Sounds
It’ll probably be the lightest Strat in your
collection, and even though it’s very
slightly heavier than the Tele we reviewed
last year, at 2.32kg (5.1lb) it’s light in
anyone’s book. As we mentioned in our
introduction, however, it’s the unplugged
acoustic sound that initially impresses
with surprising volume and a strong mid-
flavoured voice that you could probably
put a mic in front of and capture quite an
accurate acoustic archtop or even Selmer
Maccaferri-ish voice. The response is
balanced across the range, too, from big
and vibrant first position chords up to
strong-sounding high-fret lead lines,
which, of course, this Strat excels at; for
an electro-acoustic electric guitar, the
fingerboard access is stupidly good.
2
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT458.rev_strat.indd 94 19/03/2020 17:12