FENDER AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II STRATOCASTER HSS

review
FENDER AMERICAN PRO II TELECASTER & STRATOCASTER HSS
76
GUITARIST DECEMBER 2020
If you’re expecting a completely new
operating system, you’ll be disappointed:
the American Professional II is more like
a firmware upgrade. Perhaps that’s a little
harsh, though, because there are numerous
features that differentiate II from I.
Obviously, there are different colours,
some of which might be quite polarising,
particularly to those of us who’ve grown up
with the classic and custom colour hues.
More fundamentally, lightweight ash is now
FENDER AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II
TELECASTER & STRATOCASTER HSS
£1,599 & £1,649
The single coils across the new
range are Mk II versions of the
mixed magnet V-Mods we saw on
the original series. Note the easy
adjustment of this Tele neck pickup
T
ime flies and it only seems like
yesterday we were writing about the
new American Professional guitars,
a reimagined overhaul of the previous long-
running American Standard that produced
some of the best playing and sounding
Fender guitars – which we’d not hesitate
to recommend to readers and friends alike.
In some ways, then, it’s a bit of a surprise
that Fender has now replaced that line with
these Mk II versions.
What You Need To Know
American Original, Ultra,
Performer and now Professional II?
I still play an American Standard
Strat. What’s going on?
Keep up! If you’re that vintage
guy, you can head to the American
Original series. More of a modernist?
It’s the American Ultra for you. And
if you’re, well, quite normal then the
American Professional is aimed at
you, while the American Performer
trims the cost of the USA experience.
Your Strat HSS looks like a 70s
throwback, though…
American ash, used by Fender since
the early 50s, is now endangered.
Fender has been looking into
alternatives and has selected
torrefied pine. It’s been used by
Fender before, and pine is already
used by a few makers such as Novo
and other boutique-style builders.
What’s going on with the
Telecaster’s finish?
Fender is calling this Mercury, a sort
of pared-back Silver Burst, one of the
new colours in this range. It’s all a part
of the refresh concept.
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CONTACT Fender Musical Instruments EMEA PHONE [phone] WEB www.fender.com
GIT466.rev_fender.indd 76 29/10/2020 12:19