FENDER AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II STRATOCASTER HSS

79
DECEMBER 2020 GUITARIST
reviewFENDER AMERICAN PRO II TELECASTER & STRATOCASTER HSS
UNDER THE HOOD A look inside the reimagined models
T
he modded vibe of these new Mk
II American Professionals is very
evident in their expanded wiring.
Each model features at least one fast-action
push-push switched tone pot that introduces
the extra sound. On our Strat HSS it splits
the DoubleTap humbucker, and on our Tele
it combines the two pickups in series, when
both are selected. On the three-single-coil
Stratocaster we get the ‘seven sound mod’,
which introduces the neck pickup to positions
1 and 2 on the five-way for two extra sounds:
the Tele-like bridge and neck and all-three
pickups – both link the pickups in parallel. Even
the Jazzmaster gets a push-push switch, which
apparently taps the hotter bridge pickup for a
more vintage sound.
If these wiring mods are pretty mainstream,
there’s a little more going on with the Strat
HSS [pic 1, below]. One trick, as with the
original American Pro HSS, is the use of a
ganged volume pot: two pots stacked on top
of each other but are controlled by a common
shaft and a single knob. So the DoubleTap
humbucker sees the 500kohms pot, and its
single coils, the 250k.
Removing the scratchplate there’s certainly
quite a nest of wiring: the five-way switch is
a four-pole type as opposed to the standard
two-pole style, the single tone cap is a 250V
223k code (.022 microfarads). You also notice
two treble bleed circuit boards, one for each
of the different value stacked volume pots.
Each uses three surface mount components:
two resistors and a single capacitor, for which
we couldn’t ID. The first series American
Pros initially used standard components
and changed during their run to these PCBs.
Originally, then, the treble bleed on the
humbucker’s 500k pot was a 1,000 picofarads
capacitor and a 270kohm resistor; on the
250k pot a 1,200 picofarads cap was used in
parallel with a 150kohm resistor and a 20k
resistor in series.
With the scratchplate off you can also see
the body is routed for HSH pickups [pic 2], and
there’s a large and quite deeply cut ‘P II’ [pics
3 & 4] in the neck pickup cavity, leaving you in
no doubt about which series guitar you have.
And while we’re investigating you’ll see a ‘P2’
stamped into the side of new cold-rolled steel
vibrato block [pic 5, ‘P2’ not shown].
Our Tele is a little more regular [pic 6],
again using the same tone capacitor and a
regular three-way two-pole switch plus the
same single coil-style treble bleed for the 250k
volume pot. Fender has long offered a four-way
lever switch that links the two pickups in series
specifically in position 4 (furthest towards the
neck). This Am Pro II is no different in terms of
that extra sound, but while it takes two moves
(selector switch to mix position then push the
tone switch), many will prefer this setup as not
everyone enjoys the series position on that
four-way switch being where the neck single
coil usually is. We are creatures of habit!
1
3
2
4
The Strat’s control
circuit with its two
PCB treble bleeds
P II is routed into the
neck pickup cavity
for obvious ID
Despite being an HSS
configuration our Strat is
routed for a neck humbucker
The Strat’s neck pocket
showing the Micro-Tilt feature
– no shims are necessary
5
The cold rolled steel
vibrato block is
chamfered like the
previous Am Pro vibrato
6
The more standard Tele control
circuit with a single PCB treble
bleed and the switched tone pot
to engage the series pickup link
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT466.rev_fender.indd 79 29/10/2020 12:20