New Fender Strat Still Reigns

The New Fender Strat Still Reigns Supreme

With a suite of subtle design improvements, playing a Fender Stratocaster has never felt better.

Henry Robertson

By Henry Robertson

The Fender Stratocaster is ubiquitous in the rock guitar world for a reason. The Strat has been an American icon since the 1950s, and it's the instrument of choice for countless rock n' roll pioneers and innovators, creating a musical legacy that has defined generations.

As music has evolved, Fender has tweaked its designs to keep up with the demand for modern features while taking care to not lose track of its roots. The new American Professional Series Strat is no exception, marrying the past with the future and begging for sonic exploration. In January 2017, Fender released its American Professional Series lineup—an extensive array of their classic guitars and basses (Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Precision Bass) all priced around $1,500.


Fender's Pro Series lineup.
Jay Bennett

Each model has unique features that warrant their own reviews, but this piece is all about the Strat. Fender lent me one of their new HSS Strats—meaning there is a humbucker in the bridge (which Fender calls a Shawbucker) and two single coil pickups, one in the neck and one in the middle position. The classic Strat configuration of three single coil pickups is also available, as is a version with two Shawbuckers.

I've got to say, it's not going to be easy to give this instrument back.

A NECK FOR ANY OCCASION

Starts are renowned for their playability. But even compared to the ones I've played before, the new Pro Series blew me away. Subtle improvements make a world of difference. The newly designed "Deep-C neck," available with a maple or rosewood fingerboard, contours perfectly to the hand.


Henry Robertson

The neck is gradually tapered—thinner up near the nut and chunkier as you travel toward the body of the instrument. The thinner part of the neck, where the frets are spaced further apart, lends itself well to big chord extensions and is ideal for rhythm work where your thumb slides around. Further up the neck, you're usually playing lead lines as opposed to rhythm, and you're going to want a fatter neck to anchor your thumb and really dig in. It's a clever design.

Fender's new "narrow-tall" frets go hand-in-hand with the new neck shape. As the name suggests, these frets are narrower and taller than typical frets, which means you have more space between them for better finger separation and are not slowed as much by friction. This is especially helpful when you play high up on the neck where the frets are closer together. On any part of the neck, the narrow-tall frets give you better leverage to play monster bends, guiding rather than hindering emotive playing styles.

THE SWEET SOUND OF A STRAT

Fresh out of the box, this guitar's feel is fantastic. The quality of tones matches the playing comfort. Like a standard Strat, this guitar has a 5-way toggle switch to select between the three pickups: bridge, bridge/middle, middle, middle/neck, and neck.

Modern innovation comes into play with the new V-mod (vintage-modern) pickups. The single coil middle and neck pickups are composed of separate proprietary blends of alnico magnets tailored to accentuate the frequencies of each string. These pickups retain a vintage Strat flair but dial in the tone with more precision than ever. Every string just feels right.

On a lot of guitars, either the lower or higher strings will sound better in a particular pickup location, and some notes get muffled when playing chords. Not so with these pickups. The note articulation is astounding. The neck pickup is warmer and mellower than the middle pickup, and while it's not going to give you the full, round sound of a humbucker on an archtop guitar, it can still get surprisingly jazzy—particularly good for jazz fusion and funk. Where this pickup really excels is in playing the blues. Put a little overdrive or fuzz on it and the single coil packs some serious mojo.

I found myself loving the middle pickup as well, but for different reasons. It's a versatile single coil—not too twangy, not too boomy—perfect for full-bodied chords. In a band, it meshes exceptionally well with other instruments. Not dominating, but driving songs forward.

Then there's the Shawbucker in the bridge. Again—a fantastic pickup. Unlike the traditional configuration with a single coil in the bridge, this humbucker doesn't ever sound shrill. It produces a chunkier sound that adds a little oomph to your playing and really cuts through the mix. And with heavy distortion, this pickup is killer. No matter the gain level, the notes remain articulate and defined, even when playing chords. Not to mention this is a humbucker, meaning it's not subject to 60 cycle hum—that piercing feedback inherent to single coil pickups that can be tortuous—so play loud.

Personally, I prefer just playing the neck, bridge, and middle pickups by themselves, but of course there is plenty of experimenting to be done in the between positions. When playing two of the pickups together, the two tones are blended because the pickups themselves are wired in parallel.


Henry Robertson

Playing in between the bridge and middle gives you a nasally, thin sound. Perhaps it's a little plasticky though not in a bad way. It's a distinct, biting sound you can only get with a Strat. It's just another color (or rather palette of colors) to paint with. The 4th pickup position, combining the neck and middle pickups, has a similar almost cocked wah kind of sound, but is a bit bassier than the bridge/middle position.

My only real nitpick is that the Shawbucker is quite a bit louder than the single coil pickups. If you're playing on the middle or neck for rhythm and then want to wail on the bridge for a solo, then this is a good thing, because the boost will make your leads soar higher. But it's a double-edged sword because you can't really play a twangy rhythm and go to a bassier solo with the neck pickup without either turning down the volume for rhythm or using a boost pedal when switching pickups. You can, however, adjust the pickup height of the bridge to combat the volume difference between the humbucker and the single coils.

One more thing—I would love it if you could split the coils on the Shawbucker so you'd have the option of a single coil or a humbucker with the flick of a switch. Sometimes I love the shrill sound of a single coil bridge pickup—and after all, that's the classic Strat sound. Nothing is better for surf rock. And thankfully the HSS Strat can be modified to include a pickup splitter for the humbucker, really adding some versatility to the instrument.

A CLASSIC REBORN

Some guitarists think Strats can sound a little thin. It's true—you're not going to get the same rich harmonic overtones playing this Strat clean as you would playing some other guitars, like a hollow body Gibson L-5. But that can be a good thing. This guitar takes distortion and other effects like delay, chorus, and reverb remarkably well, whereas a guitar that produces more harmonically rich tones when unaffected can get muddy.

The Fender is more versatile—a prefect canvas for gear junkies like me who love to tinker with tones using a dozen pedals. Even played clean, this guitar exudes classic time-tested vibes that have captivated musicians for decades. So whether you play guitar straight to amp or play through a pedal-board the size of John Frusciante's, this Strat is sure to please.


Fender American Professional Series.
Jay Bennett

A few seemingly small Strat details that ought not be overlooked. The first is the tremolo (or whammy) bar. I love how it pops in with a satisfying click. With past Strats, the whammy bar is wound into the bridge and it could easily wind out of place. In contrast, this whammy is smooth as butter and quiet when you want it to be. And perhaps most important of all, this Strat does a good job at staying in tune after doing a whammy dive, so feel free to go a little crazy and create some warbly, seasick sounds.

Then there's the treble bleed circuit. This function allows you to roll off the volume on your guitar without losing the high end. It's a feature I've never come across before, and as a result, I've never played a guitar that cleans up so well when using distortion and rolling back the volume. It's great for getting those brilliant, elusive, semi-distorted tones.

Fender has created something special with the Professional Series. It's an ergonomic masterpiece. Even the locking case, an Elite Molded hardshell, is great. It's super light, has a durable exterior and the interior is perfectly molded to the shape of the guitar for a snug, secure fit. It's not merely an afterthought—and that applies to every design aspect of the entire instrument.

This Strat is not wacky or wild. It doesn't have crazy new features. It has simple, pragmatic improvements that most people never pay attention to, but serious players will surely notice.