Fender has a couple of great features in their American Professional Series II, and in this guitar gear review, we’re going to explore the Fender American Professional Series II Stratocaster.
First, the guitar arrives in a sleek TSA-approved case that locks, which is great for touring purposes. After taking it out and playing it for just a few seconds, the response of the fretboard feels very comfortable and smooth, yet familiar. It doesn’t take time for the fingers to adjust. The neck has a “Deep C”-shaped profile, meaning that it has more of a Thinline feel and isn’t like a baseball bat where it meets the body. It kind of widens to a “U shape,” but is cut to be slim and fast. For players with smaller hands, this could provide an ideal playing experience. The neck also has rolled fingerboard edges, meaning that they’re smoothed or rounded. Some say this makes your playing faster because there is less friction. This reviewer personally thinks it does make playing a little more fluid.
Now to our favorite feature: a “push-push” knob (instead of a “push-pull”), which easily lets you combine the neck and bridge pickups into an additional tonal option. What does it sound like? A thick and creamy texture that gives you a little more body, but keeps the integrity of the Strat tone intact. If you slap on some reverb and delay, you can get the most luscious ambient sounds.
The American Professional Series II comes in a variety of new colors. This guitar is considerably light and very versatile for whatever you throw at it. There is a humbucker version for those of you who want a little more grit and bite, but the single coil model stacks up pretty decent when a distortion pedal is applied. For gigging musicians, it offers solid and smooth playing with plenty of tonal options. Now that you also can combine the bridge and neck pickups, you’ve got yourself a whole new monster sure to inspire your next gig, practice, or studio session.
More information and full specs can be found at fender.com. Prices start at $1,499.