PRODUCT REVIEW
fret size is full jumbo, as opposed to the medium jumbo on the Standard. Like the Standard,
the American Special features a standard truss
rod and no micro-tilt adjustment. The neck is
finished in a satin urethane and capped off with
a large ‘70s-era Fender headstock, but it has a
different feel compared to the satin urethane
neck of the Mexican Standard. Part of that
difference might be due to the extra 1 mm of
width at the nut—this might seem like a trivial
thing to note, but players used to the 42 mm
spacing of other Fenders might wonder why
the neck feels a little strange to them. In most
every aspect of the neck, the American Special
is closest to the Highway One line. Another
important detail to point out is that, like the
Highway One, the American Special offers only
a maple fingerboard on the single-coil Strat (the
American Special HSS Strat board is rosewood),
whereas the Standard and American Standard
models have a rosewood option.
Finish options for the American Specials are
minimal compared to those offered for both the
Standard and American Standard models, with
only two available for each model, compared
to the former’s five and the latter’s seven. The
American Specials we received for review do
indeed display high-quality gloss urethane finishes—as good as any Fenders we’ve seen. Like
many players, this pair of reviewers leans toward
nitrocellulose finishes, when they’re available, for
the sonic qualities those guitars exhibit. In this
regard, we think the Highway One models might
have a leg up for many, but there’s no lack of
guitarists who’d rather have a glossy finish.
Stratocaster
The Standard Stratocaster is equipped with
a set of ceramic magnet-powered single-coil pickups, but the American Special Strat
ups the ante with Fender’s popular Texas
Special pickups, and it shares Fender’s unique
Greasebucket circuit with the Highway One
line. The Greasebucket wiring allows the player
to roll down the Tone control without adding
any bass to the sound, a problem that is the
bane of many a single-coil guitarist. It works as
described—though it’s more effective on the
Strat than the Tele, which does drift toward
muddiness as you roll the knob down.
Another major difference is the bridge: where
the American Standard model utilizes a 2-point
vibrato with bent steel saddles, the Special
comes fitted with a vintage-style bridge that is
similar to the one employed on the Standard.
Telecaster
Obviously, the Telecaster is a very different
beast from its Stratocaster cousin. The American
Special model has a major element in common
with its original ancestor, and that is the inclusion of a string-through vintage-style bridge with
three brass saddles supporting the six strings.
We’re big fans, and we applaud Fender for the
decision. In comparison, the Standard Telecaster
has a modern style bridge with individual
saddles and a string-through body. While the
added coupling from the string-through design
helps with sustain, the brass saddles from the
American Special Tele help it fit more in line with
the vintage, bright and twangy sounds of yesteryear. Like the American Special Stratocaster
(and the Highway One Tele), it features Fender’s
Greasebucket wiring, an additional 1 mm at the
nut, Jumbo frets, Texas Special pickups and an
additional 22nd fret.
Playability and Tone
Any player with some real mileage on the
odometer, who’s not a newcomer to Fender,
will have developed some preferences where
the Stratocaster and Telecaster are con-
cerned, and it’s for certain that one of the
trade-offs that makes the American Special
series possible is a limited set of options.
For players who find these guitars chock-full
of their favorite features, they’re sure to be
more satisfying than for those who gravitate
toward different specs. In the interest of full
disclosure, this pair of reviewers has to admit
we find ourselves a little more in latter camp.
We do tend to be more finicky about Strats
than Teles—a disposition that is not uncom-
mon. It may be simply the fact that the Tele
is in many ways a much simpler instrument,
while the Strat has always been, in the suc-
cinct words of one of our colleagues, “a
delicate balancing act.” We tend to prefer
rosewood boards on our Strats, but we like
maple just fine on our Teles. Neither of us is
crazy about the super-size frets, though we’re
more agnostic when it comes to the larger
headstocks and the differences between the
2-point and vintage-style tremolo systems.
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Both American Specials did require significant setup work upon arrival, but both
yielded gracefully to the undertaking. They
are as accommodating and playable as any
of their like, and the modern C-shaped neck
is comfy and familiar. The fretwork is good,
and the Texas Special pickups on both guitars obediantly delivered the signature tones
we were looking for when we plugged them
into a Vox AC30CC2. The Strat has plenty of
quack in the notched positions; the bridge
pickup has just the right amount of cutting
bite without the harsh brightness; and the
neck pickup offered up a characteristic bluesy
swagger. All three are balanced well with
each other in terms of output, and they
