"Works extremely well on rockier amp voicings without really losing any of the classic Fender voice played clean": Fender American Professional Classic Stratocaster review

What is it?

Historically Fender likes to change or refresh its various ranges every four or five years, and here the new American Professional Classic range replaces the American Performer models that we first saw back in 2019.

The new range covers a lot of ground. Along with our featured Stratocaster there’s an HSS version, a regular Tele. plus a ‘Hot Shot’ variant which blends in some Strat, both Jazzmaster and Jaguar offsets and a trio of bass models. Made in Corona, California, these new models, like the out-going Performers, are the start-up USA guitars.

Specs

• Launch price: $1,549.99 | £1,549 | €1,849.00
• Made: USA
• Type: Solidbody electric
• Body: Alder
• Neck: Maple, Modern ‘C’ profile, bolt-on
• Fingerboard / Radius: Slab rosewood with ‘clay’ dots / 7.25”
• Scale length: 25.5” (648mm)
• Nut/width: Synthetic bone/43.5mm
• Frets: 22, medium
• Hardware: Fender ‘upgraded’ vintage-style synchronized vibrato with six bent steel saddles, ClassicGear staggered-height tuners
• Electrics: 3x Fender Coastline ‘57 Stratocaster single-coils, 5-way lever pickup selector switch, master volume, tone 1 (neck/middle), tone 2 (bridge)
• Weight: 7.55lb (3.43kg)
• Left-handed options: No
• Finishes: Faded Firemist Gold (as reviewed), Faded Lake Placid Blue and 3-Color Sunburst all w/ maple fingerboards. Faded Black, Faded Dakota Red, Faded Sherwood Green Metallic all w/ rosewood fingerboards
• Cases: Gig bag
• Contact: Fender

Build quality

Build quality rating: ★★★★★

While certain USA-made brands’ start-up models can come across as not quite finished, that’s not the impression here. In its gleamingly opulent Faded Firemist Gold the overall attention to detail of this new Stratocaster is, not least at this price point, very good.

All the new American Professional Classics use alder for the bodies, although the number of pieces is hidden by the opaque finish but the overall weight is near-perfect at 7.55lb. The classic body contours are well-shaped here too, the rib-cage cutaway is deeply cut in a very vintage style but there are no modernisms like the sculptured heel we see on the American Professional II models.

Unlike the out-going Performer Stratocaster with its ‘70s style large headstock, the new Classic reverts to vintage-small, plus the maple has a golden vintage-y tint – all satin-smooth except the gloss headstock face.

The Modern ‘C’ neck profile is well proven, likewise the flatter-than-vintage 9.5” fingerboard radius with lightly rolled edges, and with some bigger medium jumbo frets it’s certainly a familiar feel.

Hardware is pretty classy too with a modern-spaced Fender vibrato with its steel top-pate and bent saddles plus a tapered and deep-drilled steel block. The ClassicGear tuners, which we first saw on the Performers, look like old-style Klusons but use a modern front nut mounting plus the gear ratio is higher at 18:1.

New here, however, are the staggered height split-posts: the top four are lower than the bottom two subtly increasing the back angle behind the nut and just a single string-tree is used on the top two strings.

Playability

Playability rating: ★★★★★

Like the crisp build, the supplied setup of this Stratocaster is pretty much good to go. The guitar ships with .009s, which produce a snappy response, the string heights pretty much Fender standard. If you hit hard you may want to go up a string gauge and/or slightly raise the string heights but there’s nothing to criticize here, and once strings are stretched the slightly up-tilted vibrato, which provides a little up-bend and certainly enough down-bend for classic use, this Strat held its tuning well.

The combination of the ‘board radius and those bigger frets –which measure approximately 2.5mm wide and 1.0mm high – give the Classic a very ‘all-round’ feel that’s certainly enhanced by the equally mainstream neck shape. In depth it measures 21.2mm at the first fret and 22.3mm by the 12^th, similar to the Ultra Lux Vintage’s Modern ‘D’ but with more relaxed shoulders.

Sounds

Sounds rating: ★★★★★

Typically the new Classics introduce a new pickup line, although as Max Gutnik, Chief Product Officer at FMIC tells us, the new Coastline single coils are “basically the Pure Vintage set – just like the American Vintage II guitars – but these are overwound a little to make them a little hotter. So, you’re getting a very authentic vintage tone but they take a little gain really well and they’re really good for that on-the-edge-of break-up tone.”

It’s a Strat with a little more beef, but certainly not overdone, yet the added heat, especially at bridge, rounds that typically spikey attack and pulling back the tone you’re almost hitting a Patent Applied For-like voice. The neck pickup is equally standout, a little fuller, less scooped than vintage voicing, and again it works really well with a little gain and hair while the RWRP middle pickup means both mixes are hum-canceling.

Another more modern flavour comes with the tone controls: the upper tone 1 works on both neck and middle pickups; the lower tone 2 is just for the bridge. Both also use Fender’s Greasebucket circuit that pulls back the highs but doesn’t have such a dramatic effect fully rolled off and focuses on the midrange, again quite noticeably with a little gain. These are really broad-genre journeyman sounds: perfect for those long cover gigs!

Verdict

While this new American Professional Classic platform doesn’t reinvent Fender’s decades-old designs, this Stratocaster is not only crisply made but really hard to put down.

It’s a well-sorted fluid player while the ‘hot vintage’ Coastline pickups kick in a little additional fullness that works extremely well on rockier amp voicings without really losing any of the classic Fender voice played clean. No fuss: it’s a superb and well-priced working tool with a well-considered vintage/modern blend.

Guitar World verdict: A well-priced everyman Stratocaster that balances modern playability with some hot vintage sounds and a pared-back aesthetic from the faded classic Fender gloss finishes.

Also try

Fender American Professional II Stratocaster $1,839.99 | £1,829 | €2,029

The five-year-old Am Pro II must be due for a refresh soon but this more modern-aimed Stratocaster is the next level up from the Classic. Lots of colors, two-post vibrato, V-Mod II mixed magnet single-coils and a moulded case.

Read more: Fender 70th Anniversary American Professional II Stratocaster review

Fender Player II Stratocaster - $839 | £749 | €849

If you’re on a budget check out this Mexican-made Strat. It uses the same Modern ‘C’ neck shape as the Classic with satin back and medium jumbo frets plus ClassicGear tuners, a two-post vibrato, classic-voiced pickups and a wide range of finishes - including some with chambered bodies.

Read more: Fender Player II Stratocaster review

PRS SE Silver Sky - $849 | £849

A lot less expensive than the USA PRS model and of course with its reversed PRS headstock and bird inlays, the Indonesian-made SE Silver Sky continues to impress not least with its neck shape and hot-sixties voicing. Great in-store prices at the moment too.

Read more: PRS SE Silver Sky review

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