“It’s like getting a pre-washed pair of jeans: they’re broken in so they’re comfortable right out of the store”: The making of the American Professional Classic series – the brand-new “lived-in” (but not relic’d) US Fender line

One of our gear highlights of this year has to be Fender’s American Ultra Luxe Vintage mini-range, which combines the modernist style of the ongoing American Ultra II models with a lightly bashed and aged nitro finish.

While those guitars top the USA Fender line in price, the new American Professional Classic models – which replace the American Performers in the line-up – are effectively half the price, centering on that modern/vintage duality. Is there a theme emerging, we ask Max Gutnik, chief product officer at FMIC?

“Yes, the American Performer had pretty much run its course,” he confirms, “and we’ve been very successful with the American Professional II models. So the thinking was, instead of having a different-tier guitar, could we have a different trim level but at the same level for the working musician in both cases?

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“The American Professional Classic is a more traditionally styled guitar with vintage-y features like the ClassicGear tuners, the classic bridges, and vintage-style pickups… but all with a bit of a modern twist.

“The Performer was a very modern guitar,” he continues. “A lot of folks were wondering which one they should be getting – the Performer or the American Professional II. We wanted more distinction for the player who wants this trim level but without necessarily a dip in quality. I mean, all of the American guitars still have some 150 hand-processes in the making of every one of these guitars; they’re really high-quality.

Does the hardware choice follow this same vintage/modern theme, too?

Yes, you’ve got things like those ClassicGear tuners [which were introduced on the outgoing Performer], but this time we staggered them to give a better break angle [behind the nut]. You still get the 18:1 ratio, too, so you can really fine-tune them.

With the Jaguar and Jazzmaster models, we’re using a traditional floating bridge but with Mustang saddles, which give a little more tuning stability and better intonation. We’re using barrel saddles on the Telecaster and, although they’re not compensated like the Am Pro II, they have slots for the strings so they don’t move around.

What’s the idea behind the Faded colors on offer here – are they inspired by the Ultra Luxe Vintage guitars?

They’re not like the Heirloom finish [used on the American Ultra Luxe Vintage] with any checking or ageing, but they’re faded to almost look like they’re aged yet they’re fully new gloss finishes.

The exceptions to that are the 3-Color Sunburst and Butterscotch Blonde – those two aren’t faded. But we have things like a Faded Dakota Red, same with the Sherwood Green and the Firemist Gold, and it gives a unique vintage-y vibe.

This range also introduces the new Coastline electric guitar pickups. What’s the deal here?

These are really interesting because basically they’re 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.

Our second Stratocaster on review is more closely allied to those Ultra Luxe Vintage models as the new Road Worn finish is lightly aged nitro. However, it’s made in Fender’s long-running Ensenada factory in Mexico, not Corona in California.

You know, relicing is hard to do. It’s ironic because people think you can just drop it a few times and drag it down the street… but it’s actually a really intensive process that adds a lot of hours to the guitar. And trying to make the relicing not look uniform is really important.

The processes we use have improved so much: you want the feel and the look of a broken-in guitar, but you don’t want anything actually broken! So we just keep improving that process, the lacquer and paint, especially in Ensenada.

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Ensenada has become a real high-end factory. 35 years ago, the reason for this factory was quite different from what it is today. You can get great guitars out of Indonesia and Korea, whereas in the past you could only get great guitars out of the USA, Japan… Ensenada was, at first, an inexpensive way to drive volume.

Today, we’re doing some of the most incredible guitars out of there – the George Harrison Rocky, the Jimmy Page Dragon, the Mike McCready – at a level we’ve never been able to do before. The artistry of the Ensenada factory is really incredible.

The new Road Worn ageing is quite subtle. Why is that?

It’s like getting a pre-washed pair of jeans: they’re broken in so they’re comfortable right out of the store, but they’ll continue to wear and become your own.

That’s what’s so great about nitrocellulose lacquer. If you have to wait 25 years to get to that place, I mean, you might not get there! So starting that process and having the guitar feel super comfortable out of the gate is what we’re aiming for.

Different Strats at similar prices. We’re not sure which one we’d go for!

Well, take ’em both! I think it’s a good problem to have if the guitars are exciting. How come we never get tired of seeing another amazing guitar? It’s like a great burger: no matter how many you’ve had, they’re still awesome. They all bring out something different musically; you pick one up and it inspires you to do something different – and that’s still the magic.

• “While it doesn’t reinvent Fender’s decades-old designs, this Stratocaster is not only crisply made but really hard to put down”: Fender American Professional Classic Stratocaster review
• Find out more at Fender
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.