Quilted Maple, Humbucker, and Samarium Cobalt Noiseless Pickups

Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

For those of you who demand the very best Fender offers the American Deluxe Stratocaster with Quilted Maple Top and special pickups and switching.

Added to the proven Fender Stratocaster features comes the latest stage in the evolution of the greatest rock n roll guitar in history, at least in my opinion.

The Stratocaster, as you may know, comes with an array of standard features that have been often duplicated but hardly surpassed in its 50 year reign as the heavyweight champion of electric guitars. These features include -

· contoured hardwood body
· maple neck
· die-cast machine heads;
· rosewood or maple fingerboard
· 21 frets
· 5-way pickup switching
· 1 volume, 2 tone controls
· triple-ply white/black/white pickguard
· fulcrum tremolo

This is a combination that works, as anyone who has played the Stratocaster will tell you. It also is more versatile than most of its rivals and is more comfortable to play during a long session because the guitar is usually lighter than its rivals and the contoured body lies against your body without digging in.

The new American Deluxe also has a quilted maple top, given it an unmatched appearance that rivals the luxury of its number one nemesis the Gibson Les Paul.

To show off the beauty of its carved quilted maple top, the usual wall-to-wall Stratocaster pickguard has been dispensed with and the clear amber-colored wood shines beneath a durable polyurethane finish similar to that used on bowling pins.

The 21-fret fingerboard has also been upgraded to ebony, a premium hard wood that is only used on the finest instruments, also the dot position markers are real abalone shell instead of the usual celluloid.

The original Strat had three single coil pickups, but the American Deluxe substitutes a hot Fender DH-1 humbucker in the bridge position. This allows you to quickly dial in a screaming fat lead sound similar to that produced by a Les Paul.

In the middle and neck positions Fender has added two Samarium Cobalt Noiseless single coil pickups which gives you also get instant access to all the classic Strat tones all available with a flick of the five-position blade switch.

An additional important feature is the new Fender S-1 switching. By simply pushing down on the volume control, you can access the bold new sounds available thanks to active electronics. Sounds like the inside coil of the bridge pickup paired in series with the neck pickups and in parallel with the middle pickup. This is truly a gorgeous guitar and it has both vintage and modern guitar tones available at your whim.

How the S-1 Switching Works -

· Position 1. Full bridge humbucking pickup with coils in series
· Position 2. Full bridge humbucking pickup with coils in series, in parallel with neck pickup
· Position 3. Full bridge humbucking pickup with coils in series, in parallel with neck and middle pickups that are paired in series
· Position 4. Inside coil of bridge pickup paired in series with neck pickup, in parallel with middle pickup
· Position 5. Middle pickup in series with neck pickup

You really have to listen to them and it will take you a while to figure out the pickup switching combinations but once you do, this will become your favorite guitar as you leave your former wildest dreams in the dust and truly unlock your creativity.

The Fender American Deluxe Strat comes with a premium hard shell case to protect your investment. This guitar lists for $1,999 and is available for around $1,500.