TOP SHELF: Fender American Ultra Stratocaster HSS

PETER HODGSON CHECKS OUT FENDER’S MOST SOUPED-UP, MODERN, NON-GRANDPA STRATOCASTER EVER.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, "I like Fenders, but I wish they had the kind of high-end playability features of, say, a Charvel or a Suhr," well, that’s what the American Deluxe and Elite series have been – you’ve been totally sleeping on it! Whether it’s the model called The Strat in the early ' 80s, the late '80s-to-early '90s Plus series or later evolutions, Fender has always reserved part of its lineup for the latest and greatest in guitar technology.

The Ultra series takes this innovation to a whole new level, reexamining and redesigning everything about the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, P Bass and Jazz Bass to meet the standards of pro players. The neck joints are super comfortable with unprecedented upper fret access; the necks have a new shape – a ‘Modern D’, which is the same depth as Fender’s classic 'C' shape, but with higher, squarer shoulders which ultimately make it feel smaller and easier to get your thumb around for those Hendrix chords; there’s a new satin neck finish formulation that will have you gliding all over the fretboard with ease; redesigned fifth-generation noiseless pickups, including a hotter pair of single coils just for the HSS model Stratocaster; and gorgeous new finishes across the line, designed in conjunction with a paint supplier to the auto industry – just like Fender did in the '50s.

The colours are stunning, with the range including Cobra Blue, Mocha Burst, Texas Tea (a kind of black, but brown, but copper, but gold, but green – all depending on viewing angle – finish), Arctic Pearl, Aged Natural, Plasma Red Burst and Ultraburst (which, as the name leads you to believe, is Fender’s attempt at capturing the absolute coolest three-tone sunburst in the company’s history). And these colours truly have to be seen to be believed, because part of the charm is the way that light dances across the instrument’s curves. These are going to look really great when you put them to the test onstage.