AMERICAN ULTRA STRATOCASTER

A formidable Strat spec’d for today’s player.

RRP: $3,899+

Body: Alder (ash on trans finish)

Neck: Maple (bolt-on)

Scale: 25.5 inches

Fingerboard: Rosewood or Maple

Frets: 22 (medium jumbo)

Pickups: 3x Ultra Noiseless Vintage Strat Single-Coils

Controls: Master volume with S-1 switch, 2 x tone, 5-way blade pickup switch

Hardware: 2-Point Deluxe Synchronised Tremolo

PROS

• Clever electronics with S-1 switch expands the Strat’s range.

• The Modern D neck profile is superb.

• Quality build, hardware and pickups.

• Smart new range of finishes.

CONS

• For some, the Strat was perfected in ’62.

Here is Fender’s modernism at its best, with the iconic body shape largely unchanged save for some carefully thought out body contours, and a newly tapered heel to aid upper fret access. Fender’s modernism is, of course, rooted with one foot in its storied history; the three Ultra Noiseless single-coils offer hum-free performance, and yet they are voiced to recall a bygone era. What’s different now is that, with the S-1 switch adding the neck pickup to any position on the switch, the tone menu just got a whole lot longer.

The American Ultra Stratocaster represents the acme of Fender’s production line guitar building.

There are locking tuners, the Fender logo in gold foil, the Modern D profile neck is comfort objectified in maple, while the compound 10-to-14-inch radius feels thoroughly 2020. Yes, this is a future-forward design, but indelibly still a Stratocaster – a darn good one.