fender american professional ii telecaster review
• CONTACT Fender EMEA 01342 331700 www.fender.com We head into psychedelic territory in our second part of our John Lennon lesson, as we explore the chords and sequences used by a man spreading his creative wings. The highs do seem a little more rounded here and thereâs no shortage of midrange bite, which really pushes the Tele-ness to the fore on the bridge pickup. American Professional II Telecaster, TLC-Shaped Guitar from Fender in the American Professional II series. It certainly looks very stage-aimed and showy. This would also involve swapping pickups from one guitar to another to insure that what we were hearing wasn’t influenced by a particular instrument. Sire Version 2 Marcus Miller U5 Short Scale in Natural Customer Experience Thereâs no Strat HH this time around; the launch range here seems very focused on the big-hitters. The neck pickup is far from rounded or muted, though; it really isnât a million miles away from the Stratâs neck in terms of voicing just with a subtler smoother attack. Obviously, there are different colours, some of which might be quite polarising, particularly to those of us whoâve grown up with the classic and custom colour hues.Â. These are usually resin impregnated, which makes it musically less like a bell when you hit it. If a historically accurate American Vintage Strat rated a 9.5 on this imaginary spectrum, the new American Professional Strat would get about a 7.5. The American Professional series consists of several Stratocasters (with standard triple single-coil, single/single/humbucker or dual-humbucker pickup configurations), a traditional Telecaster (two single-coils) and Telecaster Deluxe (dual-humbucker), a Jaguar, a Jazzmaster and various Precision and Jazz Basses and left-handed ⦠Impossible to say on the evidence of a single guitar, but listening to this Strat in comparison with both alder and light ash references, itâs definitely in the right ballpark and perhaps sits between the two. The whole Fender range is along for the ride in this upgraded collection, including Strats, Jazzmasters, and Jags. • NECK WIDTH 42.7mm at nut, 51.5mm at 12th fret Is this ‘Super-Naturalâ finish to the neck back a game-changer or even noticeably different from the original American Professional? The level of construction is generally very high across both review instruments, although the curve that has been cut out of the Telecaster’s scratchplate to accommodate the end of the control plate has a rather rough edge, as does the area cut out for the bridge plate. No, but it does feel super smooth â this is good craft. Each alnico alloy has its own tone due to the chemical composition of the magnets, and I decided to try mixing materials within individual pickups. Tim Shaw’s new V-Mod pickups use mixed magnet types for the Strat neck and middle units. • ELECTRICS 3x V-Mod single-coil Stratocaster pickups, 5-position blade pickup selector switch, master volume with treble-bleed circuit, neck tone, bridge/middle tone $1,599.99 4 colors • STRING SPACING 34.5mm at nut, 53.2mm at bridge The well tried-and-tested Strat vibrato has a light, responsive feel with a pretty standard range of around a semitone up-bend on the high E and just over a tone on the G. Stability for light use is excellent, although as with any brand-new guitar thereâs a sense that it all needs to settle in a little. Fender American Professional II Telecaster The contoured heel, for example, is hardly new, but it knocks the old square edge off the treble side of the heel, something Leo would have probably done back in the day had he realised there was money to be made noodling around in those high-fret positions. All rights reserved. For all the effort thatâs gone into the new Tele bridge, at setup or even post-purchase, notching the saddles wouldnât go amiss as the strings can drift making the string spacing slightly uneven. Offering classic Fender style, the world's finest hand craftsmanship, premium hardware and electronics, the Fender American Professional II series boasts an ⦠Each Am Pro II also has a new-to-Fender push-push switch on the tone control. Our popular Deep âCâ neck now sports smooth rolled fingerboard edges, a âSuper-Naturalâ satin finish and a newly sculpted neck heel for a supremely ⦠• SCALE LENGTH 25.5”/647mm Is roasted pine the new ash? So, again, we have V-Mod II pickups. Here’s how it’s done, Want to upgrade the bridge on your vintage-style Jag but maintain a functional mute? The height adjustment screws are nicely buried â a great advantage of the Micro-Tilt â and the saddles are compensated as before. This Telecaster is part of Fenderâs latest American Professional series, which essentially supersedes the companyâs long-lived American Standard range. The Strat’s ’board in particular has a very attractive figure, but both slabs of rosewood appear to be of high quality. The Fender American Professional II gives you a new level of dependability and performance from the world's most trusted family of instruments. Fender has sensibly retained the Micro-Tilt neck pitch adjustment here, too. The R&D process took place in California and Tennessee, as Shaw is a Nashville resident: “I asked my colleagues in Corona R&D to have sets of Strat pickups and Tele single coils wound with the different magnet combinations I wanted to try,” says Shaw. We chat to frontwoman Laura Colwell and guitarists Stephen Salisbury and Michael Bain about their new album Somewhere, accidentally writing country songs, and esoteric guitar playing. Obviously, youâre not just hearing a body wood, but what weâre hearing overall is extremely good. Complaints? As is the setup, which pairs 0.009s with string heights on both treble and bass sides at the 12th fret of a shade over 1.5mm. • NECK DEPTH 20.9mm at first fret, 23.5mm at 12th fret Necks feature satin urethane finishes with gloss urethane headstock faces (rosewood and maple) and fingerboards (maple only). Aided by lightly rolled rosewood fingerboard edges, it quickly disappears in the hand, and we think it feels less generic and a little more considered than that of previous US Standard models. The finish was inspired by the current approach to safety during the pandemic. The metalcore titans on remote recording, making things, “heavy in a different way” and why they’re not bothered if their new record proves divisive. The series sound is certainly thicker â the biggest sound here â and humbucker-like, with the well-voiced treble bleed on the volume. Thank you for signing up to Guitarist. A major part of the first Am Pros were the mixed-magnet V-Mod pickups (see Mods For Rockers, later in this feature). My first guitars were all Strats and this model is a bit like coming home for me. In the interest of the strings not being too close to the fingerboard edges, we opted for a set-up that saw the E strings pass over the inside edge of their respective neck pickup pole-pieces. “We were actually using an improved style of cast block that was copper-infused instead of resin, so it was homogenous metal all the way through, but it was still a sintered block. Weâre big fans of the first American Pros and these II versions are simply nicely polished, very everyman instruments with colossal appeal to players everywhere. The other subtler changes are to the necks. Sam Bell. BA1 1UA. American Professional II Jazz Bass® Left-Hand. In a direct A/B comparison, it’s arguably slightly zestier than the Strat’s neck unit, although the latter’s smooth vibrato action (which returns to pitch perfectly even with the rather light .009-gauge supplied strings and a three-spring set-up) does allow for more dramatic, Jimi-esque histrionics. Chief among the new specs are the addition of push-push tone knobs, which switch in an additional voice on each model. Write a user review Prices starting at $1,500 Average price: $1,567 • NECK DEPTH 20.8mm at first fret, 24mm at 12th fret In this case, the alnico combinations gave us the focused and punchy lows we’ve come to expect from Telecasters, while fattening up the treble strings.”. You can hear the springy, Strat-flavoured heritage of the Twisted Tele unit from which Shaw drew inspiration and – dare we say it – it’s a lot more interesting than many genuine vintage and vintage-inspired Telecaster neck pickups we’ve tried. The guitar is the first signature model for another artist by Brian May’s guitar brand. The more we played this Strat, the more we liked it â and the Tele, too. The Fender American Professional II Telecaster features Tim Shawâs latest V-Mod Tele single-coils, which deliver familiar Tele twang with enhanced clarity and focus. Here, that top body edge is a little thick.Â. For the last 70 years, Fender has largely set the tone in the guitar industry. Itâs got mass but doesnât have the same resonance or musicality. Specs. You will receive a verification email shortly. More fundamentally, lightweight ash is now hard to source â certainly in the quantities that Fender consumes â and is replaced by roasted pine as used right back at the start of the Fender story (although it wasnât roasted back then) and for various limited runs over the years. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer, The history of Gibsonâs L-1 and L-00 acoustics, contemporaries of the legendary Robert Johnson, Hamstead Soundworks Signature Analogue Tremolo MKII review. And with Fenderâs new American Professional II ⦠For basses, the series includes: American Professional II Precision Bass® â $1,549.99 American Professional II Precision Bass® V â $1,649.99 American Professional II ⦠• STRING SPACING 34.6mm at nut, 52mm at bridge The Fender American Professional II Tele RW (3-Colour Sunburst) is a 6-String Telecaster Electric Guitar, taken from the American Professional II Series. In full âbucker mode itâs well balanced and certainly not over thick, a welcome gear change with a little more power. Since we already knew most of the structural changes we were making in the series, we’d have these present on the test guitars so we could hear what they’d sound like in production. © The American Professional II Telecaster® Left-Hand draws from more than seventy years of innovation, inspiration and evolution to meet the demands of todayâs working player. The February 2021 issue of Guitar Magazine is out now! The two-post bridge now boasts a cold-rolled steel block that, says Fender, “increases sustain, clarity and high-end sparkle”. Pro tools indeed. In the first of a new series, we examine how this simple and common system for learning the guitar contains hidden depths that could be the key to unlocking your potential as a musician. Fender American Professional II⦠Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) released the all-new American Professional II series, the second generation of its flagship electric guitars and basses. Weâre suckers for heavier contours that enhance the sculptural beauty of the best guitar design ever. His imagination is as important as his gear, but here’s a guide to the tools and sounds of his trade…. On the Strats, for instance, it’s important to have each pickup sound good, but the unique character of positions two and four has to be preserved as well. First impressions of the Strat played clean is that thereâs plenty of breathy crispness. Thereâs very little not to like here. Guitar World is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. The country queen faced a crossroads in 1995, and took a left turn to deliver a stunning album that not only reinvigorated her career but has since inspired two generations of rising Americana artists, Gunning unapologetically for a certain little black box from California, Walrus’s first amp and cab sim refines the formula with some interesting tweaks, This ornate hollowbody with rockabilly stylings makes a return for 2021, Looking to give your Tele more of a Keith Richards vibe? Again, far from new, it switches the full humbucker to its single-coil mode, although itâs actually a little trickier than that. Notching those Tele saddles wouldnât go amiss. The Telecaster immediately has a lovely brightness and clarity that has enough supporting depth to avoid sounding thin or scratchy, unless that’s what you’re after and you force the issue with EQ. And why not? We spoke to Tim Shaw to get the skinny on the new V-Mod pickups. There are nine guitars in the new guitar range: Strat, Tele, Strat HH, Strat HSS, Telecaster Deluxe, Jazzmaster and Jaguar, plus Strat and Tele lefties. Sign up below to get the latest from Guitarist, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! Most notably we have an updated bridge that uses a bridge plate with cut-down side walls. Visit our corporate site. In all five positions, the Strat is incredibly percussive and dynamic – it’ll take a heavier set of strings to take the tone all the way down to Texas, but even as supplied, into a clean American valve amplifier, there’s an explosive range of tones under your fingers from the outset that reminds you that in 2017, just as in 1954, there’s no more expressive and lyrical platform available to a soloist than a good Stratocaster. Fender American Professional II Telecaster - Dark Night with Rosewood Fingerboard Solidbody Electric Guitar with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, and 2 Single-coil Pickups - Dark Night $1,499.99 $ 1 , 499 . Fender's reimagined American Pro II series brings over features from the popular American Ultra line, including a truly ergonomic neck heel. “I do pickup design for several brands within FMIC, and I’d been working with most of the commonly available alnico magnet materials for various other projects. Sienna Sunburst model features an ash body. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. • HARDWARE 3x compensated brass saddle string-through-body Tele bridge with modern ‘ashtray’ cover, Fender Standard cast/sealed staggered tuners To provide an exceptional playing experience, the American Professional II Telecaster boasts a Deep "C" profile neck with a satin finish and a contoured heel joint. As youâd expect, thereâs no shortage of fast attack and the voice is pretty vibrant. The bridge has flush mount poles, while the push-push switch on the tone control voices both pickups in series when it is pushed up and when the three-way selector is in middle position. The Fender American Professional II Stratocaster is for someone who needs something a bit more durable, versatile, and comfortable while playing for hours on end. The range of models, at least the initial releases, tick all the best-selling boxes, too: Strat, Tele, Strat HSS, Tele Deluxe (now with a larger 70s Strat-style headstock) and Jazzmaster. With a couple of minor exceptions, itâs difficult to see how Fender could have improved these further. • DESCRIPTION Double-cutaway, bolt-on neck electric. Bath Along with a ‘smootherâ satin back finish â coined ‘Super-Naturalâ â and a rich but not overdone amber tint, thereâs a heavier rolling to the fingerboard edges. Pros: Modern features Classic looks/feel Great playability/tone Well made. They do feel like subtly modded versions of the first range with added attention to feel and detail. Despite the high-gloss finish, thereâs a rather rustic vibe here that not everyone will enjoy. First Impressions. The Fender American Professional II Series unites a diverse range of artists spanning different genres and styles. Made in USA The new flagship American Professional II series arrives alongside Fender's 'The One. • WEIGHT 7.6lbs/3.4kg The American brandâs trendsetting instruments have helped to shape contemporary music as we know it, with todayâs artists using their guitars and basses to pioneer the exciting sounds of tomorrow. We have various magnet combinations for different musical purposes on the Teles and Strats, and on the basses as well. Corea died at the age of 79 earlier this week. Here, we still have the chamfering for extra travel, but itâs milled out of cold rolled steel, which has long been what the aftermarket people with their upgraded hardware use. Continuing our look at the chord shapes and sequences used by The Beatles, we get inside the head of Paul McCartney and find a songwriting genius with an enthusiasm for minor chords and chords from outside the key. Like so many guitars, the key here is to use those tone controls. Finishes are refined to hark back to classic Fender eras (the sparkling seafoam green of the review ⦠A uniquely creative guitarist who has powered one of the world’s biggest bands for 40 years and counting, let’s trip through the wires to look at 20 guitar highlights from the strings and pedals of the man they call The Edge. The Tele looks more showy and just expands on the first version in both feel and sounds and, with a couple of minor exceptions, itâs difficult to see how Fender could have improved these further. • The best Stratocasters 2020: how to find the perfect Fender Strat for you “Justin Norvell asked me to start working on the Strat and Tele pickups for the American Pro series a bit over a year ago,” explains Shaw. So the neck pickup has alnico II for the wound strings and alnico III for the trebles. • SCALE LENGTH 25.5”/647mm Here we have V-Mod IIs: the “Stratocaster single-coil pickups are more articulate than ever while retaining bell-like chime and warmth”, says Fender. The Telecaster is the weightier of the two guitars, but neither is a chore when strapped on, and both display promising levels of acoustic volume, sustain and resonance. A modest refresh for the Am Pro line, but nonetheless well judged, and these remain high-performance options that are priced fairly for your average jobbing guitarist. The Tele remains a great workhorse while the Strat is very difficult to put down. From hip-hop to country, and electric bass to guitar, check out some of the artists who rely on the Fender American Professional II Series to bring their music to life. Shaw’s Telecaster pickups can get greasy and Stones-y when you wind up the gain a little, too, and the neck unit has a nicely flutey, slightly nasal quality in conjunction with drive. We then get a raft of refinements to continue the already refined Am Pro vibe. Not for the first time both tones here act like a ‘decadeâ control: fully open thereâs that almost post-EQ zing; backed off we get to more of those classic ‘analogueâ sounds. Made in USA As for hardware, itâs pretty much only the staggered-height modern tuners that remain completely untouched. Cons: A bit expensive. For 2017, Fender has decided to rebrand the range entirely, and the new American Professional Series features a series of upgrades across the board, including new V-Mod pickups designed by in-house pickup guru Tim Shaw, treble-bleed circuits, a new âModern Deep-Câ neck profile and impressive Elite moulded ⦠99 Sure, this is a bright-sounding example, but turning our 6V6-powered combo up into the realms of overdrive proves that it’s smooth and sophisticated, too, and not overly shrill or brittle. Not everyone will get the roasted pineâs appearance. • HARDWARE 2-point Synchronized vibrato bridge with bent steel saddles and pop-in arm, Fender Standard cast/sealed staggered tuners Fender literally wrote the book on electric basses, laying the foundation for musical innovation and evolution. ... American Professional II Telecaster® Left-Hand. The push-push switch voices the screw coil of the bridge humbucker, which matches the response from the single coils rather well. JoBo’s fusion of blues and rock makes him one of the most fiery and exciting guitar players on the planet – here’s how to nail his style. © 2021 Guitar.com is a member of the media division of BandLab Technologies. It’s out with the Standard and in with the Professional, as Fender overhauls its US workhorses for 2017. Mind you, weâve put up with that for years. Tele's push-push switch series pickup link is very welcome. Make no mistake – this is a good Stratocaster, and it’s no slouch for rhythm either, whether you are chasing Jimi or Biffy Clyro tones, or almost anything in between in the wide-ranging musical kaleidoscope created by Strat players over the years. • NECK WIDTH 42.4mm at nut, 51.4mm at 12th fret Both treble bleed circuits are well voiced, and once again we find ourselves plugging directly into a tweedy combo with a smidgen of reverb and finding that a good guitar with a variety of great tones onboard and a volume control that doesn’t make things muddy when it’s backed off is all the pedalboard we need. Again, this refresh also includes a smattering of new hardware and electronics. The deep C profile of the Am Pro I is retained, but all in, along with the narrow/tall wire on that everyman 241mm (9.5inch) radius, itâs hard to think how Fender could have improved things further. Both guitars come in pretty similar weight wise, neither feather-light nor far from heavy. The middle pickup has alnico II for the basses and alnico V for the trebles, and the bridge pickup has alnico V all the way across. At $1,399, the Professionalâs price is about average for a U.S.-made Fender Stratâcostlier than the American Standard (which the Professional replaces) and American Special instruments, but not as expensive as high-end American ⦠Thereâs no doubt what youâre listening to, but weâre reaching for the tones to pull them back whereas our reference Strats remain fully open. It can be top-loaded as well as through-strung, while the outer two saddles are slightly longer and have domed ‘bulletâ ends. • PRICE £1,399 (inc Elite hardshell case) However, that increased fingerboard edge rolling is welcome and the radiusing seems slightly more on the maple fingerboard face of the Strat than the separate rosewood fingerboard of the Tele. The November 2020 issue of Guitar Magazine is out now. Its natural voice is bright and clear but well balanced with plenty of chime and sustain, bringing to mind everything from Bakersfield twang to Jeff Buckley. We provide insight and opinion about gear, artists, technique and the guitar industry for all genres and skill levels. The pine does look different: we are so used to ash under blonde finishes or just natural that anything that looks different will always have its detractors. The Ultra Series earlier this year seems to have had at least some influence on this new American ⦠The Strat’s plastics are neater, but we found it impossible to align the bridge saddles in such a way that allows the high and low E strings to pass over the centre of the pole-pieces of the bridge and neck pickups simultaneously. Fender American Professional II Telecaster, Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS. • ELECTRICS 2x V-Mod single-coil Telecaster pickups, 3-position blade pickup selector switch, master volume with treble-bleed circuit, master tone The January 2021 issue of Guitar Magazine is out now! As reinventions go, American Professional is perhaps not the most dramatic we’ve ever seen, but there’s definitely something about the considered combination of new features and well-chosen materials here that elevates these instruments from ‘standard’ workhorses into slightly more luxurious territory.
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