Fender American Special Stratocaster and Telecaster Guitar Review

[floralfall123456789]

I got the EXACT same hss strat. Its amazing. eurrybody shut the fuck up about gibson vs. fender. they are both amazing and it really depends on your playing ability and personal opinions on witch is "better"

[apolllos7]

the guitar your using don't mean shit, its the player that makes the guitar not the other way around

[caressxofxsteel]

i wish the american special tele had the 6 saddles like the american standard....

[TheRustyWeapon]

@caressxofxsteel Just get 'em aftermarket. Seriously, if that's the reason you wouldn't get one, you're missing out!

[caressxofxsteel]

@TheRustyWeapon touche my friend! lol its funny cuz i just now recently in the last 6 months have gotten into retrofitting aftermarket stuff into guitars. i recently swapped out my neck pickup on my 7 string and put in a dimarzio liquifire 7, my american standard strat is getting lockdown tuners on it, etc etc and now because of that if i love everything about a particular guitar except one or 2 things, im gonna change it. like putting a 6 saddle bridge on an american special tele and so on

[thefamilynerd09]

WOOOHOO AN AMERICAN STRAT REVIEW IN ENGI- aww fuck its him again...

[Nickofaballooni]

These guitars are apparently made in Mexico. watch the Video showing them being made... all the factory signs are in Spanish.

[kona6495]

@Nickofaballooni the reason they have a 'Mexican' and an 'American' series is because they are made in diffrent places... one in Mexico, and one in america... two factories

[Nickofaballooni]

@kona6495 ...Yes, I know they have two factories..... But Fender say these guitars are MADE in AMERICA... not in Mexico.

[kona6495]

@kona6495 because they are made in america?

[huyiy]

theres nothing THAT great about american made strats... i have a mexican strat $350 + upgraded pickups = $650 total cost.. sounds better than ANY american strat i played thats $800 - $1200... and the fingerboard is just as nice

[cannibalslayer13]

@huyiy u should be put to death for upgrading a strat in any sort of way

[huyiy]

@cannibalslayer13 you should be stoned to death, have your carcass raped by a water buffalo then left to get eaten by mice... who the hell would wanna keep stock mexican strat pickups? DUMB RETARD!

[TerrorBlade84]

Just wondering, how would this guitar sound if its customized to a Dave Murray sig. strat i.e dimarzio super distortion in the humbucker position and a dimarzio pro track in the neck position

[recuerdodelfuturo]

They all sound far too crispy for me.

[sprkeys]

go buy a fender then say that you bum or go spend some money on a rig that people want to hear if you suck so bad you cant afford a good amp then stick with you dinky les paul and shut up.

[rudiandcofilm]

Hi Paul,,, thank you for your good job for all of us. I´m just going to buy the black one special. You are nice person and great player. Rudo from Slovakia

[Qoooba95]

telecaster sounds even 2 sexy for me

[PF1964]

The telecaster sounds amazing! Best of the three

[PF1964]

The telecaster sounds amazing!

[pieroandaluz]

Not sure someone's asked this, but what amp/effects are you using? Thanks for the awesome reviews!

[TwilightCodex]

What a ripping guitarist!!!!!!!!!

[gerby90]

thats a killer sound..

[pieroandaluz]

Paul, awesome review! I just got my Special  HSS and loved it since I laid my hands on it at the shop. I like your amplification. What are you using for amp/effects? Thanks!

[mattw8675]

Which of the two strats are better?

[king666nothing]

@mattw8675 The one that is Gibson Les Paul. ROFL )))))

[voodoochild591]

@king666nothing very professional.

[FraserIsBetterThanYu]

@king666nothing suck my dick les pauls are shit

[qtip1064]

oh my! this guys a beast. He's killing it dude!

[frustratedemo11]

can that guitar come with a maple fret board? the pure black one.. hss special strat..tnx..ill wait for the answer.. sorry for the bad english

[guitarmaster123445]

@frustratedemo11 Not unless you take a neck off of the SSS special and smack it on there.

[remalicious123]

whats better the HSS or the SSS?

[king666nothing]

@remalicious123 HH is the best.

HSH is not bad as well.

Of the two you had I would pick the HSS. SSS would be noisy as hell.

[remalicious123]

@king666nothing oh:[ by HH u mean two humbuckers but i have my gibson SG for that, and the colors suck for the HSS. so i mean im going to guitar center tomoro i guess i could see for myself i suppose :p

[kirkhetfieldtrujillo]

@king666nothing That's a bit of a sweeping statement. Not one of those is the best. Best is subjective. They all serve different purposes.

[marshman500]

@remalicious123 It totally depends if you want the single coil or hb in the bridge. If you want all true strat tones go for the SSS. But. if you want some modern humbucker tones as well go for the HSS. im getting the HSS... If you ask me a HH strat is a completely different guitar. You can also buy a noise surpressor for 100 bucks that helps with the noisey single coils.

[FABIANM1964]

@remalicious123 The SSS is a stratocaster, the HSS is not

[king666nothing]

@FABIANM1964 That's a pretty ignorant statement to make. I guess you've never seen a Strat with humbucker before. )))

[FABIANM1964]

@king666nothing HSS is a nice instrument. If you can afford 20 different guitars, get one. If you just can afford one and you want the real thing get an SSS. I own an American Special one in sunburst, and it is amazing. I might be an ignorant, please post links of videos of Hendrix, Clapton or Stevie Ray playing HSS's I would love to watch them.

[king666nothing]

@FABIANM1964 The fact that those guitarists never played HSS doesn't make it a bad configuration. Each pickup layout has different purpose.

P.S. If it means anything to you Dave Murray from Iron Maiden has humbucker in the bridge of his strat and Van Halen's Frankenstrat has humbucker in the pridge position too.

[rich655]

@FABIANM1964 In a copy band...NOTHING beats the versatility of a HSS Strat! Hendrix , Clapton, and SRV didn't play HSS Strats...true.

But then again....almost all of us out here are'nt in their league....we NEED all of the extras to get us on our way!!

I LOVE Strats...but as I said...the Strat's most recognisable and useful sounds occur in positions 2 through 5!

HSS is a welcome 'improvement" on an otherwise perfect instrument!

[rich655]

@FABIANM1964 Yeah,,,that is a REAL ignorant statement to make!!

You clearly have mastered the art of talking out of your ass!

A HSS Stratocaster is an EXTREMELY versatile instrument!!

A Strat's bridge pickup, to me, is USELESS!! It is thin , shrill, and irritating!

The Strat's most useful positions are 2 through 5. You still get that nice 'quack' with a humbucker in the bridge!

HSS Strats totally rock!!

[boazhakuk]

tele sounds great!

[1996Prashant]

ive got the tele

[shllapatan]

i;m surprised that they haven't done a review of the highway one stratocaster

[ahmedkhan1]

wow... he's getting better at playing

[TEO1994sniper]

What are the difference between Special and Standard Strato?? There is a difference of 200 euros!

[ChronoCrusade08]

I like Fender!

My favourite guitars!

[ydrohoos7]

It is annoyng that every tele review has a country twist to it. Of course tele is great for country but why dont people show how the guitar performs in other styles ??

[pieroandaluz]

@ydrohoos7 maybe. but check this one out, it's awesome: type this after the equal sign in the url Wg3yRK25Nmw (I think youtube doesn't let you post urls)

[stratdem]

@meah941 the highway one sss strat rapes the new american special stratocaster. the american special doesnt come close to the legendary highway one sss strat.

[LittleWing117]

@stratdem the highway is just a step down from this. everyone knows that...?

[stratdem]

i dont think you know me all that well so let me introduce myself. i'm a pro musician to start and a guitar lutheir for 17 years. the highway one sss is crafted the very same way they were from 1968 to 1972 thats what the highway one is based after its old school stratocaster thats what the highway one sss is. up until june 2009 the highway one sss stratocaster listed (no case) $1,130 and your cost was $900 to $930 just like a real!old school strat. i'm done here.

FENDER droped there pices 2009

[stratdem]

@stratdem the highway one sss strat (upgraded july 2006 to present)

already have what the american special has except the texas specials and i

personaly think the Alnico III pick ups shit all over the texas specials.

do your homework on the highway one sss strat befor you comment.

[Canadianspunge]

@stratdem Say one thing about the Highway One that makes it better.

[rpcurry]

I own The HSS he is playin and i love it. I also own 2 Les Paul's 1 custom and 1 standard and 2 Takamine acoustics. You can sit around arguing all day about which brand is better...I dont see a point in doing so. All it comes down to is how well you can play it. I've seen people Roast on Squires and make the guy next to him that is playing the Gibson look foolish. Just proof its not all the guitar sooo much as it is the man picking the strings

[MrThx84]

no he kinda looks like a young mr. bean

[DrZoidberg15]

Fender fucking rapes Gibson

[king666nothing]

@DrZoidberg15 Never has and never will. Fender is just worthless shit compared to Gibson.

[ulissegarnerone]

@king666nothing

"worthless shit"!!! Bizarre they are one of the two historic elctric guitar manufacturers, even more bizarre that "the first commercially successful solid-body electric guitar was the Fender Telecaster" (from Wiki)... Fender is "worthless shit" wich has changed the world, it' s a brick in Mankind' s history, it will always live, because in people' s mind, the electric guitar is a Fender Stratocaster. And they are not wrong, to me : ) Bye!

[king666nothing]

@ulissegarnerone You have not proved anything. Fender is still a shitty company which makes shitty guitars. And I could easily say that in people's mind the electric guitar is a Gibson Les Paul.

[stratdem]

well up until last year 2009 i would have to agree with you about fender turning into a shity company because they are. the highway one sss strat is the last Brilliant stratocaster fender has crafted ans all others are nothing more than repeats like the new american special strat and the very over rated american standard strat. neither of them even come close to the legendary highway one sss strat. fender keeps shoving the american special and american standards down are througts and they suck!

[LittleWing117]

@stratdem this guy owns a highway one and spent all his allowance on it and now he is ruthless fanboy with a completly invalid opinion

[Canadianspunge]

@LittleWing117 Agreed.

[Canadianspunge]

@king666nothing And I could easily say that in people's mind, the electric guitar is me. Just 'cause I can say it... Well... I'm a person not a guitar. 'Nuff said.

Face it. Whether LPs are better or not than Fenders, the Stratocaster is the quintessential rock guitar, and the first guitar that pops into someone's head when they think "guitar" is the Stratocaster.

QED

[king666nothing]

@Canadianspunge Once again you're begging the question - presenting your biased opinion as a fact. You have no fucking idea what pops into someone's head when they think "guitar". If you are a Strat fan - great, but don't try to convince anyone that it is the greatest and most famous guitar ever.

[Canadianspunge]

@king666nothing

Alright look... By saying Fender makes shitty guitars, you are just as much presenting opinion as fact. In fact, you're presenting an opinion that is absolute shit. I'm not even a big fan of Strats, I prefer SGs myself.

But what I'm saying applies to non-guitarists. If somebody grew up in like... the golden era of rock (1970-1990), then they've seen almost every single one of their favourite guitarists play Strats. Not that many choose Les Pauls, and even less choose SGs.

[Canadianspunge]

@king666nothing So THAT's why I say that when someone thinks electric guitar, they think of a Strat. NOT a Les Paul, a Strat.

[pieman419]

@king666nothing That's the exact same thing you're doing, isn't it? I don't think that Slowhand, Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, Yngwie, Richie Blackmore and the hundreds of others would be playing shitty guitars. Conversely, I doubt Zoso, Doug Aldrich, Ronnie Montrose, Neal Schon, and once more hundreds of others would. They're both good guitar companies, you're being just as stupid by asserting that something is bad just because it says "Fender".

[king666nothing]

@pieman419 But thinking that guitar is great just because it says "Fender" is stupid as well. It's just a matter of personal taste and preference. I just expressed my opinion on the subject. And you have every right to do so also. And we both have the right to disagree.

[topografer]

@king666nothing it propably is the most famous guitar. Not greatest though. It was just one of the few guitars that could produce "this" sound. Today if you are after a good stratocaster type guitar there are better alternatives than fender. Today is the era of humbucker that's why most people use les paul or other HH guitars. Think of marshall amps. People accuse them of being bad nowadays. It's not that they have become bad. They always were but there were no other hotrod amps.

[topografer]

@king666nothing I ain't saying that fender is bad. All i am trying to say is that we should consider things with a fourth dimension: "time". What stratocaster is today is legendary. It's not the best guitar offcourse but with a hot rodded strat (ssh pup config i mean) you can play practically anything. Just like anyone used a marshall because they were the highgain amps of the time

[lighteningboy]

I have and enjoy both. But I agree, Fender builds awesome guitars

[shredheadbob]

Yeah really. Fenders are like toys compared to mighty Gibson!!!!!

[ulissegarnerone]

@shredheadbob

Yeah, toys used by the best electric guitarists of all times! And, in the end, it' s all about "playing", don' t you think? Bye!

[Canadianspunge]

@shredheadbob As in playing Fenders are fun... While Gibsons beat you up?

[shredheadbob]

@Canadianspunge haha real clever.

[smoss469]

GW demos suck ass for the simple reason that they do it as an advertisement. Paul needs to start showing the amp and other things he uses for these demos so you can get an idea of what's the guitar and what is possibly a $5k stack.

[sprkeys]

@smoss469 GO SPEND Some MONEY then if you have a crapy rig it doint matter what you have its guna suck so shut up

[smoss469]

@sprkeys What does 1 rig have to do with another? The point is how can you take a demo seriously when they hide the equipment except the piece they're trying to SELL. (I can randomly capitalize words too). They aren't true reviews, they're paid endorsements and it's shady at best and underhanded at worst. I don't expect you to understand the point though, you demonstrated that (clearly) in your well thought out reply.

[sprkeys]

@smoss469 1 rig is why your on heir crying. and its called marketing WELCOME TO AMERICA theirs some more capitals for you. everyone who plays a strat has their own sound and hearing the guitar in action heirs somethings a certain product. and the fact of the matter is your comment about me not understanding is very funny considering you have no idea who i am what i do who i represent. clearly your a moron and do you realize that your the only one so far that has made a negative comment.

[smoss469]

You lack even basic grammar skills. I hope you're a dropout, otherwise the education system failed you. Your replies are laughable at best and a nice picture of what's wrong with our culture.

[sprkeys]

@smoss469 why dont you go find you a life and stop trying to bash someone who makes way more money in a week then you do in a month. like i said previous your ignorance of who i am is outstanding so please keep them comeing. me and my partners are rolling on the floor at how you are getting so upset so please help us on this rainy day to keep laphing are butts off. so anyway if you have a problem with this style of selling then ask for better reviews on the website or omg write a letter ;o

[smoss469]

@sprkeys I didn't know government assistance paid that much. Congratulations, you win at the internet. Your prize will be along with next months check.

[sprkeys]

@smoss469 jeez nancy stop crying thats whats wrong with america everyone has something to say and it usually doesn't matter anyways. i'll let you go cool down now so you can go feel like king of youtube. today its so easy to just go shoot bull on a comment thread and get someone going for hours with something that at the end of the day means nothing.

[smoss469]

@sprkeys Says the douche that brought up a comment over a year ago and decided to act like an internet tough guy over it. I've enjoyed watching you try to reply. It gives me no hope for the future however it was entertaining to say the least. Tell your "partners" (IE trailer park neighbors in a tin can recycling operation) that I said hello.

[sprkeys]

that's whats wrong with america you can make any body upset when your just shooting bull cause your board. i recommend some yoga it might help. its just to easy anymore hahaha i hope your another guitar player because i do agree with what you are saying its just a video because fender gives them a bright shinny penny to shoot some video with the nicest gear hidden under the sheet. i do with they would show what they are playing through cause now we have to try to match it and i takes for ever!

[smoss469]

@sprkeys It's misleading to new buyers. They might as well just say: "Buy this guitar and you'll sound like this!". A 200 Squier played through an expensive stack is going to sound great. Played through a SS practice amp, it's going to sound like ass. The best reviewers on the internet (or at least some of the most highly thought of) show their entire setup. It helps with the tone. Is it the guitar? or the amp? PGS, GMD, Burgs and the rest show you what's going on behind the scenes.

[sprkeys]

@smoss469 exactly i love stratocasters and fenders its my sound. And like you said ate the end of the day it is shady. how many digital effects or computer effects did they put it through you know its very shady. I agree with that

[smoss469]

@sprkeys They're probably recording the audio with a VERY pricey mic, something like a Royer or something equally insane. Not to mention he's probably playing at least through a $2k amp (I'd say closer to $3k minimum) and using a top of the line recording interface. Not to mention the post recording work they're probably doing. I love my Strat, it's my 1st guitar I reach for whenever I play but different tools for different trades. I also love my PRS and my LP Junior.



[5150VanAlien]

Does he look like Michael J Fox or what???

I think the humbucker has too much treble...overall not a bad guitar.

[adil2552]

Yes...and he sounds like David Spade at times.

Just listen to his voice during the reviews, you'll see what I mean.

[smock19nathan]

People arguing over gibson and fender..... T tottally deiffrent machines.....

[king666nothing]

@smock19nathan Yeah, totally different. Gibson is great, Fender is crap.

[Canadianspunge]

@king666nothing

You forgot a couple words. "Gibson is great at being almost as good as Fenders".

And, "Fender is crap-tastically amazing".

[lighteningboy]

I think these guitars sound awesome. How do they compare with the Highway 1 guitars? Are they more expensive? The Telecaster sounds wicked man! Boy can that guy play...

[fahadk1985]

fenders always sound like shit, compared to Gibson... Gibson ftw

[lighteningboy]

@fahadk1985 I just watched a couple of your videos. I am not convinced you are an expert on guitar tone there young laddie.

[fahadk1985]

thats coz i don have enough money to buy a 3000 dollar Gibson Les Paul, with a Marshall amp.

I will in a couple of years... but Gibson is luxury in my opinion, Fender guitars are amazing, but tone wise..no

[weldfish]

Some tasty licks there Paul. Love the Black on Black Strat. It just oozes class and sounds great. I liked all 3 but the HSS configuration is more useful to me.