Fender American Professional II HSS Stratocaster

It's hard to argue with the American Professional II HSS Stratocaster as an all-rounder. Fender took the familiar Strat formula and made the specification unusually practical: two V-Mod II single-coils, a Double Tap humbucker at the bridge, an alder body and a comfortable Deep C maple neck. You get the proper Strat chime and snap from the neck and middle positions, but also a fatter, higher-output bridge sound when you need it.

The Double Tap is particularly useful here. It is Fender's take on a coil-splittable humbucker, with the push-push tone control giving you a lower-output single-coil-style bridge sound as well as the full humbucker. That makes the HSS configuration considerably more versatile than simply having three pickups and a 5-way switch: you can move from glassy Strat sounds to thicker rock tones without having to change guitars.

The American Professional II series also put a lot of attention into the things you actually notice while playing. The Deep C neck fills the hand nicely without feeling chunky, the rolled fingerboard edges make the neck feel immediately comfortable, and the narrow-tall frets give you a precise, modern playing feel. It is refined without losing the basic ergonomics and character that make a Strat such a good guitar in the first place.

If you're after one guitar that can cover a lot of ground without losing the character that makes a Strat a Strat, this is a hard one to beat.

This Stratocaster is near mint, with only extremely light play wear. Fully original.

Specifications

• Model: Fender American Professional II HSS Stratocaster
• Made in USA
• Body: Alder
• Neck: Maple, Deep C profile
• Fingerboard: Maple, 9.5" radius
• Frets: 22 narrow-tall
• Scale: 25.5"
• Pickups: 2 V-Mod II Stratocaster single-coils and 1 Double Tap humbucker
• Controls: Master volume, neck/middle tone, bridge tone with push-push switch
• Switching: 5-way blade
• Bridge: 2-point synchronized tremolo with pop-in arm
• Weight: 3.64 kg
• Condition: Near mint, extremely light play wear
• Originality: Fully original
• Includes: Original hard shell case, certificate, tremolo arm and case candy