Around this time last year, Fender broke into new territory with the launch of the American Acoustasonic Telecaster, which came with the tagline – "acoustic, electric and everything inbetween." In a complete surprise to absolutely no-one, the iconic brand has now added a Stratocaster to the lineup.
Though opinions on the Acoustasonic Telecaster in the music gear forums was pretty divided, Fender reports that sales of the acoustic/electric instrument have been healthy. And in a nod to the company's early days, a Strat now follows the Tele into production.
"Following in the footsteps of what Fender accomplished over 70 years ago, it was a natural and authentic progression for us to start with the Telecaster model and then offer a Stratocaster counterpart with its own unique voices," said Billy Martinez, VP Category Manager at Fender's Acoustic Division. "We can’t wait to see what musicians, both Strat enthusiasts and acoustic fans, will achieve in their creative process with this new range of voices the Acoustasonic Stratocaster unlocks."
Like last year's guitar, the Acoustasonic Strat features Fender's patented Stringed Instrument Resonance System (SIRS), a tuned sound hole which directs air flow to produce a naturally loud acoustic voice with lively harmonics. The hybrid also rocks three pickup systems – a Fishman under-saddle transducer, a Fishman Acoustasonic Enhancer and an Acoustasonic Noiseless magnetic pickup that allows players to go full-on electric, or blend in the instruments acoustic sound.
The guitar's tone is optimized by an Acoustic Engine developed by Fender and Fishman, which makes the most of the new shape and tone woods used here to offer musicians a new curated collection of acoustic and electric voices.
"We’ve removed all the obstacles associated with playing an acoustic guitar, giving players those same sounds with an electric neck and comfortable thin line acoustic body – all in a familiar Strat body shape," added Martinez. "At the same time, this guitar still gives you all the tonal options you would get in a Dreadnought, concert or auditorium acoustic guitar."
The back and sides of the body are fashioned from mahogany, while the top is Sitka spruce. The 22-fret mahogany neck is topped by an ebony fingerboard with dot inlays and a Graph Tech nut. The asymmetrical bridge sports Graph Tech pins, there's chrome hardware but no pickguard.
The American Acoustasonic Stratocaster was launched at the NAMM show in California this week, and will go on sale in March for US$1,999.99. The video below shows both series models in action.
Product page: American Acoustasonic Stratocaster