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Fender American Pro Stratocaster with rosewood neck

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This is a stupid, stupid guitar.

Two things before continuing. First, this is not the first time Fender has done this. Second, yes there is a Telecaster version. More on that in a moment.

A very common mistake guitar players say is "my guitar has a rosewood neck" when in fact the guitar has a maple or mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard.

This Strat however does have a 100% real-deal rosewood neck, meaning the entire neck is made from rosewood and not just the fingerboard alone...

...but that doesn't take away how stupid this guitar is.

Why is this guitar stupid?

1. You can't see the Fender logo unless you look up close at the pegboard. Yes, it's there.

2. The guitar looks cheap but costs 4 figures to get one.

I could forgive Fender if they released a Mexico version of this guitar, because then it would fall into 3-figure price territory. Probably $899 in 2017 money. And for an ugly special edition guitar from Fender, that's acceptable, albeit just barely.

But this is an American Pro Strat. It's not Fender Custom Shop. You pay $250 more for the "privilege" of having that all-rosewood neck.

If you really want one of these...

Why you would want one of these over a regular American Pro I don't know. But let's say you do.

My suggestion is GET THE TELECASTER. It's the better looking of the two guitars, and it's not just because of color. The Tele Pro just suits the stark contrast of light-color body vs. all-rosewood neck much, much better than the Strat does.

The only reason anyone buys one of these is to play casually at home from time to time, keep it a few years and then sell it later to make a few bucks. I don't agree with that, but if that's your goal, fine. The better moneymaker of the two is the Tele. The Strat just looks stupid and guitarists, myself included, don't like stupid looking guitars. If you buy the Strat, you will not make money on it later whereas with the Tele you will.

If you need further convincing the Tele is the better look at the two, examine special Strat and Tele models where the pegboard (as in the headstock) has the same color as the body. The Tele always looks better with that color treatment, whereas the Strat always looks best with a maple-colored pegboard whether natural or light tint.

Again, if you must get one of these all-rosewood neck guitars, go for the Tele. You'll be glad you did.

Published 2017 Jul 12

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