Fender HM Strat is not a Stratocaster

But it does have a ridiculously flat fretboard.

The HM Strat by Fender isn't a new guitar but rather one that's been brought back from the late 1980s as a limited run.

"HM" literally means "Heavy Metal". This guitar was designed to be a shredding machine, and the new limited run version has a few things about it that are unique to the model.

This guitar was never called a Stratocaster by Fender and still isn't with the new one. It's "Strat", or to be more specific, "Strat by Fender".

The things unique to this model is an ever-so slightly shorter 25.1" scale length, an ever-so slightly skinnier 1.66" nut width (when compared to the American Stratocaster), and a ridiculously flat 17" fingerboard radius.

Originally, the HM Strat ran from 1988 to 1992. I remember these back when they were new. Nobody wanted them, especially after glam rock died when grunge music became the popular rock music of choice. Had this guitar been introduced just two years earlier, it would have sold much better, but the HM Strat was a little late to the game.

Is there anything cool about this guitar? Not really, save for one thing. Fender grew some balls to even make this again, even as a limited run model. This guitar absolutely does not have any classic Fender style to it whatsoever, and it's more or less the anti-Fender Fender guitar. That is its best selling point. Anyone can buy a Stratocaster. But it takes a special kind of guy with some rebelliousness in his blood to buy an HM Strat.

Published 2020 Jan 23