Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has launched the American Elite Series, which the company says is its most high-performance line of electric guitars and basses.
The line features fourth generation Noiseless pickups, compound neck shapes and heels, redesigned ABS Elite Molded cases, and new finishes. The pickups combine authentic, vintage-style sound with effectively noise-free performance, the company said, and deliver sparkling cleans and fat, overdriven tones. Other shared features include: a new compound C-to-D neck shape; a 9.5”-14” compound radius fingerboard; asymmetrical neck heel; and a dual action truss rod with easy-access adjustment wheel.
“The American Elite Series is our most our most progressive and advanced series of electric guitars to date,” said Richard McDonald, EVP of Fender and SVP Fender Marketing. “We spent two years refining every detail to give modern players the tools they need to excel and write the future of music.”
The electric guitars will be scheduled to be available for purchase in February, and the basses in late spring.
The product line includes:
American Elite Stratocaster. Left-handed version available. Features: two-point tremolo; locking short-post tuning machines; colors include: Autumn Blaze Metallic, Sky Burst Metallic, three-color sunburst, Mystic Black, Olympic Pearl, Aged Cherry Burst and Tobacco Sunburst.
Fender American Elite Stratocaster
Fender American Elite Stratocaster HSS Shawbucker
American Elite Stratocaster HSS Shawbucker. Features: Open-coil humbucking bridge pickup with Noiseless pickups; passing lane push button switch reroutes to the player’s bridge pickup signal, bypassing the tone and volume circuits; locking short-post tuning machines; two-point modern tremolo. Available in three-color sunburst, Mystic Black, Olympic Pearl and Autumn Blaze Metallic.
American Elite Telecaster. Features: S-1 switching between parallel and series pickup wiring; locking short-post tuning machines. Available in three-color sunburst, Mystic Black, Aged Cherry Burst, Tobacco Sunburst, Autumn Blaze Metallic and Butterscotch Blonde.
Fender American Elite Telecaster
Fender American Elite Telecaster Thinline
American Elite Telecaster Thinline. Features: the new Elite Suspension Bridge with three intonatable brass saddles; S-1 switching that switches between parallel and series pickup wiring and locking short-post tuning machines. The model is available in three-color sunburst, Natural and Mystic Ice Blue.
American Elite Jazz Bass and Jazz Bass V. Features: Noiseless pickups; redesigned 18-volt preamp; HiMass Vintage bridge, allowing either top-load or strings-thru-body stringing. The four-string and five-string models are available in three-color sunburst, Tobacco Sunburst, Olympic White, Natural and Black.
Fender American Elite Jazz Bass IV
Fender American Elite Jazz Bass V
American Elite Precision Bass. Features: single-coil P Bass middle pickup, single-coil all-new fourth generation Noiseless Jazz Bass bridge pickup, onboard active 18-volt preamp, compound profile neck and redesigned contoured neck heel, HiMass Vintage bridge and new genuine bone nut. The Precision Bass model is available in three-color sunburst, Tobacco Sunburst, Olympic White, Natural and Black.
Fender American Precision Bass
American Elite Dimension Bass V HH
American Elite Dimension Bass V HH & American Elite Dimension Bass IV HH. Includes Dimension Bass humbucking pickups; 18-volt preamp with three-band EQ; asymmetrical neck profile; hand-rubbed oil on the back of the neck; Posiflex graphite support rods run the length of the neck. The Dimension Bass models are available in Cayenne, Violin Burst, Natural and Black.