Fender Lim. Edition American Special '70 Hardtail Strat MN 3TS

General

Stratocasters with a fixed bridge, such as the Limited American Vintage '70s hardtail Stratocaster, have a sound that's noticeably different than that of Strats with a vibrato unit. Both the bridge and the styling of this 3-tone Sunburst version were modelled after hardtail Strats from the seventies. For example, this guitar features a large '70s headstock, a 3-layer black pickguard and black synthetic components. Its modern details include two T-shaped string guides and a synthetic bone bridge to enhance playing comfort.

Construction

With a lightweight alder body and a bolt-on maple neck with 22 frets and a maple fretboard, this guitar is made according to one of the most successful blueprints for a Stratocaster ever. Less traditional, however, is the aforementioned strings-through body bridge. Three American Vintage '70s Strat single-coil pickups handle the amplified sound and are voiced to sound as much like the definitive '70s sound as possible. As cherries on top, there are the familiar 5-position pickup switch, a master volume control and two tone knobs.

Hardtail

Thanks to the increased popularity of alternative tuning, many guitarists in the seventies removed the familiar vibrato unit from their Fender Stratocaster. They quickly discovered that, not only did it have a positive effect on tuning stability, it also drastically altered the overall sound of the guitar, especially for Strats with a hardtail bridge. A strings-through-body hardtail bridge is quite heavy and has no harmonic trebles of the tremolo block and tremolo springs, resulting in a Strat with a very distinct tonal character.

• limited edition