I've got the one with the rosewood and I love my new fender stratocaster. People that neck just fits your hand like it was made just for you. And the upper access is amazing I thought it would be like my Mexican stratocaster but it is way better like there is no stump to stop you just smooth transition the pick ups are amazing to with the pot out sounds a little deep but with power to burn yet once you push the pot in its crisp sharper and and driven crystal clear sound yet when the volume goes up it really starts to growl in. I just starting the fiddle with it so I've got a lot more to find out.
Been playing two years pretty heavily. This is my 4th guitar, and likely will be The One for a long time. Top workmanship, and awesome feel, noticeably easier to play. I have the knight blue also, but with the rosewood which I think looks much cooler. I had Sweetwater set up the action (which I’ve spent a lot of time learning to do myself, tools and all, yet they did it better and was worth the expense for this price guitar). The case is bulletproof. It’s awesome to buy a great American product for a change. No issues at all with keeping tune. 5 stars.
WOW..I think Fender has finally got on Board. I do LOVE my 2 Custom Shop Strats, but Finally a great Guitar without having to Mortgage the House..HOPEFULLY 😳
I picked one up used. Flawless, not a scratch. Love it! I had no idea about the push/push knob, which is fine, as I only use the 4th or 5th positions. When I found out about the push/push, I noticed it wasn’t doing anything. I’m assuming the guy who owned it changed it out, as he added locking tuners. Can’t complain. It’s a badass guitar for sure! Just wish I knew if the knob was not working or simply was changed.
@@LepiGiska Yes, I’m aware. My button however doesn’t do anything, meaning it is flush to the pick guard and “mechanically” doesn’t do anything. Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
I've bought new USA Strats (+1 MIJ & 1 MIM) going back to 1997, and I have to say that my 2022 Pro 2 (same exact model as this one) is already my favorite. It's light, resonant, and sounds and plays amazingly well. Yes, that finish is the bomb! But what really gets me, is how comfortable it is. I can't quite nail it down, but I think it's got to be the extra heavy contouring on the body (so 'comfy'), along with the really nicely rolled fingerboard. Of course, I'm a total sucker for the satin finished neck. It's the closest Fender has ever gotten to what are, for me, the finest necks in the business - MusicMan USA guitars. I love the bridge/neck pu option and use it all the time. I'm also very happy that Fender went with the push-push pot, vs a push-pull setup which can be awkward in the heat of battle.
Hard To disagree with you on the Music Man necks! I too am a sucker for satin finish on necks. And yes, I am of the opinion that the Am Pro II’s are the best Strats Fender has put out in years. Rooted in tradition yet with plenty of forward-thinking tweets.
I just bought mine! Should have it delivered by next week. I was sold on the Pro 2 compared to the Preformer or Ultra. Took hours listening to demos and I'm happy with my Olympic White.
Awesome! Personally I think the Am Pro IIs are the right way to go if you just want a straight up American Strat...no bells and whistles, just a solid modern Strat. I do like the ultras but they're much different than this.
Congrats, I just got mine today (literally 2 hours ago) , same as demo one here but with rosewood fretboard. It sings right out of the case. Just had to tune up and stretch strings and it was ready to play. first official strat and love it so far. Kind of a new learning curve for me but I can see once I set it up, it will be one of favorites to play. the neck and intonation are perfect. I almost got the white one but switched at last minute. Either way , both are smokin!
@@SeanPierceJohnson Yeah, the ultra sounded great! But I just didn't want to spend that much money for a guitar that I'm still learning to improve my skills with. I thought maybe go to custom shop but since I needed a new amp as well, I decided against it for now. I'm happy with my purchase, not too expensive and great quality still.
@@sixslinger9951 Dude! What color did you end up getting on that Strat? Mine is due to come in sometime tomorrow, turns out they were going to send me the wrong color strat from my mistake and I caught it before they shipped it out and was able to swap it, so there is a bit of a delay but I'll be waking up early tomorrow just so that I can be able to get it delivered in person and not left on the front porch. Which I'm worried about because I'm sure it would get stolen. How's your Strat sound? If I'm unhappy with mine I think I'll swap it for the Tele, GC said I have 45 days to return it.
@@e.paradigm7415 I got the Dark Knight color with rosewood fingerboard. I've been playing it non-stop since I got it today. I have it running just through amp sims in my computer but it sounds killer once I dialed in the tone I like. the push tone knob is a nice feature too. Tomorrow, I am going to plug it into my Marshall. The action from the factory is a little higher than I am used too but the more I play it, I think I may keep it there or just a little bit lower. The neck is butter smooth! I love it! Cheers!
just got a fender pro two strat with a rosewood neck And I love it and in the dark night color Great Guitar cost me 1600.00 not bad from sweetwater a shout out to my guitar guy at sweetwater Max Rice you guys always knock it out of the park thanks again max at sweetwater sound
Thank you for the video. I have a question so in order to get the ones with the tone knob push button for the neck and bridge together what year are these made? Thank you
I wired my 5 way switch to give me tone on the bridge and I also have the three pickups on together also but without the extra push pull pot! I can wire a guitar the way you did without an extra part.
@@Arxitec like any Strat, and non-locking whammy bar guitar, it takes a good set up and some breraking-in of the strings before pitch stays put but it does very well.
Am a huge telecaster guy but when i tried out an olympic white strat pro II with maple neck I felt like it was the best guitar I ever had. I sent it back but regretted it! I even owned a strat ultra in texas tea which was gorgeous but the neck doesn't feel as comfortable to me and it was microphonic due to the anodized pick guard. Considering buying another one of these in this colour. I own a pro 2 tele too and it too is a dream, especially the neck.
I too played an Ultra some time ago. I liked it, but not nearly as much as the AmProII. If you do buy one of these, and you’re able, please consider using my Sweetwater affiliate link. There should be on in the Description. If you use it I get a small commission from you purchase to help support the channel. Thanks for watching!
Nice, I just picked up one in Sienna Sunburst! Went in Guitar Center for a LP Traditional but was disappointed by the sloppy finish work and poor playability so I got the Strat instead and couldn’t be happier
Hey Sean! Awesome axe! Is there much noise thru the pickups in higher gains? Thanks for any input. Don't know if I will go with the Ultra Strat or the one you are holding! Thanks again!
hey Charles, yeah they're normal single coils so there will be noise...no getting around that. one thing about the ultras, since I have played those, is that the noiseless pickups sound pretty good but just that....pretty good. they're not stellar, but better than previous generations of Fender's noiseless single coils.
nice review! two more things: 1) the whammy bar "friction" is adjustable with a screw on the back of the bridge, right? 2) do you find the fretboard glossy finish being sticky on the fingers?
yes, you can adjust the friction but I like it as is. just enough to hold the bar in place yet move freely. the gloss of the fretboard doesn't bother me at all. it would be more difficult for me on the back of the neck but the back of the neck is satin.
@@dreamscuba it's hard to compare this to a legit 50s strat. i've only played 2 of them but i wasn't terribly impressed with the last 1954 strat I played, so if i'm judging it on that experience I'd rather have the Am Pro II. of course, vintage guitars are radically inconsistent. one is great, another is terrible. but i've never enjoyed the 1950s style single coils myself. too low of output for my style. i've preferred my experiences with 1960s pickups for a "fat" tone. the 60s is where I feel like the Strat sound was refined.
Nothing cooler than a black stratocaster. I have 5 😂😂😂😂. That's one looks pretty sweet though too. Great video, great audio and stellar presentation sir!!
secret agent 769, here. Stellar passion over-drive playing! Best demo I've seen and I've watched quite a few I have the 2022 American Pro II. Very impressive Pro Build from Fender, really
thanks man! greatly appreciated. if you haven't got one yet, please consider using my affiliate links to get one! it does help the channel keep going. No pressure, its your money but here's the link if you are interested and ready to take the plunge: sweetwater.sjv.io/9g6gNQ
Hey great video. Love the overdrive you are getting from the Single Coils. I plan on getting it great sounds. Let me ask you, have you ever played the Rosewood version? I feel that the maple has more "snap" but brighter sounds that handles overdrive great. You opinion or anyone elses? Thank you for posting this.
Torn between the pro II in dark night and the ultra in artic pearl, a lot of people keep pointing me towards the ultra but the dark night keeps bringing me back lol
Someone else asked a similar question, so I’ll just say the same thing I said to them: the Ultras are spec’d to be much more modern (taller frets, flatter fingerboard, noiseless PUPS) and the Am Pro II is more classic Strat (rounder neck profile and radius, normal single coil PUPs). And, I don’t know if this is a concern or not...but the Ultras are DAMN HEAVY! The one I played was heavier than both of my Les Pauls. I love the Am Pro II. Don’t feel like I’m missing out of anything. Plus...that finish bruh!
@@SeanPierceJohnson in the end, I chose the ultra, as my friend who owns a guitar shop has it in stock and all the am pro ii are so backed up they won't be ready until next year and I don't wanna wait like that long.
Now you just need the ten way switch. Makes it sss and hsh essentially. You get the seven way mod (neck plus bridge in both series and parallel so that’s the Gilmour mod plus one tone) and then the mid plus bridge in series and neck plus middle in series so it’s like coil splits in reverse.
I am not seeing a maple fretboard option anywhere. Is this something you have to contact Fender to get? They do not even offer it on their "shop" site... Hmm ... Great Vid as always though thx :) ... I agree that finish is spectacular. With the maple it would be hard to resist...lol
thanks man! no it's a standard option for the series but I did request the combo. I'm just not crazy about the rosewood...I love the contrast of the light maple and dark finish
damn, I'm really torn between getting this or the 75th commemorative version. i know the latter has a few nice extras and it will hold value better, but damn this color is hot. what do to, what to do... great playing and review btw
@@alexanderminer1537 well, that's the thing, i am not a fan of that finish and the fat 60s sound a bit too modern for my taste. so... i just bought the dark night pro ii. literally 2 hours ago 😁
Just came to reply to say get the Am Pro II. Call me crazy but I don’t see anything special about the Anniversary Strats and their value wont really show for at least 10-15 years. Enjoy your new Am Pro II!
@@SeanPierceJohnson true about the anniversary models, not very appealing to me either. i love the finish of this one and i like how these pickups sound. it's my first Fender and i'm really happy i got it. playing the hell out of it right now and i can't wait to hit the studio and record with it.
Would anymore argue there maple is better than rosewood for fender guitars? I’m getting this exact guitar but it’s on backorder but the rosewood version is available now. I’m just not sure if I want the rosewood or maple.
Fair question but loaded one these days; considering the “What Makes Guitar Tone” video circling around these days. I went with maple because of the look personally, I’ve just always like Maple fretboard Fenders. But SRV, Clapton, Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd…all Rosewood fretboard players with great tone. So if the look of Maple is a must, wait. But there’s nothing wrong with Rosewood.
@@SeanPierceJohnson thank you for the fast reply I appreciate it! I’ve always really enjoyed the lacquered finish of the maple board and how it’s a one piece of neck give me some satisfaction. Tone wise I suppose it’s very marginal. I already have a telecaster with a maple neck and absolutely love the feel of it. Such a tuff decision lol.
@@leuter12345 well thanks! it’s not really a song but perhaps I could make it one? Though it’s so “Foxey Lady”-ish I’d be afraid of reprisal from the Hendrix Estate 🤣
Are you sure you played an Am Pro II? Cuz these necks, while not baseball bat thick, certainly aren’t thin. You may have played an American Ultra, which do have much thinner necks.
@@SeanPierceJohnson I played the Pro1 and the Pro2. I preferred the neck on the Pro1, and I got a decent deal on it because the Pro2 had just been released. But, just previous to playing the Pro2 I had been playing my EJ, whose neck I love, and that was possibly the basis for my comparison.
Apples and Oranges. Both classics, both useful and both well deserving of their reputations. I already found THE Les Paul for me (I play it in nearly every video) but I had been wanting a really good Strat forever. This is that Strat.
@@SeanPierceJohnson yes, but I think they should make a series of colors on that "dark" side. Can you imagine the "Joker"? Green Lantern? Flash? It's more than just the color. That Green with an ebony neck. With gold and faded greens. Same with the reds and an ivory neck.
@@christophervincent8420 i'm sure there's a way they could do some finishes very similar to this but i think it would only work with very specific colors
@@SeanPierceJohnson That sucks. I don't know why Fender doesn't make all the models available in both necks. Well, I ended up getting the dark night HSS in rosewood, and I have no regrets! I think it is great no matter what neck is on it. Just preferred the maple but I can still change out the neck down the road with it being an extra cost. It is nonetheless a sweet strat.
Well, it’s been a little over a year since I’ve actually held an Ultra. It was a great guitar but has short comings. I’ve spent more time with the AmPro II so you could say I have bias towards it. But you need to ask yourself what you’re looking for in a guitar. Do you want a flatter radius? Go Ultra. Prefer normal single coil PUPs? Go Pro.
The American Pro II Strat is a pretty great guitar. The only thing I'd want out of it is a nitro finish, but we all know Fender doesn't do that at this price point. Well, there's one thing bad about it, it's a pretty ridiculous model name.
I’ve tried that in the past but the shots just end of looking flat, thus they don’t show anything. To get any sort of idea if curvature and shape the best way would be to remove the neck, which I really have no interest in doing especially if the guitar feels good right away. Ultimately, the shape you see on a picture doesn’t really mean much. What matters is holding the thing in your hand.
You clearly haven’t played a squier and this side by side… I love my squier but it has so many little issues that more expensive guitars rarely have. It’s not the easiest to hear (or feel) all the flaws over a video.
