Fender Acoustic Guitars 101

If someone were to ask me to describe Fender guitars in one word, it would be ‘brilliant’.

Fender is one of the largest names in the guitar playing world, and they make some fantastic guitars – fantastic-looking as well as fantastic-sounding.

I’ve played on a load of Gibsons, Jacksons, Ibanez, Yamahas and I’ve used more guitars than most musicians probably have seen in their lives. And I’ve got to say, the Fender and its signature ‘Strat’ product line takes the cake!

Electric Stratocasters have got to be the best guitars for playing chords, and lightning-fast, kickass guitar solos, without even a shadow of a doubt.

And if you think that Fender makes kickass electrics only, well you’d be wrong. Their acoustic line of guitars – called the Stratacoustics and Telecoustic is one of the best, most competitive and coveted line of guitars, well respected within the music industry. And a Stratacoustic – the acoustic cousin of the Stratocaster, is a brilliant acoustic guitar, right up there with the best Yamaha acoustic guitars.

I’ve been playing on a Stratacoustic since I was quite young. Fenders are a part of me now, and without sounding like a fanboy, I’d like to make a bold claim that these Fenders and especially the Stratacoustics, are hands down some of the best semi-acoustic guitars ever built, and the best I’ve ever player.

Looks, Design and Sound

The first thing that strikes you when you take a Stratacoustic or a Telecoustic out of the box is how similar they look to their electric counterparts. Fenders are known for their magnificent looks, the Stratocasters, for instance, have a cool, appealing and an attractive look and shape, featuring signature head-stocks and bodies. The Stratacoustics are no exception.

These acoustic guitars feature a no-frills, no-nonsense look, and have a thinline body with a slightly-tilted soundhole. One of the best things about the body of these guitars is that it is manufactured from an excellent single-piece fiberglass body and a solid spruce top, with a bolt-on maple neck and a rosewood fretboard.

Ever since the first acoustic guitar was introduced, we’ve come a long way, in terms of the materials being used, body shapes, and the like. Fiberglass thinline acoustic guitars are relatively new, and are superior from their wooden counterparts in numerous ways.

For instance, fiberglass is considered to be very strong while being extremely light-weight. It has an excellent tone, and delivers a clear, articulated tone – the fiberglass material combined with its thinline chamber actually enhances the sound and makes for a rich, natural sound to come through, thanks to its solid spruce top. Mind you, the top of a guitar is the most important factor when it comes to the guitar’s overall sound, and Fender has actually done a tremendous job of putting the best on these guitars.

Both the Stratacoustic and the Telecoustic (the acoustic cousin of the Telecaster) have solid spruce tops, giving these guitars the best sonic potential. Both these guitars have the ability to produce a great sustain, as well as delivering a brilliant, deep and thundering bass.

Ease of Playing and Comfort

Ease of use and play is one of the biggest considerations for a lot of guitarists, and I am happy to report that Stratacoustics are quite easily, some of the most confortable guitars to play on. Whether you’re a novice, an amateur or a professional with years of experience under your belt, pick up any Stratacoustic out there and you’ll instantly see what I mean!

These Strats are extremely light as well, thanks to the fiberglass body. You could play hours on end on these Strats before ever knowing about it!

And that is what the beauty of these Fender guitars really us – they are very fun to play and make playing the guitar an immensely enjoyable experience.

Electronics

There is a reason why Fender is one of the biggest names in the world out there. One of those reasons is that Fender rarely compromise on the parts and the material that they use on their guitars, and this holds true for the Strats as well.

Both the Stratacoustic and Telecoustic have high-quality pickups and electronics on-boards. These electronics help Strats produce a strong yet natural sound. The Piezo pickups produce a great tone and capture the tones of the acoustic playing styles.

These Strats also come with an onboard equalizer (EQ), which makes it extremely easy to alter, change or tailor its tone as per requirements.

Whether you let it rip, plug it into a chorus pedal and hit those major chords, do a bit of layered finger-picking, the Stratacoustic produces some killer electric sound. Fender rarely compromises on the electronics on these guitars which is why they come at a premium.

Reliability/Durability:

The Strat is a strong n’ sturdy guitar, and has  hardware which will last long. It can go through years and years of usage, performances, gigs, rough handling as well as abuse. My old Stratacoustic is still in top shape with minimal wear and tear, no lose electronics, dented body or anything.

Verdict

Even though Fender doesn’t pay me to say this, I will say this: the Fender Stratacoustics are easily the easiest, most responsive guitars to play on, and suited for all guitar playing styles. From the body up to its head-stock, they look great, they feel great and they sound great, the question then is, what’s not to like?!

If you’re in the market for an acoustic guitar, listen to someone who’s been using them for a good 20 years now and get one, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!