Wow!

I have been playing American Specials HSS's all over the area for over a week now. I was debating between the Am Special and the Road Worn Players HSS. I finally found "the one."

I am absolutely in heaven with this guitar. I can't believe how great it is. It is the first Am Strat that I have owned, though I played tons of them in the stores as I shopped for the perfect guitar.

I love the Texas Specials, I am amazingly surprised by the Atomic Humbucker. It sounds great to me.

The biggest shock is the sustain. It was set up with the trem floating, and the sustain is bold and long. In fact longer than ANY Strat that I demo-ed or have ever played. I am amazed by this. Though a couple of the Am Specials that I looked at in the stores had a gap in the neck pocket between the neck and the side of the guitar, this one is as tight as a neck can get.

I had tried all of the American Special's within 50 miles of my home and asked the guitar store if they had any in the back in a box and they brought this one out. It looked better and felt better than any of the others that I have tried. The sales guy even commented about the sound and sustain. Even before plugging it in, I knew it was the one.

After bringing it home and playing it through my own amps, I am so happy with my purchase that I can barely do anything but play it. While I cooked dinner for the kids, I must have glanced at it about a hundred times.

I am in LOVE with this guitar!!!

But do you like it?
Very cool. I keep mine in the corner of my office and just glance at it all day. I know the feeling.

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'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

Congrats on the fine new axe. Now can we get some pics?

I need to take some decent pics of it. ha ha!

I've been playing it hours each day since I purchased it, and I still just can't believe how much I love this guitar.

My wife has been joking with me that I can't walk by it without picking it up and playing it for a while. It stays in tune perfectly and just plays like a dream.

I was prepared to pay up to $1300 ish for my next guitar and can't believe that I bought this guitar and still have enough left over to purchase a slightly used Blues Jr. III and a Used Super Champ XD and still come in under my original price goal for just the guitar. The BJ III gets here later this week in the mail and I'm going to pick up the Super Champ tomorrow afternoon.

What an amazing Fender week!

Happy NGD!



Now show us the porn!

There's something wrong with that picture. There's something in the way of all the good bits.....
It appears to be some semi clothed woman. If only she would get out the way

Congrats on the new guitar.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Which color did you get? I have the 3 color sb and it is my goto, I also have an appreciation for the Atomic hb. I'm pretty sure the extra color in the burst gives it more tone..does anyone know??

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— did that sound like something?

I got the SB as well. I kinda wanted the black, but the one that I chose just felt better than any of the other guitars in the store.

I am still kind of baffled at some of the negative comments about the Atomic Humbucker in the guitar. It just seems like a perfect match with the Texas Specials. I'm sure that Fender thought about putting the SD Pearly Gates into it like they have in the Lonestar and the new Road Worn Players guitars. I think that the #2 position sounds better on this guitar than on any HSS that I have ever played, and I think that the Atomic is a great all purpose humbucker. It's not overly hot but gives you a bold, full sound at any volume. Gets nice and nasty when you crank it.

Can't wait to get home and play it.

Welcome to the Am.Special HSS club. I love mine,too and the Atomic humbucker will overdrive my Blues Jr. without any stompbox at all (but I can get some even nastier tones by hooking up a Blues Driver!) Only mod I've made to mine is adding two extra springs to the trem (which I don't use anyway) and tightening the claw screws so that the trem plate lies snug against the body and doesn't float. That has added even more sustain to mine. Unless you like to use your trem, this is something you might want to think about doing. Easy, 10-minute mod.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

Oh -- forgot to mention that I've read some of the comments on here by a few folks who weren't too crazy about the Atomic humbucker. All I have to say about that is: to each his own! Opinions are like -- uh -- noses (not to use vulgarity) -- everybody has one!! Y'know??

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

I've been thinking about putting the trem flush with the body too. I can't believe how much sustain is there already!

I ordered my Blues Jr. III yesterday and can't wait to plug in my Blues Driver, and my Ibanez ts9dx (as a boost) and I'm still looking for a Fuzz pedal.

Yep. I really think that Fender did some great thinking to find that the Atomic goes perfectly with the Texas Specials. It's less trebly and harsh than the SD Jeff Beck and the Pearly Gates. In my ears, those pickups overdrive an amp with a tight trebly overdriven sound. The Atomic is more of a loose overdrive tone still with a great mid presence. Ballsy without sounding thin.

Why do you need both Blues Jr and Champ? Does Champ give you something that Blues Jr can not provide?

Does SHE come with it??? SOLD!!!!

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."