Long live the American Standard 1986 - 2017

The Jazzmaster looks pretty cool.

Introduced in 1986 the American Standard Series of Fender guitars and basses set the benchmark in identifying the Made In America standard series of Fender instruments. There were many models either side of the 'standard'  but it was always the model that was the stepping stone, a great quality, guitar or bass for the people. It is sad to see it unceremoniously dropped like a hot potato after 31 years to be replaced by what some bright-spark marketing 'expert' has called.. the Professional Series.
We no longer have a Fender benchmark series but a series aimed at those that think of themselves as professionals. Lawyers, dentists, architects and firemen. Not to be confused with professional musicians who either play a Custom Shop model, an upmarket Mexi series or a humble Squier.
So let's take a look at this new Pro Series, its innovations, its downfalls and any good things it may have.
Well the first thing you will notice is the trendy 2017 colours. Sonic Grey and Antique Olive are the standouts. Although most models are available in sunburst, black and white for the faint hearted. Fiesta Red from back in the sixties was considered pretty rad at the time has stayed the test of time but will the Pro Series Grey's and Olive's outlast their Kia and Hyundai hues? Long live sunburst. Having said that it was great to see a Tele available in butteryscotch.
So how about the wood? Nothing out of the norm. here other than the all new neck profile.. deep C. All the guitars have it however the P-Bass has a '63 profile and the J-Bass has a 'slim modern' profile. The designers have stayed with the allen key truss rod adjustment thingy at the head.
Much professionalism has gone into the new electrics (but has it?) read on.. So who the frick is Tim Shaw and why do we make celebrities out of some guy that winds pickups? Every reviewer I read suggests Tim has revolutionized pickup design by mixing up the type of magnets used in creating the V-Mod pickups. None of these reviewers actually describe Tim's design but make an educated guess that the pole pieces used for the high (plain) strings are Alnico 3's and the pole pieces for the wound strings are the brighter Alnico 5's. Sound's like a great idea but I do recall this flexi-magnet design is used in the Chinese made Tonerider Pure Vintage bridge pickup. Maybe Tim Shaw worked for Tonerider? We don't really care but if it makes my Fender sound good, that's all that matters.
Fender don't say but I see no mention of no-load tone pots but they make a big deal of the treble bleed circuit. I won't go into my thoughts on the treble bleed circuit but you can read about it here in an earlier post. Innovative? Don't think so.
Pop in Strat trem arm and the intonated bridge saddles of the Tele are both inventions of Trev Wilkinson's. Both great ideas but not Fenders. While on bridge saddles, the Mustang saddles used in the Jazzmaster are another great idea. I used these in a Bigsby equipped Tele once, they worked well but you sacrifice a little on the radius difference. Have Fender noticed this?
And to the big one, for me anyway, The Narrow-Tall frets. I can't help but think this has come from some pimply faced market research kid with their 'ask and you shall receive', 'please everyone' survey result. Well no, the narrow-tall's are just bad bad bad. They feel like 4" nails to my finger tips. Fender claim the narrow-talls make for easier accurate bending and to be able to play perfectly intonated chords. Something Joe Pass could only wish for. If you have a light touch and don't like to feel wood then maybe yes, If you're a heavy handed carpenter then accuracy and perfect intonation will be out the door. As I recall it was the American Standard all those years ago that introduced the then huge 'medium jumbo' frets. MJ's were, well up until now, the accepted standard to what is now the extreme in fret clumsiness. The great James Burton, the instigator of bendy strings, never had a problem with what we now call vintage frets.
Narrow-talls, Hyundai colours, Even a new plastic case. Fender have definitely gone all out to replace the beloved American Standard with a set of pale imitators. Oh did I forget to mentions the dicky little slide switch on the top plate of the Jaguar, what's that for? Roll over Leo.