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Fender American Special discontinued?
- Thread starter camardelle
- Start date
I think the strategy is to steer you to purchase the more expensive American Standard or American Deluxe. Fender thins the choices from time to time on the guitars and basses that don't sell the volume they would like.
The American Special still appears on Fender's website...That would lead me to believe they are still in production.
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I currently have a Honeyburst P (2014), and it doesn't have the Greasebucket tone control. I also had a different Honeyburst P (2012) that came with a standard tone control. What year is yours? I know that some Honeybursts did come with it, but they seem to be early-production (from what I can tell). Great basses, in any event.
As far as neck profiles, the American Special has the Slim-C profile (flatter front-to-back), MIM tuners, graphite support rods, 70's logo, satin finish on both the fretboard (maple board) and back of the neck, and rounded fretboard edges.
American Standards have the Modern-C profile (rounder front-to-back), Hipshot tuners, graphite support rods, spaghetti logo, gloss finish on the headstock and fretboard (maple board), satin finsh on the back of the neck, and rounded fretboard edges.
I prefer the Slim-C profile, personally, and the side by side difference is bigger than you'd first think. I also think it's a bad idea to discontinue the American Specials, if that's what they're doing. It's a great value bass.
They should pare down some of the not so standard models, IMO. A few months ago, Sweetwater had almost 2 pages worth of different Dimension basses. Perhaps they'll do a rotating FSR line within the American Special feature set as they've done so far with the honeyburst and sandblasted models.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I've talked about this before. I long for the days when there was A Fender Precision bass, not 23 (not including 5 string or lefty), according to their website. Four standard, 3 deluxe, 6 vintage, 2 limited, and 8 artist.
Mine is a 2012. I actually modded it a bit by actually removing the GB circuit and rewiring it by putting in a .047 orange drop cap and '62 P'UPs so I'm 100% certain it had the GB. I also replaced the PG with a black one and added a BAII bridge.
I bet it was an early-2012 phenomenon. Your bass is a beauty, btwMine is a 2012. I actually modded it a bit by actually removing the GB circuit and rewiring it by putting in a .047 orange drop cap and '62 P'UPs so I'm 100% certain it had the GB. I also replaced the PG with a black one and added a BAII bridge.
The American Special is NOT listed in the 2015 catalog (it was in 2014). I think they are just clearing out the ones they have left. Notice you can only get the AS Pbass in black/maple now on Fender. I see other sites have the other color/neck options available but I think the American Special is done. Get one now if you want a new one.
I believe you are correct. I stand corrected! It seems the American Special is no more. Fender has made a lot of moves recently to cut costs. This does not surprise me...
I know I love mine, but it's modded. Great neck. There's a store near me that has a used stock model I was thinking of picking up.
I wonder if the American Special series just didn't sell as well as they wanted, or on the flip side, if it was taking sales away from their other lines. Hopefully they'll still offer the Slim-C neck profile in their lineup. It's more comfortable than the Modern-C profile, especially on the P Bass neck, imo.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
1. They've diluted the product. Fender P/J used to be the standard by which other basses were measured. Now they might be a cheap beginner bass, or a good bass or something in between.
2. The more they concentrate on silly cosmetics, the less they concentrate on quality.
3. With fewer models, they could reduce costs, and ensure that every authorized store has every model.
That's a partial list.
this is more of a side note but i'd like them to start offering certain colours again without charging thousands for the privilege.
fiesta red with a rosewood board, surf green at an affordable price, options like that. the constant black/white/candy-apple/sunburst are getting a bit stale for me.
fiesta red with a rosewood board, surf green at an affordable price, options like that. the constant black/white/candy-apple/sunburst are getting a bit stale for me.
They'll move the production into the MX factory, revive the old naming scheme, and call them the Highway Uno. *shrug* I was sort of surprised when the limited edition sandblasted models for this year were all American Special-spec'd, but I guess it was a way to use up some leftover necks and parts.
Me too! If It's still available. Like hsech said in so many words,maybe fender is playing "marketing games" In my words.I'll bet the honeyburst special was outselling the standard & the deluxe.MM ray on hold now!
