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Fender Aerodyne Strat
List: $1,240
The Aerodyne Strat & Tele were initially Japanese only releases but WEF 2004, it`s a standard offering by Fender, under its Special Edition series. At a glance, the Aero Strat looks totally futuristic but it is actually a fusion of contemporary & vintage elements. So is it still a trustworthy strat by another moniker?
Construction/ Fit/ Finish
Physically, the Aero Strat features vintage essentials in its overall manifestation. The avant garde appointments are exclusive to the body design. Instead of a rolled-edge make, the body is actually a slab feature to complement its curved top. This mimics Ibanez`s SA design, as the Aero Strat retains the flat back. Hence, the forearm chamfer (near the bridge`s tail end) is evidently missing but the rear ribcage cut-out is present. The body depth is reduced due to this aerodynamic design evident only if you play sitting down, as there`s less material resting on your lap while you play.
Electronics are typical Strat affair, thankfully the neck+mid or mid+bridge options, are humbucking. You`d expect modern tuners on the headstock but these are vintage, Kluson-type units, complemented by a vintage type, single string tree which IMO didn`t mar the overall cosmetics excessively. We have a similar situation with the vibrato bridge, the vintage type string saddles still feature protruding height adjustment screws which would jab your palm. Bummer… do not expect a thick, rounded `C` profile neck either, the version here has its depth trimmed to conjure a modern, shred-friendly feel.
Playability/ Tone
Tone-wise, the single coils on offer aren`t the wide open, jangly affair we`d love coming from a strat. The treble end is polished, the overall tone I must say, sounds inherently compressed. However, these default medium output pickups are harmonics-rich, they just need the right drive settings to kick in, splendid both clean & driven.The default action on the test model has a rather high setting but it`s nothing you can`t handle. Frets are medium sized but big enough to aid blues-type bends & speedy legattos. The pots are rather stiff for a relatively new guitar, hope this isn`t a sure sign of internal corrosion, I`d give this one a benefit of the doubt since the plastic on the scratchplate isn`t removed at test time; it might be getting in the way…
Last say
I`d like to say that this Jap Aero Start has one of the highest standard of finish & fitting I`ve seen over the years- flawless. You`d do well to check this guitar out if you are looking for a contemporary strat, one that has refined features to differentiate it from its peers but nothing excessive. If you`d like to acquire a typical strat but prefer a Jap make, there are other more true-sounding models on offer, the Aero simply sounds darker due to its basswood body & unique sounding single coils. An interesting investment.
