Player's Perspective This American Performer Stratocaster in a gorgeous black finish with 70s-style looks elevates the Strat platform while making it contemporary for the modern player. While keeping the vintage Strat sound and feel intact, this series, as the name implies, outfits the guitar with pickups and features that make it more practical as a performer's guitar - good, consistent Fender tone on every gig that also manages to be versatile and genre-spanning. The DoubleTap humbucker is especially impressive, as Fender managed to create a humbucker pickup that both captures vintage "PAF"-style tones while blending beautifully with the Yosemite single coils, allowing you to cover R&B, blues, and heavier rock all with the same guitar - perfect for the session players and weekend warriors out there. Series like this American Performer make you realize that Fender is not just sitting back on the laurels of their success, but rather are truly continuing to pioneer the industry and pump out high-quality, innovative offerings at all price points. Item Specifics The American Performer Stratocaster HSS includes the Yosemite single-coil pickupsdesigned for rich, expressive tonesand a DoubleTap humbucking bridge pickup. This unique, patent-applied-for design combines humbucking and single-coil voices, while eliminating volume loss in single-coil mode. With flat-staggered pole pieces to increase output and the single-coil pickups shellac coating and humbucking pickups wax potting that lets the coil breathe while controlling feedback, Yosemite & DoubleTap pickups produce dynamic sounds ideal for any musical situation. The American Performer Stratocaster HSS also features Greasebucket tone circuitry, along with a push-pull tone control to control the DoubleTap humbucking pickup. The Modern C-shaped neck sports a 9.5-radius fingerboard thats comfortable for almost any playing style, along with 22 jumbo frets for effortless and accurate bending.