Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster Review

The Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster is an innovative design. It features the sounds and personalities of an acoustic as well as an electric guitar. It resembles and plays like a Stratocaster. But it possesses the abilities and tones of a dreadnought.

It has built-in Fishman pickups, a unique design, and complex tone woods. The Acoustasonic strat will go from big acoustic to country rock with the flick of the switch!

Features

Let’s take a look at some key features of the Fender Acoustasonic Stratocaster guitar.

  • Mahogany body with sitka spruce top.
  • Innovative semi hollow body acoustic-electric design.
  • Mahogany modern deep C profile neck.
  • Ebony finger board.
  • Incredibly Versatile Electronics.
  • 25.5 inch scale with 22 frets.
  • High quality hardware.
  • Many colors available.

Who Is This Guitar For?

The Acoustasonic Stratocaster is a unique guitar. This is essentially a Stratocaster that can also pull off acoustic tones. All with electronics that are like no other. This guitar is for Stratocaster players who have the need for acoustic tones on the fly.

So you can essentially use this guitar as an electric as well as an acoustic by changing the MOD knob. But it plays like an electric, and so the ease of use is quite amazing. Like acoustic sounds but not comfortable playing one because of its size? Then you will love this guitar.

Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster.

PROS

  • Build materials and innovative design.
  • Incredible range of sounds.
  • Feels great in your hands.
  • Made in the USA.
  • Limited lifetime warranty.
  • Very high quality.

CONS

  • Battery life could be better.
Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster rear.

Body and Construction

Where to begin with this guitar? It’s unique, to say the least! Fender has done an amazing job with this innovative product. The body is shaped like a Stratocaster, but is also an acoustic guitar.

The one we had to demo was a Dakota red model and is simply gorgeous. The guitar is made in the USA and the quality is evident from looks to feel.

The body is made from mahogany and has a solid Sitka spruce top. So it has the tonal response of an acoustic when not plugged in and the volume is perfect, even when unplugged.

Being a semi-hollow body with a sound hole, the projection is nice, the bass is punchy, and the top end is shimmery. Which is very impressive as the body is as thin as a Stratocaster.

When plugged into an amp, the body resonates perfectly in acoustic models. But it has sustain when used as a Stratocaster. It’s quite the experience and a really cool concept that is super appealing.

Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster Neck.

Neck

The neck on the Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster is a modern C profile. It’s quite comfortable. It’s basically the neck you would find on a conventional electric Stratocaster. This neck is super smooth and the frets were not sharp.

The playability of the guitar was great. The action was set right and thanks to the Stratocaster design of the body, the entire neck is accessible.

The neck is made from mahogany and has an ebony fretboard with white dot inlays. The nut is made from Tusq and is of high quality, as is the rest of the neck.

The neck is a bolt-on but feels very rigid. The headstock is your standard Fender design. Just like what you would find on their electric guitars.

Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster Body.

Hardware

The Hardware on the guitar feels very high quality. The switch and controls feel very good. But the main points are how the controls work with this guitar and the pick-ups.

There is a volume knob, a 5-way switch, and a tone knob, but the tone knob on this guitar is called a MOD knob. The MOD knob basically controls the voicing you get from the guitar. It all depends on where the 5-position switch is set.

Every position of the 5-way switch has 2 MOD sounds on either end of the knob’s range. This gives you some amazing voicing and sounds and also allows you to blend them with the MOD knob.

There are 3 different types of pick-ups in this guitar. Each one has its own purpose depending on how the guitar is being used. One of the pick-ups actually senses the wooden top of the guitar to provide the bass response.

Stratocaster Personalities

The Acoustasonic Stratocaster has many different sounds, as I have mentioned. There are a total of 7 acoustic guitar types or personalities and 3 electric ones.

By using the 5-way switch and MOD knob, you are able to access these different personalities of the guitar. These personalities are things like a change of wood as well as of acoustic body type.

Position 5 on the switch and “A” on the MOD control is modeled to be a Sitka spruce/mahogany dreadnought. While Position 5 “B” will sound like a Sitka spruce/rosewood concert short scale. With a slotted headstock.

And the really cool thing is that there is no loss of top-end or funny frequencies produced. And they can be blended! Amazing sounds!

The options on the 5 way switch include:

  1. Clean and Dirty Fender Stratocaster Electric tones.
  2. Acoustic and Electric Blend: Clean Stratocaster and Dreadnought.
  3. Auditorium and Percussive acoustic blend.
  4. Small Body Acoustic Tones.
  5. Large body Acoustic Tones.
Acoustasonic Stratocaster guitar.

Sound Performance

Really have to give it to Fender on this one, the guitar is great! The sounds are incredible from this guitar and the versatility is wonderful.

Most of these sounds are modeled. Yet, because of the body sensing pickup, they are also natural. An unusual blend of sounds that are right on the money and sound great.

Each of the acoustic models or settings sounds great. The differences between them are very noticeable, yet there is not one bad sound in any of them.

The Stratocaster electric tones were very good as well. There are 3 in total that essentially takes you from clean to somewhat dirty. Through a number of different amplifiers, you will get different sounds. But all were bright Stratocaster tones, just as I was expecting.

Playability

I really like the feel of this guitar. It’s super light and comfortable with a strat neck. But it felt excellent in my hands when I really dug in. It was easy to assume the role whether I was playing acoustic or electric, both felt very natural and organic to me. 

Even the quality of the instrument can be felt in your hands. This thing is so well-made, you can literally feel it in the response and playability of the guitar. It’s an amazing guitar in both sound and feel. So unique!

Different Color Options

Acoustasonic Stratocaster Colors.

There are a few different options with the Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster. You can get the color that is right for you. Choose between 5 different looks depending on what you’re going for:

  • Dakota Red.
  • 3 Color Sunburst.
  • Black.
  • Natural.
  • Transparent Sonic Blue.

Conclusion And Final Thoughts

There are a few companies trying to jump into the acoustic-electric guitar market. But we have to give it to Fender on this one, as they have quite a unique concept here. 

They introduced the trend with their Telecaster Acoustasonic. It’s also a great guitar along the same lines as the Stratocaster.

But the two really are quite different in sound. This is a super cool guitar that is amazing in both sound and feel. It’s made in America, and the quality of this instrument is evidence of that.

This is a very versatile guitar that will change the game for many players. Now it’s easy to switch between so many sounds on the fly.

The guitar is expensive, which may make it a tough buy for some. But we can honestly say that it’s worth every penny and more.

The range of sounds, feel and quality does take it up a notch. It offers players a professional experience. And because it is a Fender, it will retain its value for years to come! This guitar gets high marks from me!

FAQs

Is the Fender Acoustasonic worth it?

Yes, this guitar is worth every penny! The quality of the guitar is exceptional, and the sounds are great.

The ability to move between electric and acoustic sounds is a lot of fun. Plus, it plays like an electric and so it’s very comfortable. This guitar will make an excellent addition to any acoustic guitar player’s collection.

What is the point of the Acoustasonic?

The point was to innovate the electric and acoustic guitars into one platform. This gives players unlimited expression. All by moving from acoustic tones into electric territory on the fly.

Does the Fender Acoustasonic sound good unplugged?

Yes, it sounds great! It’s not as loud as a dreadnought acoustic when unplugged. But it throws enough volume to enjoy the experience. You will notice a lack of depth, but the trade-off is worth it.