Fender American Special Strat, candy apple red, made in USA 2013. The American Special series was made after the Highway Ones and before the current American Performer stuff, but sat in the same bracket: affordable, sturdy, made in Freedomland. This one is a slightly more argie-bargie take on the Strat: tall frets, quick neck, hot single coils and a crunchy humbucker for good measure. The neck feels great, it's easy to move around on quickly and delivers the goods for fast lead runs. The pickups all balance nicely too: the single coils are punchy and fat with abundant clarity, while the humbucker delivers a truckload of midrange grunt. The red finish hits different with the black plastics; paired with the big headstock and 70s style logos, it's got a bit of hot rod swagger. This is smart little buy, as a quick search reveals the 2024 new equivalent billing out at around a full thousand dollarydoos more. HSS= heckn super slick.

Model: Fender American Special Stratocaster HSS
Made: USA, 2013, Corona  factory
Serial: US13019808
Finish: candy apple red, gloss poly
Body: alder
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale, 9.5" radius, modern C shape
Weight: 3.640kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Texas Special single coil x2, Atomic humbucker
Accessories: non-original case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has minor dimples on the end. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor scuffs and rub wear on the back only. The back has dimples on the  bottom horn and bottom corner as well as some scuffs on the top horn, belly carve, around the trem cavity, elbow area and back edge. The sides have minor dimples on both horns and near the jack and some light scuffs in the elbow area. The front has some scuffs around the bridge and jack, rub wear in the elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 10/46 strings.
Fret life: 7/10, normal wear but playing smoothly with no major buzz issues. They're tall, so there's plenty of height left.