Fender American Professional II Stratocaster HSS - Dark Night with Rosewood Fingerboard Reviews

This strat is unbelievably awesome. It arrived with perfect action and intonation. Absolutely love it. This is my second American Professional II HSS strat. I also own a 2021 version in Miami Blue, which is also awesome. Very happy with this guitar and highly recommend it. I can't put it down. Very inspiring guitar. The paint and finish are gorgeous. High quality product for sure!

1st off, its beautiful, 2nd it plays great..I love the tone and the options for tone with the push button splitter for the hum bucker..Everyone thats seen it says "wow"..I'm very happy with it, I haven't put it down since I received it..

First off I want to thank Micheal Hall for all his help with this purchase. Secondly if you're thinking about picking one of these up, don't think. Just do it! One of my best musical purchases I've ever made, she plays like a dream and will compliment my tele on stage quite well!

This guitar sounds amazing! Love the way it feels and plays. The action is real smooth and the playability is just as smooth. I love Strats and I needed a new one. My old Strat is just too heavy anymore (roughly 15lbs). This one is 7lbs. and makes a big difference. The color on this one looks awesome. Definitely recommend.

I own 2 other Stratocasters and they don't play or sound as unique as this American professional II the pickups on this guitar are very sensitive as it picks up all nuances of your playing and harmonics are plentiful the humbucker at the bridge is very hot so if you want to make a statement with your playing this is the guitar also the neck feels so good like it's already broke in also at this level of guitar I think Fender should have went with locking tuner's just my opinion. All in all it's a beautiful playing guitar right out of the box and it's gorgeous. And also Alan my rep gave me an awesome deal so again Alan thank you so much I truly appreciate you. And last but not least a big thanks to Sweetwater for making me keep rocking.

This amazing Strat I picked from 5 others pictures online. The first one I picked out had a ding but my awesome team notified before it ever left their facility and I was able to pick out an even better one.(nice hard case too)
My wife Who plays drums is super excited as well. She likes to play old Rock and this guitar sounds much better for that than my metal rig.
This strat is so beautiful and has the fender sound I was looking for plus more.
Comes with a bone nut already and the two point synchronized tremelo is pretty nice.
I will never forget my metal series Japan strat that I sold away but this helps ease the pain considerably.
Thanks Sweetwater for the amazing plek job as well !

Just got this guitar today and it arrived double boxed in the case. The guitar arrived in perfect condition and it has a beautiful tone on all the pickups! TJ Jackson made this happen for me with the 48 months no interest Sweetwater Card! My first American made Fender Guitar and man am I happy! Thank you TJ for all your help! This is my 2nd guitar purchase from Sweetwater and they really do what they say! Customer for life! Phil Bowers Tampa FL

I have been playing Strats for 58 years. "Yep I'm old", but still Rockin. I played out 5 nights a week for over 35yrs and still playing 2 times a month. I owned a 55 strat that was stolen in 98 and custom ordered a 98 strat to the 55 specs, other than the pups. I eventually loaded the bridge pup with a "Jb" coil tapped and played for 12 yrs and the bought the 54's from sweetwater and ended up with that sweet early days strat sound but realized I missed my JB humbucker and that's where this guitar comes in. MAN! I can't say enough about this guitar, first off it's freaking beautiful, 2nd it plays and sounds exactly as I hoped it would. No the humbucker is not a JB but Tim Shaw nailed these pups to match perfect, and I now have the growl of the humbucker back and it sounds awesome. The push push coil tap is nice but if I play a gig and need the sweet sound of SSS pups I'll use my 98. I have been so attached to my 98 strat that I was hesitant about buying another one thinking it will never come close to the 98. I am so happy I decided to do this, this guitar is a KEEPER. And of course I can't leave this review without a shout out for my sales rep, Randy Poteete, we talked about my needs and this is what I ended up with. Thank you Randy and Sweetwater!

I wanted an HSS strat for playing heavier music and love the Dark Night color. Not normally a fan of rosewood fretboards but I have come to love the feel and sound. The guitar arrived early and normally I would have my luthier perform a setup on any new guitar but this one was really good, right out of the box. Intonation and action were spot on; the only mod was to deck the bridge since I don't use the trem. Overall very pleased with all aspects of the guitar: look, feel, balance, playability, tone, etc.

This guitar is great for whether you're into new or older music styles. The humbucker does great for rock and the finish is fantastic. I especially like the push system to split between the different pickups. It's a game changer for sure.

This is a top notch guitar for really a low price considering. Let me start by saying Sweetwater's service is really unrivaled. They have something special here. Jake my engineer was awesome. Called me 3 times before we placed the order as I had them lower the action, change the strings and do a few other little things to it. The guitar was Newley perfectly setup. The guitars looks are what grab you first. Mine has a lot of blue sparkle with the nice black backing. I get a lot of compliments on this guitar just from the looks. The neck is smooth and fast! I was surprised by how nice the neck is as I sometimes have issues with Fenders necks. It's perfectly balanced when playing sitting down I can reach for my coffee or music sheets and it stays put (unlike my Gibson LP). It sounds bright as others have mentioned. Sometimes too bright. That's the only knock. I'm going to change the pickups to Seymour Duncan's and see what that'll do. The mids on this guitar really shine. Playing chords are a dream it's very easy to navigate the fretboard. The lows are good. You can play clean, dirt, metal, blues and funk on this instrument nonissue. If you want a great looking guitar built in America, that's very versatilie, I would highly recommend this beauty!

Best Fender product I own, and I've got a number of them that I really love, but the Dark Knight is the boss. 'Nuff said.

I always wanted an American strat. I was looking at these for months, almost a year. They were always on back order. Then a bunch came up for sale. Saw one with a serial number with my son's, wife's and my birthdays in it. It was the sign to get it. Build quality is great, fret board smooth, action good, Dark night burst looks great, packaged so good double boxes in the case. Thanks Sweetwater was a pleasure. So cool how you take pics and get to pic your guitar. Will definitely be ordering from you again.

This instrument brings me joy. After having my tech do a set-up and make only minor adjustments, it plays like a dream. My first American Strat and I have zero regrets. Thanks Sweetwater for helping me find my new best friend.

Big thanks to Nick Farmer for overseeing my order and the folks at Sweetwater for inspecting it: Cody R and Jon B. I am enjoying this instrument immensely. Truly an incredible amount of different tones that comes out of this guitar. The feel is just as expected from Fender. Fret work, rolled edges and satin finished neck is a delight. The color combo makes it a killer looker and the pickup combo makes it sing in many verity of voices. Fender really did make something that brings the best of tradition with just the right amount of modern touch.

Absolutely Perfect!!! The guitar itself is expertly constructed and will be with me the rest of my life. That was apparent the moment I picked it up... I was hesitant of buying a guitar online, especially an electric. Ive been playing acoustic for the last 10 years and always purchased in store. I can honestly say this has been my best guitar purchase experience!

I want to give a huge Thank You to Jason Filloramo for assisting me throughout the entire purchasing process. He answered every question I had and kept me updated every step of the way. I am sure you are in good hands with any representative but, I guarantee you are in Great hands with Jason. He also makes Amazing Music!!!
Check out Liquid Mythology on bandcamp.
I would also like to give a huge Thank You to Sean M. And Roger R for inspecting the Instrument before sending it out.
Finally... THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AT FENDER FOR MAKING AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING GUITAR, AND EVERYONE AT SWEETWATER FOR FACILITATING AN AMAZING PURCHASE EXPERIENCE.
YOU HAVE BOTH MADE A LIFE LONG CUSTOMER OUT OF ME!!!

This is my first Stratocaster and a guitar I have admired for decades. I am not disappointed. The color is great--more blue than the pictures show--and reminds me of the way comics used to show Superman's black hair with a blue curl. The rosewood neck is smooth and rounded, feeling like it has been played for years and is well broken in. The high narrow frets make it easier to get notes out and easy on the fingers. I'm more of a rhythm player, but looking forward to more improvisation. So far, from what I can tell, the Strat is made for that! It came with a fantastic hard case. Photos of my Strat are courtesy of Sweetwater.

Iam in love with this guitar the smooth neck is awesome the sound fabulous - I just love it was an upgrade from my Les Paul Epiphone and it was so worth it. Sweetwater customer care is the best online I have ever seen I got a call as soon as I placed the order to walk me though every step of the process and the checks they do insure the guitar you get is perfect - Thanks Sweetwater 5 Stars for customer care and delivering a great product! You have made a customer for life - Loved the candy too, nice extra touch!!

The Fender American Professional II HSS Stratocaster in Dark Night with Rosewood fretboard is worthy of its' monetary investment. I am at a loss for words to describe both the form and function of this fine instrument; but I shall try, indeed. As can be seen in all photos, the paint job is sweet. Fender hit a home run with the Dark Night dressing. I don't particularly like Rosewood, but I've found myself more than able to make an exception for this axe; the dark fretboard just looks right. The resonance and sustain afforded by the Rosewood fretboard and Alder body are unbelievable. Each of the V-Mod II pickups and DoubleTap humbucker are voiced appropriately for their positions. The coil-tap is a push/push type switch located in the second tone pot. The knob pops up for single coil mode and locks down for the full humbucker. The playability of this guitar is immaculate! I can bend notes higher with less effort compared to my other guitars. The tremolo is almost touch sensitive in its' response. Deep dives and quick vibratos do not knock her out of tune! The neck feels good in my hand when playing. The weight is dead on perfect - not too heavy and not too lite. Simply, beautiful...she sounds, feels and plays like a Strat should! I am impressed by leaps and bounds. Recommended, to say the least.

What can I say. Sweetwater as always gave unbelievable service. Pat Weaver has always treated me like a good friend and valued customer. This new Dark Night strat is a beautiful piece of music making madness. I strongly recommend a new set of strings. After a personal setup to meet my playing style, this Strat did not disappoint. Get yours while you can they went fast on the 1st batch.

I'm new to playing trying to learn .I've had a squire that was nice. BUT I wanted a really good one and I felt that the dark knight was a very nice looking guitar. but they were always on back order. When I received an email saying that they were in stock, I ordered the HSS .receive 3 days later. and man it looks and sounds great, like I said, I'm new to THIS stuff. The staff at sweetwater helped with my order and made it easy .Thank all who helped with my order.

OK, let me start by saying that Sweetwater customer support is friggin' awesome! There was some confusion as to whether the guitar was in stock, which they resolved quickly and comp'd a quicker delivery after I mentioned I was going to be out of town for a few days. Bravo, Sweetwater! Now for the downside which was no fault of Sweetwater. The guitar was an unplayable mess out of the box. I took it to my crack luthier (Ronnie Pace in Houston) who has about 50 years in the business. He had to level, polish and dress the frets, cut the nut down because it was way too high and the slots were not nearly deep enough, adjust the truss rod, fix the intonation which was not even close, and raise the pickup height (when I first plugged it in my wife said, "You got ripped off - that guitar sounds like ****".), and several other minor tweaks. For a guitar at this price point to ship this badly out of whack from the factory is inexcusable. Shame on you Fender. I realize you will need a setup straight away but for them to ship a mess like this... this is my last Fender. The happy ending is, it now plays like a dream and will have a happy rotation in my collection. So, big thumbs up for Sweetwater, huge thumbs down for Fender.

I have been playing for a long, long time and have quite a few guitars. While I do love the color and the smooth neck, I am having trouble getting used to the bright sound of the pickups and probably should have bought the regular Strat rather than the HSS. At some point I may give this 5 stars since I have not played it on an actual gig yet. Our state has made live music performances illegal. I have rehearsed with it a few times with a live band but it was not a gig by any means so I may change the review down the road.