The
Fender American Deluxe Series is a line of middle-range electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1998 and upgraded in 2004 and again in 2010.
The American Deluxe line replaced the
Plus Series models of 1987.
The entire range came with a variety of options such as solid tonewood bodies made from
alderAlder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
or
ashFraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...
, chrome or gold-plated hardware, aged plastic parts,
NoiselessThe Vintage Noiseless series is a line of electric guitar pickups made by Fender. Introduced in 1998, they feature a stacked-coil design. The range includes models for electric guitars and basses. The Vintage Noiseless pickups were an original equipment material on the American Deluxe series...
pickups, abalone dot position fingerboard inlays, a dark aluminum "spaghetti" decal, 22-fret maple necks featuring
rosewoodRosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
,
mapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
or
ebonyEbony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
fretboards, quilted or flamed maple tops, rolled fingerboard edges, S-1 switching, highly detailed nut and fret work, a bound top with contoured back on Telecasters and a
2-point locking synchronized tremolo bridgeThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
with LSR roller nut and locking tuners on certain models.
American Deluxe
bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
s (introduced in 1995) came in 4-string, fretless, 5-string and left-handed versions and feature 18V-powered 3-band active electronics (including a special-design
humbuckerA humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...
on the Precision Bass models) as well as a strings-through/top-load bridge with stainless brass saddles, Hipshot UltraLite tuning machines, an asymmetrical 5-bolt neck plate with a contoured heel for easier access to the higher registers and a Posiflex graphite-reinforced 22-fret maple neck with
rosewoodRosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
,
mapleAcer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
or
pao ferroPau ferro is an exotic tree found in Brazil and Bolivia. Its wood is often used for making fingerboards for electric basses and guitars. It has a similar feel and similar tonal attributes to rosewood, but is harder and has a slightly lighter colour. The wood may also be used for flooring, fancy...
fingerboard.
Jazz BassesThe Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic...
feature chrome hardware, a traditional control plate with classic black bakelite knobs, a downsized body shape and a redesigned pickguard with 9 holes.
Fender also produced models without a pickguard and control plate featuring flamed or quilted maple tops (FMT/QMT), gold hardware and bound necks with white pearloid rectangular block-shaped position markers from 2003 to 2007.
Models produced prior to 2002 used 4-bolt neck fixing, 5-in-line headstocks, black or white dot markers,
Schaller-Surname:* Barry R. Schaller, American lawyer, judge, academic, and bioethicist* Bernhard Schaller, Swiss physician and medical researcher* Biff Schaller , American baseball player* George Schaller, American biologist* Hans Schaller, German luger...
die-cast tuners, 9V power supply and special-design stacked "single-pole" Jazz Bass pickups (designed by
John SuhrSuhr Guitars is an American company that manufactures electric guitars and basses, guitar amplifiers, and effect units...
).
Vintage NoiselessThe Vintage Noiseless series is a line of electric guitar pickups made by Fender. Introduced in 1998, they feature a stacked-coil design. The range includes models for electric guitars and basses. The Vintage Noiseless pickups were an original equipment material on the American Deluxe series...
pickups, a dark aluminum Fender "spaghetti" logo and abalone inlaid fingerboards were added in 1998; 5-bolt neck fixing, 4+1 tuners, 18V power supply and
Schaller Lite Bass-Surname:* Barry R. Schaller, American lawyer, judge, academic, and bioethicist* Bernhard Schaller, Swiss physician and medical researcher* Biff Schaller , American baseball player* George Schaller, American biologist* Hans Schaller, German luger...
tuning machines followed 4 years later (replaced by Hipshot UltraLite tuners as of 2006). As of March 23, 2010, all American Deluxe basses came with an active/passive switch, a HMV high-mass vintage bridge, Hipshot lightweight vintage tuners, a stealth string retainer bar on the A string, tinted necks with 21-fret compound radiused fretboards and 70's-era styling.
Some of the design elements found on the American Deluxe instruments (such as the rolled fretboard edges, the HSH pickup routing and the detailed nut and fret work) were adopted on the
American Series models of 2001 (which replaced the first-generation
American Standard line produced between 1986 and 2000) and the more recent American Standard Series instruments, introduced in 2008.
The American Deluxe was later updated with
Samarium Cobalt NoiselessThe Vintage Noiseless series is a line of electric guitar pickups made by Fender. Introduced in 1998, they feature a stacked-coil design. The range includes models for electric guitars and basses. The Vintage Noiseless pickups were an original equipment material on the American Deluxe series...
(SCN) pickups by Fender in 2004. As of March 23, 2010, all American Deluxe series guitars came with a tinted maple neck with compound fretboards, N3 noiseless pickups and the S-1 switching system has been reconfigured with a Passing Lane switch on the humbucker-equipped models.