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Reasons Why Reasons Why
Posted by Christopher Volpini on
Apr 22nd 2019

  A “Made in America” sticker has become a rare thing to see on any sort of product. When it is there, it is often right next to a price tag that may keep that bastion of American ingenuity out of reach for a lot of people. Over the years, Fender has tried to rectify that. It began with the Highway One series. A no-frills, all substance line that was made in the Land of the Free. The American Performer Series is the latest refinement on this principle. Since we’re talking about a whole series, we wont get into the tech specs for these.

A lot of times, these lines come with an assumption that they are mostly the equivalent of a Mexican Standard Made in America. At first glance, I do sort of understand how someone may come to this conclusion, but playing is believing. They also come in some of the best finishes (shoutout to the copper-esque “Penny” color) Fender has put out in while.

The big upgrade with this line came in the way of the electronics. The ever-polarizing Grease Bucket tone circuit is employed on these models. Personally, I don’t understand the people who dislike this option. Unless you push the button, it’s just a typical Fender. Personally, I never really engage it on any Fender that I am using, but it doesn’t bother me that it’s there.

The other big electronic upgrade comes in the pickups. Pickup “upgrades” are 100% based on perception. If you hate the pickups, they’re hardly an upgrade, so anything I say one way or the other on the topic is basically a opinion. That said, I personally see the Yosemite pickups as an upgrade. They have all the single-coil twang and character that everyone has come to love from Fender, but they are hotter. A lot of people correlate hotter pickups with a sort of “hard rocker” preconception. I se that logic, but it does go a bit deeper than that. To illustrate my point, I will just draw on my own experience regarding pickup outputs.

I am a light player by nature. So, a hotter pickup is something that aids in my naturally light touch. So, even if you don’t play “heavy” music, do not let the overwound pickups turn you off. I don’t play heavy music, and I typically like a hotter pickup because it helps me balance my light touch with my necessity to be heard. That was a bit of a sidebar, but I do think it is important to understand that the Yosemite pickups being essentially an overwound vintage style should not be a reason for a player to scroll right past them.  

So, I want to close out this post outlining how you benefit from buying a Guitar or Bass from this line over, say, the Mexican-made counterparts (Player Series):

  1. You are supporting American manufacturing, and that is more important than a lot of people will ever realize. It’s really easy to “like” and “share” Facebook propaganda regarding American workers. Actually buying American-manufactured products is the true measure of supporting our workers.
  2. There is a measurable upgrade over the Player Series.   Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the Player Series. They are great instruments. I feel that this line is better with the higher grade electronics and better build quality, but the Mexican lines are nothing of which to be ashamed.
  3. Attention to detail. I touched on this in the prior point, but there is a noticeable difference in build-quality in this line. We’ve all played those lower end Fenders that could have used a little for time with a fret file. I have personally played numerous instruments from this line, and I didn’t notice any sharp fret-ends or sprouts. I also didn’t notice any finish flaws or fitment issues. These are good, solid, and tight instruments out of the box.