Fender Blacktop

The Fender Blacktop Series of electric guitars and basses combines old-school Fender designs and traditions with sleek, modern upgrades and hot-rodded modifications to deliver a set of killer new axes with just the right amount of youthful aggression, sporting fast-action necks, hot, high-output pickups, and a no-nonsense, pedal-to-the-metal aesthetic that looks as bad-ass as it sounds. While Fender guitars like the Telecaster and the Stratocaster have always been prized for the clean, sparkling tones from their customary single-coil pickups, there has long been a market for Fenders modified by adding the burly, beefier tones of dual-coil humbucking pickups. Humbuckers, originally introduced by Gibson in 1957, are designed to cancel out the electrical hum and interference that single-coil pickups are sometimes prone to, and also offer a higher, hotter output signal. While Fender has offered humbuckers on various models for years, like the Custom and Deluxe Telecasters, the new Blacktop Series offers a whole line of pre-modded guitars and basses, in a variety of configurations, including the dual-humbucker (denoted by HH in the name) equipped Blacktop Telecaster HH and Blacktop Stratocaster HH; the Blacktop Stratocaster HSH, which throws a scorching single-coil in the middle; or the Blacktop Jaguar 90, which purrs with the warm, vintage growl of a pair of P-90-style single-coils. Other features, depending on model, include multiple bridge options (hard-tail or tremolo/whammy bar), 3- and 5-way switching options, and two scale lengths - the shorter 24 Jaguar-style, and the more traditional 25-1/2 Fender scale length, as found on most Telecasters, Strats, and any number of other classic Fender axes. (Most Gibsons have a 24-3/4 scale length for comparison, falling in between the two.) The Blacktop axes sport modern, fast-action necks, with slick 9-1/2 radius fingerboards and medium-jumbo frets; and a sleek, modern appearance, with cool touches like skirted amp-style knobs for the volume and tone controls, and black pickguards and other appointments. In addition to the previously listed models, the Series includes the Fender FSR (Fender Special Run) Blacktop Ash Telecaster, with reverse Tele control plates for easier volume swells; the Blacktop Strat HH Floyd Rose, with the legendary Floyd Rose whammy system; the Jaguar HH, with a pair of high-gain humbuckers in place of the P-90-style pickups; and the Blacktop Jazzmaster HS, with a Duncan Designed Jazzmaster single-coil neck pickup to complement the bridge humbucker and Vintage Jazzmaster Tremolo. Six-stringers craving more bottom end will want to check out the Blacktop Baritone Telecaster, a deep-throated tone monster with a 27 scale length for B-to-B tuning, bridge humbucker, and dual single-coils, for an incredible array of low-down Tele tones. For bassists, Fender offers the Blacktop Precision Bass, loaded with dual high-gain Blacktop Bass humbucking pickups for truly thunderous tone, HiMass bridge and Jazz Bass-style controls; and the Blacktop Jazz Bass, equipped with two specially-designed Blacktop split-coil P-Bass-style pickups. Wherever you're headed, the Fender Blacktop Series is paving the way to a brave new future, at an incredibly affordable price. Grab one and get going!