Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster — One Guitar, Ten Voices
I used to have a Fender Telecaster — a Mexican one. A good guitar, but not the one we were after. We were after a sound: for acoustic shows and for recording acoustic parts. Not "an electric guitar pretending to be acoustic", but honest wood you can take on stage or record in the studio right away — no dance with microphones.
The Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster settled that. And it threw in a bonus we did not expect.
One instrument, ten voices
The controls are simple: Master Volume, a five-way blade switch and a Mod knob. Each position holds two voices, A and B, and the Mod knob blends them smoothly. Ten voices in total. Fender’s official voice map lays them out like this:
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5, neck end — Core Acoustics: Sitka spruce/mahogany dreadnought → Sitka spruce/rosewood concert.
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4 — Alternative Acoustics: Sitka spruce/walnut small-body short scale → Sitka spruce/mahogany Americana dreadnought.
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3 — Percussion & Enhanced Harmonics: Sitka spruce/rosewood auditorium → the same voice with the body pickup added.
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2 — Acoustic & Electric Blend: Engelmann spruce/rosewood dreadnought → Fender Electric Clean.
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1, bridge end — Electric: Fender Electric Fat/Semi-Clean → Fender Electric Dirty.
That edge is the part I love most. On stage I flip to the bridge position, turn the Mod knob to overdrive — and play a solo almost like through a Tube Screamer. It growls, it sings, it holds the note. A second later — back, and it is clean acoustic again, as if nothing happened. No pedalboard. No swapping guitars. One instrument that replaces half a rig on a live stage.
What we recorded with it
The tight rhythm strumming in Dark Purple Heaven — the one the whole song rests on — was played on the Acoustasonic. And here is what happened: it sat in the mix right away. No EQ-ing until we turned blue, no "let’s do another take with a different mic" — plugged in, recorded, and it fit like a glove. I will tell that story and show it in the video.
The fast part in Cold Gaze of Eternity was recorded on it too.
How it lives with us
Our home is our studio — the same place. So the Acoustasonic mostly stays home — it only travels out to shows that need a light acoustic set. It is our "touring" guitar: pack it and go.
Strings — Elixir NanoWeb Phosphor Bronze Custom Light 11–52. A thin coating that lets the wood speak and holds the sound for a long time.
Downsides? Almost none. Really.
The "almost" is the bends. On its strings, a bend is not as easy as on a lead guitar: it growls like an electric guitar, but the strings are as stiff as on an acoustic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Darwin’s Cat songs were recorded with the Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster?
The rhythm guitar in Dark Purple Heaven — the part the whole song rests on — was played on it, and it sat in the mix right away. The fast part in Cold Gaze of Eternity was recorded on it too — you can hear both tracks in full on their song pages.
How many sounds does the Acoustasonic Stratocaster have, and how do the Mod knob and switch work?
Ten voices. The blade switch has five positions, each holding two voices (A and B), and the Mod knob blends between them — from a mahogany dreadnought and a rosewood concert to a clean single-coil and an overdrive.
Can the Acoustasonic Stratocaster produce an overdriven electric sound?
Yes. In the bridge position, turning the Mod knob to overdrive makes it growl like a solo through a Tube Screamer — and one flip of the switch brings back the clean acoustic sound, with no pedalboard and no swapping guitars.
What strings does Darwin’s Cat use on it?
Elixir NanoWeb Phosphor Bronze Custom Light, gauge 11–52. A thin coating that lets the wood speak and holds the sound for a long time.
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