Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH main image

Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH

$498.99 Price Tier: Standard

4.5 (19)

1 Critic Review

10 Reviews

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6 wishlisted

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Page last updated Jun 30, 2026

Pricing and availability

We compare 600+ stores and found this item at 1 store. Prices updated June 30, 2026.

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Price

5.0 (23)

$498.99 13 available Used

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Average Price: $499

Standard/Professional

$400

$1001+

Price Tier

In the Solid Body Electric Guitars category, Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH is priced in the Standard/Professional range. This is quality gear at a fair price point, suitable for beginners, hobbyists, and pros alike.

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Description

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Unleash your inner rockstar with the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH, a powerhouse electric guitar designed for those who crave a bold, dynamic sound without unnecessary frills. This solid body electric guitar is perfect for musicians who want to push boundaries and explore new sonic territories. The Blacktop Stratocaster HH packs a punch with its dual humbucking pickups, delivering a rich, high-gain tone that’s ideal for everything from crunchy riffs to soaring solos.

Retaining the classic feel and look of a traditional Stratocaster, this model features three control knobs and a three-way pickup switch, giving you precise control over your sound. Whether you're jamming in a garage or performing on stage, the Blacktop Stratocaster HH promises reliability and versatility. Its sleek design and comfortable neck make it a joy to play, while the robust hardware ensures it can withstand the rigors of frequent use.

Crafted for both aspiring and seasoned musicians, the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH is an excellent addition to any guitarist's collection, offering the signature Strat experience at an accessible price point.

Key Features:

Dual high-gain Hot Vintage Alnico humbuckers for powerful sound
Classic Stratocaster body shape and styling
Three control knobs for tone and volume customization
Three-way pickup switch for versatile sound options
Comfortable neck profile for easy playability
Durable construction for long-lasting performance

Product specs

Brand	Fender
Model	Blacktop Stratocaster HH
Finish	Black, Candy Apple Red, Sonic Blue
Year	2011 - 2014
Made In	Mexico
Categories	Solid Body Electric Guitars
Body Material	Alder
Body Shape	S-Style
Body Type	Solid Body
Bridge/Tailpiece Type	Tremolo Bridge
Color Family	Black, Blue, Red
Finish Style	Gloss
Fretboard Material	Maple, Rosewood
Model Family	Fender Stratocaster
Neck Construction	Bolt-On
Neck Material	Maple
Number of Frets	22
Number of Strings	6-String
Pickup Configuration	HH
Right / Left Handed	Right Handed
Series	Fender Blacktop

FAQs

What kind of pickups does the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH have?: The Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH is equipped with Hot Vintage alnico humbucking pickups with nickel covers, providing a powerful and versatile tone suitable for various music genres.
Is the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH suitable for heavy music styles?: Yes, the dual humbucking pickups on the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH deliver a robust output, making it well-suited for heavier music styles like rock and metal.
What is the neck profile of the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH?: The Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH features a maple neck with a comfortable "C" profile, offering a smooth playing experience for both rhythm and lead guitarists.
How does the pickup switching work on the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH?: The Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH has a 5-position blade switch allowing for various tonal combinations, including full humbucker and single-coil options for versatile sound shaping.
Does the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH have a tremolo system?: Yes, the Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH is equipped with a Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo bridge, allowing for expressive pitch modulation and vibrato effects.

Videos

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PMTVUK

Fender Blacktop HH Stratocaster demo - Damon Chivers @ PMT

PMTVUK

Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH

ProGuitarShopDemos

Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH

N Stuff Music

Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH - Video 2

N Stuff Music

Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH video review demo Guitarist Magazine HD

Guitarist

Fender Blacktop HH Stratocaster Review - YandasMusic.com

Yandas Music

Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH Humbuckers & Why You Should Buy This Strat!

Mike From Nashville

Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH Black 2011 Mexico

Loud Lemon Demo

Reviews

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PROS

Sonic blue color is eye-catching and highly praised.
Humbucker pickups offer a versatile, mellow, and clear tone.
Neck feels comfortable, ideal for both chords and lead.
High output pickups maintain strat-like jangle.
Guitar offers excellent sustain when pickups are adjusted correctly.
Easy to mod due to swimming pool routing.
Responsive pickups allow nuanced playing dynamics.
Offers great tones for various music styles.
Ergonomic design typical of a Stratocaster.
Price point offers great value for the quality.

CONS

Neck can feel sticky due to poly gloss finish.
Stock pickups may be too dark and muddy for some.
Sustain could be better, especially with age.
No hard case included with purchase.
Bridge pickup may lack desired output balance.
Pickups can become slightly microphonic over time.

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH.

Build quality

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The Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH includes a 22 fret neck with real Rosewood, which is less common among Fender models.
Source
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Some units may have fretwire sticking over the edge of the fretboard, which can be addressed by a luthier if necessary.
Source

Mods and upgrades

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Owners recommend replacing stock pickups with Dimarzios for improved clarity and tone.
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Some users suggest swapping in SD-APH2 pickups to combine Strat feel with Les Paul sound.
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Owners recommend replacing stock pickups with Seymour Duncan SH-1N '59 in the neck for a bigger, fatter tone.
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For those playing Hard Rock, an SD Invader pickup in the bridge could better suit the style, providing a heavier sound.
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Owners suggest replacing the Floyd Rose Special with a Floyd Rose Pro or Original for improved tuning stability.
Source

Features and functionality

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The Blacktop series typically comes with three control knobs; modifications to two controls might indicate custom wiring or a new pickguard.
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The 5-way switching on the Blacktop Strat is preferred for its additional tonal versatility, particularly in metal genres.
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Value and pricing

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In markets like Mexico, used guitar prices can be significantly lower, making this model a potential bargain.
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Choosing the Blacktop Strat allows a budget of approximately $700 for further customizations, such as pickup and bridge replacements.
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Setup and maintenance

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Intonation adjustment may be necessary upon arrival, but overall setup quality is generally positive.
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User experience

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One owner mentioned its playability and tone quality, particularly noting the guitar’s weight and balance.
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Comparisons

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The neck width is described as typical for Fender, similar to an MIM Tele Standard, maintaining the standard 9.5" radius.
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The Charvel So-Cal is noted for superior neck quality but comes at nearly double the price of the Blacktop Strat.
Source

Critic Reviews

Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH review | MusicRadar

musicradar.com

The Fender Blacktop Stratocaster HH is a powerful twist on a classic, offering a wide range of tones thanks to its beefy humbuckers and clever switching. With a vintage look and robust build, it's gig-ready and versatile, handling everything from jazz to hard rock with ease. The addition of humbuckers provides new tonal possibilities without sacrificing the Strat's iconic feel. While some might see it as a marketing move, it's an impressive guitar for the price, showcasing Fender's quality craftsmanship. Ideal for both new fans and existing enthusiasts, it's a standout in its price range.

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Full Review

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4.5 out of 5

Based on 10 Reviews and 19 Ratings

5 star

4 star

3 star

2 star

1 star

adamdalby

164

almost 9 years ago

First mid priced strat

I've used this strat on several recordings and played this guitar live countless times. As soon as I picked it up I instantly bonded with the neck, perfect and strat. Right now this guitar is strung with 10-52 but I do feel it would be better with 11-56, but that may just be me. The pickups in this guitar are very hot, pushing the front end of my fender champ into a nice natural overdrive when I crank the clean volume knob. My only complaint with this guitar is that the sustain isn't great and the pickups have become slightly micro-phonic with there age. But if I was asked a simple question "Would you buy this guitar again" I would as it gives me the ability to play almost any genre and it suits my playing style just right.

lobberuno

822

almost 9 years ago

Great and affordable guitar, in a versatil sound

Before getting this guitar, I was expecting an Epiphone Pro Electric guitar, due its capability to split coils and get more versality during my playing. Then I went to the store and the clerk told me to try this one. After this, I loved the tone and how easy was to play this guitar through the maple neck.

Now, three years later, maybe I would change the bridge pick-up, because it is not bringing my derised output (unpaired with the neck pickup). It is still in great shape and looking, recently I did some tweaks to the coils and it sounds with more natural compression.

For single coils lovers, I must admit that the single coil sound is about a 60-65% compared to a ceramic single coil. As humbucker, it has its full sound.

Update: Recently I did a modification to the pickups' iron bars, having middle strings with the max height and the rest in a ladder way. It made to drastically change the sound which I was finding, so it feels and sounds more natural and acoustic. In this way, the split coils sounds more like a legit single coil. However, would be good trying some pickups from the market.

Roles:

Singer Guitarist Bassist

Genres:

Electronic Rock Alternative rock

lobberuno

822

8 years ago over 8 years ago

The explanation to modify the pickups iron bars is based on the magnetic induction.

The iron bars help the windings of the pickups to transport more electrical current, so them let to catch more acoustic waves from the sound generated by the strings. The height of the pickups amplifies the acoustic waves produced by the sound.

Those two factors determine how much natural or electrical sounds your guitar, aside the windings, the type of pickup and the iron bars between the windings.

If the iron bars are within the windings, more current is allowed, and the guitar will sound more electric. Also, if the pickups are close to the strings, a natural clipping will occurs, due to the amplifying effect also it will up the volume. So, my suggest is to test how much affects these factors in your guitars pickups but first measure the actual height, if something doesn't like you want, you can step back.

lobberuno

822

8 years ago over 8 years ago

This guitar has a noticiable change on volume when a split-coil to humbucker change occurs. There are may comments about this on internet, in my opinion, I think the bridge humbucker has a lower output compared to the neck humbucker.

By adjusting the heights to have balanced outputs between both humbuckers, the output when is switched to split coil result affected having less characteristic sound (as intended as a single coil).

However, one purpose that I do with this guitar and due the unbalanced outputs because the different features between the split coils and the humbuckers, is to use the bridge humbucker for overdrive and distortions, the split coils for semi-acoustic sounds, both humbuckers for overdriven rhythms and the neck humbucker for soloing and riffs.

lobberuno

822

8 years ago over 8 years ago

Somewhere, somebody said about to use a compressor to balance the humbuckers-single coils outputs. I have a Dyna Comp and yes, it works well to balance the volumes. Maybe a rack compressor could do a better job.

lobberuno

822

8 years ago about 8 years ago

I have this guitar in Red Candy Apple color.

mattjonessunsetavenue

about 11 years ago

My alternate tuning guitar / backup.

I bought my Blacktop Strat a few years ago when they were a fairly new item. Mine is sonic blue, which is gorgeous (as opposed to the black shown here). Originally it was set up absolutely horrendously, but since I have had it set up properly. To me the neck feels a bit dead and the pickups are slightly too dark and muddy for my tastes. However, I think it sounds fantastic and beefy when tuned a whole step down.

marcbartle

about 11 years ago

Favourite Guitar

This is my favourite guitar that I have ever played or owned. Again I want another one. Upgraded this with an Original Floyd Rose and a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge with a Dimarzio Air Norton in the neck. White Scratch Plate to make it a little classier. The perfect guitar for me! The one I would grab in a fire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ1e1kBKkJ0

nutritiouspig

785

11 years ago about 11 years ago

Beautiful guitar! I like your videos, too. Did you know you can embed them on Equipboard by selecting the video option instead of the review option?

marcbartle

11 years ago about 11 years ago

Cheers :). I didn't until now haha thank you bud.

jacob_keplinger

517

almost 8 years ago

The self-titled guitar.

Used a heavy modded one of these for pretty much all of the second NT album as well as the second SB album. Didn't get recorded anywhere else, but I used it live for all of 2017 and the first half of 2018. Bought it right after we finished recording DITA.