Fender Modern Player Series offers new takes on old favorites, plus a few surprises
(Dave Molter | Posted 2011-10-04)
Fender made its reputation with innovation and over its 60-year history has had more than a few cutting-edge designs. Now the company Leo Fender started more than 60 years ago has brought out the Modern Player Series, a line of guitars and basses that offers new body style in guitars and some new takes on old favorites guitars and basses.
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Throughout its history, Fender has always made a special point of welcoming new players by offering entry-level instruments. The Modern Player series continues that great “my-first-Fender” tradition.
The Modern Player series holds a few surprises in store, too—including the long-awaited return of an acclaimed Fender bass guitar model not seen since the 1970s (back now in potently hot-rodded fashion), an unrelentingly lean-and-mean version of the venerable Jaguar® guitar, the resurrection of a fabled and seldom-heard Fender name from the 1960s for a scorching new guitar model, an utterly volcanic new Jazz Bass® with dual humbucking pickups, and a powerful new take on the acclaimed modern-era Jaguar Bass—back in the ring with a versatile new pickup combination and streamlined control configuration.
There are seven instruments in the series; four guitars and three basses. They are Modern Player Telecaster® Plus HSS, Modern Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe, Modern Player Jaguar, Modern Player Marauder, Modern Player Telecaster Bass, Modern Player Jazz Bass and Modern Player Jaguar Bass.
The Modern Player Telecaster Plus HSS ($559.99 MSRP) is that rare bird among Telecasters -- a triple-pickup model -- further distinguished by a pine body and mini-toggle coil-split switch for the Modern Player humbucking bridge pickup. Other features include C-shaped maple neck, maple fretboard with 9.5” radius and 22 jumbo frets, Modern Player single-coil Telecaster neck pickup and Modern Player Stratocaster middle pickup, five-way pickup switching, three-ply pickguard, knurled “chrome-dome” control knobs, vintage-style Stratocaster string-through-body six-saddle hard-tail bridge, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It comes in Honey Burst and Charcoal Transparent.
The Modern Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe ($609.99) casts an already distinctive classic Telecaster model in a whole new light with a full-throated pair of single-coil Modern Player MP-90 pickups. Other features include a mahogany body, C-shaped maple neck, maple fretboard with 9.5” radius and 22 medium jumbo frets, three-way toggle pickup switching, three-ply pickguard (parchment on Sunburst model; black-white-black on other models), four skirted amp knobs (two volume, two tone), vintage-style Stratocaster string-through-body six-saddle hard-tail bridge, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It’s available in Three-color Sunburst, Black Transparent and Vintage White.
The Modern Player Jaguar ($559.99) is a lean, mean and stripped-down version of the classic Fender model, with a full-throated pair of single-coil Modern Player MP-90 pickups on a sans-pickguard mahogany body. Other features include a C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 9.5” radius and 21 medium jumbo frets, three-way toggle pickup switching, Jazz Bass-style control knobs, vintage-style Adjusto-Matic™ bridge with anchored tailpiece, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It’s available in Two-color Chocolate Burst, Red Transparent and Black Transparent.
In addition to heralding the return of a fabled and seldom-heard Fender name from the 1960s, the Modern Player Marauder (pictured at top, $559.99) is one of the most distinctive new guitars in the family, uniquely marked by a new body style, Modern Player Jazzmaster® neck pickup and volcanic-sounding three-coil Fender Triplebucker bridge pickup. Other features include a koto body, C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets, five-way pickup switching with lower horn blade selector switch, four-ply aged white pearloid pickguard, Jazz Bass-style control knobs, vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. The Modern Player Marauder comes in Black and Lake Placid Blue.
Back to the "bass-ics"
A classic Fender bass design returns with an unusual new twist delivering utterly seismic sound. The Telecaster Bass is back at last in the smart new form of the Modern Player Telecaster Bass ($639.99), which boasts not one but two massive humbucking pickups. Features include an alder body, C-shaped maple neck, maple fretboard with 9.5” radius and 20 medium jumbo frets, dual Modern Player Wide Range humbucking Precision Bass® pickups, three-ply parchment (Sunburst model) or single-ply black (Butterscotch Blonde model) pickguard, three knurled “chrome-dome” control knobs (neck volume, bridge volume, master tone), vintage-style bridge with four brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It’s back in Two-color Sunburst and Butterscotch Blonde.
The Modern Player Jazz Bass ($699.99) is a volcanic new take on the time-honored Jazz Bass thanks to its dual Modern Player humbucking Jazz Bass pickups. Other features include an alder body, C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 9.5” radius and 20 jumbo frets, three-ply pickguard, vintage-style four-saddle bridge with brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It comes in Three-color Sunburst, Olympic White and Black Transparent.
Finally, the acclaimed Fender Jaguar Bass is back in the sleek form the Modern Player Jaguar Bass ($559.99), which presents a lean, mean and stripped-down version of the model with a powerful P/J configuration—a Modern Player Precision Bass middle pickup and Modern Player Jazz Bass bridge pickup—and streamlined control layout. Features include a koto body, C-shaped maple neck, maple fretboard with 9.5” radius and 20 jumbo frets, three-ply parchment pickguard, three Jazz Bass control knobs (middle volume, bridge volume, master tone), vintage-style four-saddle bridge with brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. The Modern Player Jaguar Bass is available in Black.
