Friday, January 29, 2021

Fender 2021: Noventa

Time for some 2021 Fender guitar highlights... the Noventa Series. These are Mexican models featuring P90 pickups in various configurations. The hard tail Strat above has two & the controls are also reduced to just a single volume / tone combo. The fretboard here is pao ferro.

The Jazzmaster has three & features a 5-way pickup selector that is just like a Strat. Maple fretboard as seen above.

And saving the best for last, you have a single pickup Telecaster. In my opinion, that pick guard there is totally unnecessary. Design-wise, if this one features a regular Tele pickuard, it would mean re-configuring the machines to accommodate the longer P90. If it stays like it is, there are cost savings since lesser material is required. However, no costs will be incurred if it's avoided altogether, yes? Hmm...

What's the deal with P90s? They are in-between pickups; less of that true single coil poke, more humbucking warmth, not to mention some fat, in-your-face tones given the right drive / distortion. P90s in a Jazzmaster is quite a futile affair considering the original Jazzmaster single coils offer a unique interpretation of the former's tone. Fender is offering a quirky variety of their established models. They do not wish to tread the Alternate Reality path once more since only the pickup here offers the difference; there's no design fusion involved. Being the single pickup fanatic, I will definitely check the Tele out. 

Pics: Fender USA

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