Arm the homeless

Fender has finally unveiled the Arm The Homeless guitar, having worked closely with Tom Morello. It's made in Mexico. Pickups are EMGs & the bridge is the highly acclaimed GOTOH GE1966T.

However, Fender had issued a disclaimer about this flag image on the body which is disallowed for display in some parts of the world. Do take note if you are interested.

Pics: Fender

Price watch (100)

Once again, like a broken record, it's not a good time to be buying Fender guitars. The latest Fenders to debut here are the Vintera II models, prices are depicted above. Fender is asking you to spend in excess of $2K for these. The most affordable American models, the Performer, are listing for $2,249. The B-stocks & those on promos; you can get these for less. Notice how they hyped the V II models to be limited edition / roadworn. These are terms to fall back on to justify the figures. We know these mean very little when it comes to playability & tone. Then they will tell you it's different. 

A reasonable expectation here is the corresponding increase in performance value with regards to increasing price tags. It need not be exponential or even proportional for that matter, just a manifestation of enhancement of sorts but this remain elusive & subjective at best. Then again, why expect such favours when we know added costs are the product of taxation, flailing exchange rates & other extras that force prices up. Is anyone interested in keeping prices down so that legit musicians / players / enthusiasts can afford a Fender? Ironically, back in the day, Leo Fender conceived instruments that were  affordable alternatives to you-know-what. Provisional philosophy doesn't go hand in hand with economics, it seems. Not when the guitar manufacturer exists as a commercial entity first & foremost. Which guitar manufacturer exists with no profit-making in mind, yes?

Pics: Fender

2K Mex

The day we (Fender benders) dread is finally here; the Mexican Strat has crossed the $2K mark. The Vintera Limited Edition Road Worn 50s HSS Strat is currently listing for $2,149 (Tele version - $2,099). So... would you tell yourself to save $2k to buy a... Mexican Fender? 

The irony of it all - when Leo Fender created the Tele & Strat way back in the day, these were meant to be affordable instruments. The pickguard electronics mount & the bolt-on features kept costs down while tone remained delectable. Fast forward today, the Fender name had somehow swung to the elitist corner with prices getting out of hand pretty quickly. By the way, what's wrong with Mexican Fenders? Answer: The price. 

Pic: Fender Inetrnational

Foiling around

These are new from Fender. The Tele, JM & Jazz bass given the gold foil pickup treatment. I wonder why they are doing this, especially now. We know that anything humbucking would be a miss more than a hit when it comes to Fender. The brand name is the epitome of single coil tones, other iterations are novelty. These are Mexicans FYI & those oval Jazz Master tuners... whatever.

Pic: Fender

Order 66

So this happened last Sunday. It's 66-related but not an execution.

It's a Fender Sixty-six from the Alternate Reality series. I've been wanting to get one when it debuted but was too late, this particular finish was sold out. When it got re-stocked, I went for the Antigua Tele instead & it was sold out again. Darn distracted. So here it is finally. Why this model?

1. I have a soft spot for freaky Fender models - Marauder, Offset Tele & now this.
2. It's my newfound respect for Mexican models. The Mex Fenders of the past were good but they didn't click with me. For that kind of price, I'd rather get a Japanese Fender. I think Fender did a smart thing in terms of marketing, they offer unique models in the Mexican range just like they did in the American range (Parallel Universe). And now, they have some in the Squier range (Paranormal Series). I'll definitely check those out. 
3. It's Charvel's fault. The current Mexican Charvel models are nothing less than fantastic. It seems The Mexican end of Fender had been keeping things in check since the Pro-Mods & DKs debuted quite recently. I've been spending time checking those out at Swee Lee's Katong branch on some evenings before it closed down. The Paranormal Series are currently handled by the same people so no surprises here. On that note, I have a Charvel in mind but it's out of stock in the mean time.

It's the holiday eve, folks. The long weekend awaits. 😃

Leading

Reminding ourselves of Fender's re-living its past glory with current re-issues. This is the Lead II.

Both maple & pau ferro fretboard versions are available.

If you fancy a humbucking version instead, the Lead III might be it.

That's right, pau ferro version here. The fact that these are Mexican models imply affordability. Prices are along the lines of the current Duo Sonics. 

Alternate reality

The success of 2018's Parallel Universe series by Fender led to 2019's Alternate Reality models seen above. Essentially, these are mix-matched Fender models made to be presentable & somewhat appealing to the quirk-inclined folks out there. L-R: Electric XII/ Sixty-Six/ Meteora HH/ Powercaster/ Tenor Tele. Unlike the 2019 iterations, these are Mexican & more appealing in terms of prices.

I'm most attracted to the Sixty-Six as it is a guitar version of the Jazz Bass. However, I find it disturbing that the default humbucker (seen above) is showing misalignment. Two implications: 1) The humbucker concerned is not F-Spaced 2) The bridge sports a wider dimension. They couldn't get it right back at the factory; are we paying for oversight? I wouldn't say it's a dire concern but the manufacturer should be more in the know when it comes to such details. We can easily swap this our for a properly spaced replacement but a covered F-Spaced pickup is harder to come by at the stores compared to the uncovered counterparts. 

Standard price

The new batch of Fender Standard Strat/ Tele featuring pau ferro fretboards are listing for the same price as their rosewood fretboard counterparts. Of course, the rosewood version had undergone a price revision before it was discontinued but it's good to know that no further induced inflation took place along the way...

Hello, November 👍