KEY FEATURES
• Player Plus Noiseless Telecaster Pickups
• 12 ” Fingerboard Radius with Rolled Edges
• Six Saddle Bridge with Block Steel Saddles
• Push-pull Tone Control Activates Both Pickups in Series
• Locking Tuners
Of all the great guitars that Fender is making these days , this is one of them . But seriously , this guitar is awesome – whatever makes a guitar great , this instrument got more than its fair share !
Before we get to all the goodies under the hood that make this guitar the rocket ship that it is , I want to give a shout out to the amazing team at Fender for their heartfelt appreciation for worship guitarists and the music we make ( bass players too ). This is not the case with some of the brands you frequently see on the platform and as a worship guitar player that matters to me – a lot !
Pandemic or not , more guitar gets played at church than all other venues combined , and the Fender team really gets that . Per the launch of the Player Plus line , the amazing ( and they really are amazing ) PR team sent up a Player Plus Telecaster for me to play prior to a Zoom meeting with key members of the Fender team , talking about what made these instruments special to them . Like church , understanding the why , adds depth of field to the what …
In the aforementioned Zoom call , Fender ’ s Evan Jones ( Chief Marketing Officer at Fender Musical Instruments Corporation ) and Justin Norvell ( Executive Vice President , Fender Products at FMIC ) revealed that Fender spent eighteen months developing the line , and as Justin mentioned , “ Left no tonal stone unturned .” While I love my American Original Thinline and Tele Customs , Justin ’ s comments are really born out in the fact that this guitar has everything I look for in a Telecaster … and more .
NOISELESS PICKUPS The Player Plus Noiseless Pickups are simply amazing , especially in combination with the tone control , which also features push-pull functionality for running both pickups in series regardless of where the pickup selector is set . As a system , this setup delivers an outstanding tonal palette at every turn in a way that my other guitars seem to be more ‘ tailored for purpose ’. Noting that beauty is in the eye of the beholder , it is important to point out that my take on this guitar is based on the fact that I don ’ t just play worship music . Although worship guitar tones are among some of my favorites , I also live in the Classic Rock , Blues and Instrumental Guitar universes . This is one of the few guitars in the house that can seamlessly traverse between these unique sonic soundscapes with real authenticity , and that is saying a lot for an instrument with a MAP price of less than $ 1,000.00 .
Justin also noted , “ Every guitar I get , I play a little differently , and adapt to that .” The truth about this guitar is that it is a dream to play . Where some of my other Teles ’ make you earn your take home pay , this guitar is about as effortless to play as you can get . Silky smooth is the best way to describe the experience . The neck has a modern ‘ C ’ shape and features a satin finish , rolled edges , and a 12 ” radius . I ’ ve