Fender deliver Deluxe range with nine new guitars and basses: Mexican madness!
A lot of noise over noiseless pickups and a new bass model for 2016
The Fender Mexican-made Deluxe range of guitars and basses has just received a very welcome revamp. It features Fender’s newest iteration of their noiseless pickups, plus a new Dimension bass model!
Noiseless Pickups
The whole range has the new Vintage Noiseless pickups. Fender, of course, state that these are the best they have ever made, that they sound as good as any vintage pickup just without all the hum you normally associate with them.
I hope they do sound better, as I myself had a set of Fender Noiseless pickups a few years back and they were pretty awful. Quiet yes, but they also sounded very dull and sterile. So, let’s hope these new versions have moved on from those old ones.
Deluxe 2016 guitar range
Okay, there are a lot of new instruments here! So, rather than bore you with every detail I have rounded them up so you can see what to expect, including any variations in finishes available.
Fender Deluxe Strat
Available in 2-Color Sunburst or Black with a rosewood fingerboard or Vintage Blond or Sapphire Blue Transparent with a maple fingerboard.
With a 12″ radius fretboard, a contoured heal with asymmetrical bolts, plus locking tuners. This is a Stratocaster with modern specifications. The mini push push switch also allows you punch in the (noiseless!) bridge pickup into all the positions on the 5-way blade switch.
RRP GBP £759
Deluxe Roadhouse Strat
This has a 12″ radius fretboard, a contoured heal with asymmetrical bolts, as featured on the Deluxe Strat.
A six-position V6 switch replaces a tone control for a preamp, offering six extra tonal variations. Plus, you get an S-1 switch concealed in the volume control which bypasses the preamp for your more traditional Stratocaster tones.
Available in the following finishes: 3-Tone Sunburst or Mystic Ice Blue – both with a rosewood fingerboard. Olympic White or Classic Copper both available with a maple fingerboard.
RRP GBP £679
Fender Deluxe Strat HSS
This has a 12″ radius fretboard, a contoured heal with asymmetrical bolts, plus the locking short post tuners, also as featured on the Deluxe Strat. You get a Twin Head Vintage humbucker in the bridge position and the Vintage Noiseless single coil pickups in the middle and neck positions. It comes in Candy Apple Red or Tungsten, both with rosewood fingerboards. Or there’s the option to go for the Tobacco Sunburst or Blizzard Pearl, both with maple fingerboards.
RRP GBP £679
Fender Deluxe Nashville Tele
This offers the same 12″ radius fretboard, contoured heal with asymmetrical bolts, plus the locking short-post tuners as featured on the Deluxe Strat. The Nashville Telecasters feature a five-way blade switch and an extra middle pickup. Think Strat meets Tele and you’ll get the picture. Those ol’ Country boys down in Nashville are known for tweaking their Telecasters and this is a popular modification for many session players.
This comes in either Daphne Blue or a Fiesta Red, both with rosewood fingerboards. The White Blonde finish option and 2-Color Sunburst both have maple fingerboards.
RRP GBP £679
Fender Deluxe Tele Thinline
Again, there’s the same 12″ radius fretboard, contoured heal with asymmetrical bolts, plus the locking short post tuners, all features identical with the Deluxe Strat. Along with the F-Hole and lightweight bodies, these Thinline Telecasters also have those noiseless pickups. They come in either a 3-Color Sunburst with rosewood fingerboard or a Candy Apple Red with a maple fingerboard.
RRP GBP £759
Fender Deluxe Precision Bass Special
With a three band active EQ and noiseless Precision middle pickup and Jazz bridge pickup, this should be pretty versatile. You can run it actively or passively, so this will give you lots of choice. The specs – 12″ radius and 20 medium jumbo frets along with a C profile neck – sound as though this should also be comfortable to play as well.
This comes in 3-Color Sunburst with maple fingerboard, or Olympic White or Surf Pearl with rosewood fingerboards.
RRP GBP £819 includes a deluxe gig bag
Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass and Deluxe Active Jazz Bass V
Two new Jazz Bass models, one with an extra string! Both feature modern C necks and 12″ radius fretboards as well as medium jumbo frets. Again, you get active EQ on both models. The Deluxe Active Jazz is available in 3-Colour Sunburst or Natural, both with maple fingerboard. Olympic White or Surf Pearl finishes are paired with rosewood fingerboards. The Deluxe Active Jazz V comes in either 3-Color Sunburst with a maple fingerboard, while the Olympic White and Surf Pearl options have a rosewood fingerboard.
Active Jazz GBP £819 and Active Jazz V RRP GBP £889
Fender Deluxe Dimension Bass and Deluxe Dimension Bass V
This is a new model for Fender, available in 4- or 5-string versions. Both are loaded with humbucking noiseless pickups and high-mass bridges. They follow the same modern C, medium jumbo fretted 12″ radius boards as the rest of the instruments in this range.
This is a bold step for Fender and I am sure the looks will divide opinion. We will have to wait till we hear them to make any judgements. They do, though, have an 18V preamp and active three-band EQ! So, I think with those new pickups they should be pretty meaty.
Both are available in Olympic White or an Aged Cherry Burst with rosewood fingerboards, while the Natural finish has a maple fingerboard.
RRP GBP £679 and £779 for the 5 string version
Surely, there is something for most players out there in this range. It will certainly be interesting to actually hear these new models, and check out the reviews when they start to surface. The new bass looks a bit odd to my eye, but smacks a bit of Ernie Ball MusicMan rip-off, if you see what I mean…
I would love to hear your opinions, so feel free to comment below!
Check Fender site for details: site