Fender Player II Modified: The Ultimate Midrange Modern Strats and Teles?
Locking tuners, Floyd Rose tremolos and a smaller fretboard radius!
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Fender Player II Modified: The Ultimate Midrange Modern Strats and Teles? · Source: Fender
After Plus comes Modified! That seems to have been the thinking behind the new Fender Player II Modified Series. New colors, finally locking tuners, push/pull functionality – could this be the ultimate Fender midrange?
This is The New Series From Fender
Fender Player II Modified: Classic Strats and HSS Models
Classic design for modern guitarists… Admittedly, the Fender Player II Modified marketing seems a little sleepy. However, the Strat inventors have made some major changes compared to the Player II series. For instance, it’s back to the 9.5-inch fretboard radius.
You also get locking tuners and three noiseless single coils across the board. Although all models have an alder body and maple neck (Modern “C” profile), you can choose between rosewood or maple. They also all come with a tremolo. In most cases, it’s an in-house 2-point synchronized tremolo with block saddles and a chamfered tremolo block.
But then there are some models with Floyd Rose Special Double-Locking Tremolo—recognizable by the FR abbreviation. This bridge is made for vibrato aficionados! In addition to the classic single-coil triple, there are also some HSS models.
All Modified guitars come with push/pull functionality. With the HSS models, the humbucker becomes the third single coil. With the SSS models, the neck pickup is in the signal in switch positions 1 and 2. The Strats cost between €1,029 and €1,119 at Thomann.
Teles With and Without Humbuckers
The Fender Player II Modified Series also has something for those who to twang. Like the Stratocaster, there are models with the classic single-coil configuration (two noiseless single-coils in this case). There are also a couple of HS models, where the neck pickup is a humbucker.
As with the Strats, you get to choose between models with a rosewood or maple fingerboard. Push/pull is also available via the tone control. This turns the humbucker into a second single coil on the Tele-HS models. On the classic Tele models, push/pull allows you to switch between serial and parallel signal flow.
In addition to the modern features, some of these colors are the absolute highlights of this release for me. The bright yellow Sunshine Yellow, the dazzling Harvest Green Metallic, that dark, shimmery Dusk – these are real eye-catchers! You can get the Teles from Thomann between 1,019 and 1,079 euros.
Jazz Bass and Preci Bass in the Fender Player II Modified Series
“At least they thought of the bassists” – that’s what I thought after going through the long list of releases. Because I sorely missed something offset-y. This setup on a Jazzmaster?! Hello? For J Bass and P Bass fans, though, there’s plenty here.
The P Bass models come with a 34th scale length, white dot inlays, and 20 jumbo frets. Most notably, however, they include a Player II Noiseless Jazz Bass pickup at the bridge and a Player II Modified Precision Bass pickup at the neck. A three-band EQ is also included, along with a switch for changing between passive and active mode.
With the Jazz Basses, you have the choice between four-string and five-string models from Fender Player II Modified. All Jazz Basses come with two Player II Noiseless Jazz Bass pickups, and also include a three-band EQ and an active/passive toggle switch. Depending on the number of strings, you can get the basses between €1,119 and €1,189 at Thomann.
More on the New Series From Fender
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One response to “Fender Player II Modified: The Ultimate Midrange Modern Strats and Teles?”
1200 euro for midrange. What the heck…