Fender has unveiled its new Modern Player series of guitars to welcome new players to the brand.Designed as entry-level instruments, the eight electric guitars have modern features and classic looks, with one in particular harking back to the company’s heritage.
The series is made up of five guitars and three basses: the Modern Player Stratocaster; Telecaster Plus’ Telecaster Thinline Deluxe; Jaguar; Marauder; Jazz Bass, Telecaster Bass; and Jaguar Bass.
Highlights of the range include a fresh take on a guitar that has not been seen since the 1960s, the Modern Player Marauder. This time, it has a new body style with a Modern Player Jazzmaster neck pickup and volcanic-sounding three-coil Fender Triplebucker bridge pickup.
Meanwhile, Fender says its Modern Player Jaguar is a “stripped-down version” of the classic Fender model. It features a pair of single-coil Modern Player MP-90 pickups on a sans-pickguard mahogany body.
The Telecasters – a guitar series much-loved by great guitarists including Blur member Graham Coxon, who recently had the pleasure of having a Telecaster guitar specially named after him – will help new starters to the instrument graduate onto a Telecaster for the rest of their careers.
The Modern Player Telecaster Plus is a triple-pickup model, while the Thinline Deluxe has a pair of single-coil Modern Player MP-90 pickups. Both models have a classic Fender look with vintage-style tuners, while the Deluxe comes in a Vintage White colour.
Among the range of bass guitars, the Modern Player Jaguar Bass is a stripped-down version of the Fender Jaguar Bass with a streamlined control layout and powerful P/J configuration. Coming only in black, it also features a vintage-style four-saddle bridge with brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware.
Sure to inspire aspiring guitarists everywhere, the Modern Player series is billed as a more affordable series for people starting out on the instrument, while still being able to purchase a guitar from one of the world’s best electric guitar manufacturers.