FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH

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GUITARIST JUNE 2022

FENDER PLAYER PLUS

METEORA HH

£999

WHAT IS IT? Original and

modernist o set design

goes mainstream in Fender’s

Player Plus guise

riginally conceived by Fender

designer Josh Hurst, the Meteora

model first appeared in the initial

Parallel Universe range and was released

late in 2018. That release featured the

body we see here but with more Tele-style

pickups and appointments. According to

Fender, Josh “wanted to make something

that was revolutionary while also recalling

Fender’s rich history”. “To introduce

something so unique to Fender,” Josh

commented at the time, “you have to

introduce it in a familiar package.”

The following year things had changed

and the Meteora HH made a return in the

lower-cost Alternate Reality Series. This

time around it featured a less heritage-

style design with twin (Player Series)

humbuckers, a tune-o-matic bridge and

through-body stringing. Now, for 2022, it’s

back as a regular model in the upmarket

Player Plus range.

Fender’s original offset, the Jazzmaster,

has had a significant influence on guitar

makers large and small over the years.

A common theme is to downsize that

elongated body – which helps to keep

weight in check – and simplify the

feature set to a pair, or three, of more

common pickup designs. The Meteora

Words Dave Burrluck Photography Olly Curtis

First seen in 2018, the Meteora isn’t just a re-run or

mash-up of past Fender designs. It’s a radical new ‘shape’

with maximum offset style. Would you rock one?

Shooting Star

GIT485.rev_fender.indd 16GIT485.rev_fender.indd 16 12/04/2022 10:0912/04/2022 10:09

Summary of content (5 pages)

PAGE 1
FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH £999 WHAT IS IT? Original and modernist offset design goes mainstream in Fender’s Player Plus guise Shooting Star First seen in 2018, the Meteora isn’t just a re-run or mash-up of past Fender designs. It’s a radical new ‘shape’ with maximum offset style. Would you rock one? Words Dave Burrluck Photography Olly Curtis O riginally conceived by Fender designer Josh Hurst, the Meteora model first appeared in the initial Parallel Universe range and was released late in 2018.
PAGE 2
JUNE 2022 GUITARIST GIT485.rev_fender.
PAGE 3
FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH 1. The three-way toggle pickup selector is more Gibson in style than Fender, particularly with its shoulder placement. And although regular in size, the covered humbuckers recall Seth Lover’s ‘Wide Range’ in style 18 2. A little unusual for a twin-pickup humbucker guitar, there’s a master volume and a tone control for each pickup. To activate the simultaneous coil-splits you just push down on the switch at the top of the volume knob is no different.
PAGE 4
FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH UNDER THE HOOD Does the Meteora’s modernist outline reflect what’s going on inside? Let’s take a look… T here’s a very simple circuit under the large scratchplate that uses a pair of CTS 500k audio taper pots (both measured slightly under their nominal value) for the twin tone controls; both tone caps are 0.1 microfarads (104k code). The easy-to-identify S-1 volume pot has no value indicator (we’re presuming 500k) and there’s no treble bleed circuit, either.
PAGE 5
FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH Both pickups are mounted in rings – not on the scratchplate as it’s not big enough! Speaking of size, Fender uses its two-post Strat vibrato design, rather than the classic Jazzmaster style we hear here. In fact, these humbuckers seem like quite close cousins to the identical-looking Shawbucker pickups we tested on the American Professional Telecaster Deluxe Shawbucker back in 2017.