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The best Fender Guitars reviews

The reviews Audiofanzine members found the most helpful.

Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang

« Kurts preferred live guitar »
Kurt Cobain was known for his fender guitars throughout his career. Mostly the Jaguars and the Mustangs. Early on he played the Jaguar and later on he played the mustang. Fender came out with a Jaguar Kurt Cobain signature last year and now they have a new Jaguar based on what he use to play. He played made in Japan Jaguars and these guitars are made in the same factory his was and they come with the same mods from the factory. With this guitar you get an alder body in the small Mustang shape. The neck is a 24 inch scale maple unit with a rosewood fretboard. The fretboard has 22 vintage frets and a 7.25 inch radius. The phase switches are recessed to simulate Kurt cutting them off without having to make them unusable. The neck has a large headstock with vintage tuners. The bridge is a tune-o-matic style bridge. The pickups are Kurts preferred setup. The bridge pickup is a Seymour Duncan JB while the neck pickup is a slanted single. The controls are typical Mustang with the crazy phase switches no one uses on the top of the pickguard. The other controls are typical with a volume and tone. UTILIZATION This is by no means a shred guitar. It doesnt really have the construction for shredding. The neck is only a 24 inch scale so it can be kind of cramped up in the high end. The frets are a lot smaller than what you normally find on modern guitars as well. This is all topped off by the 7.25 inch radius. Modern shred guitars usually have like 15 inch radiuses so this fretboard has a very vintage round feel to it that doesnt help you get a low action. If you arent planning on shredding on the guitar it is alright. It is great if you are a smaller person or a girl and you need a guitar that you can easily handle. The short scale on this guitars means people with smaller hands can play it easily. SOUNDS This guitar has a really raw punk rock sound. This guitar isnt really for clean tones and shred tones. its for power chords and riffing. The shorter scale and looser tension on the strings give you a bit of a thicker tone from the guitar. The bridge pickup is mounted directly into the body and not on the pickguard so you get a more direct and woody tone. The JB is a classic bridge pickup. Kurts older guitars used Dimarzio Super Distortions. Its nice to see Fender being accurate with these mdoels. They easily could have thrown in a generic hot Fender humbucker in the bridge. OVERALL OPINION This guitar is meant for hardcore Cobain fans but it is not super expensive like older models so younger players can still afford it. Since this guitar doesnt have any crazy signature markings it can be enjoyed by people who arent particularly Nirvana fans. If you just like Mustangs in general you could enjoy this guitar for having a heavier sound than your typical mustang.

by tjon901 6 1/27/12
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Fender Modern Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe

« Thinline in Fenders new Modern Player series »
The Fender Modern Player series is a new line of guitars from Fender that provides beginner players Fender quality with low prices. Most of the guitars in this series are around 400 bucks which is great for a real Fender. This is the Thinline tele of the bunch. The Thinline Telecaster was introduced in the late 60s to help lower the weight of the guitar when Fenders supply of lightweight wood ran low. They gave the guitar a hollow compartment on the upper part of the body and gave it an F-hole for resonance. The body on this guitar is made from mahogany. It has a bolt on maple neck with a maple fretboard. The neck has 22 frets with a C neck carve. The pickups in this Thinline Tele are a set of P90s which is cool. The controls are setup like a 72 Deluxe with a volume and tone for each pickup and a 3 way toggle on the upper bout. UTILIZATION This guitar has a bit more modern feel than most Telecasters. The radius on the neck isnt as old school as some Teles. The radius on this model is 9.5 inches which is still round by modern standards but pretty flat for a Telecaster. This means you can get a lower action and lead playing is much easier. This guitar has a Stratocaster style hardtail bridge which I think is better than a normal Telecaster ashtray bridge. This bridge lets you intonate every string and doesnt have sharp edges to get in the way of your playing. SOUNDS The mahogany body and the thinline design gives this guitar a unique sound. This is not an all out twang machine like a traditional Telecaster but a lot of the twang is still there. The P90s in this guitar you get a more refined twang. They are single coils but they have a thicker sound. With the p-90 pickups this guitar is great for mellow stuff. You can get really jazz sound with some tone knob tweaking. The guitar is also great for blues. In the bridge position some of the tele twang comes out but it compliments the smooth sounds nicely. OVERALL OPINION The Modern Player series is great. This guitar could easily sell for double the price but they are selling it at a reasonable cost so younger people can get a hold of it. With these lower cost unique guitars younger Fender players will be able to try out something different than your typical Stratocaster or your typical Telecaster. If you are a younger Fender player and are looking for something different you should look into the Modern Player line up. They are selling their unique pawn shop style guitars for a really low price so you can check out some cool takes on your classic favorites.

by tjon901 6 12/7/11
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Fender Pro Tube Super-Sonic 60 Head

« One of the best modern Fenders »
- Two channels, clean and burn - Clean channel break down into Vibrolux and Bassman modes - Clean controls for volume, bass, treble - Dual cascading gain controls - Burn controls for drive 1, drive 2, treble, mids, bass, volume - All tube circuitry - 60 watts - Footswitchable effects loop w/IO levels - Extension speaker jack - Pre out - Power in UTILIZATION Lots of killer features on this amp. Basically three differently voiced channels. Dual cascading gain takes a little time to get used to, but is a great addition. The level controls on the effects loop make it much more usable, and can also act as a 4th channel/boost with the footswitch. My one big complaint is the volume discrepancy between the Vibrolux and Bassman models on the clean channel. It basically makes switching between them near impossible so you’re stuck with whichever one you choose. Seems to be very solidly built, no reliability issues. SOUNDS Lots of great sounds to be coaxed from this Fender. The Vibrolux mode on the clean side delivers all the sharp trebly cleans you could want. A little too much high end brightness for my taste, almost icy. You have to be careful what kind of guitar you pair with it, the bridge pickup of a telecaster would just not work. The Bassman channel actually does a pretty good job of modelling the vintage Bassman tone. On the drive channel, you really have to work with the cascading gain controls to get what you want. It takes a little while, but you can dial in just about any kind of drive setting, and it gets surprisingly heavy for a fender. OVERALL OPINION Probably the most versatile Fender I’ve ever used, and by far one of their best current offerings. Selling for $900 new at the moment, it is definitely an affordable amp, with used models in good condition going for less than 600. I know a few people that have decided this is the only amp they need for live playing. Versatility, reliability, affordability...it’s difficult to make a case against this one.

by denied 1 7/31/11
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Fender Jim Adkins JA-90 Telecaster

« Mellow sounding Telecaster »
Jim Adkins got together with Fender guitars to make his ideal Telecaster. This Telecaster features an unusual but great comination of features that help make this guitar sound very unique for a Telecaster. The guitar is based on the classic Thinline Telecaster design. The Thinline Telecaster was introduced in the late 60s to help lower the weight of the guitar when Fenders supply of lightweight wood ran low. They gave the guitar a hollow compartment on the upper part of the body and gave it an F-hole for resonance. The Telecaster is a thinline semi-hollow body with a two piece swamp ash body. The neck is a maple set in neck with a rosewood fretboard. There are 22 medium jumbo frets on the rosewood fretboard. There is a Gibson style tune-o-matic and stop tail bridge on the guitar. There are dual Seymour Duncan p-90 pickups in the guitar and a 3 way Gibson style pickup selector. Each pickup has its own volume and tone control. UTILIZATION This guitar plays better than most Telecasters because of the neck construction. The set in neck means there is less of a heel to get in your way when playing the upper frets of the guitar. The fretboard is a little flatter than what you would normally find on a Telecaster and is closer to that of a Les Paul. I find the Gibson style bridge setup more comfortable than a normal Telecaster ashtray bridge setup but this is subjective. SOUNDS This guitar does not really sound like a Telecaster to me which is good for me since I am not a big fan of the Telecaster sound. The semi-hollow thinline body matched with the swamp ash and p-90 pickups combine to provide a very mellow sound. The lack of a big ashtray bridge also helps tame the twang a little bit too. The Gibson style neck construction helps it get the mellow Gibson tones too. I wonder why Jim Adkins doesnt just play a Les Paul he has pretty much turned his Telecaster into one. With the p-90 pickups this guitar is great for mellow stuff. You can get really jazz sound with some tone knob tweaking. The guitar is also great for blues. In the bridge position some of the tele twang comes out but it compliments the smooth sounds nicely. You can really feel the resonance of the thinline body whatever you play. OVERALL OPINION This guitar is really nice but some Tele enthusiasts might be surprised when they plug it in. This guitar is like a Les Paul in a Tele costume. This is also a proper signature guitar. There are no silly logos anywhere. It is just a guitar with a little different setup than you could get a on a normal Telecaster. This is how signature guitars should be. If you are a Tele player and are looking for a mellower sound or you like mellow sounds and want a Tele this guitar is on of the few that can do it.

by tjon901 6 6/30/11
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Fender Super-Sonic 60 Combo

« Super amp »
This is one of the very best modern amplifiers that Fender has put out. This is more of a high gain amp for Fender but still keeping the vintage clean tones they are so famous for having. The amp have quite a bit of features compared to some of their more vintage styled amps. This one has a fat boost switch and also a reverb to add a bit of depth to the tone. I would call this a vintage modern amp for Fender. Fender Super-Sonic 60 1 x 12" Combo Amp Features at a Glance: Amp Type: Tube Output: 60 Watts Ohms: 8 ohms Speaker: 12" Celestion Vintage 30 Channels: 2 (Vintage and Burn) Vintage Channel: Volume, Treble, Bass, Voicing Switch (Vibrolux/Bassman) Burn Channel: Gain 1, Gain 2, Treble, Bass, Middle, Volume, Master Reverb, Rear-Panel Effects Controls: Send/Return Level Controls Effects: Spring Reverb Covering: Blonde Textured Vinyl Covering UTILIZATION Details Type Tube Number of Channels 2 Power 60W Speakers 1 x 12" Celestion Vintage 30 No Effects Reverb EQ Ch 1: Treble, Bass; Ch 2: Treble, Bass, Middle No Amp Modeling Preamp Tubes 6 x 12AX7, 2 x 12AT7 Power Tubes 2 x 6V6 Inputs 1 x Instrument Outputs 1 x Speaker Footswitch I/O Effects Loop Height 17.8" Width 25.3" Depth 10.19" Weight 54 lbs. SOUNDS I like this amp with all kinds of guitars, but mostly I like it with a Fender Stratocaster or a Charvel San Dimas or Socal. I like the light to medium tone of the ash and alder body woods. This compliments the nature of the amp quite well. The clean is very Fender sparkly and jangly. Then you go to channel two and having two gains is almost heaven. This is something you see on several boutique amplifiers. Suhr amps like the PT100 has a similar thing but theirs acts like another channel. This one just gives you deeper and juicy gain distortion. OVERALL OPINION If you need a god clean tone and a hot rod gainy distortion channel then this is your amp. The clean is remarkable and the gain has so much variation with the dual gains that is makes this amp a lot of fun to play. At new these amps come in at around $1399. Not a bad price for the quality and usability of this amp. Having two channels and both are exceptional is a big bonus. I would recommend anyone to go and try this amp if you get the chance. You may or may not like the voicing but it is a solid amplifier.

by iamqman 1 6/2/11
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Fender Super Reverb "Blackface" (1964-1967)

Audiofanzine FR's review
(Originally written by antoinedroogies/translated from Audiofanzine FR) First of all, the model I own was manufactured in 1967. I'm not writing a review about the vintage version currently sold by Fender so it might happen that you find some differences between my Super Reverb and the new one, especially because my unit is previous to the Fender buyout by CBS. If there are any differences, I guess they ought to be insignificant. - Amplification technology (tube, solid state, ...)? All-tube (preamp and power amp) - Output power? 4 x 100 watts - Controls, effects, etc.? 2 channels: 1 channel with 3-band EQ, volume, bright function (on/off) and 2 inputs; 1 channel with reverb (volume, intensity and speed), 3-band EQ, volume, bright and OD functions (on/off) UTILIZATION - What about its settings? Very simple. - Is it easy to get the right sound? Yes if you like extreme vintage sounds. Is the user's manual clear and comprehensive? I don't have the user's manual. SOUNDS - Does it fit your music style? I play punk music (http://www.myspace.com/lesdroogies ) and the amp's sound perfectly fits the needs of "old-school" songs (The Clash, The Damned, The Undertones etc.) and ska (clean or not). It's also great for Surf, Rockabilly and Psychobilly. - Which guitar, bass or effects do you use? A 1987 Bich B.C.Rich with Gibson 57 (neck) and Gibson 57 Plus (bridge) pickups, a Telecaster and an SG. I would like to try it with a Gretsch hollowbody or a Gibson Chuck Berry. - What kind of sounds do you get and which settings do you use ("crystal-clear", "fat", ...)? High headroom in each frequency range of the EQs, warm sound in every situation (normal with a tube amp) but the best term seems to be "vintage". OVERALL OPINION - How long have you been using it? Over 10 years (before I became a musician). - Which feature do you like the most / the least? It provides warm and vintage sounds like no other amp, but it provides not enough distortion for guys like me... - Did you try any other models before buying it? Mainly Marshall models. - How would you rate its value for money? I didn't buy it myself and since my bank account would hardly allow to pay for half its price I'd rather not comment on this matter. - Based on your experience, would you buy this product again? Would someone buy it for me? Yes, of course! But I think I would not pay so much money for an amp...

by Audiofanzine FR 7 11/4/08
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Fender Stage 185

Heavyspender's review
150 watts. (Not conservative at all, trust me.) Open back 1x12 with stock “blue” Fender speaker . This is a “red knob” model so my understanding is that it’s considered vintage. Two channels – Clean and Overdrive/Distortion with a “boost option”. Clean has Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass and Mid-cut switch. Overdrive/distortion has Gain, Boost, Treble, Mid, Mid-Boost switch, Bass, Contour with “tilt” switch, presence. The amp also has a master volume and reverb. Two inputs, one for channel switching, one for parallel channel mode. The amp also has switches for channel switching, or you can plug into the footswitch jack (which was included) to switch between channel 1 and 2 as well as to select reverb and/or the boost function. Effects loop and speaker out jack on the back panel of the amp as well. UTILIZATION The controls on the front are many, but it's fairly straightforward, especially if you are familiar with Fender amps. The "presence" and "mid-cut" controls are particularly useful. The only drawback is that I don't understand the purpose of the "tilt" control. I usually put the treble on 9 or 10, the mid on 0 and the bass anywhere from 2 to 9, and get great clean sounds, or great distorted sounds with a pedal. The amp is fairly heavy. As with all Fender amps, this is built like a tank. You could probably drop it from a skyscraper and it would keep on ticking. I did have to get the rear input jacks fixed for $20 about 3 days after receiving the amp from Guitar Center. But hey, it was used. SOUNDS This thing is LOUD ! I don’t think 150 watts is an overstatement ! If you go anymore than 1, you’ve got band-mates and sound engineers sneering at you! Also great for out-competing your annoying rhythm guitarist in the volume department! Clean channel is the typical “glassy” Fender clean that many of us have come to love. The treble can be a little harsh, but hey, it’s a solid state! Overdrive channel is OK, but no one usually gets a Fender for the overdrive/distortion. (See my comments under “overall rating.”) I use the “boost” function on the distortion channel via foot-switch as it provides a great volume boost for solos ! OVERALL OPINION This is a great investment for a total outlay of about $190. You can’t go wrong with Fender, in my opinion. I am more concerned with clean sounds than I am with distortion. You can’t buy too many “clean pedals” but distortion pedals abound. So if the clean sound is amazing, as it is on most Fender amps, then all you have to do is put a good distortion pedal through the clean channel, and you’ve got a great clean AND distorted sounding amp !

by Heavyspender 6 4/18/08
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Fender Custom Shop 2012 Closet Classic Stratocaster Pro

« When you are ready stands still... »
Noone ever said that buying a custom shop guitar means that you can play everything.. this applies here as well. It’s about a guitar of certain characteristics with unique features. Biggest advantage is the weight of this axe. Significantly low weight without losing the tone/sustain. Excellent pickup quality, can perform great under any conditions. Hot might be a slightly misleading term since the output is moderate. Tonewise this guitar has something that can’t be easily described and might let you down when used on ss amps, but shines when plugged to high gain tubes. You might get the feeling that the EL34s won’t reveal more than the 6L6s. The oxymoron is that even though the guitar looks quite vintage ish the sound and the playability is 1985++ oriented. The fretboard seems ideal for lead style playing, something which is also being supported effectively by the bridge that it has. Chunky 60s C shape preserves the sustain and maintain the volume of higher freqs. Contoured Heel is also a great asset of this guitar, something that can be considered as an evolution of the common joint (of course there is nothing remarkable here but still a nice detail to have, compared to the common ones) while justifying that the “pro stands for prototype” moto. The appearance of the cracked nitrocellulose suits great to the 50s style string tree and pickguard. Pros: Red hot Abby PUs - Awesome fat signal and sound when recording and of course on one of the last new guitars to feature her hand wounds... Swamp Ash - One of the best woods to go avoiding the extra weight Vintage look of the beautifully matched guitar parts Cons: Perhaps not the best instrument for a working musician since it’s a bit hard to perform well on everything, while being mostly lead playing-style oriented. ;)

by Dionisis Kordonouris 1/9/19
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Fender Lead III

« My First Guitar »
First guitar, bought from my uncle. Used through an Epiphone tube amp, Peavey Bandit 112, on to later play it through a Line 6 Flextone head with a Mesa Cab. I played mostly blues and rock, and some jazz in college with it. Awesome workmanship Fender American made quality stuff, never had to replace much except the case warped a bit and had to get rid of it. A little rust on some of the hardware now, but almost scared to change anything. Smaller body some may not like that, but became what I measured all guitars after from, mostly the small size neck that made for great lead playing, which I was a nut for. Pretty crazy range of sounds through the pickups and their selections. Great crunch for distortion from the bridge pickup and smooth cleans from the neck pickup. Was great for a beginner as well the smallness helped it be a little less frustrating I think when I first started. I bought a Fender Bullet from the '80s mainly because it had a similar body and neck size. I'm now 45 and I still love this guitar as much as the first day I started playing, and thank my uncle for giving me such an awesome deal that continues to pay off day after day.

by Fotozaic 1/26/18
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Fender Special Edition Lite Ash Telecaster

« Good Lord, what a killer guitar »
Korean-made guitar. 3-saddle bridge that, contrary to what many people say, doesn't detune the guitar anymore than any other. Magnificent neck in birdseye maple with a fingerboard of the same wood. Relatively good Seymour Duncan pickups, the guitar has punch. 3 pickup selectors. Awesome. UTILIZATION The neck is disconcertingly easy. It slides like butter, it bends like rubber, it borders perfection. It has nothing to envy high-end models. The weight is very well balanced, the guitar isn't heavy. Access to the upper frets is easy, too, you can go all the way to the top of the neck and do bendings without any problems. Awesome. SOUNDS This is where it kicks serious ass: It suits almost all possible styles. I play essentially the clean channel, but I also like to use a good overdrive or distortion or wah-wah and it rocks. Very funky, it's great. The lows are jaw-dropping, we once used it to replace the bass in a rehearsal with my band. I never use a big amp, I only have a small Vox Amplug with speakers. But that doesn't stop it from sounding big, very big. The middle channel is my favorite, but the other sound possibilities (even if I haven't tried everything) balance a good quality sound. Awesome. OVERALL OPINION I love it. I bought it 4 days ago and I can't stay away from it. Its value for money is simply unbeatable, the price difference to get an American Standard isn't worth going broke. Excellent guitar, especially for $400. If you ever stumble into one, give it a try, you'll be seduced. Awesome.

by Zeble 6 2/3/12
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Fender Princeton 112 Plus

Touf'man's review
60 watts solid-state amp (although I'd say it delivers more), one 1/4" jack input. 4 other connections: 1 for a footswitch, 1 preamp out, 1 power amp in and headphones. Two channels: clean and overdrive, each with treble/bass and volume controls, plus contour and gain for the second channel. A reverb button that works for both channels. It's a pity that it doesn't have a control for the mids, but we'll forgive it for that. Knobs a bit cheap... UTILIZATION Very easy to understand, no need for a manual, I really like the contour control that provides us with a good palette of different sounds! SOUNDS I recognize the clean Fender sound...Just for that I love it. And besides, you shouldn't use this amp for what it isn't meant to be used for: this distortion was not made for metal, but it really knows its trade when it comes to blues/rock/grunge! I use it with both single-coils and humbuckers and it responds fine, no problems in that sense. OVERALL OPINION I spotted it at a secondhand shop some time ago and I just bought if for $260. I've seen it on mail-order shops for $350, so it was a good deal! Its main advantage is the Fender clean sound. I think I can recommend this product without hesitation.

by Touf'man 5 8/26/05
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Fender Performer 1000

J-ft's review
Nice big Fender performer 1000, mainly solid-state amp but with a tube for the preamp on the lead channel. According to Fender, it is rated at 120 watts, but I'd say its more like 200. This amp is a true bombshell. I have never dared crank it beyond 6. Treble-Middle-Bass for the clean sound and 2 gain-treble-body-bass for distortion. Nothing could be simpler. Everything controlled with a 3-button footswitch (clean/distortion, Gain1/Gain2 and Reverb on/off). Regarding distortions/effects, you have two distortion channels with two independent gain controls. It's ideal for solo/rhythm mode. It also features a reverb, which is quite good and very useful live. A small drawback is the absence of a master and the lack of restraint at low levels. UTILIZATION Nothing is easier than using a Performer 1000. There's no head breaking. Just plug your guitar and rock on. Now, when it comes to sound, I found the love of my life. The famous clean fender sound, very round and balanced. I don't like to drive the gain too much with distortion, so I always have a nice and round sound, perfect to play some blues. It's true that if you want something more powerful you need to resort to effects (personally, I use the legendary electro harmonix Big muff and a boss ds-1) I recommend this amp to blues guitarists, even if I use it mainly with a rock/psycho/ska band. SOUNDS The sound is magical. I use it with a Fender cyclone humbucker model and a single coil Strat. It sounds just like you expect a Fender to sound. It's perfect for blues, and it's also very good for rock, but metalheads should look elsewhere. A small amp with a huge power. However, you have to use it with good effects. If you use a pedal like the metal zone, your ears won't tolerate it very long. Aim for a more bluesy distortion. OVERALL OPINION I've used it for 1.5 years and have never been disappointed. I paid CAN$300, secondhand. I have never found a better value for money. I would buy it again anytime. I love it and will never part with it. However, I'm starting to find the sound a bit weak live. I love everything about this amp, but it does lack a master, which poses some problems when you use the distortion channels frequently. A nice little gem, especially for blues lovers.

by J-ft 5 1/14/07
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