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gertdik
Published on 02/20/12 at 06:05
The 'Modern Player' series are the first series of Chinese manufactured guitars carrying the Fender brand name. Although the Squier 'Classic Vibe' series already showed how good Chinese guitars can be, you still could have the feeling that something was missing. The Marauder however is the next step. It reminded me a bit of that morning in 82 when I bought my JV (japanese) Jazz bass!
Some of the external characteristics of this guitar are inspired by the 60s Fender Marauder. This 'Original' Marauder was never produced in large numbers. The Modern Player Marauder inherited the thin body and the headstock logo ('Fender' is the only word). The body shape is new, somewehere between a jazzmaster and the old Marauder. The electronics are a completely new design. The pearloid pick guard gives the guitar a classic appearance.
UTILIZATION
This guitar is set up quite well. That, combined with the jumbo frets, makes it very easy to play. Balance is good, with only a very slight hint of neck-heavyness if played standing up. The C-shape neck has the right thickness for most players and provides a sensible compromise between playability and stability/sustain. Neck, tremolo and tuners look and feel like a vintage reissue strat, except for the jumbo frets.
The tremolo is the weak spot of this otherwise great guitar. You have to use it carefully, else you will detune your guitar. A pity they didn't use the Squier standard series tremolo, which is cheap, good also Chinese.
SOUNDS
As soon as you pick up the guitar, you feel that it wants to be played. This is quite different from many of the affordable USA strats (costing at least three times as much) which sometimes feel like a reluctant piece of wood. Even if played acoustically, the Marauder has a bright and vivid tone, which translates in an excellent sound when amplified.
From neck to bridge:
1. Jazzmaster pick-up: Bigger-than-strat sort of full and woody single coil sound;
2. Jm + coil-3 from the triple-bucker: Glassy, like a strat and slightly broader;
3. Coil-3 from the triple-bucker: Bright an compelling like a good strat middle position pick-up;
4. Triple-bucker all coils: Powerful humbucker tone with a bright top end;
5. Coil-1+2 from the triple-bucker: Powerful humbucker tone, great for lead guitar;
Actually all these sounds are quite impressive and extremely useful. Sustain is better than my strat. Unbelievable that such cheap and light-weight instrument can sound like this. B.t.w. I play in on a 12" 30W tube combo, but even on the cheap 10W transistor amp in the shop it sounded great.
OVERALL OPINION
It cost only 395 Euros and since I bought it, my E-sries J-strat hasn't left the gig-bag. If you like Fender guitars, you can not afford to miss this one. Mark my words: this first series of Marauders will all be collectors-items within 10 years, much like the JV series of 82. So grab one while you still can. On the other hand, I believe that if you are a shredder or a true 'Gibsonist' this guitar is nothing for you. Except for the tremolo, which should be best left alone, this is an excellent guitar. This is the first guitar ever which gives me a combination of bright and glassy chords and a fat and solid lead tone.
Over the two guitars I tried, quality was very consistent. So I chose the blue one. . .
Some of the external characteristics of this guitar are inspired by the 60s Fender Marauder. This 'Original' Marauder was never produced in large numbers. The Modern Player Marauder inherited the thin body and the headstock logo ('Fender' is the only word). The body shape is new, somewehere between a jazzmaster and the old Marauder. The electronics are a completely new design. The pearloid pick guard gives the guitar a classic appearance.
UTILIZATION
This guitar is set up quite well. That, combined with the jumbo frets, makes it very easy to play. Balance is good, with only a very slight hint of neck-heavyness if played standing up. The C-shape neck has the right thickness for most players and provides a sensible compromise between playability and stability/sustain. Neck, tremolo and tuners look and feel like a vintage reissue strat, except for the jumbo frets.
The tremolo is the weak spot of this otherwise great guitar. You have to use it carefully, else you will detune your guitar. A pity they didn't use the Squier standard series tremolo, which is cheap, good also Chinese.
SOUNDS
As soon as you pick up the guitar, you feel that it wants to be played. This is quite different from many of the affordable USA strats (costing at least three times as much) which sometimes feel like a reluctant piece of wood. Even if played acoustically, the Marauder has a bright and vivid tone, which translates in an excellent sound when amplified.
From neck to bridge:
1. Jazzmaster pick-up: Bigger-than-strat sort of full and woody single coil sound;
2. Jm + coil-3 from the triple-bucker: Glassy, like a strat and slightly broader;
3. Coil-3 from the triple-bucker: Bright an compelling like a good strat middle position pick-up;
4. Triple-bucker all coils: Powerful humbucker tone with a bright top end;
5. Coil-1+2 from the triple-bucker: Powerful humbucker tone, great for lead guitar;
Actually all these sounds are quite impressive and extremely useful. Sustain is better than my strat. Unbelievable that such cheap and light-weight instrument can sound like this. B.t.w. I play in on a 12" 30W tube combo, but even on the cheap 10W transistor amp in the shop it sounded great.
OVERALL OPINION
It cost only 395 Euros and since I bought it, my E-sries J-strat hasn't left the gig-bag. If you like Fender guitars, you can not afford to miss this one. Mark my words: this first series of Marauders will all be collectors-items within 10 years, much like the JV series of 82. So grab one while you still can. On the other hand, I believe that if you are a shredder or a true 'Gibsonist' this guitar is nothing for you. Except for the tremolo, which should be best left alone, this is an excellent guitar. This is the first guitar ever which gives me a combination of bright and glassy chords and a fat and solid lead tone.
Over the two guitars I tried, quality was very consistent. So I chose the blue one. . .