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MGR/Mark M. « Fender Prodigy »
Published on 06/08/03 at 15:00After looking around for a suitable Strat-style guitar to play in my country/southern rock/party band, I bought this one from my lead player for $200. I'm not sure where he came up with it, but except for a small piece of pickguard chipped off next to the output jack it was in excellent shape and seemed to be everything I was looking for.
The neck of this Prodigy is sort of the classic "C" shape: not too big, but just enough to fill my hand. The shape is reminiscent of my old SRV signature model Strat. The maple fingerboard feels like the flatter-than-vintage 12" radius and is very comfortable to play.
The body is narrower and the cutaways are sharper than the traditional Strat-style, but all the familiar contours are there.
The controls are all in their traditional places, except for the rear tone control which is replaced by the output jack. This does away with the Strat's angle-mounted jack, which eliminates the extra hole in the top.
The pickup configuration of two single coils and one humbucker was just what I was looking for. I can play an entire show without having to change guitars.
There is not much to dislike about this guitar, but there are a few snags.
Though I have owned and enjoyed other Fenders with a maple neck, I prefer the warmer tone and the feel of a rosewood fingerboard. The finish on the maple necks seems to be a bit thick, and I find it to be more difficult to bend strings and slide up and down the neck on maple. Also, after playing a while a maple neck seems to get a little slippery.
The factory pickups on the Prodigy are not exactly top shelf. The single coils in the neck and middle positions give the traditional Strat cluck and jangle, but are not hot enough for my tastes. The humbucker at the bridge sounds a little muddy, and is also not quite hot enough.
The Floyd Rose locking tremolo is not one of my favorites. Retuning in the middle of a set is out of the question, but the fine tuners help a little.
Why Fender decided to mount the output jack in the pickguard is a mystery to me. This, in my considered opinion, was not a wise design decision.
The fit and finish of this Prodigy, like every other Fender I have owned in the past 20-plus years, is flawless. Nuff said.
I would, and probably will, make a few changes. First, the output jack needs to be relocated, probably to the lower bout (like a Les Paul). Next, the pickups will be replaced with aftermarket units, probably a pair of Fender Texas Specials and maybe a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates.
I would prefer to have a Wilkinson tremolo on this guitar, but the routing for the Floyd Rose precludes that option.
That said, the Fender Prodigy is a well made, versatile guitar that does almost everything I need it to do. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a "workhorse" who doesn't mind a little compromise.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
The neck of this Prodigy is sort of the classic "C" shape: not too big, but just enough to fill my hand. The shape is reminiscent of my old SRV signature model Strat. The maple fingerboard feels like the flatter-than-vintage 12" radius and is very comfortable to play.
The body is narrower and the cutaways are sharper than the traditional Strat-style, but all the familiar contours are there.
The controls are all in their traditional places, except for the rear tone control which is replaced by the output jack. This does away with the Strat's angle-mounted jack, which eliminates the extra hole in the top.
The pickup configuration of two single coils and one humbucker was just what I was looking for. I can play an entire show without having to change guitars.
There is not much to dislike about this guitar, but there are a few snags.
Though I have owned and enjoyed other Fenders with a maple neck, I prefer the warmer tone and the feel of a rosewood fingerboard. The finish on the maple necks seems to be a bit thick, and I find it to be more difficult to bend strings and slide up and down the neck on maple. Also, after playing a while a maple neck seems to get a little slippery.
The factory pickups on the Prodigy are not exactly top shelf. The single coils in the neck and middle positions give the traditional Strat cluck and jangle, but are not hot enough for my tastes. The humbucker at the bridge sounds a little muddy, and is also not quite hot enough.
The Floyd Rose locking tremolo is not one of my favorites. Retuning in the middle of a set is out of the question, but the fine tuners help a little.
Why Fender decided to mount the output jack in the pickguard is a mystery to me. This, in my considered opinion, was not a wise design decision.
The fit and finish of this Prodigy, like every other Fender I have owned in the past 20-plus years, is flawless. Nuff said.
I would, and probably will, make a few changes. First, the output jack needs to be relocated, probably to the lower bout (like a Les Paul). Next, the pickups will be replaced with aftermarket units, probably a pair of Fender Texas Specials and maybe a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates.
I would prefer to have a Wilkinson tremolo on this guitar, but the routing for the Floyd Rose precludes that option.
That said, the Fender Prodigy is a well made, versatile guitar that does almost everything I need it to do. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a "workhorse" who doesn't mind a little compromise.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com