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tjon901 « Thinline in Fenders new Modern Player series »
Published on 12/07/11 at 20:24The 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.
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.