82 GUITARIST AUGUST 2022 GIT487.rev_fender.
FENDER JV MODIFIED ’50S TELECASTER & ’60S STRATOCASTER Mods & Rockers 40 years on from the launch of the Japanese-made JV series Strat and Tele, Fender revisits the range with ‘modified’ versions that claim to offer the best of the old and the new Words Neville Marten Photography Olly Curtis AUGUST 2022 GUITARIST GIT487.rev_fender.
FENDER JV MODIFIED ’50S TELECASTER & ’60S STRATOCASTER VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra FENDER JV MODIFIED ’50S TELECASTER & ’60S STRATOCASTER £1,249 EACH CONTACT Fender Musical Instruments EMEA PHONE 01342 331700 WEB www.fender.
FENDER JV MODIFIED ’50S TELECASTER & ’60S STRATOCASTER 2 THE RIVALS Fender’s Vintera ’50s Modified Strat and Tele (£999 each) have revoiced, higheroutput pickups, C-shaped (Strat) or ‘soft V’ (Tele) necks with 241mm (9.5-inch) radius and medium-jumbo frets. Bridges are contemporary two-point with bent steel saddles on the Strat and vintage-style for the Tele, whose Twisted Tele neck pickup packs a Strat-like punch (four-way switch and out-of-phase facility, too).
FENDER JV MODIFIED ’50S TELECASTER & ’60S STRATOCASTER 4 4. Three brass saddles and the classic through-body Tele stringing make for a tight and beefy tone. The black-tipped switch is a four-way, offering both pickups in series as a mighty fine extra sound 5. Necks on both guitars have what Fender calls a ‘thick soft V’ profile.
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra 6 Where things get interesting is in the switching. Positions 1 to 3 are regular Tele fare – bridge, bridge and middle in parallel, and neck. Push the switch to its final position and we hear both pickups together in series. This is instantly fuller and louder than the ‘in parallel’ sound, and would suit fat bluesy solos or, with the tone knocked back somewhat, a bit of sleazy jazz.
FENDER JV MODIFIED ’50S TELECASTER & ’60S STRATOCASTER 9 10 Again, next to our Custom Shop mapleneck Strat this one is quieter and clearer toned. Like the Tele, though, it’s extremely pleasing and musical – in every position. And remember, clearer toned guitars are great with pedals as they seem to heighten chorus-style effects and work brilliantly with delay – and, of course, whack a good overdrive or distortion between it and the amp, and the world’s your sonic oyster.
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra FENDER JV MODIFIED ’50S TELECASTER & ’60S STRATOCASTER 11 However you like your Strat tones, this one would comply with pretty much anything you wanted to do That both instruments have clever switching offering very usable extra tones is a great bonus. Particularly interesting are the Tele’s two out-of-phase settings, neither of which we’d heard before (although they are available on other models), but the regular sounds are equally personable, too.
