FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH

C
onsidering Fender’s most
popular designs are now
elderly in age but still
iconic because they were
so well crafted at birth,
the company has been pretty bold
with them in recent years. The
Acoustasonic fused the acoustic
world with the electric Strat, Tele
and Jazzmaster, while the Parallel
Universe and Paranormal series
have allowed Fender and Squier
designers to have fun and
surprise players.
The Meteora was introduced as
part of the Parallel Universe series
in 2018 but was no mashup of the
previously familiar; it’s a very
diff erent shape for Fender, and
a bold talking point, looking like
some vision of the future from the
60s or 70s. Now, after a standard
HH Alternate Reality Mexican
model in 2019, it’s stepped up into
the Player Plus line. Does it have
the makings of wider appeal, or
will it be remembered as an odd
Fender folly?
It’s a long guitar – off set taken
to a new extreme in body on top of
a 25.5-inch scale. That equates to
a larger mass of alder, and an 8.8lb
body weight. So ours is on the
heavier side of the Fender scale.
It won’t sit on most stands either.
And yet sat with it and standing
with a strap, the Meteora feels
balanced. And that comfort
extends to another departure;
a 12-inch radius rather than
the usual Fender 9.5-inch.
Thanks to a fl atter pau ferro
fretboard here, bends are easier
and chord shapes more
comfortable. The Player Plus spec
also aff ord ‘rolled’ fi ngerboard
edges – subtle, yes, but they
enhance the most crucial point of
contact for the player and just
make things feel smoother, and
more familiar. We want rolled
edges on all our guitars now!
We’re still not overjoyed at
rosewood’s current status as
a premium fretboard material
at Fender, especially post-CITES
regulations. For us it’s a matter of
aesthetic, not tone. Pau ferro can
be lighter and streakier in grain,
and that can be even less desirable
with some fi nishes. But the hues
are honestly attractive here, with
browns but no lighter tan hues. It
is still not superior to the darker
rosewood for us, though, but
alongside maple, pau ferro is the
only option. A bigger concern is
that there seems to be a small
raised area of what looks like dried
glue on the 8th fret between the A
and D strings – a rare QC oversight
at the Ensenada factory?
As bold as the body is – and
whether you are taken with the
striking Belair Blue fi nish it is very
well applied – the headstock is
undeniably Strat-like, and with
that same 12-inch radius as the
Strat and other models in the
Player Plus line we’re really
becoming fans of the combination.
Whether it will tempt Fender
players from 9.5” and 7.5” is really
something only trying will reveal
- smaller hands especially may
fi nd the transition unwelcome.
But Gibson afi cionados should
defi nitely be giving this fl atter feel
a test – especially with the setup
here as it’s absolutely spot on
FENDER PLAYER PLUS
METEORA HH
A retro future classic?
1
2
3
£999
BODY: Alder
NECK: Maple
SCALE: 648mm (25.5”)
FINGERBOARD: Pau
Ferro, 12” radius
FRETS: 22, medium
jumbo
PICKUPS: Fender
Fireball humbuckers
with coil-splitting via S1
switch on Volume
CONT ROLS: Volume,
Tone x 2, 3-way selector
HARDWARE: Fender
Deluxe locking tuners,
Fender 2-point
synchronized tremolo
with brushed steel
block saddles
LEFT-HANDED: No
Gig bag: Included
FINISH: Belair Blue
(reviewed), 3-Colour
Sunburst (with maple
fretboard), Cosmic
Jade (with pau ferro
fretboard), Silverburst
(with maple fretboard)
CONTA CT: Fender,
www.fender.com
AT A GLANCE
A VERY DIFFERENT SHAPE
AND A BOLD TALKING POINT
1
TUNERS
As is the standard with
the Mexican Player Plus
series, you get Fender
locking tuners and the
easier string changing
experience that goes
with them.
2
FINISH
The Belair Blue moves
from a paler shade than
Sonic Blue through to
a tone darker than Lake
Placid. Though we think
it would have matched
better with a maple ’board
– likewise the Silverburst
option with a pau ferro.
3
TREMOLO
The 2-point tremolo
unlocked a world of fun for
us – tuning was stable and
the sustain this guitar has
with the Fireball pickups
encourages all kinds of
experimentation with
the trem bar.
Photography Olly Curtis
REVIEW
85
JUNE 2022 TOTAL GUITAR
TGR358.gear_lead.indd 85TGR358.gear_lead.indd 85 20/04/2022 15:0020/04/2022 15:00