Adders60 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Just seen the new low cost Standard Series Fender range circa £450 -£500 each Not sure they needed them as the Player II series is decent and in the market Quote
EdwardMarlowe Posted January 24 Posted January 24 3 hours ago, Adders60 said: Just seen the new low cost Standard Series Fender range circa £450 -£500 each Not sure they needed them as the Player II series is decent and in the market Interesting. They look like they've revived the spec of the pre-Player Standard series at one point - including the poplar body. I'd consider trying one myself if they did left handers (looks like they don't, which is probably why they slipped my notice previously). I'm intrigued by the choice of certain details, though - particularly the 21 frets (the one, real flaw in the Player II series *for me* is they're 22 frets. Not a deal breaker, but for me a significant cosmetic mis-step for no functional gain. I sense I'm very much an outlier on that score...). And the lack of a skunk stripe. Now, if they would do a black one with a maple board and a big headstock in addition, I'd be looking very seriously at that as a base for a Hendrix project. Something I've looked into previously, but it always quickly became financially unviable, especially when it comes to the neck. Oh... And I'd want a six point trem too for that, but... I wonder how long they've had this series in mind - was it always intended once the Player Series was bedded in? Seems to me that the PS was a recognition of the increasing reality that the American guitars are rising out of the pocket of much of the market, and was largely about repositioning that as the sort of flagship model the American Standard as historically the direct line right back to 1954, while all the others above and below in the range are the variants at any one time. Sort of like how Levis have always had a 501 model which is their flagship brand, even if the actual cut of what a 501 is has evolved radically here and there over time. Maybe they had always planned to bring in this return to a 'Standard' once they felt they had the 'upgraded' Player model established? Seems to me this one has been built to the £500 price point. I'd imagine in part it's aimed at competing head on with other brands. This puts it very close to JHS's Vintage guitars that have developed a real foothold in Fender backyard, at least in the UK market. With a Player II chasing towards £700, there are gonig to be a lot of people looking at the sub £500 market who've ruled out a Player II but might be pulled back in with the lure of a Real Fender for £500. There are probably also people who will be happy to pay an extra £100 or so over the top end of the Squier line to get a "real Fender" - if it's the brand that maters most. For me, if they reintroduced the left handed 50s Strat in the Classic Vibe range, I'd much rather have that, but not everybody has the same vintage-style preference I do I know - and to a lot of folks having the Big F on the headstock really does matter. I also begin to wonder whether this was not a move quite as long in the planning. Did Fender get a whisper of something else they saw as a competitive threat coming on the market in this price range? Harley Benton or the likes? It's hard to imagine the Big Original Names being hit in the market by what are sometimes dismissed as "me too" brands making the classic shapes, but all the same, they're all chasing what seems to b a shrinking market of guitar players these days. Quote
