FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH
18
GUITARIST JUNE 2022
FENDER PLAYER PLUS METEORA HH
is no different. Yes, the body shape is
out-there, a radical offset, but the actual
construction – alder body, bolt-on maple
neck, vibrato – is thoroughly Fender. And
while this mainstream debut features dual
humbuckers, they’re in Fender style with
the three-plus-three polepiece design that
harks back to Seth Lover’s original ‘Wide
Range’ design. The two-post vibrato, a first
for the Meteora, follows the specification of
the Player Plus Stratocaster rather than the
offset’s original two-piece design.
The Meteora’s appearance in Fender’s
Player Plus series is significant, too.
Launched in 2021, the series could easily
be seen as the most modern-style Mexican-
made range, mirroring more the style of
the USA Ultra at a much lower price point.
Like other Player Plus models, the Meteora
HH comes in some pretty bold colours: our
metallic green Cosmic Jade and a Belair
Blue fade, both with pau ferro ’boards, while
the black-to-grey Silverbust comes with
a maple ’board along with and a good ol’
traditional 3-Color Sunburst.
Aside from its shape, the Meteora also
introduces the new Fireball humbucking
pickups (see Under The Hood opposite),
which are selected by a Gibson-style
three-way toggle switch. Each pickup
can be simultaneously split, voicing the
outer-facing coils of each humbucker, via
the S-1 push-switch within the master
volume control’s knob. We also get a tone
control for each pickup.
2. A little unusual for a
twin-pickup humbucker
guitar, there’s a
master volume and a
tone control for each
pickup. To activate the
simultaneous coil-splits
you just push down on
the switch at the top of
the volume knob
1. The three-way toggle
pickup selector is more
Gibson in style than
Fender, particularly with
its shoulder placement.
And although regular
in size, the covered
humbuckers recall Seth
Lover’s ‘Wide Range’
in style
Feel & Sounds
It might not look like one, but the Meteora
certainly feels like a Fender. It’s a standard
weight at 3.86kg (8.49lb), slightly heavier
than both the Player Plus Strat and Tele we
reviewed back in issue 478. The ‘modern C’
neck has a satin back with a 305mm
(12-inch) fingerboard radius and nicely
rounded edges. In depth, it’s mainstream:
21.2mm at the 1st fret and 22.5mm by the
12th. Again, that pau ferro fingerboard
doesn’t capture the deep brown of classic
Indian rosewood, but it’s a perfectly good
fingerboard material, although the position
dots are a little low in contrast to the pau
ferro – maybe brighter solid white or even
more opaque ‘clay’ dots would be better?
In terms of feel, it’s much more normal
than it might appear. Strapped on, you
might well forget what you’re playing, and
it’s actually little different sitting down.
Clearly, this is a well-considered design,
though obviously you can’t lean it against
your amp and you’ll need to consider what
stand you can use.
Now, giving a pickup a name like Fireball
suggests plenty of poke, but that’s not what
If you like lower-
output ’buckers, then
you’ll be at home
with these Fireballs
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT485.rev_fender.indd 18GIT485.rev_fender.indd 18 12/04/2022 10:0912/04/2022 10:09