New Fender Meteora offset at NAMM?

[sirspens]

My point is, Gibson has done exactly 2 things ever with electric guitars. I have Fender guitars with 4 different pickup designs, and they have far more than that.

P-90, staple P-90, alnico pole P90, stacked humcanceling P90, PAF, overwound PAFs, firebird, mini-humbucker, boomerang split coil, melodymaker single coil, and this monstrosity.

Gibson actually has produced a wide variety of pickups. They're just not all available anymore, sadly.

Holy crap, if all of those are considered different things (although I did miss the minihumbucker) then Fender has created hundreds of different kinds of pickups. haha

[FIREBOT]

So... The Meteora is a very well made guitar, with a new body shape from an unproduced prototype, and electronics based on one of the accepted (roughly) ten electronic configurations from 50 or more years ago, and a pretty good one at that (many good songs were created with Teles). It is made in a super short production run, and every one will probably be sold. Setting aside the subjective ( colors, Head stocks, fingerboards, block-shapes), what is the sin here? Why complain? It’s not it’s duty to be the exact guitar of everyone’s dreams. If it’s not for you, why complain?

[higgsblossom]

Almost 75 years of one choice: single coil or humbucker? That remains the main thing.

[FIREBOT]

Almost 75 years of one choice: single coil or humbucker? That remains the main thing.

There have been other pick-up designs, but they haven't caught-on. Why aren't you using Lace Alumitones, or a line 6 Variaxe, or something with transducer saddles, or a Roland Hex pickup, or a triple coil pickup. People want to sound like the songs they like, and a lot of famous songs have been recorded with Strats, Teles and Les Pauls, so people buy a lot of guitars with their ingredients. I can't name a song I like that uses an Alumitone set-up.

...and, this has nothing to do with the Meteora specifically.

[Larry Mal]

Nothing. Is there guitar technology that isn't 50 years old?

My point is, Gibson has done exactly 2 things ever with electric guitars. I have Fender guitars with 4 different pickup designs, and they have far more than that.

Well, there's the PAF humbucker, the Dirty Fingers ceramic humbucker, there is the P90, the P100, the Firebird pickup, the Les Paul Deluxe style mini-humbuckers, they make Fender type single coils sometimes, the Marauder used pickups that are unique to that instrument. These are just the ones that I can think of off the top of my head, and doesn't count the infinite variations within those families- the "tarbacks" and the "T-top" humbuckers and such, not to mention the voicing differences with those pickups (the "59 classic" and the "498r/500t" pickups look the same but are fairly different).

Gibson has hardly done "2 things" with electric guitars, frankly, they've been a more dynamic company than Fender for virtually most of their history. The line of hollowbodied jazz box type guitars that Gibson has made over the years is an entire world in and of itself, and Fender has nothing like it in their history, same with Gibson's rich legacy of "ES" type of hollow and semi-hollow bodied instruments. Fender's attempts to enter that market was very brief, then as now people refused to see Fender as a company that made other than the Strat, the Telecaster, the P bass and the Jazz bass.

I mean, look at the Jazzmaster, the Jaguar, and the Mustang, three great and unique designs that almost were totally consigned to history at times because people basically only cared about the Strat and the Tele.

All of which is what it is, my point is that Gibson has always served a very broad market, I mean, Gibson is a legendary name in banjos, acoustic guitars, even the fucking mandolin.

But, Fender has the Meteora, which is a Telecaster but with a different body shape. Cool.

[Larry Mal]

Besides, let's not forget the Gibson Jimi Hendrix signature model.

This was literally to be billed as the guitar that Jimi would have played if only he hadn't choked to death on his own vomit, and if this guitar would have existed. That's next level shit right there, that's alternate Earth technology where Gibson could peer into an alternate fucking future and bring that technology back to the Earth we perceive, which of course is only one of millions of alternate Earths that exist.

We can only perceive the one we are on, the one we think is "real", but that's no challenge for Gibson, they can peer into an alternate future whenever they want. Can Fender do that?

Fuck no. Enjoy your "Meteora".

[FIREBOT]

Wow... I can’t tell who is serious or sarcastic here anymore.

...Strange conversation about a short-run Fender.

I still don’t understand the negativity, or the need to conflate it into a bigger conversation about guitar innovation. For all of the conversation on lack of innovation, guitars with anything close to an unconventional thought applied to them repeatedly fail in a blaze of insults for the companies having the gall to deface a *insert-model-name-here* with this blasphemous attempt at innovation. Gibson has innovated a ton, as has Fender. Part of the problem is that the instrument is older, mature, and established. The peak of innovation for both companies was in the earlier days of the product. Music is less guitar based. Is the innovation you seek in computers or samplers or other more modern instruments?

Anyway... I do enjoy my Meteora, and will continue to.

[sirspens]

... Gibson is a legendary name in banjos, acoustic guitars, even the fucking mandolin.

Agreed. That is why I limited my comments to the electric guitar. Gibson is a far older company than Fender and has always had a wider scope.

Also, if all of those slight variations on a theme are Gibson doing different things, then Fender has done a ton of things, as well!

[Larry Mal]

Anyway... I do enjoy my Meteora, and will continue to.

I'm sure it's a nice guitar! It's basically a Telecaster and you can't go wrong with that, right? I own two of the things. I'm sure it sounds great and plays great.

[higgsblossom]

I‘m sure it’s a good Telecaster and I have always loved Telecasters.

[higgsblossom]

By the way, Firebot: I am really sure that it is a good guitar, it is after all an American-made Fender with good hardware. I never meant to be rude or anything, please don't take it personal that I find the Meteora to be just another Telecaster with a different body shape.

[FIREBOT]

By the way, Firebot: I am really sure that it is a good guitar, it is after all an American-made Fender with good hardware. I never meant to be rude or anything, please don't take it personal that I find the Meteora to be just another Telecaster with a different body shape.

I'm not offended at all... I bought it, I'm delighted by it, and I'm the only one I was trying to please with it. I just find a lot of the conversation about it a bit irrational, and was trying to provoke something that would help me understand... but not really loosing any sleep not understanding it, and enjoying playing my guitar.

[kgbAttack]

The way I see it is that since you can guess already how it sounds like, you only need to choose whether you like it aesthetically or not. I personally like it a lot. It may not be a "new" guitar, but there are plenty of other brands that make different models/configurations that may please those players looking for something entirely new.

[Arthon]

Tried the guitar. It's a great guitar. Not heavy, sound great, neck is nice. It's actually quite light. I was surprised the body is smaller then a Jazs/Jag; I actually like the shape. My band is called Météore; you can translate it to Meteora in english. It's strange, it's like a guitar Fender made for me to buy...

I would have bougth it if I didn't have already a nice Tele...

[leokula]

Anyway... I do enjoy my Meteora, and will continue to.

That's the only thing that matters. I myself really liked it!

I think changing body shape is a great way to have new ideas relying on old tested platforms.