OffsetGuitars.com

windmill wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 12:35 pm

We cannot accuse Fender of lacking imagination.

Sure we can! Nothing they're doing above is particularly imaginative or creative. They're simply sticking hardware and electronics from one line of guitars onto the bodies of other models...whether or not it fits, looks good or makes sense. Hell, I can do that, and I have no skills, equipment, budget OR vision!

We can, however, accuse them of lacking taste.

If anything, it only underscores just how solid, well-thought-out and timeless those original designs - Strats, Jazzmasters, Teles, etc. - are because they all look quite goofy and "off" with all these other pickups, tremolos, pickguards, controls, etc. glommed onto them. In a weird, roundabout way, Fender is tooting their horn and showcasing just how good those classic models are..."see, we really can't improve on 60-year-old perfection...and we're proving the hell out of that with this new lineup!"

This could be some sort of secret, high-concept marketing shtick...look for a sharp uptick in sales of their standard-looking models. "Hand me the phone, i'm ordering an AVRI-something right now!"

Ok ... so I'm starting to think these are fake.
Reason? Headstocks only say Fender with no model name, except the Teles which say Deluxe.

Links are dead. plus, for example : https://www.coda-music.com/fender-ameri ... 17618.html

hmm "parallel universe?"

If this is a prank, Fender needs to hire this prankster ASAP. If it is not, definitely getting that seafoam-mint Tele-JM

The Pawn Shop Offset Special, that recent Marauder, certain runs of the Jaguarillo and probably some other models I'm not aware of only had a spaghetti Fender logo on the headstock, with no model name. Can't go solely by that; there's precedent.

It's kind of like, you remember how some time ago Taco Bell had like six ingredients, and whatever order they mixed them in was a new dish?

So, if the taco meat was on top of a tortilla, and under the lettuce and cheese, then it was a tostada.

If the taco meat was rolled up in the tortilla, next to the lettuce and cheese, it was a burrito.

If the taco meat was in a folded tortilla, underneath the lettuce and cheese, well, that was a taco.

It kind of reminds me of that. Fender has a dozen or so ingredients that they slap together on different bodies and this body is a little different, but that's all. In Taco Bell terms, this would be the taco but on a Dorito shell. Same lettuce, cheese, and taco beef, though.

Larry Mal wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 1:50 pm

It's kind of like, you remember how some time ago Taco Bell had like six ingredients, and whatever order they mixed them in was a new dish?

So, if the taco meat was on top of a tortilla, and under the lettuce and cheese, then it was a tostada.

If the taco meat was rolled up in the tortilla, next to the lettuce and cheese, it was a burrito.

If the taco meat was in a folded tortilla, underneath the lettuce and cheese, well, that was a taco.

It kind of reminds me of that. Fender has a dozen or so ingredients that they slap together on different bodies and this body is a little different, but that's all. In Taco Bell terms, this would be the taco but on a Dorito shell. Same lettuce, cheese, and taco beef, though.

Nailed it.

Some of you are taking these things way too seriously. Fender is going to build like 300 of each of these. They’ll be around for a few months, as a fun thing, and then gone. They’re not meant to be the next great guitars.

If the taco meat was on top of the lettuce and cheese with the tortilla under the lettuce, then it was a taco salad.

And sure, it's just a little one off thing, I get that. I sometimes wish I lived in the era where guitar makers still pushed the design a bit instead of just knuckling under to the concept that all the great ideas have already been done.

Telecaster pickups on a Jazzmaster body? That's putting 1952 electronics on a body that was designed in 1959 or whatever. You wouldn't accept that with your car. You wouldn't accept that with your computer. You wouldn't accept that with your house.

You won't accept anything else with your guitar, though*. It's pretty lame. If I'm going to play an instrument that is a living museum piece, I might as well play that, right? Why tart it up?



*Metaphorical you.

Guyatone lg-23 and lg-20. Great guitars btw.

parry wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 1:53 pm

Larry Mal wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 1:50 pm

It's kind of like, you remember how some time ago Taco Bell had like six ingredients, and whatever order they mixed them in was a new dish?

So, if the taco meat was on top of a tortilla, and under the lettuce and cheese, then it was a tostada.

If the taco meat was rolled up in the tortilla, next to the lettuce and cheese, it was a burrito.

If the taco meat was in a folded tortilla, underneath the lettuce and cheese, well, that was a taco.

It kind of reminds me of that. Fender has a dozen or so ingredients that they slap together on different bodies and this body is a little different, but that's all. In Taco Bell terms, this would be the taco but on a Dorito shell. Same lettuce, cheese, and taco beef, though.

Nailed it.

Perfect.

These are all such a mess, I'm having trouble knowing where to begin.

I guess it might be easier to skip all the middle and get to the punchline: Fender needs to stop relying so much on their previous designs for inspiration. If they want to create new guitars, fucking do it, and stop with all these less-than models. It's as if they feel all the guitars have already been invented, and therefore there are only minor- or straight up Frankenstein variations left.

Look, I don't work in guitar design -- I'm sure it's a very tough market to crack, since it's steeped so deeply in tradition, but I'd like to see some semblance of creativity on the part of the major brands. It seems that's all been left to the boutique makers, and even they tend to rely heavily on vintage cues. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe when you try something new it becomes a laughing stock; some pointy heavy metal monstrosity that appeals to a small sliver of players.

Maybe most guitarists just want the thing we all fell in love with years ago, and so the manufacturers are stuck between a...

...raaaawkkk-and-uhhhh-haaaaaaaaarrrrrd-plaaaaaaaaacccccceeeeee!!!

squeedilysqueedilydooooo!!!

I like the Strat Jag. Not sure why there is so much hate for it.

The Teles are ok but the trem placement is unfortunate. It's too short. You can't do Kevin Shields warbly strumming with these.

The surf green TeleJazz looks great as a design IMO (and the bound body on the TeleGib, if not the stoptail) - playability is a big "who knows" with what looks to be a quarter inch of wood behind the trem on the former.

A series like this might be smart - guitar rock is almost inherently retro these days but these keep the broad outlines of the retro look while offering up a slightly different spin. There's only so much you can do with an electric guitar - the ergonomics are pretty well sorted at this point, change the design/shape too much and you're changing it for change's sake.

You can add robot tuners or whatever but that flopped hard when Gibson tried it.

ive wanted to make a tele with jazzy parts for years and this one looks pretty cool

that jag strat though, it is sooooo close to looking cool but why did they match the lower horn to the pickguard but then none of the rest?? even a mustang control plate would fit nicer.

these would be great if they were $500 but they're gonna be like 3 grand if they make it to australia and no one is gonna touch them

the meteora is beyond help though

mediocreplayer wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:53 pm

I like the Strat Jag. Not sure why there is so much hate for it.

It's because they slapped together plates and a pickguard that do not pick up on the lines of the guitar AT ALL.

It seriously looks like a something you'd see called a "Genuine Ferder StratoJag" on alibaba or something.

mediocreplayer wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:53 pm

I like the Strat Jag. Not sure why there is so much hate for it.

I guess I understand the hate, but count me in as liking it also. Design-wise, the control plate is a counterbalance for the upper horn and puts the knobs closer in position to the traditional Strat placement.

scottT wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:25 pm

mediocreplayer wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:53 pm

I like the Strat Jag. Not sure why there is so much hate for it.

I guess I understand the hate, but count me in as liking it also. Design-wise, the control plate is a counterbalance for the upper horn and puts the knobs closer in position to the traditional Strat placement.

The Jaguar Strat isn't the worst thing in the world. You could at least make some kind of feeble effort to justify it since it's a 25.5" scale, and has three pickups and such. It is at least somewhat... barely... fresh.

It's funny, though, I was thinking about how maybe when the Gibson Firebird was released, and how that would have been a bold thing that a lot of people hadn't seen before, and the kids would have been excited because it would have been totally different from grandpa's guitar, and grandpa wouldn't have approved of it, he would have played jazz on his hollow-body with F holes, and the kid would have felt quite the rebel playing rock and roll and boogie with his Firebird...

But now it's all grandpa's guitar.