NAMM 2020 Maverick Dorado

[CROSS_guitars]

I reckon it won't be too long until Japan do a proper Maverick reissue.
They nailed the Swinger reissue!

[raphaël]

The headstock looks wrong and too big and I don't like the bridge or the asking price but I like the bigsby and the pickup choice. ( I really can't stand split pickups, I find them ugly )
Count me in the camp of those who prefer the "reissue" over the original

[Danley]

On examination from the side by sides posted earlier, I really don’t know if the headstock is wrong or if the perspective is skewed by the positioning/size of the tuner shaft/bushings (different diameter) and possibly a different distance/zoom on the photo that distorts the relative size. Honestly it’s pretty close, and not the ‘worst’ thing about the RI version to me.

[kimson]

I think the Maverick is one of Fender's coolest designs so it's great to see them reissued, but as already mentioned: it's too expensive, and the Bigsby and the pickups are a bit uninspired. Hope they'll make a Squier version some day.

Also, it would be funny if people started to part these out for Electric XII necks.

[JPCordingley]

No one is going to buy one of these things. All they had to do was slap the split-pickups from the Electric XII reissue in there, along with a Mustang trem, and price it at 800-900 at the MOST, and they would've sold like gangbusters. Instead, they have a grossly over-priced shitbox. Biggest Fender blunder I've ever seen

Devils advocate time.
It's a limited series, not a regular production model. Made in low numbers, a different model is shipped to a participating dealer each month. The purpose here wasn't to remake the Maverick. "Dorado" was a marque used by Gretsch in the '70s. That's why there's Filtertrons and a Bigsby. That's what makes it a mash-up model.

As for who would buy one, probably the person who bought the Parallel Universe Jaguar Strat a few years ago. Ewww.

The Jaguar Strat was an abomination. The Jazz Tele on the other hand was a beaut.

As for the Maverick Dorado, the only thing I'm not so keen on is the price. I'd happily buy one if it were say Squier VM (although am I right in saying they ditched that series?) Or MIM like the Alternate Reality series around the £6-700 mark. I actually think they look pretty cool, but also like a crime against nature.

[Futuron]

I'd happily buy one if it were say Squier VM (although am I right in saying they ditched that series?)

It lives on as the rebranded Classic Vibe

[JVG]

The thing that aesthetically ruined the Jaguar-Strat was the weird angle of the lower control plate. If you put your finger over the picture to cover this area, the guitar actually looks ok!

J.

[Danley]

The thing that aesthetically ruined the Jaguar-Strat was the weird angle of the lower control plate. If you put your finger over the picture to cover this area, the guitar actually looks ok!

J.

Basically it looks half-assed to me. I get it’s supposed to be a ‘weird’ looking guitar, but using the plate that way (and squashing all the others in the way they did) just makes it seem like they didn’t put the full effort into what should be a functional and awesome idea. The ergonomics seem to be the real fault; but I’ve never played one so maybe not.

[JVG]

Yeah it looks a bit rushed. They could have spent s bit more time getting a pickguard/control plate configuration that worked with the curves of the strat a better. Despite all this, i reckon it would probably sound pretty good.

Back to the Maverick though, it would be interesting to see some more pictures from different angles to test your theory about the headstock. You may well be right!

J.

[WonderCouncil]

Just going to leave this here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22nC_I3acfk

[BlueMelody]

I love the way these look, they’re not supposed to be clones of the OG so there’s that...but the price is admittedly a big turnoff.

[zip73]

Sounds decent...so there’s that.