Fender has expanded its popular Player Plus lineup with the Meteora bass and electric guitars. And if the Player Plus Meteora models look familiar, then maybe that’s because we first saw this bold, angular offset shape in 2018, when Fender was embracing its experimental side and spec’ing up all kinds of weird and wonderful instruments in its Parallel Universe Collection.
There were some doozies in there, but the Meteora joining the mainstream makes perfect sense. After all, it’s an offset, and what could be more au courant than that? And they sure look the part in the Player Plus finishes.
The six-string Meteora HH dual-humbucker electric is being offered in Silverburst, Cosmic Jade, Belair Blue and 3-Tone Sunburst, while the Active Meteora Bass arrives in Opal Spark, Tequila Sunrise, Silverburst and 3-Tone Sunburst.
As with its Telecaster and Stratocaster kin in the Player Plus lineup, fingerboard options are maple or pau ferro and are colour dependent. They also have rolled edges and debut a new 12” radius to help it appeal to a younger cohort.
Each pickup has its own dedicated tone pot, a master volume, a three-way pickup selector mounted on the shoulder, and there’s also a super bonus S1 switch to split the coils and access those classic Fender in-between sounds.
The knurled metal knobs add to the contemporary vibe the Player Series proffers, and yet the design of the Meteora – with its aged-white plastic whammy bar tip and pickup mounting rings – has a retro-futuristic quality, as though this would be what the Jetsons would play if they left TV and formed an alt-rock band.
Rounding out the spec we have a two-point synchronized tremolo with brushed steel block saddles, and there are sealed locking tuners to keep everything in order.
The Active Meteora Bass assumes a similar shape but makes it longer, taking the Meteora’s 25.5” and stretching it out to bass-friendly 34” scale.
It has a similar alder/maple build, and it also rocks a Fireball humbucker pairing, with the bass equivalents feeding an active preamp that has controls for master volume a three-band EQ with boost and cut, a pan pot for pickup selection and blending sounds, and mini-toggle switch for alternating between active and passive modes.
Its adjustable HiMass bridge promises sustain and solid intonation, and is finished in nickel/chrome. A set of open-gear tuners on the headstock completes the spec.
Both the Meteora HH and Active Meteora Bass are available now. The guitar will set you back £999 / $1,149.99. The bass comes in at $1,199.99 / £1,149.00. See Fender for more details.
