The Fender Player Plus Meteora MN SB immediately catches the eye with its unusual shape. Its design is somewhat reminiscent of the Jaguar model, but can nonetheless set its own accents. The guitar is part of the Player series, which has been available since 2018 as the replacement for Fender’s Mexican-built Standard series models and exudes retro flair in terms of design language, colour scheme, and technology. This model comes in a dark Silverburst finish, and Fender also offers the guitar with a maple fingerboard in a three-tone sunburst finish. It is alternatively available in Belair Blue and Cosmic Jade colours, but in these cases, it comes with a dark pau ferro fingerboard. The scope of delivery includes a deluxe gig bag, which allows the instrument to be transported safely.
The body of the Fender Player Plus Meteora MN SB is made of alder, while the neck and fingerboard are made of maple. The latter features black dot inlays made of pearloid, providing an excellent contrast for orientation on the guitar’s neck. When it comes to the finish of the neck, Fender has opted for a convenient mix: While the headstock provides an eye-catcher thanks to its glossy finish, the rest is covered with a matte urethane lacquer that is resistant to fingerprints. The sound is provided by two Fireball humbuckers, which are reminiscent of competitors' PAF pickups with AlNiCo magnets. For those who at times want a more concise, less fat sound, this guitar also offers a coil split function which allows the pickups to be used as single coils. The two pickups are governed by a master volume control, while a dedicated tone pot is provided for each.
Thanks to the scale length of the Fender Player Plus Meteora MN SB, even guitarists with smaller hands can handle it comfortably. And since it has the classic Fender scale length, Strat fans won't need any time to get used to it. With its Modern C profile, the neck offers rhythm and lead guitarists enough "meat" for fat-sounding chords and sufficient freedom of movement for fast melody runs. The guitar’s 22 medium jumbo frets provide plenty of room for manoeuvre, and the 12" fingerboard radius and 42.8 mm nut width mean that even heavy string bends won’t be a problem – all the more so thanks to the finger-friendly .009 to .046 gauge Fender USA 250LR Nickel-Plated Steel strings with which the guitar comes equipped as standard. These strings will also find favour with those who enjoy a steely sound with plenty of “twang”.
Fender is without doubt one of the most legendary guitar and amplifier manufacturers of all time. The company was founded in 1946 by its namesake Leo Fender († 1991), whose innovative ideas brought a breath of fresh air into the musical world. His Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass, and Jazz Bass are not only classics – they also continue to shape the styles of musicians in countless genres to this day. Timeless Fender amplifier models such as the Bassman, Twin, Deluxe, and Princeton also enjoy a stellar reputation. Besides maintaining its classic product portfolio, however, the company is also constantly developing new products that make Fender a driving force in today’s music industry.
The Fender Player Plus Meteora MN SB is a great guitar for beginners and advanced players who are looking for proven Fender quality and don't want to dig too deep into their pockets. The look and sound of this instrument are clearly designed with retro aesthetics in mind and will suit guitarists in bands playing everything from Blues and Rock to Rockabilly and Alternative. As a secondary guitar, it is also a reliable backup instrument for those who are used to playing Fender’s top-level instruments. The Meteora's hardware is part chrome and part nickel – which guitarists with a history of allergies should keep in mind when considering this guitar.
"AlNiCo" is short for an alloy of aluminium, nickel, and cobalt. Before strong magnets were made of so-called rare earth metals (e.g. neodymium) in the 1970s and 1980s, magnets made of AlNiCo alloys were considered to be both the strongest and the least corrosive material. For this reason, they were also used in guitar pickups. Due to their widespread use, their warm and smooth tone became firmly established as the hallmark sound of entire generations of music lovers. Additional numbers on the AlNiCo pickups indicate the strength of the magnets used. However, the order of the numbers is a little mixed up. The weakest version is the AlNiCo 3 (found in 1950s Stratocasters), followed by the AlNiCo 2 (found in 1950s Telecasters). AlNiCo 5 magnets produce the strongest magnetic field.