Long time readers know that I am in love with the idea of a short scale Fender. I bought a Squier Jagmaster and I love the short scale and “melted Strat” body shape. It’s one of my favorite guitars (after changing the saddles and pickups.) So when Fender announced a new short scale model Tele and Strat, in their “budget Fender” Modern Player line, I had to go take a cold shower. Yesterday I took a field trip to the Clearwater Guitar Center (hi Kevin,) and played them both for a while. The short version? I love the Tele and hate the Strat.
But let’s back up. Standard Fender Strats and Teles have a 25.5 inch scale length. The Gibson Les Paul uses a 24.75 inch scale length. PRS uses a 25, sort of a “best of both worlds.” But the Jagmaster uses a 24, which people call a “short scale.” Since the frets are closer together, it’s easier to play (for some people, like me.) Warmoth, maker of fine but expensive necks, sells a “strat conversion” neck where it’s a short scale neck that works on your standard strat body without moving the bridge. Last time I checked it was around $300 once you included everything you need including shipping. So the idea of being able to buy an entire strat for $399 had me drooling.
I should have known better. Here’s the spoiler – both of these guitars feature smaller than normal bodies. They’re not full size like my Jagmaster. So both of these guitars would be good for the 12 year old guitarist who is ready for a slight step up from her Fender Bullet Strat. But when I played the Strat it felt like playing a kid’s guitar. It was awful – the neck felt tiny, the body too small, and it didn’t even sound that good. The Strat has a Guild humbucker in the bridge position, and to me it was just a bad combination. The other two single coil pickups were mediocre, and the tuners were unsuited for actually tuning the guitar. There was nothing I liked about it. It’s a horrible instrument. Keep your Bullet, kid.
But strangely, the Telecaster was awesome. The neck felt like a short scale but not too small, the guitar body felt to small but I could live with it, and most importantly the Guild pickup in the neck position sounded amazing to me. This neck is probably the same measurements as the Strat neck, but somehow it works on the Tele. Would I buy this guitar off the shelf for $399? Maybe. I already have a MIM Tele and now I’m contemplating sticking a Guild humbucker in the neck position. Would I buy this Tele used for $299? Probably. It plays and sounds great. But…
But the hardware on both of these guitars is crap. Except for the Guild humbucker, that is. These tuners are maybe the worst I’ve ever seen on a new guitar. I really struggled to get both of these guitars in tune. They’re beyond awful and I’d recommend replacing them immediately to anyone who buys one of these guitars. The single coil pickups are boring. Not bad, just not good. The bridge saddles look cheap, and from experience and feel I’d say the pots and switch are all cheap. The fretwork was great on both guitars, though.
Once again, Fender disappoints me. A short scale Strat or Tele with a full sized body would be very popular, I think. One of the reasons people like the Mustang and the Jaguar is the short scale neck. If Fender talked to more customers they’d realize that there’s a market for a full sized Strat/Tele with a short scale neck – a bigger market than for shrunken down versions of those guitars. Still, that Tele is fun to play anyway.
One last point. I’ve played a lot of Modern Player Fenders in the past year, and I have to say that I believe the Squier Classic Vibe guitars are better instruments for less money. They feel better, like more care was taken making them, and the hardware and pickups are better.
