The Weigh Up: Reliqa on Fender’s Player Plus Meteora® Guitar & Bass (Gear Review)
Welcome back to our new gear review series The Weigh Up where we invite our musician mates to take a look at some of the latest releases, instruments, gear and gadgets to debut in the industry. This time around we're checking out a couple of axes from the new Fender Player Plus Meteora range and we've invited Brandon and Miles from Reliqa back to lead us in...
We recently got the opportunity to get our hands on both a guitar and bass in Fender’s stunning new Player Plus Meteora series. To be working with some of the latest models from a prolific manufacturer like Fender, we were obviously excited to see exactly how the latest instrument technology stands up in 2022.
Fender Player Plus Meteora® HH Guitar
Specs:
- 25.5” scale length
- Fireball™ Humbucking Pickups
- 12” radius fingerboard with rolled edges
- 2-point Tremolo with block steel saddles
- S-1 switch splits humbucking pickups
- Locking tuning machines
- High performance bridges
The Player Plus Meteora HH is a guitar optimised across the board with some of the greatest hardware available at the moment. It is an all-round, high-performance instrument, geared towards the modern musician, borrowing from some of Fender’s flagship designs, while offering some new cutting edge tech and a dynamic range that makes it adaptable across dozens of styles.
The body has a fantastic ergonomic design. It’s reminiscent of some of Fender’s past models but ultimately looks like a fresh take on a body shape, with hypermodernity and comfort in mind. It’s by no means a lightweight build, but even still achieves a super comfortable body, standing or sitting. The neck is built for efficiency, with rolled edges, and a clean satin finish which makes movement up and down the fretboard smooth and seamless.
We have a great combo of locking tuners and high-performance bridges that provide fantastic foundational stability for intonation straight out of the case.
Fender’s new Fireball™ pickups, which have been in development for a little while now, come included in this model, and we’ve got to tell you, they’re really something extra. These pickups offer six distinctive sounds with amazing clarity, from smooth and buttery lead tones with a clean high-end to classic chunky rhythms with a pronounced mid-range. It makes you wonder why these Fireball™ pickups aren’t yet included in any of Fender’s flagship models, and they go a long way to solidifying this series as a serious contender.
Not to mention there’s a nice selection of finishes on offer for this series, striking a fine balance of classy and classic. Fender sent out the Cosmic Jade finish to us, but there’s also the Silverburst, the Belair Blue, and the 3-Colour Sunburst.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHV_A_lKshQ
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora® Bass
The Fender Player Plus Active Meteora® Bass comes in a similar selection of finishes, including Silverburst, 3-Colour Sunburst, Opal Spark, and Tequila Sunrise.
Specs:
- 34” scale length
- Fireball™ Bass Humbucking pickups
- Three band active EQ with active/passive toggle
- Four saddle HiMass ™ bridge
- 12” radius fingerboard with rolled edges and 20 medium jumbo frets
- Modern “C” neck shape
The bass guitar in this series is similarly geared towards the modern bassist, fitted with the same body design, and its own set of Fireball™ pickups optimised for bass. The “C” neck shape allows for a similarly effortless movement along the fretboard. And unsurprisingly, these pickups are just as versatile and adaptable on the bass, sporting a thick low end, chunky mid-range, and soaring high-end for a wide variety of tonal choices. The Meteora bass also possesses an active preamp, which facilitates a tonal boost, and a further set of customisation possibilities across the three-band active EQ knobs.
Now, this bass features only 20 medium jumbo frets - however, if you’re coming from the Fender family already, this probably isn’t going to be a dealbreaker for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PymI6rqJzpA
All in all, the Player Plus Meteora Series is a great addition to the market and a great option for the modern musician. The bold new body shape and across-the-board hardware and performance optimisation makes for a versatile and durable instrument. Fender’s hardware is top-tier, and you won’t be finding their Fireball™ pickups in any other model - at least for the time being.
All these products are available right now. Check out www.fender.com for more details and to find your local dealership.
Review by Brandon Lloyd and Miles Knox
