First the good news. Fender has changed the tuning buttons from "Play Dough Puffs" to a more traditional ivoroid oval shape... much nicer. The tuning machines themselves look like traditional Klusons. Appearance wise it's very attractive with a 1950's design look. The chromed mirrored fingerboard is a bit disconcerting. It reflects your hands, which I don't want to see. But it is nice if you have to check out if there is any food stuck between your teeth. The guitar plays in tune and the intonation, for lack of a better word on a fretless instrument is accurate.

Next. I could not get a decent tone out of this thing. The tone was very trebly and VERY THIN. I tried adjusting the tone control to get more bass and just got more mud. I tried different amps. I ran it through a Fender Steel King, Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue and a Fender Blues Junior. Same thing... very thin tone.

All in all I was not impressed.

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

CEO, CIO, CFO - UkeTone Records
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association

The mirror thing didn't bother me, I thought it actually looks cool. As a matter of fact, I like the looks of the guitar-I think Fender did a good job on the aesthetics part.

But if it doesn't sound like much then what's the point of this latest venture to re-introduce a Fender lap guitar, considering its celebrated past?

I wonder if the Custom Shop in southern California would have any interest in building a quality non-pedal guitar to put Fender back on the map in this category?

I've heard the rumor on the Forum that there's more to come, well I'm looking forward to it.

------------------
Mark

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 28 September 2005 at 09:45 AM.]

RA

[This message was edited by Rick Alexander on 28 September 2005 at 12:27 PM.]

So without giving anything away, Jody Carver advises us to hang in there-that Fender is apparently up to something good.

Sounds like a no-brainer to me, what with all the interest in lap/non-pedal these days.

I don't think it would turn into a high volume Musician's Friend mail order kind of thing like when they were promoting 50th anniversary Strats last year, but I'm sure there's a decent profit in it if Fender reissues higher end steels-this Forum has over 5,000 members and a fair amount of them would be highly interested.

I was speaking with Darick Campbell of the Campbell Brothers the other day when they were in San Francisco and though he is happy with his new Sierra with a DiMarzio pickup, he commented how he was a long-time Fender man. He'd probably still be a Fender man if they could build him a guitar spec'd the way he'd like it instead of hauling his vintage guitars out on the road.

------------------
Mark

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 28 September 2005 at 01:03 PM.]

Rick I see your point and unfortunatly I agree that the present steel that Fender developed is below par. But sometimes Dogs always somehow find their way home. Again
From what I have heard first hand,its one day at a time.

However There Will Never Be Another LEO FENDER. They must do it on their own and not depend on Leo's legacy. I agree with all of you. They have to do the job or else.

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 28 September 2005 at 09:56 PM.]

The fake boxcar killed it for me, too. Didn't they do any marketing research? I'm guessing they saw Gretsch craking out those cheap steels, and thought people apparently don't care what they sound/play like. All it has to do is say Fender on it, and they'll buy it?

I'll definitely be hanging on to my '56 T8 and '60 D8!

------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

CEO, CIO, CFO - UkeTone Records
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association

[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 29 September 2005 at 08:47 AM.]

others are saying that "Jody Carver advises us to hang in there-that Fender is up to something good". Well, I wonder what Fender will do for me. It's pretty sad when a $79 cheapo sounds better that a "Fender".

Yes Terry I did advise those of you to "hang in there". I feel as you all do. Remember please, the Fender as we knew is no longer the Fender of today. Those are strong words coming from someone who fed his family being a Fender sales rep all of my life.

Fender has been my life and I too agree that
those in command should have someone oversee the design and quality of a product such as this. There are many non pedal steel guitars out there today. I wished I were able to give
Fender some input and advise them as to what the market needs and wants. I have a few of my original Fender guitars,and this is not a shadow of the originals or even close for that matter. I am so sorry if my previous comments whereas Fender will do the job and to quote you again, Hang in there upset those of you who took my word. I plan on going to the Namm show but since I am no longer considered part of what is happening today, I doubt my input would mean anything.

Please forgive me,I meant not to lead anyone of you on. Fender has always been in my heart
I do beleive if those in marketing see this,perhaps it will help.And for that I am truly sorry.

Thank You, all of You.

------------------
'49 & '51 National Dynamics, Harmos Model One, Lazy River Weissenborn, Mesa Boogie DC-3, SRV Strat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/keefriff

No apology necessary.

I'm positive that if you were the project manager for this guitar we would each own two by now.

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

CEO, CIO, CFO - UkeTone Records
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association

Some of these guys are relatively young, and they seem to have a genuine reverence for the legacy of Leo. They even have a scene where they show some of Leo's tooling and machinery, and are marveling at the stuff.

I really believe that there are folks working at Fender that care about the history and reputation of the company.

I would like to think that if Jody were pointing out to these folks at the NAMM show what needs to be done to put Fender back on the map in regards to steel guitars, somebody would listen.

It would be like listening to Willie Mays talk about hitting (sorry Jody, I'm a long-time Giants fan and I just couldn't bear to use someone like Duke Snider for my analogy ).

But then, there's always the accountants-the dreaded "bean counter" factor...

Yes I know all about the accountants and that dreadful disease reffered to as the BPI

"Buying Power Index".

Regards from Ebbets Field in BROOKLYN NY

careful we are going off topic here with
Willy, Mickey and The DUKE back to the subject, lets help Fender to help the steel players.

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 29 September 2005 at 12:48 PM.]

Please-put that Dodger blue aside for a minute and get real!

Ya got me Giants Fan

# 4 was great as well as #7 can you imagine the Duke in Left Field Willie in Center and Mickey in right field....back on topic

The guitar looks pretty good, although the paint seems a little light; could have used another coat. I like how the guitar cord plugs into the bottom of the instrument. The knobs are well laid out, especially if you want to use the tone knob while you play.

If you like to pick near the end of the strings, you're in trouble. The pickup cover makes that feat impossible.

I plugged it into one of the store's demo amps - a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb reissue. A little tweaking of the tuners and I'm set to go. The tuners have cheap plastic buttons on them, but function as expected. They're probably the cheapest looking part on the guitar.

I was able to get a pretty good tone, but I can surely see where people are complaining about the sound. It's definitely not the traditional Fender sound you associate with their steel guitars. It was tuned in open G, but I retuned it to open E and played it that way. To me it sounded better in open E. (I didn't try C6th because I didn't really have time.) I think it sounds more like a Fender Stratocaster than a lap steel.

The only other thing that bothered me was the mirror finish on the fretboard. I kept thinking I was not placing the bar correctly, but it was the reflection of my hand. The frets are painted on and seemed to be accurate.

Conclusion after 20 minutes of playing - still not bad. If someone gave me one, I'd be happy. I'd like to see how it sounds with other instruments.

They were asking just under $400 on the price tag. Compare that to the vintage Fenders on eBay and it's still an okay deal. Just don't expect classic Fender steel guitar sounds from it.

------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 29 September 2005 at 01:56 PM.]

"I think it sounds more like a Fender Stratocaster than a lap steel."

Maybe that was what they were after since so many guitar players play slide on their Strats. Their marketing people should have called it the "Lap Strat".

Now that they have the bodies, maybe the Custom Shop can make something for the Fender steel crowd.

Jaime

------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

I have Fenders, Rickys, Supros, Nationals, Gibsons, Gretsch, and a number of others in my collection. The FS52 just doesn't stack up to any of them.

Fender certainly could make a great steel guitar if they really wanted to. I guess it's just not one of their priorities.

It is for Fender's own good for them to accept your comments as "constructive" and nothing else. I wished I had the chance to offer the little that I can to Fender.

This Forum is a platform for Steel guitar and Fender should be, and will be aware of your comments.