Guitar Gear Gems: Fender updates for the Spring
A few subtle tweaks for Spring from Fender
3,6 / 5,0 | 
This week on Guitar Gear Gema we take a look at the new updates that Fender has announced for the Spring of 2023. These include Player Series and Player Plus refreshes, plus a whole new take on a classic 1970s pickup range.
Fender updates for the Spring
Every year Fender announces new updates and over the last few days they have revealed a new range of colours for their popular Player Series and Player Plus models. These somewhat subtle changes will no doubt be welcomed by fans of the guitars and basses, but they may not set the world on fire, in terms of innovation.
Candy Apple Red
Sixties Classics
Essentially, they have added traditional ’60s Candy Apple Red and a Sea Foam Green finish to the Stratocaster, HSS Strat, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Jaguar and Jaguar Bass models.
Player Plus Lefties announced
Player Plus Lefties
No other major change has been announced to these Mexican-made models. Though thankfully, they have also added left-handed options for the Player Plus Stratocaster and the Player Plus Precision Bass.
These updates are all welcome, as new colours will give players more options and more left-handed Fenders are great for obvious reasons.
CuNiFe and Cobalt Chrome
Now, these new Fender CuNiFe and Cobalt Chrome pickups are possibly the most interesting part of the Spring 2023 refresh. As these new pickup designs are based around the CuNiFe magnet, the same as their recent Wide Range humbucker reissues *.
CuNiFe and Cobalt Chrome
Four New Pickup Sets
The CuNiFe Jazzmaster format pickups have a DC resistance is 10.4k at the neck and 11.5k at the bridge. These drop-in replacements will certainly be popular with offset guitar fans and I can see them selling loads at the $399 per set price tag.
Plus there is a set with the Cobalt Chrome magnet for the bridge and CuNiFe for the neck, with a DC resistance reads at 9.4k for the neck and 11.6k at the bridge. These are slightly less at $299 a set.
Then there is the all-new CuNiFe Stratocaster Pickup Set at $349 a set. These come with chrome-ringed pickup covers to help eliminate any 60-cycle hum. They also feature Formvar-coated magnet wire and threaded CuNiFe pole pieces. These have a DC Resistance of neck: 9.6k; middle: 10.0k; bridge: 10.5k.
Finally, there is the Cobalt Chrome Telecaster Pickup Set at $199 a set. Again, these have the same chrome-ringed pickup cover to eliminate the 60-cycle hum.
Though this time they have Polysol-coated magnet wire paired with threaded Cobalt Chrome pole pieces. With a DC resistance of 10.4k for the neck and 12.5k for the bridge
I think these new pickups could be ones to watch our for in the coming months and I’m looking forwards to hearing some reviews and demos from their owners.
More Information
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- Candy Apple Red: Fender
- Player Plus Lefties announced: Fender
- CuNiFe and Cobalt Chrome: Fender
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