Fender predictions for 2024?

[songwriter21]

Fender seems to refresh their standard/mid-range American-made line every four years:

2008-2012 - the new American Standard, with several changes over the 2007 and earlier model. Bridge, tuners, finish, end of S-1 switch

2012-2016 - American Standard with Custom Shop pickups

2017-2020 American Professional with the unpopular pickups and very popular 63 C neck profile, tall narrow frets, fluted tuner shafts.

2020-present - awkwardly named American Professional II, with the much improved and also awkwardly named VMod II pickups, Super Natural neck finish, slightly more rolled fretboard edges.

The American deluxe line followed a similar refresh timeline: Deluxe, Elite, Ultra.

Since 2024 marks the 4th year for the current model, any predictions whether it will be replaced in 2024, and if so, with what?

My predictions:

- yes it will be replaced, it will have a price increase, and many TB members will complain about how greedy they are and how the new name is “just marketing”

- the 5-bolt neck joint will remain the standard

- fluted tuner shafts will be replaced with something else

- the bridge will change, possibly Fender will start using the Ultra “badass” style bridge, or maybe the bridge on both the deluxe and standard lines will change to something new

- Dark Night finish will either be replaced with another “new black” or expanded so that you can get either rosewood or maple in the 4- and 5-string P models. Or possibly they’ll discontinue the rosewood option for Dark Night and make it maple for both.

- Miami Blue will go away

- a new red finish will be introduced, or possibly a reissue of candy cola (a “dark night candy cola” burst would be really cool, not a prediction, just wishful thinking)

- roasted maple necks will be introduced as an option

- a new pickup will be introduced, something puportedly heavily influenced by vintage pickup tones. This will fail to be satisfactory to nearly all TB Fender fans, until it’s a year or two old, and then someone will discover changing their strings made a huge difference and everyone will start buying those strings whether or not they have this pickup, but the pickup will be discontinued in 2028 to be forever lamented as “one of the best,” and then be reissued in 2030.

Whoops, maybe got a little carried away with that last one.

- the 5-string P will retain the VMod II pickup, not because people want it, but because Fender doesn’t like the idea of 5-string P basses in general so they won’t bother changing any more than they have to to just be consistent with the rest of the lineup. (q.v. the retention of the same P V pickup from 2008-2016, skipping over the CS62).

Also, since it’s 2024, there will be a 70th anniversary badging on the Strat models, and maybe a 1954 P bass reissue.

Anyone else have any predictions for Fender for 2024?

If they did another U.S P-Bass Deluxe (w/ the big double-jazz bridge pickup), Roscoe Beck, Jazz USA Deluxe, or Jazz 24, then I'd be interested.

 

[makanudo]

More P, more J more price.

 

[Space Pickle]

i predict fender will release a several guitars and basses that are only slightly different than every other guitar and bass they ever made and i will want to buy them all

i suck

fender owns me

 

[Smith357]

I predict Fender will do the same thing, mix up some parts, and paint on some new colors and raise prices.

 

[Space Pickle]

no wait i got it:

fender will bring back those pointy ones from the 80's

 

[HP Hovercraft]

Expecting a refreshed or entirely new Player line because they're blowing them out right now

 

[micguy]

I predict "supra" to be the new line name. And yes, the basses won't really be any different, just rehashed. Again.

Whatever it is will still use the clunky steel tuners they should have abandoned - a few decades ago.

And I still won't want to buy one.

 

[mikewalker]

Been hoping they would do that. A MIJ 30” P? Sign me up!

MIJ 30" P... WITH THE TV-LOGO...

 

[ReillyProductions]

haha I feel like someone at Fender looks at what discontinued models have the highest markups and those medium scale Aerodynes are are up there, but they did totally blunder the last run of Aerodynes so hard to to say.

Lots of talk of Dimension here, so I’d love to see a short scale Dimension to compete with the short scale stingray which has been quite popular.

Lastly, I love my Japan Junior Jazz bass, so would love to see a P bass version as well.

Agree 100% on a Japan Junior P. I’d love to buy one!

 

[BazzaBass]

Possibly - which would be sad, since I thought about it only while I was composing it in the span of about 5 minutes.

Well done! I hope they read this thread ️

 

[DJ Bebop]

Another new Mono Neon Signature model.

 

[MrAB4003]

1. Another year, another price increase
2. More random signature models (i.e. Keanu Reeves in 2023)
3. MIA basses will be the same except for a few subtle details (i.e. electronics or hardware)
4. MIM basses will still have QC issues and Squier basses will surpass them in QC if they haven't already done so
5. More experimentation from Squier

 

[5StringBlues]

tort!

 

[JIO]

I want them to re-issue the mid year '85-mid year '86 24 fret MIJ Fender Performer bass... for around $750. Just that.

 

[JimmyM]

I predict Fender will do something, a whole lot of people will whine about it regardless of what it is, whether it’s a P or J variant or something nobody else has ever done, and they’ll still be just as big as ever, and I’ll once again comment about how if anyone on here ran Fender, they’d be bankrupt within a year.

 

[JIO]

I predict Fender will do something, a whole lot of people will whine about it regardless of what it is, whether it’s a P or J variant or something nobody else has ever done, and they’ll still be just as big as ever, and I’ll once again comment about how if anyone on here ran Fender, they’d be bankrupt within a year.

so true

 

[Doctor Roberts]

Headless Jazz Bass

 

[JakobT]

I didn't know that. I thought the restiction was lifted, outside of certain ones, like cocobolo, bubinga, and obviously, BRW.

Rosewood (Dalbergia Latifolia) is still on the CITES list. However, in 2019, the list was amended with an annotation that made some exceptions:

a) Leaves, flowers, pollen, fruits, and seeds;

b) Finished products to a maximum weight of wood of the listed species of up to 10 kg per shipment;

c) Finished musical instruments, finished musical instrument parts and finished musical instrument accessories;

d) Parts and derivatives of Dalbergia cochinchinensis, which are covered by Annotation # 4; and

e) Parts and derivatives of Dalbergia spp. originating and exported from Mexico, which are covered by Annotation # 6.

 

[MtManiac]

I predict Fender will do something, a whole lot of people will whine about it regardless of what it is, whether it’s a P or J variant or something nobody else has ever done, and they’ll still be just as big as ever, and I’ll once again comment about how if anyone on here ran Fender, they’d be bankrupt within a year.

Nostradamus!! I predict this is the most accurate prediction!

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I completely agree with pretty much everything you’ve said. One of my guilty pleasures is buying Stealth A-string retainers for MIA basses. In Canada, they’re like $25-30 delivered, and no stores sell them.

I’d also add to that Dunlop-compatible strap pins for strap locks, especially since Fender makes a compatible version and also include these pins stock on selected models.

But that’s wish-list, not predictions. I predict they won’t do either.

I love my 2014 American Standard, everything about it. I also love and even prefer my American Pro/Pro II necks, but I don’t give a clam for fluted tuner shafts, VMod pickups, or Grease Suckit tone circuits.

The stealth retainers are great... if you've got the right type of tuners. Unfortunately they won't work with all types of tuners, like the ones Fender use on the Player or Vintera series. I usually remove the standard Fender string tree and install a bar retainer for A-D-G on my "workhorse" Fenders. I wouldn't do it on a valuable vintage instrument though... It works great, and the tonal improvement on an open A is VERY noticable. It also makes it much easier to file the nut slot for the A-string VERY low, without compromising the tone of an open A or getting buzz from the fret slot.

Yeah, the neck profiles on the Pro/Pro II P-basses are VERY nice. Especially the first Pro series, that's a PERFECT neck for my taste. Unfortunately the rest of my Pro sucked. And not just the V-Mod and the fluted tuners but the general build quality. Bumpy fretboard (needed levelling out of the box, not jus the frets but the FRETBOARD), nasty tool marks along the edge of the fretboard and wires sticking out under the pickguard (permanently disfiguring it). How that bass passed QC is beyond me. After levelling the fretboard/frets and replacing the pickup (practically anything would be an upgrade on the anemic E-string you get with the V-Mod I) it has become a decent bass. I'll still have to replace those nasty fluted tuners at some point. I keep breaking strings when I bring the strings back up to tension after loosening them. It's not a problem with normaly day-to-day use but very annoying if I need to loosen the strings for maintenance, or simply want to test different strings.

I'll say ONE positive thing about my Pro though (in addition to the lovely neck profile): The weight is absolutely PERFECT. Not too light, not too heavy. It balances PERFECTLY, which after all my repairs/upgrades makes it an absolute joy to play!