You can snag the official roasted necks, which are made in Mexico, with either maple or pau ferro fretboards, while guitarists are able to choose between 22 fret 12″ flat radius oval or 21 fret 9.5″ radius C shape profiles. The back of the necks are decked in satin for an easily navigable playing experience, while the fretboard and headstock front are finished in a nice gloss urethane.
Fender claim that roasted maple is also more resistant to humidity shifts due to the removal of moisture during the roasting stages, which might actually make them beneficial to Australian players. They’re also staking the claim that roasted maple offers more sustain than traditional maple – whether that’s true or not is up to you, but it’s definitely a nice little marketing tactic.
Although roasted maple necks have appeared on a select few Fender releases from past years – the Alternate Reality Powercaster from this year featured one, as did the FSR Ash range from 2017 – this marks the first time punters have been able to purchase them alone (although we’re pretty sure Australia can’t purchase them just yet). Does this mean we can expect to see more roasted maple models from the brand in the future? Only time will tell.
Head to Fender to find out more.
