Fender may be best known for its iconic Stratocaster and Telecaster electric guitars, but it's experimented with a number of different shapes and setups over the years. For the limited edition Parallel Universe series, the company has mashed up different models to create oddball new ones. And the latest is possibly the oddest of them all – the Maverick Dorado.
Earlier this month, Fender launched the first guitar in its eight part 2020 Parallel Universe series. That US$1,999.99 Jazz Strat took the body of a Stratocaster and married it to the neck, vibrato and pickups of a Jazzmaster. But the second release is a modern reworking of an already mashed up guitar.
The original Maverick – or Custom – six string electric was something of an oddity released by Fender at the end of the 1960s. It was fashioned from leftover parts from other guitars, including necks from the 12-string Electric XII, spilt pickups and four-way selector, floating bridge and a cutaway body. It didn't sell well, but sometimes such things become vintage collectibles, making them ripe for reissue.
The Maverick Dorado is inspired by the original misfit, rocking the same body shape and funky neck with spaced-out headstock (the extra tuning machine holes on the original were filled in and painted over), but comes with a few modern touches.
The two Filter'Tron-style pickups were designed by engineer Tim Shaw, the dynamic tremolo of old has been replaced by an ever popular Bigsby vibrato, the dark ebony fingerboard atop the thick 60s C-neck is home to 22 medium jumbo frets, and the offset alder body comes in three color finishes.
This latest release certainly won't appeal to everyone, but we can't wait to give one a try – though we're not so sure about that headstock. The modern reworking of the wonderfully bizarre Custom guitar is available now for $2,499.99, the demo video below has more. Six more Parallel Universe models are expected to be released in the coming months.
Product page: Maverick Dorado