Am performer string stops?

[2804Penn]

Anyone know why the Fender American Performer Tele’s have fully recesses string stops on the back? I mean even the collar is recessed. All the other Tele’s I own or played, the collar sits on the body. It seems like this is an extra step in manufacture, why the trouble for the current lowest tier American model?

 

[Fenderdad1950]

Interesting .....

 

[john_cribbin]

Maybe they're working up to more 'vintage correct' specs?

 

[Peegoo]

Fender has used both flush and exposed string cups over the years.

 

[Winky]

Dunno, but I prefer the ones that sit proud, rather than the recessed ones.

 

[bobio]

Anyone know why the Fender American Performer Tele’s have fully recesses string stops on the back? I mean even the collar is recessed. All the other Tele’s I own or played, the collar sits on the body. It seems like this is an extra step in manufacture, why the trouble for the current lowest tier American model?

Classic Vibes, which are much lower on the Fender totem pole have recessed ferrules
Not a matter of manufacturing difficulty, but what era or spec is Fender going for.
Often, you will find a mix of modern and vintage specs on Fenders

 

[KokoTele]

It's because someone who really cares about that detail made a more compelling case in a meeting at Fender when they finalized the specs. ;-)

 

[Sparky2]

It's because someone who really cares about that detail made a more compelling case in a meeting at Fender when they finalized the specs. ;-)

Or, some guy on the factory floor pounded the first lot of ferrules in a little too hard, and said, "ah, now that looks good to me," and they proceeded down that road for the rest of the run of guitars..

 

[Footsore]

I prefer them flush and I think all of mine are. The rest of the back is flat so why have the ferrules sticking out to catch or snag anything.

 

[Killing Floor]

The 2 MiA Teles and 1 MiM Tele I’ve acquired since 2019 are fully flush as is my 2020 MiA P bass. I’d say it’s not a coincidence.

 

[KokoTele]

The originals were counterbored, so when Fender wants a model to be more like the original design, they counterbore the holes for the ferrules. When they want to focus on saving a few pennies, they let them sit on top. I guarantee that they have long discussions about which way they want to go with a particular model.

I'm sure the CNC time is negligible, but it probably saves them a few minutes during installation and results in fewer chips that have to be repaired/refinished.

 

[Wrighty]

Anyone know why the Fender American Performer Tele’s have fully recesses string stops on the back? I mean even the collar is recessed. All the other Tele’s I own or played, the collar sits on the body. It seems like this is an extra step in manufacture, why the trouble for the current lowest tier American model?

The bodies are made of hideously cheap wood, possibly balsa. The string stops rims are proud of the surface until the guitar is tuned up. They are then drawn into the body. A future problem could be tuning stability if the strings are changed for a heavier gauge. The stops / ferrules could well be pulled further into the body causing tuning to go flat. Or, maybe, I’m talking rubbish!

PS, balsa is scientifically a hardwood. Who’d have thunk it?

 

[bobio]

The bodies are made of hideously cheap wood, possibly balsa. The string stops rims are proud of the surface until the guitar is tuned up. They are then drawn into the body. A future problem could be tuning stability if the strings are changed for a heavier gauge. The stops / ferrules could well be pulled further into the body causing tuning to go flat. Or, maybe, I’m talking rubbish!

Rubbish it is or possibly dry sarcasm, the body is Alder and they are installed flush with the surface from the factory.
I have had mine since 2019 and the string ferrules are exactly where they were when I bought it.
Have also worked on several and again, not seen any movement in the string ferrules.

 

[Wrighty]

Rubbish it is or possibly dry sarcasm, the body is Alder and they are installed flush with the surface from the factory.
I have had mine since 2019 and the string ferrules are exactly where they were when I bought it.
Have also worked on several and again, not seen any movement in the string ferrules.

View attachment 984415 View attachment 984414

It is both rubbish and English sarcasm!

But, balsa is a hardwood.

 

[Si G X]

To be honest I thought that was how they were supposed to be. They either have the lip bored for them to sit in flush or they use the non-lipped 'modern' ferrules.... that also sit flush.

All mine are flush anyway...

 

[2804Penn]

The 2 MiA Teles and 1 MiM Tele I’ve acquired since 2019 are fully flush as is my 2020 MiA P bass. I’d say it’s not a coincidence.

I have a 2020 American Professional II and they are not flush.

Also have a 2003 and 2016 MIA, again not flush. The Am Performer is the only one counter-bored. That’s what had me wondering.

 

[gwjensen]

It's not a detail I personally care about, but I think its less likely for the ferrules sitting on top to get pulled in further like I've seen on some models with recessed ferrules that are a bit out of whack with each other...