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Post subject: Fender Performer info?
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:06 pm
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Hey guys,

Does anyone know of a website that has pdf's of the paperwork/manuals that came with the six-string versions of Fender Performers in the 80's? I have a chance to purchase a barely-touched Performer very soon (woohoo!!), and I'm curious to see if anyone has a copy of a manual, hangtag or anything that they were sold with. I've already done fairly extensive Google searches and have found nothing on the paperwork front, and I've surprisingly found very little info about Performers overall. Do people just not know about them? I wonder...

Thanks!
Pat


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Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 6:13 pm
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Someone here, Alain, has 5 different Performers each in a different color. I'm sure he knows a lot about them.


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Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:54 pm
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Good to know - thanks for the tip. I have seen a few of Alain's pictures, and it looks like he's got some great examples of Performers.

As an aside, the more I see pictures of these guitars, the more I like them. Not only are they visually striking and exceedingly eclectic for usual Fender tastes, they also seem very versatile. I can't wait to get the available one in my hands on Monday to try it out for myself; I've certainly never seen one in person before.

Pat


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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:44 am
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Hi ransom08
You'll be very happy with your Performer as its a quite versatile guitar
A bit late but just make sure it will be delivered with its tremolo arm because it's the most "easy to lose hard to find" piece of Fender's hardware.
There was no specific printed info delivered with the guitar
I can imagine you know its history (otherwise I'll tell you )
The only thing I get is that piece of ad:

Image

Alain


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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:09 pm
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alainlafrance wrote:
Hi ransom08
You'll be very happy with your Performer as its a quite versatile guitar
A bit late but just make sure it will be delivered with its tremolo arm because it's the most "easy to lose hard to find" piece of Fender's hardware.
There was no specific printed info delivered with the guitar
I can imagine you know its history (otherwise I'll tell you )

Alain


Hey Alain,

Thanks for the info. You have some beautiful guitars!

I find it interesting that the Performers didn't have much paperwork or anything, but maybe Japanese-made Fenders at that time never came with it. Who knows? I never got a new Fender until 2000 or 2001 so I can't say.

Anyway, I haven't seen the guitar yet - due to inclement weather in my area I've been unable to check it out, but it should happen this Thursday. However, I did learn that the trem bar is in the case (I wondered about that myself), and also the original hangtag is included!

Oh, and I've quickly learned a lot about Performers over the past week or so. I am curious as to why Fender treats the line as if it never existed. Another entry in the "who knows" category.

Pat


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Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:25 pm
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Well, I brought the Performer home with me! [LT, if you see this, THANK YOU a thousand times over!] What a cool guitar. It's smaller than I expected and pretty light, and extremely comfortable to play. The pickups are killer, and I'm most excited about how well the coil-tap works; it's the best of both worlds. Hopefully I will post a couple of pictures soon.

Alain, I've got a question for you: what kind of tailpiece did the Performers come with? I can't tell what bridge it is (I've never seen this one before) and I don't have any idea how to set it up. I have a Bigsby on my Gretsch and a vintage trem on my Strat, but have never owned anything close to a locking trem so I am lost with it so far. Do you have any advice about how to do a setup? Evidently the guitar had 8's on it previously, because as soon as I put on 9's, both the bridge and the action lifted considerably.

Pat


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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 7:30 am
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Hi Pat,

Good you got your guitar.

The bridge is called "System One" and was mostly available on two MIJ Fender guitars: the Performer and the Katana. It's some kind of Kahler bridge but made by Schaller.and can be adjust the same way.

Here is some useful info:

http://www.wammiworld.com/system%201%20history.html

Alain


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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:25 am
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Rock on, Alain - thanks! I just spent a couple of hours setting it up and she's ready to rock now. I plan to get a couple of pics posted later today at some point. She's got some scratches and dings on her, but still looks great.

Do you have any idea how many of these were made? I am still surprised that I had never seen one until a couple of weeks ago. They must be pretty rare, and as soon as I learned about this one I knew I just had to have it.

Pat


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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:35 pm
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No idea about a figure but they just last for two years.

They had a great success when presented at a New Orleans Guitar Show (?) but when players realized they were made in Japan it was a No-No.
What to say...


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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:30 pm
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Here are a few shots for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks for looking!
Pat

Image

Image

Image

Image


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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 8:19 am
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Sharp!! Congratulations...

_________________
Ignorance IS bliss - and I am the happiest person here!


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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 8:44 am
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Very nice in Gun Metal Blue.
Seems in great condition .
Enjoy
Alain


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