“Take a lunar journey”: Guitar Center continues its big-brand collaborative hot streak and takes Fender on a Moonlight Drive with a trio of limited-edition Player II models

NEW Fender Player II Limited-Edition Moonlight Drive Series | Demo and Overview with Nikki Stevens - YouTube NEW Fender Player II Limited-Edition Moonlight Drive Series | Demo and Overview with Nikki Stevens - YouTube
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Guitar Center has continued its big-brand collaborative hot streak by unveiling a handful of limited-edition Fender Player II series 'Moonlight Drive' electric guitars.

Covering Stratocaster, Telecaster, and Precision Bass shapes, the drop finds Guitar Center encouraging players to “take a lunar journey” with guitars that stay close to the Player II recipe, with some added space-inspired spice.

Namely, Seymour Duncan pickups come in for Fender-made designs, and roasted maple necks have been added. That striking blue colorway is also exclusive to this trio of instruments, too.

Saddled with an HSS configuration, the Strat boasts a JB TB-4 humbucker in the bridge position, which is paired with Player Series Alnico V single-coils. It's a similar approach for the Tele, with a Hot Rails humbucker (which looks like a single-coil, but isn't) in the bridge, and the usual Player Series Alnico V in the neck.

The bass has a sole Seymour Duncan SPB-3 Quarter Pound in the bridge position. It has a split coil for added versatility and is paired with one Master Volume and one Tone control.

Elsewhere, the guitars aren't too adventurous, with the electrics offering 25.5" scale lengths, modern C-shape necks with a 9.5" fretboard radius, and 22-fret rosewood 'boards. The Strat has a two-point synchronized tremolo, the Tele a six-saddle string-through-body bridge, and they both feature Fender Classic Gear tuners, synthetic bone nuts, and chrome hardware.

Fender Player II Limited-Edition Electric Guitar Moonlight Drive

(Image credit: Guitar Center)

The bass has the same neck shape and radius, but offers 20 frets and a four-saddle adjustable bridge with single-groove steel saddles. It also has a synthetic bone nut, but it gets open-gear tuners to stay true to the classic P Bass look.

Of its new collaborative builds, Guitar Center says they “blend classic Fender craftsmanship with modern upgrades, delivering an instrument that's equally suited for vintage enthusiasts and progressive musicians.

Fender Player II Limited-Edition Electric Guitar Moonlight Drive

(Image credit: Guitar Center)

“Its iconic design and expanded tonal palette,” it continues, “make it an essential tool for any guitarist looking to push their sound further.”

Available exclusively at Guitar Center, both in-store and online, they are all priced at $999.99, bringing a little extra sizzle to the best-selling Player II series.

See Guitar Center for more.

Fender Player II Limited-Edition Electric Guitar Moonlight Drive

(Image credit: Guitar Center)

The Fender Player II Moonlight Drive series follows two Guitar Center x Fender releases last year, with the not-too-dissimilar Daytona Blue trio of instruments arriving after a Tiger’s Eye run, which also added an SSS Strat to the mix.

Keeping in the Fender family, Guitar Center also recently teamed up with Gretsch to drop an exclusive Streamliner with some unusual but charming f-holes. There was even an Epiphone tie-in as it dropped an exclusive Widow Les Paul.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.

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