Fender Guitar Care: Tips for the Best Tone

Everyone knows that Fender guitars are some of the most consistently high-performing instruments available to play. In addition to their iconic designs and infinite playability, they are capable of a wide-range of versatile sounds that have soundtracked popular music ever since the introduction of the Fender Telecaster in 1950.

But how can you make yours sound even better?

Keep reading for our top tips on new guitar care, accessories, upgrades and modifications you can make to your guitar to get a little more from your investment..

Straight out of the box, your guitar should be set-up and ready to play.

To make sure it stays this way, it pays to devote some time every so often to cleaning your guitar, making sure to regularly change the strings and polish the fretboard in order to avoid a dull and lifeless tone.

If you need to learn a little more about how to clean and polish guitars, including cleaning a Fender guitar, we recommend checking out this blog for a full guide:

To make sure you’re fully prepared before starting work on your instrument, we’ve also compiled this list to help you decide what is the best guitar polish cleaner and so you know what cloth to use to clean your guitar:

If you’re going to be taking your guitar out to any gigs, rehearsals, or music lessons, then you should definitely use a gig bag or a hard case to ensure your tone is always as good as it can be.

Storing and transporting your guitar properly will ensure that the body, hardware, and strings are protected from dust, dirt, and other contaminants, as well as protecting it from knocks or accidental damage.

By keeping your guitar safe from the elements, you’ll be able to spend less time on maintenance and more time on shredding!

At PMT we stock a wide range of excellent guitar cases that you can browse here:

If you want to know how to get a better tone on guitar, we’ve compiled some extra accessories, upgrades, and modifications you can make to ensure you’re always getting the best from your Fender.

Not all of these tips will be right for you and your guitar, but they are things to consider which can elevate your sound to the next level!

Changing the pickups in your guitar will allow you to completely fine-tune the types of sound you can make. Whilst some pickups are renowned for their bell-like clean tones, others are especially suited to hi-gain and distorted tones.

Installing new pickups that are more suited to your favourite types of playing will lead to a better tone that enhances your individual style, as well as making your instrument completely unique.

Our range of pickups include industry-leading models from Fender, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio and many more.

If your guitar sounds great but you’re not entirely comfortable with how it plays, then a new guitar neck could be a great option. By changing to a neck that makes playing easier for you, you’ll be able to concentrate on how you’re playing and, in turn, get a better guitar tone.

Some guitar necks look extra cool, too - check out this Player Series Stratocaster Neck with stunning Block Inlays:

Changing out the hardware on your guitar could also refine your playing and lead to improved tone.

Some guitar modifications are quite common, such as changing the bridge style or vibrato unit. Many Jaguar and Jazzmaster players prefer to install a Mustang bridge unit or even convert the guitar to a hardtail model. These subtle adjustments might inspire you to play differently and can have a profound effect on how your tone sounds.

For a full range of guitar parts, click here:

Purists might say that using effects on your tone is cheating, but guitar pedals are a surefire way to instantly enhance the sound of your guitar.

Since 2018 Fender have offered a range of stompbox FX units that are budget-friendly and filled to the brim with features. One of our favourites at PMT is the Mirror Image Delay.

This impressive unit comes with 3 different types of delay (Digital, Analog & Tape) and hosts a set of fully tweakable parameters such as Depth, Rate, Feedback, Time, and Level.

Capable of subtle rock’n’roll echo or full-blown psychedelic freakout, this pedal works especially well with other Fender pedals such as ‘The Bends’ Compressor and ‘The Pelt’ Fuzz.

Try it with the ‘Tre-Verb’ Digital Reverb and Tremolo Pedal for some cool, spacey sounds!

Need some more insight on your Fender guitar? Come along to your local PMT store today or call us on 0151 448 2089 to speak to one of our Guitar Experts about your needs.

PMT is also happy to help with guitar maintenance checks in-store. Simply bring your guitar along to your local PMT and one of our Experts will assist you in getting the best from your instrument.