Image: Ory Thompson from United States, CC BY 2.0 — via Wikimedia Commons
Fender Showmaster
| Category | Strings (electric guitar) |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | USA |
| Classification | electric guitar |
| Wikipedia | en.wikipedia.org |
| Wikidata | Q836155 |
Overview
The Fender Showmaster is an electric guitar produced by Fender from the late 1990s into the mid-2000s. It was based on the familiar body shape but configured for hard rock and metal styles, typically with humbucking pickups, a thinner neck profile, and locking tremolos on certain models. It sat alongside other Fender attempts to compete in the high-output guitar market.
Origin & History
By the late 1990s Fender had spent two decades watching brands such as Jackson, Charvel, and Ibanez dominate the hard-rock guitar market. The Showmaster was one of several Fender responses, offering Stratocaster styling with specifications tuned for high-gain playing. The line went through several variants — set-neck, neck-through, bolt-on, with different pickup configurations — before being discontinued.
How It’s Played
The Showmaster is played like any modern double-cutaway electric guitar. Many models include humbuckers for a thicker, hotter tone, and some are equipped with a Floyd Rose-style locking tremolo for dive-bomb effects without losing tuning stability. The contoured Stratocaster body keeps the instrument comfortable for long stage use.
Cultural Significance
The Showmaster did not become a flagship model in the way the Stratocaster or did, but it shows how Fender adapted its catalogue to changing genre demand at the turn of the millennium. For collectors today it represents a specific moment in Fender’s competitive history rather than an enduring icon.
Related Instruments
- – the body-shape parent of the Showmaster
- Fender Toronado – a contemporary Fender experiment
- – the other long-running Fender solidbody
- Gibson Nighthawk – a similarly genre-flexible competitor
- Fender Marauder – another less-famous Fender model
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Fender Showmaster still made?
No. Production ended in the mid-2000s and the model has not been reissued in its original form.
What style of music is the Showmaster suited to?
It was built for hard rock and metal, with humbucking pickups and locking tremolo options on many variants.
Image: photograph by Ory Thompson, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
