Fender Cyclone

I have just bought my 2nd cyclone ( i sold the first one two years ag to cover bills etc after a seperation) This cyclone is an 2002 model in the Fabulous Orange colour they did these and the Toronado in. It has a Texas special staggered pole piece singlecoil in the neck with a zebra atomic humbucker in the bridge. Vintage bent steel saddle trem unit with vintage spilt shaft machine heads, mustang style tone and volume knobs plus a 3 way les paul type switch. 24 3/4" scale length 9.5" radius rosewood board on a maple modern C shaped neck.
Cant think of anything else you need on a guitar of this type.

The sound is where this guitar shines, that texas special is a brilliant pickup can nicely overdrive a clean valve amp to get a loverly bluse type breakup tone but role back the vloume a bit for strat like sounds ( allthough slighty warmer as the scale length is shorter). The inbetween switch position (single& Hum) is nice too offering 70's like strat sounds with a touch more bite and brilliant trebles. The Humbucker is a beast, not sure what the specs are but its a hot output, a little too mid rangy for my tastes so will eventaly swop out for either a duncan JB or custom custom. Tone control works well but not much range over the whole pot same as the volume, they are full sized alpha pots but I'd recommend changing if you play with them a lot for your sounds when gigging.

Got mine seccond hand so cant comment on set up. Mine came with a nasty scratch on the upper bout through to the wood but at least it shows just how thin the poly coat is, which is probably why this guitar rings out and resonates so well. Overall a superbly well made mexican guitar on par with USA strats/teles etc ( own both). The guitar in my mind though does have some flaws in its design/construction, I don't know if its all Cyclones but this one and the last one I had both suffer from the bridge being fitted slightly too close to the neck as intonation suffers. Most saddles are set back as far as they can go but the intonation is still ever so slightly sharp at the 12th fret. I intend on trying a different bridge with more movement to try and help this matter. The nut like most non USA guitars will need some work as the ever familliar pinch on the G & B strings is there so using the trem ( i dont its locked down) or excessive string bending causes these strings to lose pitch.
Also the tuners have begun to slip and will be replaced with schallers /fenders in the near future. I know that sounds like a lot of things wrong with this guitar but honestly it sounds amazing, you can cover a lot of ground sonicaly with this guitar and best of all you get that fender sound without having the same old looking guitar as everyone else out there, plus the shorter scale length means a more supple playing and easier playing guitar.

well its 7 years old and the frets are still like new. If you gig a guitar a lot you ca nexpect the oxidation to the bridge and the odd scratch and dings to appear but I suspect this guitar will survive well beyond me. Good quality woods with a nice weight and a great neck.

never dealt with Fender which could be argued means they make great products but I always play a guitar before i buy it as Fender like any manufacturer can and do sometimes let a dud leave the factory ( the friday afternoon guitars i call em)

With its retro looks, versatile sounds and amazing playability there is nothing to dislike about this guitar (once suitable mods have been made - i.e tuners and bridge). Treat it right and you'll be playing this thing till a refret is needed hopefuly in 10-15 years time!
Its a keeper!

I think mine is an 04 Fender Cyclone made in Mexico. Cream with the red shell scratch plate. Atomic humbucker in the bridge and single coil neck. Thats a great combo in my opinion. Was previously upgraded with graph tech saddles and the tremolo is essentially locked by using huge springs. I like the location of the toggle switch. I rock out and never hit it by accident (like I do on my Les Pauls).

The pickups are surprisingly good. I expected to replace them immediately but I'm keeping them. Playing through my Lee Jackson it has a very nice tone. I actually like the mid-position pickup combo.

I bought mine on ebay. Setup was a total joke - probably why someone sold it. The neck was hugely curved and the action sucked very badly. I adjusted everything and its pretty good, but could be a little better on the low E and A. A little fret polishing may be needed. Build quality is ok. Nothing special. Tuners work and stay in tune, but their design sucks (big open slot in the top).

Should be fine.

Its a guitar.

I had a Squier Cyclone that sucked very badly indeed. It wouldnt stay in tune at all, mostly because of the retarded bridge saddles that allowed the string to wander up and down. This one has graph techs and a locked tremolo and stays in tune very well. I have a set of Schaller tuners that I may install because i think these are a little irritating to use, but on the otherhand I dont want to modify the headstock really.

I love the way the guitar hangs on the strap. Its body-heavy and hangs at a steep angle like my Les Pauls. I love playing this guitar. I love how it sounds too. I'm so damn glad I bought one. Its gorgeous to look at too.

Mine's a 98 MIM metallic red finish mustang style body, strat style tremolo, 24.75 neck-same as les paul which is good for me i love small scale necks, 22 frets? i think but that doesnt matter, 1 volume and 1 tone knob but my tone comes from my amp anyways,atomic humbucker works great and tex mex single is warm sounding. Alder body rosewood fretboard and maple neck. 3 position toggle switch is awesome.

This guitar for my stle of music anything from hard rock to indie to alternative to punk. Right now i run it throught a Fender Frontman Series II 25R amp but im looking to invest a little more in a half stack after this summer. if you play theneck pickup with distortion is hums some but that hum is cut out with the atomic h/b. i love th versitility of the humbucker to the single. the tex mex is a little too warm for me but that can be replaced if you dont like. even if you hate the tex mex buy it for the atomic humbucker.

Mine was used but neck was still straight. Pickups worked great and still do. Bridge pins moved a little and some werentstraight and wont fix but you can buy new ones (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Vintage-Strat-Bridge-Sections-Set-of-6?sku=361341) neck is pretty fast and very smooth, great shape. My switch did mess up and sometimes when in the neck position it will pop back out but those can be replaced. The tuners will slip a little but what i suggest doing is either what i am about to do with the advice of a friend at the guitar shop here is put on some schaller locking tuners or you ca do what i did before just use heavier gauge strings which shouldn be a problem because this wasnt made for some yngwie malmsteen crap.

This guitar stands up to jamming in garages with friends, and even littl gigs. i cant say a lo of live playing because i dont have a band to do that with and havent expierenced it yet. i depend it completely i have 2 otherguitars but only play this one now. strap buttons are solid but i suggest strap locks just because strap ends can wear down and slip off. if i had a gig i would definitely use it without a backup its great.

ive never dealt wth fender about it only with kevin at railroad bazaar just to see if the schaller locking tuners woud fit....nothing has gone wrong at all

ive been playing about 3 years so im not great at this stuffbut in my opinion and my guitar teacher s opinion and opinios of friends it is a great guitar.i would definitely find another one to buy it i lost this one. i love the mustang body, large headstock, pearloid pickguard, metallic finish, control plate, knobs, tex mex and atomic pickups, toggle switch, evrything basically. Only thing i dont like is the tuners. Favorite feature is probably just th mustang body in general, im a die-hard kurt cobain lover. i compared it to a strat hss before buying but decided on this because of the body and sound of the atomic humbucker. i sort of wish it was hardtail tremolo isworthless and just makes it go out of tune but whatever.

Features as below reviews.

People say it sounds strat-y but I think it sounds quite a bit brighter than my strat. The Atomic h/b is fantastic- even though I'm not a big h/b user. The neck pick-up seems to vary a lot- sounds stronger through solid state amps than tube amps (to me). Can border on harsh (but not brittle) but through the JC-120 or the Stauss the neck pick-up gets this great tube-like complexity about it.

I play mellow alternate to edgey indie pop (that's some range, I know...). Use mostly Fenders into (mainly) a Little Big Muff, Boss DF-2 feedbacker, MXR Phase 45, Carl Martin trem, Boss DSD-2 sampler/delay into a Roland JC-120, Fender Super 210 tube combo or ancient Strauss head and Sovtek quad. Suits me well, although I have to switch to my strat when it's more mellow, so it loses a mark for versatility. But fantastic.

Second hand but all good. Only problem was that the volume knob had separate from the pot.

I think it will withstand live playing but it does need retuning once in a while, and its my only guitar that needs that. When trem is used it has issues but I find if you use it moderately, it's ok. I would suggest if you use the trem arm a lot, maybe invest in Gotoh tuners and bridge.

Never play without a backup kids!

Hm...Fender...have you got the 1952 tele with serial no. 001? If you do, they want to know all about you. Otherwise...

I've been playing for about 15 years and own a lot of gear. This is a really under-rated guitar. it's small and neat, sounds pretty good and looks a treat with its Mustang body. For the money, you can't go wrong- especially if you want to mod it etc. It feels more comfortable to me than either the Mustang or Jaguar and the Jagstang doesn't have the body contours, so of all the alt-rock Fenders, I think it wins.

Mexcan made in 2001 I think.
The number of frets does not matter. That's a new thing...
Yellow - very ugly...
1 Volume 1 Tone - efficient
Atomic Humbucker that screams in bridge and hot single in neck.
Body style is complete ugly as well...
Tuners...I think (they're not good)

Sounds good if you're a good player with a good tube amp (who uses solid state - garbage). Mine won't stay in tune for anything. The atomic sounds like a nuclear explosion through a Marshall...neck single coil sounds really nice as well.

Action is and always ends up high...obviously a low quality build (Mexican). You want a good guitar, buy an American made Strat or the '52 Tele reissue.

I really got a kick out of Mr. Spizio (a punk) screaming and cursing throughout his submission. Old guys? How old are you buddy, 8 or 9? I really liked the language...I'll bet he wrote that when he was drunk and/or stoned on who knows what...

You cannot gig with this guitar because it won't stay in tune for more than a half of song, especially if you bend the strings!

I can't comment on this as I've always stopped playing it after one song...sounds good for a while but because of the poor quality that only lasts a little while. Reminds me of the old Fiat cars...they were good when they were running but they didn't run for very long!

I'm using mine for parts. The neck is going to go on a Strat I have laying around. I'll use the pickups on something else for sure. They're really nice, especially that humbucker.

N/A

I own over 30 guitars and like 10 amps I think...I've got and have played every guitar (post 70's and after) so I do have a bit of experience. I've played in bands for 30 years, everything from "heavy metal" (a new term for hard rock), blues, rock. I guess some punk rock although I had seen AC/DC back in 1978 I think and they were a warmup band and were called "punk rock". Now they're called "classic rock". In another 25 years they'll be old rock and roll so I don't like to classify music. It's all just rock & roll! Except for Grunge...that's rock played out of tune and really badly...(Kurt Cobain...hello...)

Well, the fender cyclone is a pretty straight-up guitar. Mine is a 2004 I think. (i bought it new that year) It has the tex-mex single coil at the neck position and that wonderful atomic humbucker in the bridge position. 20 or so frets (???...hell i dont play up there), A srat tremolo bridge, a volume and tone control, and a 3 way pick-up selector. basically I see the damn thing as a strat meets a mustang...and i love both of them.

Great sound. The one tone control and the 3 way selector are great for those bastards that dont like to screw around with setting up your tone. I play punk, grunge, metal, and a wee bit of the blues, and the cyclone has worked great for all of them. I ususally use the humbucker for distorted shit and the single coil for cleaner stuff. But dont get me wrong!!! No one has mentioned how great the single coil pickup sounds distorted. It has a ultra warm sound with all of that wonderful fender clangyness. Basically, that setting works great for straightup 5th chords that you want to sound evil as hell. The coil is kinda noisy when the volumes cranked and your not playing anything, but the humbucker is nice and quiet. I use a peavey bandit, no effects, and i can get a wide variety of tones out of the the two. The sound is really good for grunge/90s players especially, and looks great too. Basically, awesome for just rockin out.

I yanked it out of its gigbag and it was beautiful. A nice black color with the toritise shell pickguard. I did have to tweak it a little over time to get what i wanted. I raised my strings , bought new saddles (fenders saddles do suck, i broke about a string a week with the stock ones) put thicker strings on it, and "locked" the tremolo in place using a pen and a papertowel (it did slip out of tune, especially when using the tremolo). But all in all, the factory set up is good for most players. All of my "customizations" are just due to my own playing style. The guitar is wonderful to play. Fits like a glove???...Hell yeah.

This thing is a total tank. Totally dependable. Ive had it for 9 months and it has endured: falling on the floor about 20 times, thrown onto the ground 5 times, headstock being burned, cigarettes being put out on it, being thrown into a wall, being thrown into an amp, hitting someone with it, throwing it into the car or couch countless times, being played to hell at least an hour each day, and smashing 20 beer bottles. AND IT STILL SOUNDS GREAT!!! The wall and floor did take its toll on the finish, but why the fuck wouldnt it?! I would not recommend that users do this to their prized instruments...but it WILL survive.

Umm...I think if I contacted them they would tell me to go to hell. I dont care at all for warranty and shit like that.

Ive been playing 3 years, and I am totally happy with the cyclone. I love the sound and durability and straight up "balls" of this guitar. If it were stolen I would totally buy another one. It has everything I need as a player. I am happy with it...:)

my cyclone is a 98 MIM in creamy yellow finish and red pearloid pickup. HOTT. the thing I really like about my cyclone is the neck. the shape is perfect for my hands-i feel like i can access any part of the fingerboard with ease (and I dont wear my guitars above my beer belly like some of those old geezers).

the pickup combination provides a good range. the atomic humbucker at the bridge works miracles for me, but I often use the neck pickup too. depends on what i play of course.

my favorite feature of the guitar has to do with the headstock. bigger, but not that big. love it! give the guitar character.

only problem with the guitar as far as features go, is that i can't seem to find a darn hard shell case that fits....any ideas anyone?

I play mainly 90's Rock (nirvana, weezer, foo fighters, pumpkins, pearl jam...you know what i mean) and for that purpose, this guitar is great. The bridge humbucker works really well for that kind of music.

I am starting to get into more classic rock stuff like the allman bros and this guitar is definitely holding up. and now i actually use the neck pickup too and i have no complaints about it either. then again, i'm still learning to become an old grumpy tone snob so what do i know, right?

I think a big factor to the range I can get out of this guitar and being able to get the sounds I want has to do with the amp I have. I run this guitar into a Marshall ValveState 100. I absolutely love that amp (but i'm selling it and replacing it with a smaller one like the Orange Rocker 30 because I got a nice job and will be moving to a nice apt where the only other person that will appreciate hearing me rock out at 3am is the doorman woh needs to try to stay awake anyway). With that said, I should add that I've also owned a mid 90's squier standard strat (made in USA!), fender 50's strat reissue, and an esp eclipse...and those...they dont sound as good thru my amp as the cyclone does...in my opinion at least..so there's my assessment of the sound.

I got this guitar on ebay for an incredible price. the guitar came with some dents, but the neck had been very well taken care of (straight as an arrow! the seller advertised..and he wasn't lying), and the nut was replaced with a graphite one.

since it was a used guitar..it has its share of problems which i will discuss later. for right now, i easily adjusted the guitar to my liking so i would say ....Fabulous = 10.

So this guitar came used....the strap nut on the 'top' of the guitar comes loose sometimes...but what annoys me the most is that the screw closest to the output jack has stripped the wood...(from years of plugging and unplugging the cable perhaps). So each time I need to unplug my cable, I have to hold down the face plate. Doesn't affect playing or sound at all tho. One more complaint is that the toggle switch is a bit worn out or something. I sometimes can't get any sound in the neck pickup position.

These are all signs of an old, frequently used electric guitar tho. I just need to get my act together and bring it into the store to get it taken care of. no tools at home for soldering.

N/A

Well, i got it for 180 bucks..it came ready to play...and only minor adjustments had to be made to 'perfect' the action to my liking. so value wise..i would say its a 10...fantastic value.

i've been playing for almost 10 years but i'm not a real serious player. i performed a couple of times in high school but in college i am just a guitar yuppy. I love to play because I love music (like people who play basketball because they watch the sport). I also have other hobbies....so i'm by no means your guitar expert.

i've owned a few guitars...but guess what...this is the only one i have now. each of the others i spent more money on...but they just didn't feel as good. graduating and moving soon...this is the only piece of my current rig that will be making the trip with me. awww....

My cyclone's was made in '98 in Mexico, its candy apple red and has an aged white pearloid pickguard..... equiped wif an atomic humbucker and a single coil tex mex.... Rosewood fretboard and maple neck.... vintage tuners..... i've also taken hte liberty to customize my cyclone ... the volume and tone plate has been replaced with a solid jarrah plate (jarrah is an australian hardwood)....... the back plates and the plate which holds hte neck has also been replaced with jarrah and coated in tung oil.

The sound is exceptional......... atomic humbucker is a beast .... awesome for grunge and metal and all types of distortion while the tex mex with its mellow tone is great for clean ....... the atomic humbucker has minimal feedback when turned up high but hte tex mex seems to let off a mild hum ..... thats the onli downfall in my opinion ..... i run this baby through a digitech gnx4 and a marshall mg100dfx half stack so i can generally get any sound i'm looking for... i guess u can onli expect to get great sound through great equipment .... dont expect a great deal if ur goin to run it through a cheap chinese made 10 watt amp

fits like a glove great feel ....... one of hte most comfortable guitars u'l ever play ..... the fat neck is luxurious in some ways .... fits ur palm perfectly ....... relatively fast action too ..... no flaws ... i've had it for 7 years now ....

its a lil tank .... very durable doesnt easily cop scratches too which is a big bonus ....... the finish is marvelous ... always seems to shine
i've giged it, very dependable very unlikely to fuck up on you, i'd gig it without backup

Never had an issue

been playing for the best part of 8 years, and considering i'm onli 16 thats half my life, i play a variety of styles from led zep to metallica to beatles to clapton to floyd ......... and exceptional all rounder guitar. i dun know if i'd replace it if it were stolen ....... it was one of the first production year guitars..... the build of cyclones nowadays is a lil shotty... has sentimental value ... i wont ever sell it and i'd prob try to hunt the cunt who stole it..... oh and its a bargain guitar which could easily have a higher price tag

my fender cyclone was made in 2003 mim. has 22frets 24.75 scale. 1 volume 1 tone . the atomic humbucker in the bridge is ok its not to hot and not to cold. i dont really care for the tuners vintage style will probley be replaced. with it came with 10s on it

i love this guitar, it fits my body perfect the way it hangs on my hip. i suits my music style really well 90s rock . the neck pickup is kinda blusey. my gear is a peavey bandit 75 with a boss ds1 or a zoom 505.

the guitar was set up ok could have been better.
the pickups needed to be raised a little but who cares.
the tuners werent that great like i said will be replaced with somthing. but over all after i set it up it sounded like a rockin machine. plays perfect now.

this guitar will withstand anything you throw at.
the cyclone should last a life time if you take proper care of it.
you could deffintlly gig with it even without a backup imo. very dependable.

not that reliable i called fender and asked where i could find a tortoise pickguard for my cyclone. they said they were currently unavaliable and dont know when it will be back in stock. though it would look good on candy apple red.

over all i would rate this as a 10 very reliable great guitar i just love it

1999 Fender Cyclone, MIM, Sunburst everything was original.

The guitar sounded pretty good, unless you play a d chord. The g string on this guitar would NEVER stay in tune, and the whole guitar had a serious problem with staying intune. I dont know why, it might have been a bad nut, or the strat tremelo or the small body, i have no idea. The humbucker was very dirty, and the single coil was just like the neck pickup on a Tex-Mex strat. Got that Kurt sound perfect.

I got it used, but it was horrible to play. Really made me upset because it was so beautiful, and had such a good sound.

I played it live 3 times and it went out of tune every single time.

Never tried to deal with fender

I have been playing for about 3 years. I have a 1976 Twin, and all kinds of differnt effects, always searching for the perfect stuff.



www.jeffersoncolby.com

Made in Mexico. I believe it is 2002 and is orange. I got a good deal because the shop said they couldn't move this color guitar, I like the color a lot. It actually looks really beautiful with the rosewood finger board. Everytime I take my guitar out of the case or play a show it draws more attention than I want. In fact, while it is on the stand before and after sets, a lot of crowd members and other bands make there way over as close to stage as possible to get a better look. I guess I'm trying to say this guitar has a unique look without being outragous.

This guitar works for everything I want to play. I run it through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12 and use a Boss DS1 distortion pedal. This setup is the exact sound I want. I found the guitar to sound a little bright when used with cheaper solid state amps, but when run through tubes, it is rich and full. The neck pickup is really great for clean tones and warm bluesy riffs. The bridge pickup is perfect for distorion and full sounding rock. Like I said, this setup is perfect for me.

The action was actually pretty well from the factory. I did some changes to set it up how I like, and I've never felt more comfortable playing than when I use this guitar. All the hardware was in perfect shape. The pickups were set a little high so I backed them off a bit. The neck didn't have proper relief set to it, almost perfectly straight. I had to loosen the bolt about 3/4 of a turn to get the relief right, but like I said, now it plays just right.

This guitar is great for live playing and has never failed me. I don't use a backup and don't feel like I need to. The finish is very resistant. I always use strap locks so I don't know how the buttons are. I wouldn't want any other guitar on stage.

No experience.

I've been playing for about 11 years. I have a Les Paul Studio and Telecaster. The Cyclone is my favorite out of the guitars I own and I will always pick it up first. I actually bought it before I ever played just becuase of the great price and now I can't ever imagine not having it. I have a couple amps, Marshall, Hughes/Kettner, but I use my Fender Deville almost exclusively. I don't really use effects, just distortion through a DS1 and somtimes wah. If this guitar was lost or stolen I would probably go into deep depression. Every guitar, even same brand and model, is different. This is MY guitar and we belong together.

Enough has been said by the previous reviewers about the features. I like the simplistic beauty of the Cyclone. Fender put some great quality hardware on this baby.

I've used this guitar in a practice room with a Bruno amp (not sure what model) but it sounded excellent! The tex mex p/u is my favorite - very SRV/Hendrix sounding with plenty of volume. The jury is still out on the Atomic Humbucker. Initially, I thought the sound was a little trebly and not my cup of tea but with a little effort on my part, I've been able to dial in some decent sounds on the fly -- it hasn't disappointed me yet. In any case, it's nice to have the option of a good, powerful pickup.

One of the most comfortable guitars I've ever played (I've owned Jazzmasters, Teles, an Explorer). Very light and great craftsmanship.

A real workhorse! I can't see any problems.

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I've been playing for many years and I have to say that the Cyclone is one of the greatest deals -- EVER! This guitar can get almost any sound you want from jazz - heavy alt rock. The bottom line is that this guitar RAWKS!

1 atomic humbucker, 1 tex mex strat single coil, strat tremolo, made in mexico,3 way selector, 24.75 scale length.

This is where the problems come in, no, not the sound problem, its the player problem, this guitar was made for grunge, punk, alternative, surf, none of that old country music bullshit there is, if you want a fucking ugly guitar for fucking pathetic music like country, get yourself a telecaster. Any person who doesn't play grunge, rock, punk, go fuck yourself, this guitar is meant for that! It sound great by the way.

It was set up good, nothing was loose, I can slide my hand down the fingerboard perfectly. I changed the strap buttons to Dunlops.

IT'S A FENDER FOR FUCKS SAKE. OF COURSE IT WITHSTANDS LIVE PLAYING, I PLAY GIGS ALL THE TIME. I NEVER GO TO A GIG WITHOUT BACKUP, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN. EVERYTHING IS SOLID.

I spoke to Fender Customer Support for a showmaster, and they weren't that helpfull.

YOU OLD GEEZERS, GO GET A DIFFERENT GUITAR FOR YOUR SHITTY MUSIC. You can tell what kind of sound a guitar makes just by looking at it, and basically fender only makes 1 guitar for crappy music...the Telecaster. This guitar is awesome.

Its Mexican made and Candy Apple Red in colour with 22 frets.
It has 1 volume control + 1 tone control (some might see this as a negative but i like my guitars to be quite simple in that respect)
1 "zebra stripe" humbucker at the bridge, single coil at the next with 3 way pickup selector
Body style is similar to a Fender jaguar, with a jazzmaster style headstock- looks almost like the jag-stang but less mishapen (and in my opinion nicer)
Has a rosewood fret board which i always opt for over just the plain maple fingerboard. Il give it 10 because i honestly think this guitar is truly a great guitar and although it only has the one set of volume and tone controls it suits me perfectly!!! I fixed the bridge on mine so i can use alternative tunings without worrying about the intonation being knocked out.

The music I play in my band is alternative rock (Pixies/Smashing Pumpkins influenced)and this guitar is fantastic-sounds great with distortion when set to the humbucker and offers some woody hendrixy tones when set to the single coil and also really nice strat-like clean tones. Its great for jazz,blues,classic rock also- all in all a very versatile guitar with a very bright tone which will cut through the mix very well.

Only finish flaw was inside the guitar there was a hole drilled badly for the screw to enter but this is a minor cosmetic detail that doesnt affect its performance (and you dont see anyway -it being inside the guitar!!!) There is a volume drop when switching to the single coil but thats always expected.
Finish is of a very high standard. Action is nice and low with very little buzzing even past the 12th fret.

Its a great guitar for playing live- very robust.
I have used it with out a backup each time i have used it live.
I own a Gibson SG- but out of personal sound and tone preference I have started opting for this guitar.

Never had to contact them.

I have been playing for about 8 or 9 years now and Its definately my favourite guitar that I have ever owned.
I use a Roland Bluescube Amplifier and Boss DS-2 Distortion (otherFX also) -sounds perfect to me.
If it were stolen the person responsible would be in fear of their life.
I would descibe the guitar as playing/sounding like a mix between a fat-strat and a jaguar. great price-well worth the money (got a case thrown in as well.)

This is a Fender 2000 model Candy apple red Cyclone.
22 Fret guitar,
9.5in fret radius,
1.685 nut width.
It has a 3 way selector switch
1 volume, and 1 master tone control
Single Tex mex and an Atomic Humbucker
Poplar wood (heavy)
Offset body
Vintage style tremolo
Vintage style tuning machine heads
Included: Deluxe gig bag
459 dollars on musiciansfriend.com

The Cyclone suits my music style perfectly. I use the humbucker for my rock tones and the single for the jazzy latin tunes. I play out of a Fender Frontman 15R amp, with a Digitech RP 50 Effects petal. It isnt noisy at all. The clean effects sound perfect, my other guitar sounded distorted on the clean chanel. I love that I can bend or use vibrato and it stays in tune. There is nothing I dislike about this guitar.

It plays perfectly right out of the box. The only problem I had was the trem springs loosened up a bit, but a screwdriver can fix that! The pickups were a little high for my taste, but fully adjustable. Everything is tight. The pickup switcher, the jack, the pot's, etc.

This guitar definitly will withstand live. It is heavy so it is durable. I've bumped the head on my computer desk, and no chips or dings. The strap buttons are secure and I can mash blink 182 on it and the finish withstands that. I'll gig it without a backup.

Never had to

I've been playing for about a year and 8 monthes. This is my third guitar. I have a Squier Affinity fat strat, a Fender Resinator, and the Fender Cyclone. If it were stolen, I would hunt down the culpret, beat him, then take back my cyclone. I love the single humbucker as I've said, and the 3 way selecter instead of the 5. So far I've played (at stores) A gibson ES-333 a Fender highway 1 strat, a fender telecaster, a squier showmaster, a BC-Rich Warlock, and a PRS Custom 22. The ony guitar I would chose over the cyclone is the PRS.

i'd just like to do a follow-up. i've read a few more of the other reviews here, and i'm bothered by how brutal some of them are. one could do a helluva lot worse for 300-400 dollars. compared to a squier, korean epiphone, samick, or any of those entry-level jacksons, ibanezes, washburns, and bc riches.....this is a great guitar. the reason guys that have played for 30-some odd years don't like this guitar is because it's NOT DESIGNED FOR THEM. there are plenty of top-shelf american made guitars with hand-polished bloody pickguard screws that undoubtedly sound and play better, but unless you're 50 with a good job and only buy equipment to impress your friends or "add to your collection" to get back at your wife, this is about all you can afford. no-one will be plugging this guitar into a boutique amp...the people who buy these guitars buy the same kind of amps-not a blooming bogner or top hat, more like a crate or a peavey or a fender. i own a bloody vintage gibson les paul. people swear by the things, pay thousands for them. in my eyes, it's a heavy, uncomfortable (due to the square edges), finicky (due to the low action and nearly un-intonable bridge), one-sided guitar. it's beautiful for sure, but it's not for everyone either. i stress that these reviews are here to provide helpful input, not make people feel like the thing they own and love (or would love to own) isn't worth it because somebody with a very different opinion said so.

made in 2003 in mexico
22 frets laminated

controls: 1 volume 1 tone (later removed) 3 way pickup selector 1-NS, 2-NS&BH, 3-BH. (<-- had to repair the selector a while after I got it because the hardware was malfitted)

pickups: 1 tex-mex single slanted below the neck & 1 atomic humbucker at the bridge

electronics: passive

wood: maple neck on alder body

finish: polyester

body style: mustang

bridge: "Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo"? looks like a regular strat bridge to me.

tuners: "Fender/Ping Vintage Style Tuning Machines"

neck/scale: 24 3/4? (629 mm) (mentioned "jazzmaster neck")

accessories: came with a gig-bag


-removed tone pot (no use to turn it down)

rating: 8, i had to do some work

I designed this guitar in shop class before I found out that fender was selling it, so I bought one. The pickups were nice and loud once I fixed a minor output-jack prob, it suits me because I play loud music. The humbucker is excellent at picking up vibration from the body and feeding back, if you like that kind of thing... think sonic youth or noise rock like that..

rating: 9, i was suprised actually..

the guitar was fine out of the box, although I did file down the nut a little more for comfort and I had to move the ... string-holder-downer-thingy on the headstock up a little so the string wouldnt fall off the nut (I play at a drop-dropped tuning)

rating: 6, they designed it for preppy-ass hair-metal tuning

seems durable and have played it live.. i use tape locks, and yes I did use it without a backup. (easy to replace a string fast too)

rating: 9, that was an easy one

after all my warranty voiding maitainence? customer support? psshh

like I said, this was the guitar I designed.
Perfect for heavyer genres of rock.. damn expensive though.

Mexican Fender Cyclone made in 2003, 22 frets, alder body (like a thick mustang), 'tic-tac' orange, cheap 'vintage-style' hardware, three-way toggle, volume+tone knobs, a tex-mex single coil in the neck and an atomic humbucker at the bridge. a good word is basic.

instead of picking apart my sound, i'll call it undistorted rock. lately i've been playing a Greco ES-175 copy, and switching from that to the Cyclone is not unlike moving from one coast to the other. i'm still getting used to this thing, despite playing a strat for almost ten years. the tex-mex pickup is a little toooo punchy for a neck pickup - the atomic humbucker sounds like the average humbucker. sometimes the low end drowns out the high end and that's no good. i'm thinking of replacing the neck pickup. the sound isn't too thin, and it can growl when you want it to.

This guitar was a special order from a music store (they only had graf yellow), so it was shipped directly from fender - still had the little humidifying packet and stickers all over it). the neck was on TIGHT, and there wasn't a single scratch in the paint job. Aside from a tiny bubble of paint and polyester at the neck joint, the finish was flawless. The neck was also in perfect condition. I didn't pay too much attention to the hardware, since I replaced most of it as soon as i brought it home.

After upgrading the tuners and string saddles, this thing is a tank. I've already accidentally banged the headstock against a couple of walls (tight spaces), and the tuning didn't even budge. The main reason I got this thing was because I always feel extremely cautious playing my ES-175 live, and hollow guitars hate humidity and any temperature that isn't room temperature. I would definitely use this at a show without a back-up.

I've been playing guitar for ten years. I have the 175 copy, a 50's Stratocaster, and now the Cyclone. I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (6L6's), and a Fender Princeton 65. Before buying the Cyclone, I read up on it and noticed that everyone's number one complaint were the tuning machines. They were junk, really, but I replaced them with the Fender Schaller Locking Tuners. To anyone looking to buy this guitar, definitely get replacement tuners. And if you go with the locking ones, know that they won't fit the slightly smaller holes of the headstock. Oh yeah, and unless you are completely confident in your wood boring skills, have them replaced by a luthier (I did it myself and now there are a couple of scratches on my headstock booo). I changed out the string saddles with graph-tech saddles and added two more springs to the tremolo, too. At this point, overall, I really like the Cyclone. I'll like it even more once I get used to it.

fender cyclone. i think its a 2000...i bought it new that year. it has a black body (made out of _______wood?), maple neck with rosewood fretboard, medium frets, tortoise-shell pickguard, one humbucking pickup and one single-coil (three-way switching). vintage style trem and tuners, one volume-one tone knob.
all fender standard parts, made in mexico.
has lots of mojo...buckets of it.
it came with a gigbag and a sticker.

this guitar has a great sound in my opinion. fenders have always had a twangy-thing going on, which is true for the humbucker...even though i've had it rewound. the single is much more up my alley. with some time put in, the height of both pickups can be adjusted to where the top end isn't too shrill and the bottom end isn't warbly. i've been playing it through a 15 watt vox, a late 70's 100 watt music man, a pre-dsp fender ultimate chorus. it sounds great through all three of them, even though the music man needs to be rebiased. i wish that fender had opted for separate tone controls, because switching from the single to the humbucker results in an unpleasant twang unless the tone is backed off a bit. overall, it's a very versatile guitar, sound-wise...capable of fat clean and overdriven tones as well as screaming metalstuff. i've played radiohead, atdi, anah aevia and cream on it all in the same night through the same amp.

i've done numerous modifications to the guitar...i replaced the knobs, installed straplocks, had the bridge p/u (humbucker) re-wound a little hotter, i even tightened the trem claw down all the way and crisscrossed the springs, so it's basically a hardtail. the hardware on the guitar, namely the tuning machines and the bridge, is all i don't like. the tuners are imprecise and cheap...and the bridge isn't too hot either. i don't like tremolos, hence the immobilization...and the saddles leave something to be desired. i think my string-breakage problem can be attributed mostly to the cheap saddles fender uses on everything under $1000. i plan to replace them as soon as i can come up with $50. otherwise, the fit and finish are great. the frets are all even and smooth, there are no blemishes (well, now there are...) and the rest of the machinery is just ducky. the action is perfect, at least for me.

the guitar is a tank. it's seen several years of pretty heavy use. the lacquer on the treble side of the neck is wearing off, probably because i play it too much. but it's been dropped, nicked, hammered on and obssessed over alot, and nothing has broken. the thing sounds great no matter what, and i have to hand it to fender for having a reputation for building tough guitars.

so far, nothing has gone wrong...so i've yet to deal with fender. my hope would be thery're nice people. but i'll leave this one blank.

i've been playing seriously for four years...i'm currently in a 5-piece original rock band that sort of denies a genre at this point. i use the amps listed above, a late 60's gibson les paul custom (which isn't mentioned here because i don't play it much) 2 taylor acoustics, a 76 alvarez classical, and an ampeg g-60 head (without a cab...) the fender was one of my first purchases and probably one of the wisest. i never let the thing out of my sight, but if someone did manage to steal it, i'd be heartbroken, but would sell a limb to get another one. i've never seen anyone else playing one, which is cool, so i don't compare it with anything. it's in its own league as of now.

made in mexico 24 3/4 scale length. alder body with rosewood frettboard. 1 vol 1 tone 3 way switch, texmex single coil and atomic humbucker. vintage tunners that wont stay in tune!

well writting about sounds is impossible and eveyone has a different view on sound but here goes.... the neck pickup is ok its loud enough to not have that much a drop in volume when switching from the humbucker but its a little too trebly, the lower notes seem smudged together to allow the higher notes to ring out. now the humbucker has a nice loud output and gives a great alt rock sound which i think fender designed the guitar for, its got lots of middle but nearly now bass or treble response. the best sound from this guitar comes from the middle switch position when you blend both pickups together. it gives a nice warm well balanced blusey kinda sound which is a nice stark contrast to the high trebleness of the guitar overall.

When i got this guitar the finish was flawless and the action ok, the intonation was nearly spot on a first with all the guitars ive bought.
now heres where we have problems. whatever the fretts are made of is weaker than the stuff earnie ball uses for his strings. ive had the guitar for over a year now and the first 5 fretts are allready pitted. i know what your thinking but i play all over the frett board and have 4 other guitars to play so it just cant be me playing open chords too much. the neck is a little too narrow for my likeing as when you go to bend either E strings they get choked on the fret edges , this on a 1/2 step bend!!!! the truss rod is great however and really lets you get the neck straight. I play 1/2 step down on normal concert tunning and use 11's to compensate on the string tension and the guitar handles it well, you'll never be able to get the action super low on this guitar without excessive acoustic string rattle but you can get it low without the rattle comming through the amp. the tremelo on this guitar might be good i wouldnt know as i dont use it and have clamped the bridge right down. the weight and balance of this guitar is perfect and apart from the issues ive raised i find it a real joy to play.

like i said the fretts wont last long but mine might be the only one with this problem. im looking at a refrett pretty soon. the tuners will hold well if you use heavier string gages but when i used 9's or 10's they would constantly fall out of tune. the neck is prone to warp slightly with climate changes but dont worry because the truss rod is really great at composating for this. id say this guitar would withstand constant gigging obviously the body is prone to dings etc but the neck is rock solid (apart from the fretts!) i dont think it'd fall apart or smash apart too easily.

never dealt with them but im gonna check to see if the fretts are included in the limited warrenty or not. probably not, but we'll see.

I put this review on here to help people decide if this is the guitar for them as i allways check this site before buying anything new even after ive tried the guitar/amp out its nice to know if things are still great a year or two down the line.
Ive been playing for around 10 years and this was the first fender i bought and based on this guitar alone id buy fender again. the guitar is reliable and sounds good in the right situation, the finish was flawless and all the parts seem built to last, if your considering buying the reissue mustang dont! buy this instead it'll give you more pleasure and last at lot longer than the mustang will.
if the guitar should get lost or damaged id buy it again definatly but id like to see a better colour chice than the yellow or orange the ydid them in when i bought one.

2000 Mexican Fender Cyclone
Red
Pearloid pickguard
3 way toggle switch
S/H pickup configuration
I have no idea what its made of
Strat-style bridge
gig bag included

The Cyclone looks like a Mustang. I like the sound alot. I play alot of punk, grundge, classic rock and the occasional blues (only the songs I write). This guitar holds up very well. I have only one complaint. The little strap-holder thingy keeps coming unscrewed. My friend Austin's does too. Other than that, No Complaints

My brother, Josh bought it at Mars Music in Plano TX. I liked the action very much. The pickups were apparently fine, too. I liked the guitar the second it fell into my hands. The finish was good. With the exception of frequent stops at the local music store for broken strings, No Complaints

I dropped this guitar so many times from the strap thingy coming unscrewed while playing live. With the exception of a half-dime sized chip on the butt, its fine!

Like, Josh, Fender was nice when they said "no" to painting mine Lake Placid Blue. Thats okay...got one of those reissue Mustangs(trash) with the LPB finish.

Been playing for 5 years. I own a Legend something (ripoff of a Jackson), a crappy reissue mustang, THE CYCLONE, a Peavey bass amp that I borrowed from Josh, a DS-1, and a Digitech RP2000. I hate the Mustang. DON'T BUY IT! but BUY THE CYCLONE!

Read other reviews for specs.
Paid $300 used, this is my second model.
Made in 2000.
Candy Apple Red finish.

I give it an 8 because of it's simplicity, which I like.

This guitar, like every other mid-priced stock Fender I've played, sounds good. Not bad, by any means, but not great either.

The Tex-Mex single coil in the neck sounds great. It is primarily a Strat pickup, and you can get a nice, warm, rounded tone with it. Great for playing bluesy solos. The tone really shines with a cranked tube amp.

The Atomic Humbucker isn't so great though. If you play with a lot of distortion, you probably won't be able to notice the tone as well. It sounds fine distorted, but when played clean it suffers. I found it to be very harsh. I eventually replaced it with a Super Distortion by DiMarzio, which has increased it's tone a significant amount. The only flaw with replacing the pickups was that the output is so much hotter in the new pickup that it doesn't round off well with the neck single coil.

Since I bought it used, I can't vouch for the factories set-up, but nearly ever Fender I've played straight out of the box has been set-up poorly. The first Cyclone I owned, which I bought straight out of the box was set up poorly.

After buying, I took to a shop to get a good professional cleaning and set up. The guitar plays very smoothly. You can get very low action, which is how mine is set up. The neck is fairly smooth, although a bit small for my hands.

The paint job is fantastic. The guitar has been dropped (and thrown) many times and there are hardly any scratches on it. The ones that did appear were able to be buffed out usually.

The pearloid pickguard has already begun to peel bad, to the point where I will probably peel the rest off to get a flat white pickguard. This will eventually happen to all pearloids, but it's obvious they used cheaper materials to make these.

Now, for the bad parts:
The saddles are cheap and move around constantly. They also came with very sharp, unrounded tops that cut my hard when playing.

The tuners are fairly cheap, and not to mention, a pain in the ass to restring, especially when you are in a rush. I know a lot of people have had tuning problems with their Cyclones, but mine has always stayed in tune fairly well, even while using the tremelo arm.

The tremelo arm has very stiff action on mine, it came this way. I use the arm quite a bit, and it never seems to knock it out of tune, or at least way out of tune.

The back-plate was made uneven, so any time you want to restring, you have to remove it. The strings do not fit through and go to the saddles. This is very annoying.

The wood seems good enough, it could have been made of Alder, which would have probably increased the tone noticably. It is made of poplar. It is heavy and stays balanced well while strapped on, though.

The guitar has with held countless hours of hard bedroom playing, as well as several band practices, and it has never failed me yet.

The tuning pegs are alright, but if gigging, I would replace with locking. The guitar is heavy, so the strap will fall of time to time.

I would bring a backup, but I would bring a backup no matter what. I think it could withstand live playing without a hitch, there is a good chance that some tuning problems may occur, but that can be resolved by switching them out, which I recommend doing anyway.

I have never talked to Fender regarding this guitar in particular, but have dealed with them on other occasions through my local shop (ordering schematics, etc.) They always were fast about getting things to me. I will leave this catergory blank, though, since I've never called them directly myself.

Over all, this is a nice intermediate guitar. It will blow cheaper guitars out of the water, but it could never hold up against any American made gear. The guitar is obviously suited for heavier rock, but I have found good blues tones in it. It is just a guitar to be worked with and will need some modifications in order to bring out it's full potential. It's obvious that the main flaw is the cheap stock Fender parts.

I just wish Fender had put on better stock parts, because modifying things can get so expensive. I defaintely wish it was made of better wood and they would have opted for different tuners and saddles. A bigger selection of colors would be nice as well, I've thought about getting it refinished, but I probably wouldn't risk it.

I've been playing for about 5 years now, and this is my second Cyclone. I sold my first a few years back in order to buy another guitar. I have owned several others (Epiphones, Fenders) and this one was probably better than them all.

If lost, I probably would upgrade to better gear, but that is just a personal preference. I am sure this guitar will get better with age.

Since the release of Deluxe Cyclones and the Squier line, the regular models are no longer being manufactured.

Specs:
2002 Mexican made Fender Deluxe Series Cyclone
22 Fret Rosewoood Fingerboard on bolt-on maple neck
Master Volume, Master Tone controls / 3-way selector switch
1 Tex-Mex Strat single-coil (neck) and 1 Atomic Humbucker (bridge)
Traditional strat-style spring-block tremelo
Mustang-style body, made of Poplar
Horrid tuners and poor-quality bridge saddles

I give it a 6. Most who would be reviewing this guitar a month or so after aquiring it, would probably rate it higher, but they probably haven't experienced the quality of an American-made guitar.

Amps used: Fender 30-watt Champion 30 DSP solid-state amp, and Fender '65 reissue Deluxe Reverb 22-watt tube amp

The Tex-Mex single coil is actually pretty good. It would probably shine on a guitar of better craftsmanship. When my guitar had its "good days", I could get a very smooth stratocaster-like sound (and I should know, I have an American Fat Strat). Played clean, the humbucker is a little thin, without much character. Somebody coming from a cheaper guitar might not think so, but it just doesn't even come close to measuring up to the Seymour Duncan Pearly gates in my fat-strat. Driven, it gets a very crisp crunchy sound that really suits grunge/punk music. I actually miss that characteristic of the humbucker, but still don't think it would be worth sacrificing the deep, solid punch of my Pearly Gates HB for that sound. I could use the guitar to play Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Weezer, Foo Fighters, etc. As far as tonal palette, the guitar actually can span quite a range, but doesn't have a lot in the middle (does that make sense?) What I mean is between the humbucker and the single coil you can get sounds from each end of the spectrum, but they don't blend very well to get the sounds inbetween. Sustain isn't great, but passable. The bridge saddles are really cheap and I think they hurt the sound tremendously. Rating this category is hard. It doesn't exactly measure up to higher-end guitars, but I really think it's well above average for the price range. Hmm, duck 4 points on the overall (comparing it to all guitars) but give it and extra 2 for excelling within its price rangel. Comes out to 8.

THIS GUITAR HAD HORRIBLE ACTION. I'm not going to waste time getting into everything that was wrong because, well, it was just everything. With some work the guitar became playable, and after a lot of work played very well, but it just wouldn't ever hold tune. Replacing the tuners helped a little bit, but the poor bridge was at fault too. Eventually, after installing $80 Schaller tuners and several major adjustments the bridge, I traded the guitar in. The finish is actually quite durable. It never got a scratch on it until the day I traded it in, when it got a small gash right in the front of the guitar on the car ride over. I'm gonna duck 5 points for the lousy hardware, but it gets 2 points for the incredible finish

Like I said, the finish is very durable, and there's nothing to worry about there. The hardware is thin and of very poor quality. Uh, I don't exaclty know how to answer the questions about being able to depend on it or using it on a gig without a backup. I know that Mexian made models can vary greatly in quality. Some Cyclones I've seen are worse than mine was, while some were pretty good. The difference is in the craftsmanship, NOT the hardware. They use the same cheap hardware on all of them... So I guess If you got a "good" one, you could depend on it, as the rest of the construction is durable. As far as gigging without a backup... I think it's a stupid thing to do in any case, but I wouldn't even dare gig at all with the Cyclone I had, just because you'd have to re-tune mid-song. I'm just going to throw out a number that sounds right here... how a bout a 7?

never had to deal with 'em

I sold this guitar after six moths of struggling with it. I have seen and played others, and I know some of them can be pretty good. THIS IS THE IMPORTANT THING: Never buy any guitar sight-unseen. I did the stupid thing and bought this guitar over the internet. Never happening again. I'm a lot wiser now, and a much better guitarist. I know Cyclones are not easy to find in the run-of-the-mill guitar shops, but If you want one (and you probably would if you need versatile sound and don't want to get a Strat or Tele) go hunt for one that you can try out before you buy. Mexican shop quality varies greatly, like I said. Even American shop quality can vary just a little, so I'd even try out the EXACT guitar before I'd buy, just to make sure I get the best I can get for my money. NO TWO GUITARS PLAY EXACTLY THE SAME. Guitars that are the same model do play similarly, though. The only guitar company I think you could maybe order one of their guitars over the internet is Rickenbacker. Partly because unless you live on either seaboard, finding a dealer is hard, but also because they are renowned for having just incredible quality. So, if you have your heart set on a Cyclone, know that it can be a very good guitar for the money, but stay away from Musician's Friend and the such. Always play the INDIVIDUAL guitar in-store before you buy. You can never be to careful. After all, it's your money. Now for the rating here. Let's see. On my personal experience I'd take away probably 5 points. I'd give it back 3 because I know the Cyclone really can be a good guitar, based on other ones I've played in shops and those owned by other people. So, 8. (Hint: If you wan't a more sure-fire guitar, try the Strats and Telecasters at the same price range. Craftsmanship is better on those models than on the more exotic Cyclone/CyconeII/Mustang/Toronado models. You probably won't have to hunt around as much to find a good one)

I own a 2001 Mexican-made Fender Cyclone. I bought mine in Dallas at Mars Music before they closed. It is red and has a pearloid pickguard. 1 volume and 1 tone knob. It also had an H/S pickup setup. I think its made of poplar. It also is heavy.

I play alot of punk rock. I play throught a 25w Peavey Bass amp (I like bassier distortion) and a Digitech RP2000. In all honesty, I can't complain. For the faster, more distorted songs, the middle pickup setting is awesome. I think the Atomic hum. is pretty good. I don't realy search for sounds. With the gain cranked to 10, the Cyclone sounds excellent. When our group plays cleaner songs, I usually turn the pickup position to the neck. No Complaints.

I'm guessing someone modified it at Mars Music because it felt totally right in my hands. I could not find anything disappointing with it. Mine does not seem to suffer from the Out of Tune thing. When I tune it, it stays tuned (I use Slinky 11s). I played my first show with this guitar and everyone thought it was a Mustang. No Complaints

Of course it will withstand live playing. I play with a heavy hand and break alot of strings. I never had to change mine until they get all funky. The strap buttons are solid but don't jump up and down with it. Too heavy and the strap will fly off your shoulder. I depend on it for every show we've had. I'd use it without a backup but I don't. I favor my lighter Mustang.

I called fender to ask about painting it Sonic Blue. They were really nice when they said "no"

I've been playing roughly 2 years and I love this guitar. Its a break from the crappy stock pickups that come with the new Mustangs. If it were stolen, I'd find it and kill the thief. Mine was one of a kind and could not be replaced. I compared it to my Mustang. The Mustang was lighter but sounds like crap with distortion. i use it mostly for Nirvana covers and clean songs. I wish it was a little lighter. After a back injury 2 years ago, its not easy to jump up and down with this guitar. That is primarily why I do my jumping with the Mustang.

2003 or late 2002 Mexican made 21, frets, maple neck with rosewood fretboard, skunk stripe on the back of the neck, alder body, 1 bridge Atomic humbucker, 1 slanted single coil Tex-Mex at the neck, 3-way Gibson style toggle, 1 volume 1 tone, passive pickups. Graffiti yellow double cutaway body style, similar to a Mustang. vintage style trem with vintage style chrome tuners. Purchased with optional G & G vitange hardshell case.
I love the look of the guitar and love the graffiti yellow color, I also own a Strat in this color. The vintage style case also brings back good memories! The bridge hum and one slanted single coil is also my favorite combination it has a good middle sound.

For passive pickups these are very quite and get some good tones. I play through a Line 6 Pod Pro and like to use all sorts of vintage and modern tones and with this pickup combo I can get most sounds I'm looking for. I did find it a bit harder to get a good clean tone from the Atomic humbucker, but for distrotion tones it is well up to the task.
I'm an EMG active pickup guy all the way and will switch this guitar over to an EMG89 and SA, but I was impressed with these pickups for a stock setup.
The ground wire, that is soldered to the spring mount, was off when I removed the spring cover. That was a small chink in the armour. Not a big deal for anyone who has a soldering iron though

I ordered this guitar and it went straight from the factory, to the store, to me. The first adjustment I made was to tighten the trem flush to the guitar. I don't like floating bridges. I also am not a fan the the vintage saddles. Does anyone like these? I find myself grinding the side of my picking hand off from the saddles height screws. I will be replacing them with Graphtech saddles later. The overall string setup wasn't bad but the G string was too low and had to be brought up a bit to even out the action. I also switched the guitar to 10 guage strings and with the lowering of the trem and guage tension, the action and neck bow came out alright.
The string spacing, in relation to the neck was also off a bit to the left, but was corrected. And I noticed a tiny finish flaw by the neck in the neck pocket, nothing major, just a very small paint run.
The only other problem I can see is that the vintage style tuners are of lesser quality and will have to be replaced. They feel loose and turn too quickly, which makes it tough to tune in small steps.

The guitar overall feels really solid, the paint feels thick and the hardwars seems fine. I would probably change the tuners and pickups anyway, but I would have no problem using this guitar live, but not by itself. I've been playing live for 20 years and know better than to only take one guitar:) I've also learned to tech my own gear so nothing could happen to the guitar that I couldn't fix.

Don't know, and hope I don't have to find out anytime soon.

I've been playing guitar for 25 years and live for 20. I've owned about every guitar made and currently own 5 Steinbergers, 2 Fenders and a Fernandes. I just recently bought the Fender Strat and the Cyclone because of the look and memories that they brought back. I would change the pickups to EMG's no matter what was in it so that was no a problem. The guitar feels really great and plays nice. If it was lost I would probably replace it with another one. Overall It doesn't have the true Fender tone, but that wasn't my reason for buying it. I like the looks and the pickup configuration.

Bought a 2002 Mexican made Cyclone. Okay factory setup.
It has all the same features of the stock Cyclone, which you can read about. I did replace the tuners with Schallers. (Kinda expensive)
REALLY like the pickup configuration, though I want to replace the Strat Tremelo bridge with a hardtail. Tuners could be better, and I would reccomend placing them if it is a problem, though for most people it hasn't been.

I play pretty much everything, (except pop and obviously hiphop and folk crap) Newer rock mainly, but I like to play some great hits from previous decades. When you adjust the pickups just right it gives great sound. I play a lot of Chili Peppers, and with very slight overdrive and hard strumming using only the Tex-Mex single coil, you get an almost identical sound as Frusciante's strat. Under the Bridge sounds great like this. If you jockey with the settings it can also give a very bright, clean acoustic type sound. Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven comes out almost perfect. Now to the humbucker. The Atomic Humbucker can be both great and horrible. If you like light rock and grunge, like I do (Nirvana, Weezer, Green Day), you can get a nice, crunchy sound, which you can vary from playing Nirvana/Green Day to the little bit more distorted sound of Weezer. However, you have to have the tone and volume all the way up or you get a rather muddy sound. If you want a death metal sound, look somewhere else. With heavy distortion the humbucker is really blurry. If you keep the drive down, you can palm mute it pretty well if you're careful. Clean you can get an good, twangy sound out of the Humbucker. I like to play Sweet Home Alabama on it, and it comes pretty close to duplicating the Gibson sound. Don't really like Gibsons, well, actually I freakin' hate 'em, but this guitar does have the capability if you ever decide you want it. I think the sound competes with and even beats Epiphones/Yamahas/Ibanezes that cost more than 300 dollars over the Cyclone. In a lot of ways, especially in the range of sounds, it beats even "nice" Gibsons. ("nice" means expensive here, becuase "Nice Gibson" is an oxymoron)
Still, it's no Jaguar, but then again, what is? (I hope to get one soon) I don't believe anyone could ask more as far as sound from this guitar, even if its price were bumped up several hundred dollars.

Action used a little setup to get right, e.g. filing down saddles, adjusting hight. The workmanship on the body is really excelent. No complaints. The medium-jumbo frets take some getting used to if you're coming from a guitar with thin frets, but you can get some great hammer-ons ang pull-offs. I have a deep contempt for the Strat-style tremelo bridge. I removed the tremelo arm and never use it, as it just gets in the way. The tuners needed replacing, because they would never hold tune for even ten minutes of play. Most people haven't had a problem here, thought. I replaced them with $80.00 Schallers, (a bit overkill, I think) but I haven't had any problems since. If the tuners woulda been better, this category would have got a 9 or 10.

The first time I played on this guitar for an audience was to audition for my High School's Jazz Band, which I made. (I give credit to the awesome guitar) This was before I replaced the tuners. It went through the four-minute song without getting noticably out of tune, but other times befor I replaced the tuners, I ended up not playing at all because it sounded like absolute crap. I have dropped the guitar, quite hard, actually, and it has stood up without a scratch. I've taken it completely apart and put it back together, It has had over 200 hours of playing (I play at least 2 hrs. a day) and is still in perfect shape. It's very dependable, but I would definitively take a backup on a gig, because some envious person with a good taste in guitars might swipe it the second you turn your back. That'd be a shame really, because I'd have to run them down and bludger them to death with it. (I really don't think the guitar would be affected tham much)

Haven't had to deal with them, though I probably should have in the case of the tuners, but Schallers are better, anyway.

I've not been playing that long, A year and a half really, but I play every day at least two hours, as I mentioned above, and have have lived and breathed guitars ever since I got my first one, a crappy Squire Affinity Telecaster, which I'm thinking about completely overhauling, spare no expense. I have loved music my whole life and, though I don't want to suggest I'm a guitar prodigy or anything, it is something I have most excelled at. In chosing this guitar, I compared it to at least twelve other models, and though I'm ashamed to say it, not all of them were Fenders. Now that I've set it up myself, there's nothing I don't like about it, and I absolutely love it. I have played many guitars, from crappy to mediocre guitars, and even rather expensive ones. Ya, know, the ones when you pick 'em up in the store, the sales people look at you like, "What in the hell do you thik you're doing?", or "Put that down, because I damn sure know anybody like you who doesn't drive a Beamer can't afford it." This guitar is truly outstanding. As I mentioned above, if it were stolen, I'd track the unfortunate person down and beat them to death with it, but in the unlikely to nearly impossible scenario of me not finding them after ripping the wolrd apart looking for them, I would definitely by another one.

This is one of the older Cyclones - IE before Fender messed them up by putting the Competition Mustang stripe on them, and using the S/S/S combination with toggle switches instead of the proper and simple H/S combo that is all one would ever need to make rock music.
It's red with a white pearloid pickguard.

It has one volume and one tone but I think I would like the guitar better if it just had two volume knobs.

I do, however, like the three way toggle and the way that it's positioned right next to the cutaway. Much like a Les Paul, it makes it easy to change pickups in the middle of a riff.

I'm pleasantly surprised that stock, this guitar smokes for the type of music I play. The main band I play in writes screamy hardcore along the lines of bands like Orchid, Neil Perry, Honeywell, et cetera. Tonally I prefer something with a lot of gain and a lot of bottom end (IE Mesa/Boogie.) It's not everybody's thing. I'm sure a lot of kids instantly saw this guitar as the quickest way to copy Kurt Cobain when they saw them, since it has the Mustang body.

Well, it doesn't take a lot to cop the grunge tone if you've got a thick distortion pedal or an amp with a lot of gain and you take out the mids, so the bridge humbucker will definitely get you there right away. No worries there. It's got a pretty good amount of midrange bite that helps cut through, although it's not vintage sounding in the least to my ears. I checked it out through my friend's Fender Twin at both 3 and 10, at 3 the clean tone was terrific, and cranked to 10 you can get a terrific rock sound a la the Stooges or the MC 5.

The Tex Mex single coil is exactly what I expected - the classic Fender single coil sound clean. It gets the standard Fender Strat neck blues sound with a little gain, and you can do Elvis Costello sounding stuff with a Twin cranked and the single coil engaged.

I haven't had any problems with microphonic feedback with either pickup! I don't know if I just got lucky with my particular guitar, or if this is the case with all of them. This IS a production model guitar, just like any of Fender's Mexican made guitars, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are any inconsistancies, but I think they did a really good job with the Cyclone as well as the Toronado.

This guitar can do jazz, funk, rock, and country. I've tried all of them out, and if the rest of your gear is tweakable and you've got good fingers, then this can do pretty much anything you want it to do.

Everything was proper and in order when I bought it from Music Go Round. The only problem I've had with this guitar is every now and then, when I try to switch to the bridge pickup, there's some kind of short that makes it go completely dead, but if I switch to the neck and back again it goes away. Weird.

The only problem I've had with this guitar is every now and then, when I try to switch to the bridge pickup, there's some kind of short that makes it go completely dead, but if I switch to the neck and back again it goes away. Weird.

This guitar will hold up live, I'm sure. With the proper care, the hardware will probably last as well. The tuners seem pretty solid although I wouldn't go beating them with a hammer or anything. I've seen these Fender bridges get rusted really badly before with previous Fender instruments I've owned, but then again the example I'm thinking of was a Squier I owned about 5 years ago.

I definitely plan on playing out with this guitar, but I bought it as a backup to my SG. If something happened though, I would have no qualms about using this as my primary guitar.

I've been playing six, almost seven years. I own a 1970 Gibson SG, a Mesa/Boogie Mark III, a Mesa/Boogie Recto 2x12, an Electro Harmonix Holy Grail reverb, and a Line 6 Delay Modeler. If this guitar were for some reason stolen, I would be upset, but this isn't irreplacable. I've just always wanted a Mustang since I was 14. Yes, Kurt Cobain did make me want to pick up a guitar. I've since moved on to other forms of music, but seeing this in music stores made me a little nostalgic for the years when I was just learning to play guitar. However, most Mustangs have a bridge configuration that I hate, single coil pickups that would need routing for a proper humbucker (I hate stacked rail type pickups), unreliable tuners, and a small neck with even smaller frets that my hands don't like.

I had a Jazzmaster before that I'm still kicking myself for getting rid of (one of the less expensive Japanese ones with a fake flame maple top, in tobacco sunburst with a red shell pickguard - d'oh!), and I've always loved the way their necks feel. This is about as close as I'm going to be able to get to the way that guitar played without searching Ebay for one of the less expensive Japanese imports that I love so dearly.

At the price these are going used, these are a steal for the quality.

Its a 1998 mexican model with the standard tex mex single coil and humbucker at the back. Its black with a tortoise shell pickguard and i think it looks pretty cool. alot like a mustang, altohugh aliitle cooler. Ive only been playing for 2 tears and the only other guitar ive got is a yamaah pacifica standard which cost me #180
so this is a bloody big step up! i really like the solid feel and the sound is great.

I play mostly grunge like silverchair and nirvana and also a bit of black sabbath and it seems to tie in with that pretty well. Im running it through a BOSS GT3 effects unit and a 90w Carlsbro keyboard cobra amp (not bad for a 15 yr old :P). Ive gigged it a few times and it sounds a lot better than the pacifica.

I bought it second hand, and had to adjust the action a little as it was a bit high. The finish i thought was of high quality and the whole thing was pretty flawless ( alothugh the previous owner had thrown it a bout a bit: fancied himself as the next Cobain:P)

As i say ive only gigged it the once but it stands up really well in my opinion. A really grungy guitar.

n/a

Absoultley ten times better thn my pacifica :)

My Cyclone is a 2002 model, with 22 frets, and an alder body. Tex- Mex Single Coil in the neck and Atomic Humbucker in the bridge, with a 3- way switch. Nice hardware and a rosewood neck too. There are more specs on fender.com.

I play Hendrix/ Zeppelin/ Who and other blues based rock. The Tex- Mex is great for the clean, bluesy sound and in my opinion is the greatest Single Coil ever created. Its great for SRV- type tones also. The humbucker gives me the extra puch, overtones, and midrange boost I need, but noting compares to the Gibson '57 Classics on my SG. I use the Cyclone through a Marshall 100- watt valvestate and sometimes a Fender twin and it sounds fantastic. It is very versatile with these two pickups, although it could use another single coil. One isn't really powerful enough.

One not- so- great thing about this guitar are the finishes. They all kinda suck. I would vastly prefer a 3- tone sunburst or white, but the black and candy apple red are okay. Right out of the box, the action was great. Fast and easy to fret, but without cutting the volume too much. I like maple fingerboards better, so it would be nice if it had one. The bridge is perfect, and I really like the mustang/ jag type body.

I gig once a week, and this definately lives up to my standards. Sturdy hardware, nicely done finish, and wery dependable. A well built guitar with high- quality materials.

I don't know, i've never dealt with fender. I do all setting up myself. The warranty seems promising, though.

This guitar is great. I've been playing for 10 years and own 7 other guitars, but this is my favorite to practice and 2 favorite to gig. If it were stolen I would definately replace it. I love the unique, full tone and look of the guitar. Check one out, it's great.

You can read all the specs on the other reviews...

I play Nirvana, Silverchair, and Weezer, so mostly punk, grunge, and alternative. This guitar is great for that kind of music. The humbucker is louder than the single coil, but like someone said in an earlier review, its good for softer songs. The single coil also has an acoustic feel while the humbucker is bright with a slight crunch. I use Danelectro pedals...and with the T-Bone Distortion on, it kicks some butt!

The guitar was set up perfectly, no problems. Pickups were set great. The candy apple red is the most beautiful red I have ever seen. My neck is also a beautiful milky rosewood with creme inlays. The backplate is properly aligned to put the strings through, although some people said it wasn't on right. Also mine doesnt go out of tune while using the tremelo and I like it a lot.

This guitar can definitley stand live playing...it was meant to take a beating. The hardware is very good although you might have to put straplocks on just in case. The finish is really thick and looks like it could never be cracked. I would gig with a backup anyway in case a string breaks or something.

Have not dealt witht them for this guitar...but fender is great with repairing.

I've been playing for a few years now and already own a Fender Standard Telecaster. I tried it out against a 50s Strat and an Epiphone G-400. I really liked the Epiphone but Fender is more my style. I actually bought it without trying it out but it just had everything i wanted. The sound is great, the neck is sooooo comfortable and the guitar's body, color, and headstock are so beautiful. If it were stolen I would kick the guy's ass and take it back, because it is so wonderful for me. It reminds me of a mustang, but one thats a lot cooler. I recommend this to anyone looking for a good rock axe thats fun to play and very dependable.

Mustang body, vintage trem, master vol, master tone, 3 way toiggle switch, 22 medium jumbo fret 24.75" scale length, rosewood board on a fairly chuncky neck. Vintage style tuners, tex-mex in the neck position, atomic humbucker in the brdige position, colour Graffiti Yellow.

Aah, if you want anymore info, check out the Fender site.

I replaced the atomic humbucker with a Seymour Duncan '59 Model, switched the strap buttons, put a set of 11's on it, and set the trem down.

I will say this though, as far as a rating goes, it gets what it gets from my because when I bought it, it wasn't a patch on what it is now. If I bought it the way it is now, it'd get a 9 or 10.

It's got all the features I need, some were just not to the highest quality.

With the new bucker, it's got a lot of versitility. Very different from my vintage sounding strat, but despite being so different I have no problems utilising theses new tones. It does rock and blues very nicely, and that's what I need. The Tex-Mex is a firey, full sounding vintage single coil, with balls! The 59 I have in, is a great sounding pup, sweet but cruchy, and full of harmonics.

I'd give it a 10 with the new pup, but as the old atomic was over half the tone of the guitar as it was originally it gets something lower.

Setup is hard to comment on, as I immediately changed the strings. I'm not a fan of trems so I set them down. The guitar was setup fairly well, but I wouldn't say it was good enough that I wouldn't have wanted it tweaked atleast abit. The intonation wasn't too great as I remember. I'd like to say more but I hate 9's so I hardly played it before I set it up myself.

The only flaw with build that I could find was that the neck didn't fit aswell as I would have liked it too. It wasn't a wobbly fit, just a bit gappy in places.

The 11 gauge strings I fit, slipped straight into the nut without having to cut it at all. The backplate was a bit disapointing, I had to cut a huge hole out of it just so I could get access to the strings.

One thing that really annoyed me was the lack of a little hex-key which would not have been a problem except that the supports for the saddles seem to need a smaller hex-key than practically every single other guitar on the planet!!! I eventually found one to do the job, but even the Toronado (cousin to the Cyclone) had the normal sized hex-key slots. This was most frustrating.

This guitar should now stand up to some really sh*t! The build feels tough and the guitar feels very substantial, I wouldn't want to drop it, but if I did, the floor night wanna move outta the way. The switch concerns me a bit, as I always feel toggle switches are a bit delicate, but other than that the harware seems pretty tough. If I were to only use one guitar for a gig, then I wouldn't bother to back this one up.

I never deal with Fender directly so I wouldn't know about customer support. Afterall it's not a PC or anything, it's a guitar.

I've been playing around 10 years. I've got one other electric, a Squier ProTone strat, that has had so many modifications made, if it wasn't for the words on the headstock, no-one would know what it was.

Because I'm used to strats, the main complaint with the Cyclone right now is that it doesn't feel like a strat against my body. I can hear you now, saying "Duh! It's not a strat!", I know it's not but the torso cut in the body feels weird.

I love the tone, and that it sounds, and feels different to play, from my strat, but getting used to the body will take some time. I particluarly like switching to the bucker for solos.

If it were to be stolen I would want to buy another but, money, or the lack of it would probably stop me.

This guitar was below average for the price I paid for it, and by this I do not mean materials, I mean all the little things like the hex-key slots being smaller than usual, the backplate holes not being positioned right, and so one. I got what I expected to get, and made it into what I expected to make it into.

This guitar do not have to be for grungers, or talentless loosers who want to make awful sounding, poor quality music. Blues, Rock, and Funk players could get alot from this guitar if only they would set it up properly and get a decent bridge pickup.

So do I rate it on how it was when I got it, or how it is now? remember, that a setup can take a while to do yourself, but once it's done, that should be it. If I were to rate it as it is now, I'd give it a 9, 10's are reserved for G&Ls and Customer Shop fenders.

I'd like to point out that I have rated the guitar, both on how it originally was and on how it is since I 'personalised' it. And the latter got much better results.

However I'm going to give it the actual rating based on how it was originally. It's an extremely cool guitar with alot of potential.

This can be seen in any of the other reviews. It has a single coil neck pickup, aomic humbucker, everything is as was in the factory, so check specs or other reviews.

I play rock/blues/funk, alot of classic rock and jam band stuff( fam bands are like phish, dave matthews...etc) and i get alot of the tones i need out of this guitar. I have one complaint, it doesnt cut through on the clean channel as much as say a strat. but this has a lot to do with how i have my amp set up. The single coil buzzes but easily remidied but simply turning volume off during non play. I play alot of blues, and i can get it well, alot of guitarsa people will complain dont get sounds they want, thats because they dont understand how to set up an amp, i find messing with the tone knob also helps alot, bottom line is i enjoy this guitar, you may not, i would recommend it, it distorts well,(i use little distortion) is strums open chords well, it gives you anything you'd expect from a fender. i recommend not disgracing the guitar by just playing punk with it, it's got more tonal depth than that

I've done alot of messing around with the action, so its not now as it was in the factory, thought it works out fine for me. I play really hard, so it comes out of tune often, but i blame that mostly on how hard i play and how old the strings are i generally use( i change only when they break, whats in a string anyway??)

I beat the guitar to death, I'm not rediculous and throw it or anything i just really get into my music and beat up on it alot, just by playing hard. and the only trouble i have had is i broke the nut when i first got it by stringing it wrong. otherwise it has held up beatifully.

the nut was under warranty! never dealt with company, so i cant rate this

I just love this guitar, its nothing glamorous, its a fairly inexspenive guitar, that i love to death. I can get some great sound out of it, tons of rocking solos, as well as clean pretty stuff.

Overall i love it, i've been plahing for 3 years, had it for 2.5, i've played strats, tele's, gibsons or all natures, and thought all these guitars are great, the cyclone it everybit as good

THE DRY ICE FACTORY IS THE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD

Poplar body, 22 med-jumbo frets, M neck, tex-mex pickup in neck, atomic HB in bridge, synch tremolo.

The body is identical to the old Mustangs and Musicmasters, with a Jazzmaster-style headstock.

Red sparkle finish with a pearl pickguard. It's gorgeous.

I go back and forth between shoegaze-y, Slowdive/Bloody Valenine stuff and power-chord rock. I modified the guitar quite a bit before I was happy with it, but now that I have, I would rate it a 9.

It sounded a bit dinky with the Tex-Mex single coil, but after I threw in the red Fender-Lace sensor, that all changed. Tones are relatively versatile, but were even more so after I got done with it.

Other mods included a coil tap in the humbucker, an LSR roller nut, and a TBX tone pot. Thanks to the weaker magnet of the Lace Sensor, I can raise it up to compete with the humbucker, so I now have the clarity of SC with the sustain of the HB.

With the two pickups together, the sound is quite full and round. The Lace Sensor by itself is more bassy and the HB is a little more harsh and midrangey. I sometimes like these sounds, but I usually have both going at once.

I play the Cyclone, and a Clapton Strat, through an Ernie Ball volume pedal, Mesa-Boogie V-Twin tube pre-amp pedal, Alesis Quadraverb into a Fender Deville 2X12.

Once I ditched the Tex-Mex, and threw in the TBX tone pot that makes the Clapton Strat jump out so nicely, I find I dig the sound of the Cyclone more than the Clapton- by far a more expensive guitar.

I bought mine used, so I had to get it set-up again. Whoever had it before me took very good care of it, though. Everything seems to work like a dream. No repairs necessary, just the mods.

I've been using the Cyclone as my main guitar now for about 6 months live, with the Clapton as backup. I have had no reason to use the backup, however. It needs some straplocks, but that's about it. Very sturdy-ass guitar.

Used guitar. No warranty. Repairs would be done at local shop, so I wouldn't go through Fender, most likely.

Been playing guitar for a little over 5 years now, in a band for about 4. I basically bought this one to sort of scratch my Fender Oddity itch, and I do love it, but if it were stolen, I'd probably buckle down and get the Jag I've always wanted.

I love the versatility of it, it can sing and it can crunch. I hated, hated, hated the Tex-Mex, but that was easily remedied. The Atomic HB sounds fine to me, but it is my first Humbucker guitar. I just ain't a gibson man, so I wouldn't know a humbucker from shinola.

But I think that, having played the Cyclone for the past 6 months, that the Lace/HB combination is my favorite feature. The added sustain of the HB enabled me to get rid of my compressor pedal.

I now prefer the sound of this to my Strat, and might wind up trading in said Strat towards a Jag or Jazzmaster.

For the money, especially used, this is a very nice-sounding guitar. If your playing is more twangy or rockabilly-oriented, you might enjoy the Tex-Mex more than I did. My first impression hearing this guitar with overdrive was that Billy Zoom would dig it.

I think that my cyclone was made in 2001 in mexico, it has 22 frets, laminated top, 1 volume control, 1 tone control, 1 Single coil (tex-mex, neck) and one humbucker (atomic humbuker, Bridge). I think this is like a mustang body, a Jazzmaster headstock, and Sub sonic electronics. All the material is really high quality, no cheap shit.

This guitar is very versitle. I traded a les paul for it( prove it very versitle) It is not at all noisy. Really good at high volumes. Right now am using a marshall AVT50 and a Marshall MG-15RCD, run it through a metal zone and the guitar is great with. The single coil is extreamly clean. Although Peavey 5150 are not all that clean sounding the cyclone made it sound clean.

This guitar was flawless when it got it. It is way better than my dean Avalanche and my Gibson les paul classic. I think that the les paul was a little to bright for me. Everything suit me perfect.

I think this guitar can withstand anything.

never delt with them

Ive been playing for around 2 years and own two marshall amps a DS-1, DS-2, MT-2, CH-1, original crybaby, and a big muff and it works great with all of them. I love everything about this guitar, but my favorite feature is the pickup and body. tghey suit me perfect. Theonly thing it needs is a Dimarzio DP-100 super distortion.

One s/c and one muthafucka of a bucka, really hot humbucker in bridge. Selector switch is a wierd way round. (doesnt switch up and down like sa an SG) Jag type plate with master vol and tone. Torty scratchplate. Mine came with some fender stamped tuners (non 0riginal) and whoever replaced them had done a bad job and cipped away half of the headstock! Medium scale neck. came with a crappy gig bag

Great soundng guitar! I bought it as a back up for my les paul and ended up leaving my les paul at home!!! The pickups do have a big output difference but thats what yo get with a h/b and an s/c. Humbucker sounds like a hot gibson, really warm. The neck p/up is also warm but in a different wa, you lose clarity under distortion but back the gain of a bit and youve got a lovely SRV type tone. This is how good it sounds: I had to sell mine when things got tight. If you have on for salein any condition email me at cycleboyuk@aol.com

Mexican fenders are surpassing their USA counterparts at the moment and this is no exception! Personally i would have prefered a glossier finish to the neck a la 70's fender but thats personal choice. Neck is of a good thickness which is god considering fender usually go for the thinner options.

This guitar will take anything, i threw it offstage once at the end of an emotional set and it hit a table and broke it but the guitar was untouched! You cant touch it! stays in tune well and the trem is as ood as strat types get. I have used a cyclone without a backup many times!

never had to deal ith them on this guitar but arbier are not very customer friendly.....damn box shifters

I own a Gibson les paul and a marhall 1978 JMP, i was happy with my set up but i desired a back up for the ''what ifs'' of life on the road. The cyclone ftted in perfectly and somewhat overtook my favours for a while because it didnt need babying like my les paul did, i could jump round with it because i knew it wouldnt break. If you get a chance to buy one of these snap their hands off!

not gonna do all this explaining on the features when you can go look it up on musiciansfriend.com. but i will say mine is perfect.

absolutely perfect. i play punk and grunge(nirvana and silverchair) and some other alternative and rock. soon to have a danelectro fab tone distortion. played with dod big pig distortion. sounded great. very very very very full sound. a lot of variety here. nothing i dont like.

recieved it in perfect condition, played wonderfully and had no problems. still doesn't. no flaws and everything was good.

this guitar is great. no scratches on it, no dents. everything seems like it would last. finish is great. everything solid. i would never play a show with only one guitar. not because of the guitar, but in case a string breaks, i'd like to be able to put it down, grab another, and continue.

great. came with deluxe bag, several manuals, warranty, etc. but i've never had any problems, so i've never had to contact fender.

been playing for about 2 years. if it were stolen, i would be very mad and would want to get a new one, but couldn't because i dont have any money. nothing to hate. compared with some danelectro guitars. i enjoy this guitar very very very much.

Basicaly this is a mixture of a mustang ,duo sonic,musicmaster....same body shape.........I shall not bore you with the details or spec.....look at other reviews.....mine has a seymour duncan at the neck...

Good variety of sound ,bit like a mixture of a strat and a les paul......played thro my fender valve twin it sounds awesom

when i bought the guitar it had quite a few scratches.....i polished these out with car cutting compound...great...they do put a good layer of laquer on these instruments

good solid instrument......would play without backup

arbiter uk not as helpful as some

Ive heard some reviewers that have a dislike for this guitar......well generaly these people seem to be the older ones that have become set in their ways and only make references to that which has past.Putting it simply 'A SOUND IS ONLY BAD IF YOU ARE UNCREATIVE AND BLINKERED'.......I should know ive been writing alternative and original material for more than 20 years...
GOOD GUITAR!

It's got basically everything standard.
Atomic Humbucker pickup in bridge, little weak, but when played loud, is a very good pickup. Some pickups are so strong that they become quiet when played loud. Nice neck, I love it because of its damn nice neck. It's also got the cool graffiti yellow finish. But it probably has one of the worst bridges EVER. I had to buy two more springs for it. And Then I had to put graph-tech saddles, then have a professionbal intune it to get it "ok" Other than that its got some good stuff.

Fits my style, (nirvana, silverchair, etc.) But like I said, it sounds best played loud.

Great action, I was kind of surprised. Finish is really nice, I was impressed on account of the fact that it was made in Mexico. Is best when it's got some 10's on it.

very good, this thing feels like it weighs like a paul, of course this guitar could never match a pauls durability. I feel more confident now that it has graph-techs, but with the old saddles, I would never, ever trust it live, I'd have to definitely bring a backup. fenders look good dinged up, so I wouldn't really care if it hit it on something, it woudln't hurt it. this thing is solid

never needed to

Been playing for 3 years, used other guitars, most blow it out of the water, however, on stage, loud, the thing looks and feels great. It's kind of more for the "coolness" of it

22 fret rock axe, made in mexico, mang. maple neck, rosewood fretboard. tone and volume controls, 3 way selector. i bought it from hartland music in wisconsin and it had been fitted with a custom shop lightly flamed neck and a custom shop bridge. didnt come with anything. some fender texas thing single coil in the neck position and a fender "atomic humbucker" in the bridge, S/H ya dig.

i've noticed this is pretty much a rock axe. i'm not an extremely diverse musician, i only like different types of rock music and it fits me just fine. so, in that respect, not a ton of variety in sound. bridge pickup sounds nice and grungy on drive and twangy and sweet on clean. kinda noisy. works well with my mxr phase 90. i think if your willing to shell out $450 (i payed $300) then it makes a good first guitar. not much to say about it, it works well as a rock axe...what can i say?

neck is pretty fast. wider than most other fenders i've played, but not so wide that its uncomfortable. had to raise the bridge humbucker, but besides that it was decently set up. woods great, i guess.

muy shitty. this is the major setback i have with it. i'm no great guitarist, but i tune my guitars correctly and often and i had to baby this thing like you wouldn't believe just to keep it in tune at first. however, the more i wore the strings down the better it stayed in tune, still have to tune it quite often which sucks. about a month after i bought it, the 3 way selector cover popped off which made the switch fall into the guitar which had to be repaired. input port also fell apart on me which also had to be repaired. other than that, i, um, guess...its...fine. if/when i buy a gibson les paul junior special, that'll be my main guitar and i'll use this bitch just to mess around with and play for fun cuz its still a good rock guitar and is fun for grunge and punkier stuff, but don't gig without a backup.

haven't had to deal with them, but if i did i'd probably give them a piece of my mind about how shitty it was shortly after i bought it and then they'd put me on hold for an hour till i hung up. i'm sure they're good people, but i've heard things.

i dont know man. for a beginner like me (playing for over 3 years, so i'm relatively new still) its a good guitar, but i'm not able to easily pick out flaws in a guitar like others. i like it for its rock credibility and it plays decently when clean but the durability of it pissed me off cuz i've never really had that many problems from the start with my ibanez rg, squier strat, or samick piece of shit gibson sg copy (don't buy samicks, they're gay guitars man, gay), so that was surprising to me. once you get used to it and if you tune it and don't beat the shit out of it then it should last a long time and is ok for the price. still banking on that les paul though.

This Cyclone has a few nice appointments. The mustang style knobs are nice, the vintage style hardware, and MOTO pickgaurd are atractive, and so is the Jazzmaster style headstock.

This is one of the worst sounding insturments ever made by Fender. The Humbucker is overly bassy and thick. There is no definition in the sound. The single coil is weak, and sounds like tin. By the way, don't expect to use effects, it muddys them up to much.

The neck is way to big for my tastes.

I couln't rely on this guitar because the neck pickup somehow stopped working. The G string buzzes all over the fretboard. At least the rest of the guitar is built solid.

I would rather play a Mexican std. Strat than this thing. Do yourself a favor and buy somethig good. Thank god I was able to sell it.

I have two year 2001 cyclone. they have 21 frets, with a bueatiful finishes.they contain a volume and a tone control. the atomic humbucker was not great until i put a seymour duncan distortion pickup and lowered the single coil pick-up, and now it sound great. the minute i felt the neck i knew i had to get it is perfect. I have a yellow and a black one I would have to say i like the yellow the best. This is one of my favorite guitars out of my gibson les paul standard plus , custom les paul, my mustang, and jagstang.

I play alot of grunge, trash, and hard rock(led zeppelin)and my cyclones suite me fine. my amp is a mesa boogie single rectifier with mesa boogie cabs, I have a line 6 distortion modulator, a boss bf-2 flanger, ph-3phase and super shifters, mt-2 meatal zone, dd-3 delay ds-1 and ds-2 distortion, vox wah wah, electro harmonix small clone and big muff and they work great with them.the sound is rich and it can make any sounds i think of.

the pick-ups were a little low on one but other than that it was built great.the finish are perfect they are like one of a kind.

I dont know if they can stand live playing because when i play i sit down, i think they can when my friends play it they jump alot so yeah they can.I think that after they it would be great at a gig .

it 3 year warrenty and i have not delt with the company and probably never will.

these are my favorite pieces of equipment when i fisrt got it checked what has the best sound between my guitars even throw my les pauls sounded better I think they are my favorite pieces of equipment because jimi hendrix used fender and to me hes the best guitarist ever. So i love fender.

I bought it this year (2001). The features a all listed above or below.

I usually play hard rock with a dash of metal. This guitar can suit hard rock well. The atomic humbucker is okay, but I'll probably replace it when I get the money. The Tex-Mex is great for when I play bluesy music. My effects are a Polychorus and a Boss DD-3(Delay)and my amp is a Marshall MG-30(or something like that). It sounds pretty good, but not perfect so I gave it an 8.

When I got it the humbucker had to be lowered(it touched the strings)and the action raised, but that was no problem. The problem was that the pickguard was not cut good enough. Though not to obvious, there is a gap by the bridge, and its too short for the metal plate where the knobs are located.

As for reliability, this guitar seems to be pretty sturdy. I dropped it once, and only a very small dent appeared.

I've been playing for almost four years. My other guitars are an Epiphone G-400, an Epiphone acousitc, and a Squire Affinity Strat. If it were stolen, I'd collect the insurance and apply it to buying a Trem-O-Verb(only because I want a better amp before I buy another guitar). I really love the neck. I wish it had a better humbucker and a humbucker, humbucker, single coil setup though.

The Cyclone that I bought was new (2001), and made in Mexico. I got the red version. Everything else is the same as the other reviews below. The list of features is an impressive one. Unfortunately, it is also a bit overweening. If the features were what one would think they should be, I would give this 10 stars. They aren't.

I don't know what these other reviewers are talking about. Listen to me, this thing sounds as bad it anything can sound. It is a very cheaply made toy. If you try to put it through anything professional, it will squeak like a microphone from the front single-coil or hum so loudly, it might as well squeak. The so-called "Atomic Humbucker" in the bridge position is a sham. It bucks the hum, yeah, but the pickup sound is very poor, especially for the money they seem to think is appropriate for this thing.

From a distance, it looks great. Upon closer examination, you can see how they used the most low-end parts.

Anyone who plays, much less plays live, would never -- in a million years -- use this thing.

Doesn't matter.

I have been playing for 35-plus years. I have a bunch of guitars, most of them Fender and Gibson, US made. I love Fender guitars, but if this Cyclone is any indication of the Mexican-made line, I would suggest staying as far away from them as possible. I brought mine back to the store where I got it. I was refunded completely, so no harm was done, except to Fender's reputation. What are these guys thinking?

Look, unless you want to take advice from kids who really - apparently - don't know what a quality instrument is, avoid the Cylone. Get an American Series Strat, or a Gibson Les Paul Speical, etc. Save your money.

I cant really be sure when it was made but its from Mexico obviously, its got a three-way toggle switch, a Fender designed Atomic Humbucker in the bridge, and a Fender Tex-Mex (mexican made Texas Special) in the Neck. I originally wanted the white with the brown shell p/g, but now Fender is queering up the colors on everything so they replaced the sunburst and white and aged white with like graffiti yellow or wahtever. so i got candy apple red. the body is that of a mustang/musicmaster/duo-sonic, really really pretty. the pickguard is more early duo-sonic and is white moto. i wish they could have used a mustang style on instead but its who cares its only a pickguard. the bridge is a fender vintage tremolo. im not sure why they put it on this guitar but it looks nice. the tuners are just fender vintage style. the neck is really comftorble and fast. its rosewood but on mine the wood is more tan than anythig else. it came with a gig bag.

i read this whole page several times before i decided to purchase the 'clone over a double fat-strat (i wanted the wide tone range). i just played it and i was amazed. i mean it was the sound ive been looking for since day one. the single coil practically sounds like an acoustic and the humbucker produces a really plucky thick warm tone that goes great with distortion. i dont usually use both of them together, but when i do it sounds good. yeah i have noticed that the single coil is really quiet but that really suites softer songs. Some people have said that the Humbucker is crap but i love it. i dont know maybe they arent all made equally but mine is great. i play through a boss DS-1, a poly-chorus, and sometimes i use my amp's distortion channel for extra feedback just for fun.

the guitar was set up alright at the factory, not to buzzy, action was a little high, really really out of tune but thats because it was shipped. no flaws at all.

im not sure about live playing but i think this guitar seems pretty dependable. i would definetly use it in a gig without a back up (well i dont really have a back up anymore). umm i dont know ive had it for like not even a month. i can definetly say that this is going to be my main guitar from now on. im gonna put some strap locks on it within the next few days just to keep it secure. otherwise i dont plan on changing anything. maybe in like two years if i feel like it needs some modifying ill customize it but for now im fine with it.

warranty seems good. i dont know i havent needed anything just yet.

i love this guitar, if it were stolen id be really angry and id buy another one but probably have to sticker it up to cover all the retarded tom delonge colors theyre selling it in now. id eventually get my candy apple clone back and probably injure the thief for taking it.

Fender Cyclone (I'm pretty sure it's a 99)

22 Frets

One volume, one tone (I don't really use the tone knob)

One Atomic Humbucker(bridge), one tex mex single coil (neck, but I don't really use it)

Poplar body in candy apple red with a beautiful white pearloid pickguard

Tune-o-matic bridge with a tremelo I never use

Vinage tuners

24.75" scale neck made of maple/rosewood, just big enough for my large hands

Mine came with a dimarzio strap, straplocks, fender tuner, and deluxe fender gig bag (what a great deal!!!)

The backplate's holes weren't lined up correctly and had to be enlarged, and it was missing a tuner bushing when I got it, but both were easy fixes, so I'll only dock one point

I play pure punk through my crate amp, and with distortion on, it sounds amazing! It pulls some really great punk tones with it's atomic humbucker. Originally, I was originally opting for a Tom Delonge stratocaster becuase it seems well suited for punk and it was beautifully simplistic, but I just had second thoughts about buying an "artist signature guitar" becuase I hate people thinking I'm copying people, and this guitar had glowing reviews about it's punk tones, so I went for this, and it gave me a helluvalot more than I expected! I just never use the neck pickup, tremelo, or tone knob, and it's just as simple as the tom delonge and sounds just as good if not better. I occasionally use the neck pickup, but it's about half as loud as the humbucker, making it kinda worthless. Maybe if it was a different pickup, I'd use it more, but I can't dock points for the theoretical, so overall, this guitar has great sound!

This guitar has a beautiful, sparkly candy apple red finish with a complementing white pearloid pickguard. It was really well put together, had great action, and everything was aligned. The only problem I had with it is that the person I bought it from shipped it with heavy gauge strings, and they were actually pulling the bridge upwards (the bridge probably can't handle heavier gauge strings), but this didn't really bother me that much since I normally use Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, which, despite the fact they're light gauge strings, sound great, but even these pull the bridge a bit.

The finish is really thick, and I think that it will last a while. As for the hardware, I can't really judge that cuz I havn't had the guitar that long. This guitar shipped with straplocks, but unfortunately, one of them is too loose and goes loose very fast after I tighten it. I might have to replace it in the near future. Besides that, this guitar will probably last a long time.

I havn't done anything to mess up my guitar yet, I don't plan on having any modifications done any time soon except maybe changing the humbucker to a seymour duncan invader or distortion, and I'd have that done by my local music shop, which luckily is a licensed fender dealer, and since fender's have lifetime warranties, I don't think I have anything to worry about.

I havn't been playing nearly as long as some of the other reviewers, but I know a great guitar when I play one! I've been playing a squier stratocaster (what can I say, it's not like I'm rich) for a while, and finally opted for a better guitar. This is a great guitar for punk and alternative music, and feels more comfortable than my strat ever will. If it were stolen, I'd try really hard to get it back, but if I didn't, I would just save up again and buy another one brand new, because I love it that much. As I said, I originally wanted a Tom delonge strat, but this one fits the bill just as well, and I don't feel like I'm copying somebody else. If I could redesign this guitar, it'd have a hardtail bridge (just cuz I don't really use the tremelo), the tone knob would turn into a volume knob for the other pickup, it'd have vintage frets (I don't really do much string bending, so I don't need medium jumbo frets) and the other pickup would be a seymour duncan hot rails to keep pace with the humbucker. But as it is, it's a great guitar that goes perfectly with my style of music.

I bought my Fender Cyclone in 1999. It is candy apple red and has a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. It has 22 frets and a vintage head. I love the Tex Mex Strat single coil in the neck and Atomic-Humbucker in the bridge. I personally love the size and the way it fits my body. Its contoured body is perfect.

The body of the cyclone is not huge like many guitars made today so it is perfect for doing crazy solos and it doesn't way me down when I play standing up. As far as the sound of it, it has three varieties to choose from. The toggle switch is also in a convenient area on the Cyclone so it is easy to switch sounds and play hard with out hitting your hand on it. I like the sounds and pickups that came with my Cyclone but I wish that it had at least one more pickup. Something deeper or maybe more clean.

Everything on my Cyclone was put together great. The controls all work good and I like how it stays in tune despite temperature changes.

This guitar can withstand a lot more than a few other guitars I've seen in the past. Someone got a hold of my Cyclone one day and dropped it on a concreit floor and to my amazement it wasn't phased a bit. That is a some tough heavy duty guitar, trust me!

When my guitar hit the concreit slab I was worried it would be messed up so I called the place I purchased it to see if they would take a look at it. They took me right in and gave me an inspection for no cost.

I have not been playing guitar for a very long time, in fact this was my first guitar, but I fell in love with the way it looked and sounded and bought it with no second thought. I have since then bought and played other guitars and I must say none can even compare to the Cyclone. I love the size and shape out of all the things about it. I play punk/metal music and it is great for both styles. My other guitar, a 1974 fender mustang, costed a lot more and is no where as good. So I definitly recommend the Fender Cyclone to anyone.

has an atomic humbucker and a single coil the guitar is artic white with red pearly pick gard its pure beauty

i play punk rock and its perfect it sounds better than gibson lp's when it comes to punk fender guitars are the best

everything perfect only prob is the part in the back the holes are a little small but take a knife and make em larger its only a 2 min job

i have played without a back up this guitar is my main guitar.sometimes at gigs i buy a cheap epiphone and smash it then use this one this is the best never ever had to tighten anything and stays in tune verry well

never delt with

i have owned a gibson studio les paul cost me 800 i ended up selling it for 800 when i met the fender cyclone because the cyclone kicked the shit outta the les paul face it gibson lost the punk scene to fender if it were stolen id kick the shit outta the person and get it back or buy a new one

pretty simple..22 medium jumbo frets, one atomic humbucker(bridge) and a tex mex single coil(neck), one tone, one volume, and a toggle switch, original jazzmaster head, synchronized tremolo, etc.

i play punk, this guitar is PERFECT in my opinion. i can never put this guitar down, Ii'm always playing it, i love it! i covered it in stickers, but it is candy apple red(this color looks beautiful on this guitar!) not very noisy either, i guess depending on amps, i really like the shape of the body, its basically like soneone took a regualr strat body and just stretched it out.

pretty darn durable. i've mistakenly banged the head into either my dresser, the wall or anything, and it is yet to have any scratch on it (thank god!!)theres not one sracth on the body either, but i guess thats a little bit harder with all the stickers. this is my main guitar, i also own a Fernandes Monterey X and in about 2-3 weeks i'll have a Gibson Sonex. i would most likely gig without a backup guitar. again very durable.

havent had to deal with them yet

i've been playing for about 6 years now. Just to echo what i said before, i also have a Fernandes Monterey X and soon to have a Gibson Sonex. right now i have a Crate GFX212, i hate that POS, im selling it in about a week, then im either buying my friends older Ampeg VT tube combo or a Peavey transube Special 212. if it were stolen i would be soooooooooooo pissed, i would DEFINATELY buy another one!theres relly nothing i hate about this guitar besides it being heavier then most guitars, but thats not a problem for me anymore cuz i have adjust to the weight.

2001 made in mexico atomic humbucker, tex-mex sigle coil 22 medium jumbo frets one volume one tone 3 way pickup select candy apple red finish. pretty basic.

this guitar is great for my sound i play, grunge alternative and punk. you can so many different tones out of this guitar its awesome!

a very comfortable guitar. no problems with the finish when i got it. the pickup selector isn't noisy at all and is in a very convienient place.

i was carriyng it out to my car in the soft case it came with and i dropped it, i was so pissed off it was like 6 in the morning i yelled SHIT! as loud as i could and ran into my house to look at the damage and there was only a small dent on the underside of the guitar, none of the finish chipped off at all, that is impressive. But i was still pissed.

never called em

ive been playing for 3 years, and i have a jaguar and i would this guitar is every bit of good as my jag and sounds great is i lost it or it got stolen i'd definetly replace it. buy this guitar its really good and very affordable.

Some Mexican made piece of crap. Fender probably pays something like $2.00/hour to the slaves who make these pieces shit... and then they sell them for $400.00. Thanks Fender! Thanks for giving all our jobs to Mexico and reaping the profits! Also, I hate how they put that plastic wrap stuff on the pickguard, because whenever I try to take it off it gets stuck under the tone knobs, and then those little plastic frizzy thingies are sticking out for the next five years. Plus the pickguard feels sticky and rough instead of being smooth like it's supposed to be. The atomic humbucker sounds good... muddy, but good. The single coils sound good too, no doubt since they were NOT assembled in Mexico. Wood body. Rosewood neck (nice). Candy Apple Red finish (pretty good). Comes with a wimpy case (I wonder where it was made, probably some other banana republic).

The humbucker suits my sound just fine. It's fine for making some KMFDM bone-crunching power chords. The single coil sounds like all other single coils on the planet. I use a Marshall amp; MG series to be exact. It's sounds fine. The combination of the humbucker and the neck-position single coil sounds kind of "different." Actually it sounds like shit; you can't use that combo for distortion, and when used clean it sounds really clanky... like a humbucker that's broken or has too much treble. Basically you can't use the pickups together for any decent kind of sound.

The place that I bought the guitar from set it up all wrong. There was one major flaw that really pissed me off which I didn't notice until after I wasted my money: the white plastic cover on the back (the one that you poke the strings through) was aligned improperly, or else it was just screwed to the guitar in the wrong spot. Therefore, every time I want to put strings on I have to un-screw that thing from the back and take it off. The guy at the store just said, "I don't play with it on anyway. Most players usually leave it off." Well, that's nice, but I don't want a gaping whole showing on the back of my guitar. Lastly, the tuners suck. I've got better tuners on my Squire Strat.

The input jack has been a piece of crap since the day I bought it. If I wiggle the cord any the signal crackles and dies. I already had to have the guy open the guitar and bend something back once. No telling when it will need to be bent back again. Cheap pile of crap. This could be just an isolated incident though.

Does anyone really deal with Fender directly or just the dealers at your local music shop. (Dealers who don't give a damn, at least where I live.) The guy said he'd order me one of those things for the back of my guitar, however, I'm still waiting-- it's been almost a year. Oh, and the time that I got my guitar fixed (remember, the input jack) the guy scratched my guitar with his electric screwdriver, it was a small scratch, but nonethless a scratch. What a moron! I wanted to get my money back, because this all hapened within a week after I bought it, but the guy said I could only trade it for another one of his shitty guitars.

I've been playing for 6 years. So far I've owned a Samick, Squire, and now the Cyclone. Durability wise the Squire and Samick are better. I used to stab the Samick with my knife (one time I removed all the strings with a swift slash to the fretboard) and, I bet it still works better than the Cyclone... I think I'm gonna go play it right now, for old-time's sake. Next time I'm just gonna get a Rogue guitar like the kind in Musician's Friend, at least I won't worry about that guitar and get depressed when something goes wrong.