Fender Showmaster FMT HH

Just bought a barely used 2006 Showmaster FMT HH... for $285. First off, i have seen guitar store demos in worse shape than mine. Almost bought a new one for $659, but saving so much seemed like a really great deal..... well..... IT WAS. I have had many guitars in my time.... 51 years.... and this guitar, which is touted as a beginners guitar, with a little tinkering, plays and sound fantastic. I have read all the reviews which all tell about tuning woe's, and i must say it is everything you can expect from fender. I never met a fender that stays in tune.... EVER..... but Fenders are not made to beat on.... go beat on the old les paul!!!
Beautiful piece of wood, and fantastic stuff all over, this guitar is well worth the $650 i would have spent, but is more than worth the $285 i actually dished out. This guitar wont let you down.

Set up needed some time, but you can get the action as low as you like.

A 57 Strat it aint.... but it is a stage worthy guitar that plays like butter and looks like money!!

Basswood with a pretty top, 5 way switching from the fine peoples of Korea. This review is unbiased I did not buy the guitar myself however I did help a friend starting on the guitar pick it up.

My Buddy is a Thin Lizzy to Steely Dan kinda guy. It gets played through the little fender amp at his house and the blues deville (not the Hot Rod one thank god) at mine. The pickups are great you can dial some very nice tones but the inherently thick midrange is going to always be prominent. It is still a great sounding guitar you just have to know how to set it.

People dont understand that a guitar could be set up perfectly in one part of the world and based on temperature and humidity changes be completely different any guitar that wasnt built in your basement is going to need setting up. I set up guitars at a small music shop and within an hour (it took so long because the allen wrench needed is if memory serves me 17/128ths not 1/8 or 9/64 and that is the only thing that left me scratching my head. But apart from that I had the guitar intonated and the neck strait in a jiffy.

The smoked finish is a little thin on this one but for four or five hundred its fine.

This is a very solid guitar Like I said I dont own it but I do hear it quite a bit and as such look at it very objectively. You wont be dissapointed if you buy this guitar however its deffinetly not the last guitar you will ever need (I mean need as in if I had to live with one guitar this wouldnt be it, I know everyone here is going to be paying off guitars till the day they die) but its still a very good guitar.

a 2006 fender showmaster fmt HH. i noticed that some people have a three way switch but mine came with a five way. other than that it has the same specs as the others.

i love the sound of this guitar in between my strat and my ibanez 7321. it is an excellent rhythm guitar that i have been having a hard time finding a replacement for.

this is were the problems are. when i bought the guitar i didn't use the trem so i had the tech at the store lock it down which proved to be a big mistake. with the bridge locked down it ate strings for breakfast. i played for a youth group for a nine month period and every other week it would break a string in practice or during the worship. because of this i had a different guy unlock the bridge which revealed that this thing doesn't hold a tune to save its life, one tap of the trem and you have to retouch the tune. the other problem i have with this guitar is that the first five frets are very finicky about were you place your fingers meaning that if you put your finger in the wrong part of the fret the note goes a quarter step sharp. this is a problem that i have had to adapt to by playing the fret wire instead of the frets. other than these problems it has held up exceptionally well.

the beautiful dark chrome finish has worn of in some areas in a year which was quite a shock to me. other than that and the problems of holding a tune, or with a locked trem, constant breakige of strings this guitar has held up to numerous beatings including the headstock coming into violent contact with a fan spinning at high speed!

never dealt with them

i love the sound of this guitar. recently i have been looking for a replacement but nothing that i have played under one grand can compare to the sound range and comfort level of this guitar. this was purchased two years ago to replace my start-out guitar and nothing that any of my friends or i have gotten since then ever sounded or looked better than this baby. because of the problems with the hardware and the neck i probably wouldn't get another one but i would try to get something very similar.

Beautiful flame maple top
Strat style body
2 point tremolo
Locking fender tuners
Seymour Duncan Pickups
24 frets
Basswood body

I'm giving this category a 9 because of the basswood body ..Other than that the features are great ..

I play Classic hard rock and Metal and these pickups sound great for all styles ...No noise .. Very clear defined bridge pickup even with high gain . Clean sounds are great on all pickup settings ..
I'm a Seymour Duncan fan so I am easily pleased in this category .

This is the category where this guitar failed ..
Although the action out of the box was descent , the neck was very
comfortable and string height was ok .. I could not manage to keep the guitar in tune .. If I did a dive on the tremolo , forget it ...
It went way out ..
But I was really dissapointed that just playing normal without the trem this guitar would not stay in tune to save its life ..
This is a major bummer and the reason I cant keep this guitar .
Maybe a pro setup would fix this but I dont feel like dealing with that and should'nt have to ..
Other dissapointments,
the side dot markers on the neck were all crooked in comparison
to one another .Really bad , not even close ..
The volume knob cavity was not routed well and the volume knob
was rubbing making it rather difficult to turn up and down ..
In other words it gets stuck at about 3 quarters of the way up .
after some time this will wear away .. But it is definately a flaw that just puts the icing on the cake for me to send it back for a refund ..

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One thing to keep in mind if you are interested in this guitar , try it out in person at your local store so you can examine the exact guitar you are buying ..Maybe you'll get a good one
.. Dont buy it online like I did ..
If I send this one back and get another one will it have the same flaws ??? I dont know !! Not sure I am willin to try ..
I really wanted to like this guitar ..Its beautiful and sounds great .. fast neck ! But the tuning issues and cosmetic flaws really pissed me off ..

Natural Flamed Maple top,Basswood body,Two point floating bridge,Locking tuners, Semour Duncan Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge and a '59 in the neck, 5 way switch. Maple neck / Rosewood fret board.
Single volume and tone knobs.Graphite nut

I've found this guitar to be very well rounded, Jazz,Rock,Blues,Country, I've found it to suite my modern progressive Rock needs like Satriani or Petrucci very nicely.
I play through a Peavey Tranformer 112 amp w/ a wheeping demon wha pedal. I also use my Fender G-Dec alot for practice..
I like the Highs this guitar will produce and the tone knob works well at dialing out the high end..Tone / Volume & 5 way switch are nice and quite.very nice. Coil Tap is a nice Fender single coil sound.

This is the bad part of it all..The locking tuners are sloopy and don't really lock well at all or hold tune. The Bridge was crazy high and reqiured lowering and intonating. The truss rod needed adjusted as to get a buzz free action..The graphite nut was tight on the E & A strings thus causing the strings to go sharp with use of the tremelo..
The guitar stunning to look at, Simply beautiful The neck is thin and fast, The finish is awesome...The lack of a quality set up is a major let down..Fortunatley I can make all these adjustments for myself. For those who can't stay away from these guitars.

After all the tweaking to get this guitar right. replacing the tuners with Sperzels...This Baby Rocks! The Strap buttons are oversized so no worries there..The finish seems like it might be fragile, I suspect the maple top is maybe 1/8" thick. It's light as a feather and a dream to play..The neck is thin and fast and easy to play. It's built well so yeah I'ld Gig with it and not worry..

Fender Customer service was really poor!

I've been playing for 8 years I own a Gibson LP / A Peavey Wolfgang / Washburn X50 and my Showmaster...They all better instruments

Set neck, Seymour Duncan Pups, three-way switch, volume/tone knobs, locking tuners. Basic no-frills guitar.

for the price i am very pleased with this guitar. I love the pearly-gates pickup and in this guitar it is exceptional. I can get a vast range of tones out of this guitar and the pickups are easy to tame with high gain amps (unlike some of my EMG setup guitars). I play classic hard rock and this guitar fits exactly into the sound I'm looking for. Through my Marshall, Bogner, Boogie it is the business. It's a little muddy with older (non-negative feedback amps) like 50s/60s bassman and that camp of amps but any modern amp it shines through.

This is were I was really impressed. I have been playing music professionally all my life and this guitar was just a flight of fancy. I was very impressed with the quality and attention to detail. I usually play Gibsons on stage but have always had to tinker the hell out of them, even on string changes. This guitar was set-up very well and required minimal adjustment. Tuning stability is excellent and I couldn't find one thing wrong with this guitar. Fit and finish was perfect. For the price, absolutely unbeatable - Fender have done a good job on build and quality control of these.

Very well built, the pots aren't the best quality but are silent and have enough turn drag. The switch again isn't premium but should hold up. Brass bridge, which resonates really well. Trem-system is reliable and stable but then I rarely use it. strap button worry me, just big enough to make you feel they will keep a strap in place but once the leather wears I'm sure the strap will work loose. I may get strap locks for piece of mind here.

Never had to use it

I've been playing all my life as a professional music rat all over the world. Own about 30 guitars, 20 amps. This guitar for the price is excellent. There is better out there of course but I'm talking for the money it's a great buy. Maybe not for everyone but it's a great out-the-box guitar that doesn't need any extensive mods.

made in korea, 24 frets, buitiful headstock matching the color of the fmae maple top, if your reading this you know the deatures

this guitar sounds amazing for anything from rock to metal and even jazz. it has two seymour duncan's a pearly gates plus and a 59' the good thing is that there is quit a bit of differnt tones you can get out of the guitar due to the 5 way pickup switch.. im useing it with a cube 60 and a english Muff'in pedal and this guitar sounds better than a 4000$ gibson. the only thing i disslike is that when you switch the selector to 2 and 4 the guitar becomes noticibly more quiet. other than that you wont find better pickups on a gutar for this price in fact ive scene people with pearly gates on there 4000$ guitars there amazing

this is where my problems were the backplate on the guitar was not on right and was bending out if the guitar before i bought it the guitar tech fixed it and blocked off the trem system. also the intonation was horrible and frustrating but that was easy to fix other than that the action was perfect and i couldent find anything else wrong with the guitar its beutiful.

not quite sure yet

havent needed any

overall this guitar has amazing features for the price. the pickups are acually better than the guitar itself if you ask me and the flame maple top is awesome if you buying a guitar in the price range get it you wont be dissapointed... if you have a good tube amp or solid state like me youll understand what this guitar can do. ohh i also like how the dot inlays are abalone not plastic.. also they look better than pearl.

Purchased 2006- 2005 Showmaster SE HH FMT:
Loves: frets, 24 and jumbo size; fit/finish outstanding; HH Pups give the exact sound I was looking/hoping for.
Would also like it to have quicker push button switching but for the price it's understandable.

I like music of all sorts and this one tends to play all decently; no real high ends like a true strat but it's range is definitely larger;
no noise at all thanks to the HH Duncans. Only using it currently with my son's FM-15G and my Sennheiser headphones w/Pandora PX4D (another killer item).
Rich deep tones, consistent all the way up the neck.

Had it professionally set up by a luthier before I took possession. The Fit/Finish is incredible. The bookmatched top is great although I would have preferred a darker flaming pattern (no way to order that); a very small mark by the pickup selector is barely noticeable, almost a drop of something.
Action is very nice...high and tight.

Everything about this model seems to look like it was designed to last.

No experience in this category yet.

Playing about 3 months now...a perfect intro. level model for mature people having a burning desire to learn fast/well.
I would replace it immediately, in kind, if lost, damaged or stolen.

2005 Special Edition Showmaster Flame Maple Top made in Korea with 24 frets. It has a 5-way toggle switch, volume control and tone control. Has two Seymour Duncan PUPs. ('59 reverse polarity in bridge and Pearly Gate in the neck)The electronics are passive. Basswood body and Rosewood fingerboard and Maple "C" shape neck. All specs can be found on the Fender webpage. No need to put them here. Mine is the Natural finish.

I enjoy classic rock (Allman Bros.) and styles like James Taylor. I practice on a Fender DynaTouch III Champion 300. I have not noticed any unwanted buzz or hum from the elctronics of the guitar. It does have a full rich soul sound, but I do have some difficulty getting the highs usually associated with the "strat" sound. This could very well be due to the two humbucking PUPs. A single coil thrown in might make a difference. The guitar seems better suited as a rhythm than lead, but lead can be done. (In my opinion)

Off the shelf the guitar was set-up fine, but needed adjustments to suit my needs. I raised the bridge pick up a short distance but that was my preference. The action is quick and low. Volume and tone control work properly with no drop off while turning down. The set neck blends well with the body. I notice a mar or flaw where neck meets body, but its not a structural problem only a cosmetic problem with the wood. Small clicks are noticed in the toggle switch when switching but nothing to raise my concern. Its more of a "click" than static. Guitar is put together well. Tremolo works well but I've locked it down with the extra spring since I don't use it. Changing strings is simple and easy. I've heard others say that the locking tuning machines have given them problems, but I've had no problems with the guitar staying in tune.

I've only owned the guitar a short time, but it seems that it will stand the test of time. The strap buttons are oversized. Guitar seems well built and solid. Finish looks very durable. With proper care and maintenance this guitar should last a lifetime. Guitar seems very reliable, I would trust it on stage.

Have not had to deal with Fender, but the local dealer is more than helpful to resolve any issue I might have.

I've been playing since 1980. I own Ventura and Suzuki acoustics, Fender and Montoya Electrics, Peavey and Fender amps and a Yamaha silver trumpet. The Showmaster guitars are "relatively" new guitars compared to the Strats and Teles. I tried to find out as much as I could about them before the purchase but I could not find very many forums about the guitar. I spent a few months playing the guitar in the store in which it was purchased. The Showmaster is similar in style and shape to the strat but it has its own personality and life. That is one of the reasons for the purchase. There are lots of strats, but not as many Showmasters. It suits my needs and style of playing. I love the smoothness of the neck and the beautiful wood design of the front of the body. I can't think of anything off-hand that I truly dislike about the guitar. I do have one guitar that suits my "strat" needs that I can play, the Showmaster gives me that full-bodied blues sound that my others don't . If it were lost or stolen I would definately replace it.

This was actually a Showmaster FMT which is flame maple top, but other than that, it's the same guitar. Features two Seymor Duncan pickups, a classic 57 and a pearly gates I believe. Rosewood neck, cherry sunburst ehem! Yeah, we'll adress that issue later, medium jumbo frets, locking tuners ehem again, two point trem system. 5 way selector that coil taps and reverses phase on the pickups, basically the same as a QMT.

Ok, here is where things get suspicious. I had Sam Ash bring one of these in special because I thought it looked sooooo great on the Fender site. I was really excited to actually get it in my hands an play it. My excitement was completely misplaced. From the first riff I knew something was off. Yeah, the intonation was deplorable! Even after SamAsh techs had it set up, it still was out up and down the neck. Then, the neck istself looked like a twizler it was so bent, and the action so high it was almost unplayable. I would have good things to say about the pickups, which is why I give it a 5 and not a 1, but I couldn't get past the intonation problems.

Fender claims this is a cherry sunburst. If that's true then someone's brain has gone missing. There is no way in HECK that this could ever be called a cherry sunburst. The color starts correctly, yellow in the middle, but never makes it to cherry red on the outside of the guitar. At best it's pumpkin orange. The neck was in bad shape, and this was A BRAND NEW GUITAR! It was bowed like crazy and I'm pretty sure adjusting the truss would not have fixed it. Again, the intonation is an engineering flaw that cannot be overlooked. Of course Fender's "locking" tuners don't do a doggone thing and one touch of the trem and it all goes to pot.

You've got to be crazy to use it live, unless you actually found one that stays in tune. Wouldn't trust it any further than I could throw it, which is pretty far.

For the amount of money charged for this wanna-be axe, there is no excuse for the shoddy workmanship and half-assed effort put into this guitar. Avoid it at all costs. Do yourself a favor, spend the same amount of money and do what I did, buy an Ibanez SZ720. You won't be sorry.