1998 Fender Cyclone

     Bought in early 2000 from "Alan's Discount Music" (Birmingham, AL; a gbase.com dealer) for only $299, not bad for a (supposedly) "new" guitar. Arrived with the plastic still on the 'guard (actually, the plastic had been left on there too long, leaving residual gummy marks that had to be dissolved with rubbing alcohol and wiped off) and all the tags. They were kind enough to put it on lay-a-way for me for a month while I sold some old comic books to raise the difference (another exercise in futility). However, despite paying for a case at the same time I bought the guitar, it was shipped without one. It was like pulling teeth from these jackasses to get the refund for the unshipped case, not to mention the truss rod adjustment wrench and the whammy bar. I never got a receipt, so I'm SOL if I ever need warranty work. Do yourself a favor and don't ever shop from Alan's, even if it seems like a really good price.

The good:
     I first read about the then-new Fender Cyclone in October 1998, a few days after I bought my '65 Musicmaster II project, and I remember kicking myself for not waiting. A Cyclone doesn't have quite the same vibe as a hot-rodded Duo-Sonic or Musicmaster, but there's not near as much sweat equity/frustration either. The Fender Cyclone is like a late '50s or early '60s Duo-Sonic on steroids, but with the Gibson scale length. The neck pickup (TexMex single coil) is decent, and the output from the "atomic" bridge 'bucker lives up to its name. I was rather pleased with the well shielded electronics, so I'm hard-pressed to hear any 60-cycle hum, even in the neck position. For that reason (and because there's a resistor wired with the switch, perhaps to reduce the "capacitance effect" of the shielding?), I probably won't ever succumb to temptation and drop one of the Seth Lover-designed Fender Tele Deluxe humbuckers in there. (It'd be too big for the existing routs anyway.) The pickup selector switch toggles from front-to-back (logically, duh) rather than the Gibson up-to-down, but it took some getting used to.

The bad:
     It's kinda heavy, but I guess you gotta have a thicker body to make room for the standard Strat-type vibrato system. Unfortunately, the guitar also illustrates the things wrong with most recent-issue Fenders: paper-thin ply "top" for the sunburst finish (and it's not even a cosmetically attractive ply, either! The wood underneath must be just butt-ugly). It also has the "swimming pool" pickup rout, even though there's only one available pickup configuration offered and the rout had to be modified for one of the pickguard screws. The inimitable Ed Roman has a lot more to say about this. It's too bad Fender didn't correct these corner-cutting practices until July 2000 (and then only on its new "American" series guitars). Finally, I've had a hell of a time adjusting the bridge saddles for proper intonation (see Mods, below).

Vital statistics:

• Serial number: MN8116699 (made in Mexico)
  
  
• Body: 2-piece poplar, with crappy veneer ply top
  
  
• Neck/fingerboard: maple/"slab" rosewood, with "skunk stripe"
  Scale length: 24 3/4"
  Neck width:
  - at nut: 1 5/8"
  - at 12th fret: 2"
  Neck radius: 9 1/2"
  
  
• Electronics:
  2 pickups; polarity/DC resistance:
  - Neck ("Tex Mex" single coil) -- north/6.45 kOhms
  - Bridge ("Atomic Humbucker") -- south/16.47 kOhms
  Controls: 3-way switch; master volume, master tone
  

Modifications

• Came loaded with .009s; re-strung with GHS rollerwound .010s. This required adding a 4th spring to the tremolo block, and filing the saddles for the low "E", "A", and "G" strings to allow them to be moved back far enough for proper intonation in standard tuning. This still isn't enough for the low "E" string. I shimmed the neck, but the resulting increase in action might have actually made it worse....
  
  
• Replaced original string tree with one made of graphite. I may have to file down the post, so it gets a little bit lower.
  
  
• Replaced the tuning machines. The stock ones had some nasty backlash in the action of the gears (as if the guitar wasn't de-tuned before shipping and took a bump or two in transit), and it didn't hold a tuning very well, even without whammy abuse. Very disappointing for a new guitar. I didn't have the receipt needed for Fender warranty work (see above), so I bought my own upgrades (Fender replacement Klusons, as used on "American" guitars even though the tuners are stamped "Japan") and installed them myself. The "American" Klusons are noticeaby heavier, which probably enhances tone.

     If you own a Mexican Fender and decide to replace the tuners yourself, here's some tips: The replacement tuners will not fit the bushings (the new posts are ~0.016" larger in diameter), so you'll have to remove the stock bushings. Don't pry the bushings out with a screwdriver; "rock" them out as described on page 82 of Dan Erlewine's Guitar Player Repair Guide, then push them out from underneath. This'll toast the chrome on the Mexican bushings, but that's a lot better than gouging the top of your headstock. I didn't have any problems installing the new bushings (they had about the same outer diameter as the old ones) or the new tuners. I was able to use the original screw holes without any problems, although I added a dab of wood glue in them for good luck. Just be sure to align the new tuning machines as straight as possible. The new tuners feel much "stiffer," and so far I haven't had any problems with them.

Inside a '98 Cyclone

     Sure, peeking into a Mexican-made Fender isn't near as exciting as VGI's "Inside a '58 Jazzmaster" or "Inside a '54 Strat," but since I've probably already voided the warranty with the new tuners, let's look inside anyway. Four pages (.pdf format) of Cyclone drawings, wiring diagrams, and part lists can be found at Mr. Gearhead.

• Front of body. The white "mother-of-toilet-seat" pickguard isn't near as attractive as the older ones I've seen, almost as if the "grain size" is too large.
  
  
• Back of body. Note how the "belly" contour is completely covered with dark paint. This helps hide the fact that it's a multi-ply body (in this case, thin plies of laminate for the front and back surfaces, over a less attractive solid wood "core"). Here's a better explanation of this cost-cutting practice, from Ed Roman.
  
  
• Headstock, before I replaced the string tree. Its design was based on the original Jazzmaster headstock. Note vintage-style Kluson Saf-T-Post tuning machines, the replica gold "transition" logo, and the cartoon Cyclone figure.
  
  
• Back of headstock (before the tuners were replaced). Note the "skunk stripe" on the neck, indicating that even though this guitar has a 2-piece neck (maple with rosewood board), the truss rod was still installed from the back.
  
  
• Butt of neck, stamped "60372" (a permutation of its part number?).
  
  
• Bottom of butt of neck. Note the inspection check-off sticker(?) and the curious 3/4" wide circular rout centered between the rear-most neck attachment screw holes.
  
  
• Close up of tremolo springs and rout on back of guitar. This photo was taken before I added a fourth spring, to balance the increase in tension after stringing it with .010s. Note the gray-looking powder (rub-out compound?) left in the corners and the tips of the bridge attachment screws peeking thru the bottom of the spring cavity. Very sloppy!
  
  
• Neck pocket. The neck pocket is stamped with two numbers: "JUN 03 1998" and "R53714" (a permutation of its part number), and has extra rounding in the corners (although the neck itself does not seem to have corresponding bulges in its corners). The absence of paint in the neck pocket indicates that the body must have bolted to a piece of scrap wood for finishing, just like all Fender bodies since the mid-'60s. Another 3/4" circular rout is present in the neck pocket.
  
  
• The stupifying "swimming pool" pickup rout... even though only one pickup configuration was offered. Maybe this made the application of shielding paint easier? There's also another inexplicable circular rout, in the guitar's face (??!?). (What is it with these things? Are they as ubiquitous in Mexi-Fenders as crop circles in wheat fields, or what?)
  
  
• Rout for controls. Like the pickguard routs, it's covered with shielding paint. There's a strip of metallic tape(?) embedded in the paint, to help secure the screw for the ground wire.
  
  
• Controls. Pots are apparently 500 kOhm, and are stamped "037407 9824 R" (a permutation of its part number; made in the 24th week of 1998), capacitor labeled "IC MSR.022[??] 250 M" (0.22 uf).
  
  
• Back of pickguard. Note the stamp ("04 SET. 1998") and the abundance of foil shielding.
  
  
• Bottom of neck pickup and switch. The neck pickup (Tex Mex staggered pole single-coil) is stamped "016730" (NOT its current part number?), and is held in place in the pickguard with a screw and rubber tubing instead of a spring (just like '50s Strats). Switch has 270 kOhm resistor (marked with red-brown-yellow-gold bands) wired between the output of the neck pickup lead and the common output, perhaps to reduce the capacitance effect from the shielding.
  
  
• Bottom of bridge pickup ("Atomic humbucker"). Four conductors, so this pickup could be wired with its coils split. Brass baseplate is stamped with "spaghetti" Fender logo (nice touch!) and has a sticker "0053717" (its part number).