The Fender Cyclone was a short-lived experiment from our reliable friends at Fender Guitars. Introduced in the late 1990s, it was based on that classic curiosity, the Mustang (famously played by the late Kurt Cobain among others and available in a Mexican-made 65 reissue model) and with its made-in-Mexico bargain pricing, was designed for the budget-conscious market. It’s an interesting guitar that has some virtues but, frankly, I’d buy this only if I had some spare cash on my hands and I was looking to fill out my collection.

The Cyclone is based on the Mustang body but it’s a little thicker. It’s rather a cross between a Tele and a Strat, with two-cutaways that are sharper than the Tele but not as sharp as the Strat. If you want to look like one of the Beach Boys (even though I think one of their guys actually used either a Jaguar or a Jazzmaster), here you go.

The 24 ¾” neck has the usual 22 frets and is made of maple with a rosewood fretboard. The body is poplar. The bridge is a Strat-design that has dumped the old Mustang one that had some problems. Pickups are Fender/Ping Vintage Style Tuning Machines. I’ve read complaints that they have problems holding a tune. The guitar looks great (candy apple finish, very retro) and the construction quality is high. I’ve been saying for years that the Mexican made Strats are a great bargain and this guitar is right in line with that.

The electronics are different from the classic Fender mix. You get a Tex-Mex Strat single-coil in the neck and an Atomic Humbucker in the bridge. There is a three-way pick-up selector on the lower left of the body ala Les Paul rather than the usual Fender slide switch and a single volume and single tone control.

Allow me to complain: I intensely dislike having master volume and tone controls because they substantially reduce the versatility of the guitar’s sound. How much does it cost to add an additional control or two? Moreover, the humbucker is louder than the single-coil so it can drown it out when you’ve engaged both pickups. Why couldn’t we have two volume controls?

The guitar plays like a typical Fender: it’s fast up and down the neck, it’s comfortable to hold, and light enough so you won’t be exhausted after playing a gig. Like I said, the retro-look is cool and some women (or men) may find it appealing as you’re wailing away in some bar or something.

Unless you’re in love with the looks, though, you’re going to buy this guitar because you like it’s sound more than the alternative Strats and Teles. And with a bridge humbucker, you’re not getting classic Strat and Tele sounds. The humbuckers provide some nice grunge and distortion but to me sound a little sloppy when pushed to ten. Some players will like it a lot but if you’re looking for Les Paul or heavy metal distortion here you’re in the wrong place. It’s better for rhythm than leads. The neck pick up is a more classic tone that is ideal for rhythm and some leads but, like I said, the sound is unbalanced. You can get a decent clean sound out of it.

A lot of guys seem to like this guitar. Me, I don’t know. It’s well made and competitively priced, but I find it schizophrenic. When I’m looking for Fender single-coil tones, this isn’t the guitar I’m going to first, and when I’m looking for humbucking tones, I’d be looking elsewhere first as well. Nonetheless, it’s fun to play, well priced, and delivers some nice bite.

The guitar is also available in a three single-coil model. I haven’t played it, so who knows?

So who should buy this? Guys who know what they want and like the tone and look at a moderate price. Collectors who are looking to fill in a gap in their collection. Dudes who like grungy sound or just like a cool looking guitar. I wouldn’t buy this for an advancing student because the sound just isn’t vintage enough for me—I’d look at some of the guitars listed below first. There are a lot of excellent guitars in this price range, and I frankly prefer some of them.

Note that this guitar was discontinued in early 2007. You can find it used floating around big box stores or on ebay. I wouldn’t pay much more than $500-550 for it and I've seen it on ebay in the $200s so be advised. With the discontinuance, there may be some collection value down the road, once the market settles down, but I wouldn’t buy this in the hope it will appreciate.

Schechter Diamond C+1
PRS Single Cut
Fender VG Stratocaster
Fender Classic 50s Esquire
Gibson ES-350T
Fender American HSS Stratocaster
Gibson Les Paul GT
Fender John Mayer Stratocaster
Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster
Gibson ES-335
Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster
Gibson ES-333 Memphis Style Hollow Body
Gibson ES-5
Gibson Les Paul 1957 Goldtop
Martin D-28 Acoustic
Gibson Les Paul Classic Ebony
Fender 57 Stratocaster Reissue
Les Paul Studio
PRS McCarty
Gibson Jimmy Page Les Paul
Ovation VXT Acoustic Electric
Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster
G&L Legacy Strat
Gretsch White Falcon II
Variax 700 Acoustic
Gibson SG 61 Reissue
Gibson ES-335 1959 Reissue
Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis
Gibson Super 400
Gibson ES-175
Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom
Epiphone Les Paul Standard
Epiphone G-400 SG
PRS Santana SE
Fender 50s Telecaster
Fender Cyclone


Recommended: Yes