Showmaster QMT HH Review

Killer tone with looks to match! The Fender Showmaster QMT HH offers warm sustain and playability with a beautiful carved highly figured quilted maple top. This stellar set-neck instrument offers easy access to the upper frets, two-point tremolo system and locking tuners, a pair of Seymour Duncan pickups, smoked chrome hardware and more!

Features:	9
Sound:	9.3
Action:	9
Reliability:	9
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	9.1
Users rating:	7.6
Comments:	8

overall: 9.4

Featured review by: matthew_z31, on november 17, 2005

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: The Showmaster was first introduced in Jan. of 2005. The 24 jumbo fret neck, which is made of Maple and has a rosewood fingerboard, measures 25.5" long. The neck also features a modern "C" shape and abalone dot inlays. The Strat-like body is made of basswood and features a carved quilt maple top. The bridge features a 2-point synchronized tremolo. The QMT HH features 1 Seymour Duncan '59 Reverse Polarity Humbucker in the bridge position and 1 Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Plus Humbucker in the neck position. The guitar also features a 5 way pickup selector, one volume and one tone knob which, like all of the hardware, is finished in smoked chrome. The tuners are cast/sealed locking tuner machines. // 10

Sound: To begin, this guitar really impressed me, which is ultimately why I bought it. I play through a Line 6 Flextone III, which, as you well know, is loaded with features thereby allowing me touch on virtually any style of music. The sound is generally rich and full. On any particular model that I choose, the guitar sounds great. The bridge pickup is nice, crisp, and clear when on a clean channel, and can go from mild to wild in the distortion department. The neck pickup also does a very good job on clean and distorted channels too. From Johnny Cash to BB King to Led Zeppelin to Nirvana, this guitar can handle it if you have the right amp. The guitar would also be very well suited for all you metal fanatics out there which, thank God, I am not. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The finish is virtually flawless. It truly is a beautiful instrument. The guitar hardly required tuning, and I didn't buy the one that was on display either. That's right, it was nearly in tune right out of the box. The setup was good, although I did raise the action up a bit to cure a bit of a buzz. The pickup selector can have a noticable click to it if you don't time your switching right. My main problem out of this guitar was the input jack coming loose. Yeah, I know, it's a common problem, but they could start putting Loc-tight on the jacks at the factories (which is how I fixed the problem). // 8

Reliability & Durability: Now that I have cured the self-loosening input jack, this guitar will surely last a lifetime with regular maintanence. The chromed hardware will surely last with no avail also. The strap buttons are very reliable I use a $5.00 nylon strap and haven't ever had a problem. I would and have gigged with this guitar without a backup, but then again, I take good care of my gear too. The finish will surely last, even without a pickguard, the guitar has very few scratched despite heavy playing. // 10

Impression: I play lots of classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc), grunge alternative (Silverchair, Nirvana, etc), bluesand the occassional country tune. The guitar suits my needs perfectly. Paired up with a good amp this thing will rock. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be thourghly pissed, I love that guitar. Despite playing a Jackson guitar, several Ibanez guitars, and a few Dean and Shecter guitars I chose this one. Why? Because I liked the way it played and sounded better than any of the rest. Despite an annoying input jack problem which was easily cured, this guitar is nothing less then truly amazing to play. // 9

overall: 9.6

Reviewed by: MattIgoe0108, on august 17, 2007

Price paid: $ 650

Purchased from: Mannys Music Store, NYC

Features: This little beauty has a lot to offer. 24 Jumbo Frets with albalone dot inlays, Basswood body, set neck, Two coil-tapped Seymour Duncan humbuckers (Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge, and RP ’59 reverse-polarity in the neck), and locking tuners. It also offers one volume control, one tone control and a quilted maple top. The nut is graphite, and the hardware is smoked chrome. The bridge, as you can see, is a Standard Fender tremolo. // 9

Sound: the style of the guitar suits me perfectly. It's extremely veratile, and can deal with anything from blues, to country, to mid-high gain rock and metal. It's being run through a Vox AC30 and I can tell you there is no better combination than Vox and Fender. The basswood in the body really boosts the mids and allows it to cut through as a lead guitar. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The factory setup was pretty good. Played it straight out of the box and it was extremely well set up. needed some fine tweaking with the tuning, but otherwise played perfectly. The pickups were at a perfect hight for me (raised bridge and lowered neck), and all I nall, I wouldn't ask for more. // 10

Reliability & Durability: It is by fat the most durable guitar I have. Every other one I have (aside from my bass) is prone to picking up scratches and nets, whereas this one is fine. It worries me that should there ever be a problem, then the set neck might make repairing it difficult, but overall I would be quite happy to gig with this without a backup. // 9

Impression: I picked this up while I was in New York on a whim, and I'm so glad I did. A wonderful guitar. For the price it goes for you get a hell of an instrument. If it were lost or stolen, I would most likely buy another one simply because it complements my amp perfectly. It's probably not the best metal guitar in the world, though it can certainly pull it off, but everything else it can do exceptionally. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on august 06, 2008

Price paid: $ 625

Purchased from: Bill's Music

Features: My showmaster was made in 2005 in Korea. Even though it was made in korea, it feels very tight and has no problems that I could tell. It has 24 jumbo frets which is nice, with a basswood body and rosewood fingerboard. I know the body isn't mahogany because my Ibanez S470 is smaller, but heavier, than the showmaster due to it's mahogany body. The finish is beautiful, I have the Black Cherry QMT which looks great. The tobacco finish is brigher but black cherry looks great too, just a little darker. The pickups are very responsive and bring out the highs in the guitar. I may replace the pearly gates pickup with a DiMarzio super distortion to get something a little hotter, but the pearly gates sounds great too. The only problem I could find was that it goes out of tune very easily if you use the whammy bar. If you abuse the tremolo you need to get a Floyd Rose because this trem will cause you grief. There are so many high end parts that it's amazing, the graphite nut, locking tuners, bridge with heavy saddles to increase sustain, quilted maple top, jumbo frets, set neck, 5 way toggle switching for coil splitting, and Seymour Duncan pickups. // 9

Sound: The sound is perfect. I know some people are in the same boat I am in, but I was looking for a guitar that mixed the bright Stratocaster and the heaviness of a les paul. The showmaster does just that. When playing chords the notes are distinct, like a Stratocaster, and ring out rather than some guitars that muffle everything together and make it sound muddy. When trying to palm mute the showmaster to get heavy chugging riffs, it responses with a lot of bass but Still Remains clear. This is where it differs from the Stratocaster which would sound too thin, and replicates the sound of a les paul. This guitar really is a mix of the two and makes a great sound. Very versatile. The showmaster fits for me because I play stuff like Alice in Chains, Van Halen, Ozzy, Soundgarden, etc. I play with a Marshall MG250DFX. The only bad part about the sound is that when playing clean, with the neck pickup, it sounds slightly muddy. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: I had the people at Bill's set up the guitar for me by lowering the action and setting the intonation. The action was very low but did not give any fretbuzz so it is very easy to play. The pickups are at the correct height from what I could tell. I heard some people say that the frets on the edges of the neck need to be filed down, but mine were perfect. As soon as I opened up the case and looked at the guitar I could tell that the volume knob was off axis, so it wobbled when I twisted it. I took it off and placed it back on and now it's straight, it must have just shifted at some point, so it wasn't a big problem. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I believe this guitar would stand work at gigs and abuse. There are so many high end parts on this guitar that I'm surprised it didn't cost more. The finish is so good looking that if you went to a gig with it, I'm pretty sure that it would wear off or look weathered after a short while, but that's not because the finish is cheap, it's because it looks too nice for its own good. I would have to play this guitar more before I'd decide whether or not I would gig without a backup, but it seems very durable. Like I said though, if you're heavy on the whammy bar you might want to replace the bridge with a Floyd Rose because it WILL go out of tune. Maybe it is my new strings stretching from playing but it went out of tune very quickly. // 9

Impression: I play a lot of hard rock, some metal, and some grunge and it seems to work great for my style. I've been playing for about 6 years as a hobby and wanted to get something that I could call my own instead of my used guitars that I have owned in the past. I had an Ibanez S470 which I thought sounded amazing after trading in the Schecter 006 Deluxe (my 1st guitar). I realized that the Ibanez is too muddy for it's own good. It's great for metal and heavier music, but I needed something slightly brighter than the Ibanez for the music that I played. I tried a Stratocaster but it was way too bright and not heavy enough, but I loved how it felt. I tried some les pauls, which had a good heavy sound but wasn't bright enough and was extremely uncomfortable to play. I tried my friends Squier stagemaster (which is a cheaper showmaster) and I loved how it felt. I determined that the sound of the showmaster is a mix of the Strat and les paul so I gave it a shot, and I'm glad I did. I believe I will have this guitar for the rest of my life (though it won't be my last), it feels like mine since I bought it new and it's such a nice guitar. I know that at some point I will own a Standard Strat, and a fat Strat, and probably a les paul, but the showmaster is such a versatile guitar that it will last me for a long time, and for the price I couldn't pass it up. I wish it had a Floyd Rose or a bridge that allowed for use of the whammy bar without it going out of tune. The sustain is amazing on this because of the heavier saddles on the bridge though, and I don't use the whammy bar that much anyway so it's perfect for me. This is a great guitar and I suggest that you should check it out. // 9

overall: 8

Reviewed by: chaz30591, on july 11, 2005

Features: The Showmaster QMT HH guitar offers warm sustain and amazing playability thanks to its set-in, high-access, 24-fret necks, American-made Seymour Duncan pickups, five-way switching, and Smoked Chrome hardware - and a carved, highly-figured quilt (QMT) maple top. These instrument is stunningly beautiful, easy to play and loaded with superb tone! // 8

Sound: The Fender Showmaster is really designed for rock-things. Doesn't matter if it's blues-rock, classic-rock or kinds of metal but it's nothing for styles of jazz or something like that. Plays nice with clean and overdrive, nothing to compare hear. Warm and full clean sound; warm to cool overdrive (depends on the tunersettings). // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: Nothing to compare at this point. Everything was clean and well adjusted. The photos all matched the guitars look. Very good service. // 8

Reliability & Durability: // 8

Impression: This guitar is very nice. It matches all I play: rock, metal, emo, blues! The only thing that disturbs on that guitar is her weight! You really notice that its some massive piece mahogany-wood you hold there. But that's something you will forget when you play. // 8

Comments

[franksciante]

how can a 2 pickup guitar have a 5 way switch? does it do some sorta crazy ass coil splitting or what?

[Mr_Die_Easy]

The guitar does have a coil spliter

[thayes93]

the 2nd review said it was made from heavy mahogany. its really lite basswood

[BillCenk]

I figured I'd mention this for anyone thinking about buying this guitar:
It's normally $900, I've seen it advertised for $600 and I bought it at a local sale for $500.

[Defaulted]

I recently bought this guitar and really like it. I got a really good price on it. When the stre first got it i was $1,038 and I bought it for $520. I really love the sound. Great Guitar!

[AlexAvarice]

Heh, I never knew Fender had any hard-core built guitars. I thought the only one was the Jim Root tele. This guitar looks great.

[paquiquinho]

I've been choosing a new guitar for my birthday next month and got to try this one today. I thought that I was either getting a mexican strat or a cort M900 but after playing this one I've made up my mind. Really awsome looking guitar and it plays really well. I wish I had enough money for a american strat but has I don't I've choosen my new guitar. Well even if I could buy the strat I would go with this one. I fell in love with her...:P

[tlluckbrown]

By far my favorite guitar. I have the tobacco sunburst qmt and the finish is to absolutely die for. The most beautiful guitar I own also. The versatility is outstanding with the 5 way selector. I recently installed a Seymour Duncan SH-6 in the bridge and oh, man what difference that made for soloing. I can hit a note, go make and sandwich, eat it, drink a beer, come back to her and she's still singing. I think they stopped making the Showmaster QMT for some reason. Probably because they were taking the wind out of the high-end Strat sales. Jerks!