Fender CEO Larry Thomas invited The Music Zoo to a special room at NAMM known as Larry’s Lab. Larry’s Lab features prototypes and experimental guitars developed by Fender’s R&D department. One model The Music Zoo saw was the Fender Voyager Concept guitar, which is one of the coolest new guitar shapes I’ve seen in a while. I’d love to see this guitar put into production.

Guitar retailer The Music Zoo have posted some highlights from their first day at the NAMM show. One of the highlights they posted is the prototype for an upcoming 150-piece guitar series from Gibson replicating Kirk Hammett’s 1979 Flying V from his early days in Metallica; 50 of the pieces will be signed by Hammett. Very cool!

Fender is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Jaguar guitar by introducing the 50th Anniversary Jaguar:

Fender is proud to celebrate five colorful decades of the Jaguar guitar by introducing the 50th Anniversary Jaguar model. The instrument takes players back to 1962, when Fender introduced an unusual new guitar that paired a sleekly modified Jazzmaster® body style and elaborate control layout with a shorter scale and smaller, brighter pickups with more output. The resulting Jaguar was the fourth and last of Fender’s original lineup of standard electric guitars.

Perfectly matched to the early-’60s renaissance in design modernism (as exemplified by everything of the era from autos to aircraft to sunglasses to furniture), the Jaguar gradually acquired a fascinating pedigree quite unlike that of any other Fender guitar. A chromed-out, surf-rock staple of the 1960s, it found new life from the mid-1970s-on as a subversively offbeat alternative axe wielded by punk, post-punk, grunge and alt-indie guitar heroes and anti-heroes alike. The same guitar that originally crested waves of reverb-drenched singles by groups such as the Chantays and the Surfaris later fueled, for example, the dynamic grunge maelstrom of Nirvana, the translucent shoe-gazing dream pop of My Bloody Valentine and the literately artful alt-rock of the Pixies, the Flaming Lips and many others.

The U.S.-built 50th Anniversary Jaguar celebrates that vivid history and combines old and new into the finest of all Jaguar guitars. Highly distinctive features include the classic 24” scale length, a new one-degree neck-angle-pocket cut that improves pitch, a re-positioned tremolo plate that increases bridge break angle and sustain, and specially designed hot Jaguar single-coil neck and bridge pickups that deliver fatter tone and more output (once again framed by the model’s classic notched metal “claws”; a hum-reducing innovation only found on the Jaguar).

Other premium features include a sleekly offset alder body with lacquer finish, C-shaped maple neck with lacquer finish and vintage-style truss rod, 9.5”-radius bound rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and pearloid block inlays, separate “lead” and rhythm tone circuits with their own dedicated volume and tone controls, two-position tone switch and on/off slide switch for each pickup, three-ply pickguard (Mint Green-Black-Mint Green), and vintage-style floating tremolo bridge with lock button and chrome cover. Accessories include a deluxe brown case, strap, cable and a set of flatwound strings. Available in classic vintage Fender finishes Lake Placid Blue, Candy Apple Red and striking Burgundy Mist Metallic, which authentically evokes the original Jaguar’s Burgundy Mist finish option.

John Mayer and I seem to share an affinity for small-bodied acoustic guitars, as he has teamed up with Martin to create the Custom 00-45SC John Mayer Limited Edition Guitar:

“There’s something about a smaller-bodied acoustic guitar that has always appealed to me. In one glance it inspires me to write, travel, perform, and age along with it,” said John Mayer. “Not very long ago I was inspired to return to a completely natural way of writing and recording music, and at the center of that vision were the Martin 00-sized guitars that defined an era of brilliant songwriting in the ’60s and ’70s. The 00-45SC John Mayer Edition is my vision of the ultimate 00-45 come to life. It’s simply perfect.”

“There is no better ambassador for our custom guitars than John Mayer,” said Chris Martin, Chairman and CEO, C.F. Martin & Co. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with such a singular talent on such a unique instrument.”

Based upon requested 12-fret 00 specifications and design concepts from the artist himself, the 00-45SC John Mayer Edition is constructed with back, sides and head plate of select premium quality cocobolo wood, a strikingly beautiful member of the genuine rosewood species prized for its’ rich reddish-orange and black grain striations. The soundboard is book matched from Martin’s highest grade of Adirondack spruce, prized for crystalline clarity and powerful projection. The slotted tapered headstock with hand-squared slots is equipped with premium Waverly Sloane bronze engraved side-mount tuning machines with ivoroid buttons. Style 45 vintage appointments are executed in rare richly-colored blue paua shell, with delicate snowflake fingerboard position markers. The tastefully ornate 1902 alternate torch design graces the headstock, also executed in blue paua.

Martin’s standard 00 12-fret body size has long been revered for its’ sweet airy depth of tone, but this special model has an even deeper sound. Aside from its vintage hide glue Custom Shop construction and hand sculpted Adirondack spruce bracing, the 00-45SC John Mayer Edition bears unique attributes never before seen on a Martin guitar. Style 45 top inlay typically circumscribes the tongue of the fingerboard as it extends toward the rosette. This new design provides for pearl edging along the sides of the fingerboard that extend directly with miter joints into the rosette. The inlay motif of the three-ring Style 45 rosette is perfectly continued as a matching inlay on the higher surface of the fingerboard, giving the illusion of complete contiguous circles. This unusual design is so unique, it is difficult to describe in words and must be seen photographically or held in one’s hands to be fully comprehended.

Each 00-45SC John Mayer Edition will be personally signed by John Mayer and numbered in the sequence of the 25 total edition guitars. This special model will be introduced at the Anaheim Winter NAMM Show in January of 2012 and will subsequently be available from participating Martin dealerships in early 2012.

Most of us will have to admire this guitar from afar, as it has a suggested price of $13,999 and will be limited to just 25 guitars.

Fender have introduced a new series of amplifiers called the Pawn Shop Specials. The series currently has two models: the Excelsior and the Greta:

Meet Greta™ and Excelsior™, Fender’s new and coolly unconventional Pawn Shop Special amplifiers. The two stylish amps resemble the esoteric finds you might discover in a pawnshop or second-hand store, and make for the most distinctive addition to any musician’s collection.

Housed in the playfully diminutive form of a vintage tabletop radio, the Pawn Shop Special Greta model is quite possibly the most unusual Fender tube amp ever (in fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find the name “Fender” anywhere on it). It’s a charming two-watt tabletop beauty with a 4” Special Design speaker, old-school VU meter with “clean to overload” indicator display, simple volume and tone controls, and a 1/8” back-panel auxiliary input perfect for iPod or other media player use.

Its vintage-style enclosure has front and rear wood panels finished in bright red, gold-finished metal top and sides for increased shielding, “Greta” script badge on the front panel and tabletop feet. Under the hood and on the back panel, Greta features a single 12AT7 output tube and 12AX7 preamp tube, with a ¼” instrument jack and ¼” line out jack (for preamp use with another amplifier).

Undoubtedly one of the most distinctive tube combo amps produced in Fender history, the alluringly refined Pawn Shop Special Excelsior harbors tones from polite, to raw and raucous. Its brown textured vinyl covering, smartly stylish “E” grille design and bold crossed-swords front-panel badge convey a decidedly stately vibe with a marked air of cold-war cool.

The 13-watt Excelsior elegantly encloses a single 15” Special Design speaker, with bottom-loaded primary chassis and top-loaded control chassis for operating convenience and low noise (powered by two 6V6 output tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes). Distinctive features include “instrument,” “microphone” and “accordion” inputs that each have individually optimized circuitry; tremolo circuit with speed control, bright/dark tone switch (for treble or bass emphasis), volume control and ¼” internal speaker disconnect that lets the amp drive an external speaker enclosure.

For playing at home, smaller gigs and studio sessions, the Excelsior is a class act that brings a fresh and unconventional new vibe to your playing.

I love the look of these new amps, and they’re priced right with the Excelsior having a street price of $299 and the Greta having a street price of $199. Premier Guitar is at the NAMM show and was able to get this demo video of the amps:

PRS Guitars have announced another new model, the Signature Limited:

In early 2011, PRS Guitars offered a 100 piece run of its Signature model through the company’s exclusive Private Stock division. For 2012, this innovative model is being released as the Signature Limited, a 400 piece run of guitars built by PRS Guitars’ core production line. These beautiful multi-toned instruments will feature Artist Grade figured maple tops, mahogany backs and necks, Paua Heart bird inlays with Mother of Pearl outlines, and “sinker” mahogany necks. Most notably, the Signature Limited boasts an innovative, proprietary Signature/408 pickup system designed to extend the guitar’s tonal spectrum and musicality.

The proprietary Signature/408 treble and bass pickups are designed to narrow the field of the bass pickup to increase its focus, and to expand the field of the treble pickup to increase its tonal range (hence their asymmetric appearance). This pickup configuration stems back to Paul’s early pickup experimentation in the early 1980’s and provides stunning articulation and musical clarity. The Signature/408 electronics offer eight sounds via four pickup coils thanks to a simple but versatile switching system featuring mini toggle switches that provide numerous combinations of humbucking and (no volume loss!) singlecoil tones. This versatility and distinctiveness has garnered the Signature model PRS’s first official multi-artist endorsement from Howard Leese, Davy Knowles, Michael Ault, Tom Wheeler, and, of course, Paul Reed Smith.

“In many ways, the Signature model is the culmination of decades of experimentation,” said Paul Reed Smith. “This pickup system, and the very positive reception it has garnered, shows me that we have hit on something new and special.”

This is a wonderful video featuring Jay Lichty, a luthier I have discussed several times on here. One day, I plan on creating my own guitar from scratch. Until then, I’ll enjoy watching videos like this for inspiration:

If you’re looking to build your own guitar, too, Lichty even offers a guitar-building workshop.

The Machete combo amp is an interesting new amp from Fender:

Fender proudly introduces the all-new Machete combo amp. With tremendous versatility and performance-oriented features, this high-end, sonically powerful combo is an essential companion for the discerning musician.

The 50-watt, dual-channel Machete combo boasts a completely new high-gain channel, an extremely clear-sounding clean channel that can be pushed into aggressive rhythm guitar territory, and onboard digital reverb. Its heavily robust enclosure construction and single 12” Celestion® speaker deliver full, rich and pummeling response, with midrange notch control, adjustable speaker damping for finely tuned performance, XLR output with switchable speaker muting and cabinet emulation, and push-pull pots for bright boost and gain boost on the rhythm channel.

Serious guitarists and amp connoisseurs who are both meticulous and adventurous about even the finest details of their sound will find the Machete a formidable new member of their arsenal. The turbo-charged combo’s distinctive cosmetics include vinyl covering with inlaid white piping and gray vinyl “steering wheel grip” accents, new Black Silver Strand grille cloth, heavily knurled chrome knobs and all-new corners and hardware. Four-button footswitch and fitted cover included.

For more information, and to locate a dealer near you, go to www.fender.com.

Fuchs Audio Technology have announced a new addition to their Casino line of amplifiers: the 4-watt 4-Aces amplifier. I had a chance to hear other amps in the Casino line at the Nashville Amp Show last fall, and they sounded terrific. (It didn’t hurt that Anthony Stauffer was the one playing through them.) I’m a bit of a low-watt amp junkie, so I’m really intrigued by this model. The 4-Aces amp features 2 6SN7 octal preamp tubes, an aluminum chassis, back-lit logo, 24-bit digital reverb, an effects loop, separate gain controls for each channel, separate tone controls, and a footswitch.

Some more PRS information from Music Radar: as promised last fall, PRS is adding a pickup option for their SE Angelus line of acoustic guitars:

Announced in September 2011, the PRS SE Angelus Standard and Custom models are made with high-quality components, including a solid back and solid spruce top, a bone nut and saddle, and PRS SE designed tuners.

A PRS pickup system will be an added option on the SE Angelus models in 2012, highlighting the instruments’ rich, resonant, and responsive tone. The PRS pickup system is an under-saddle design with three bands of EQ and an anti-feedback loop. The pickup uses one 9-volt battery for power.

The SE Angelus shares the same proprietary bracing pattern and several distinct construction features as PRS’s acclaimed Maryland-made acoustic line, as well as the company’s trademark bird inlays and headstock design. The PRS SE Angelus is offered in both a “Standard” and “Custom” package. The Angelus Standard includes mahogany sides, a solid mahogany back and a rosewood fretboard and bridge, while the Angelus Custom includes rosewood sides, a solid rosewood back, and an ebony fretboard bridge.

“The SE Angelus models are the newest additions to the SE product family, which has matured into a comprehensive line of electric and acoustic guitars as well as amplifiers. The addition of an optional pickup system on the SE acoustics makes the line even more complete. My hope is that all of our SE products become tools for making music and sources of joy,” said Paul Reed Smith.

The fully acoustic version of these highly-anticipated instruments will begin hitting stores in early 2012. Instruments with the optional pickup system are available for order beginning on January 19, 2012 and will begin shipping in the spring of that year.

A few comments have expressed frustration that the SE acoustics haven’t started shipping yet, so hopefully they’ll be happy to hear the news that they will be shipping “earlier 2012″ with the pickup-equipped models will be shipping in the spring.