I first heard about the new Nile Rodgers Hitmaker Stratocaster a few months ago when he posted about it on his Twitter page. His original Stratocaster has played on tons of hit records (hence the Hitmaker moniker). Here is Fender's press release about the guitar: SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Jan. 23, 2014) — The Fender Custom Shop is proud to introduce the limited edition Nile Rodgers … [Read more...]
Fender American Special Jazzmaster
Fender has introduced a lot of new guitars this year. One of the more interesting to me is the Fender American Special Jazzmaster. Unlike the traditional vintage-style Jazzmaster, the American Special model does not contain a tremolo bar, nor does it have the rhythm circuitry that most people never used anyway. Additionally, it contains humbucking pickups instead of the … [Read more...]
The “Layla” Guitar
The Fender Custom Shop is introducing the Eric Clapton "Brownie" Stratocaster, modeled after Clapton's famous two-tone '50s sunburst Strat. The guitar is limited to a 100-piece run and will be made available at Guitar Center Platinum stores on March 21, 2013. Some people don't like these kind of tribute models, but I think they're an interesting way to pay homage to classic … [Read more...]
NAMM 2013: Vince Ray Voodoo-Bucket 300CE
This is an interesting new guitar from Fender: the Vince Ray Voodoo-Bucket 300CE: You get skulls and skeletons, motorcycles, black cats and serpents, demons and witches, disembodied hands beating bongos from hell, fortunes told and spells cast, stars, flames, headstones and more. In short, you get the mind of Vince Ray himself embodied in a 500-instrument run of guitars that … [Read more...]
NAMM 2013: Fender Acoustic Custom Shop
Speaking of acoustics, Fender seems to be really ramping up their acoustic guitar production with the introduction of a new Acoustic Custom Shop: (Press Release) SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (January 22, 2013) – Fender is thrilled to announce its all-new Fender Acoustic Custom Shop, located in New Hartford, Conn. Operated by Fender’s most experienced guitar luthiers, the Fender … [Read more...]