Fender Archives - Page 8

Fender lovers: It’s time to rejoice. Another book has arrived for you. by Tom Wheeler is filled with artifacts from Fender’s long history, including handwritten letters, production totals, and Leo Fender’s drawing-board sketches. Wheeler, who has written for Rolling Stone and Guitar Player Magazine, and was the founding editorial director of Bass Player, is now a professor at the University...

U2 bassist Adam Clayton has teamed up with Fender to create a new signature bass. The veteran rocker’s new axe is take on his 1965 Jazz with a few tweaks. “I played (my Sherwood Green 1965 Jazz Bass) a lot on the ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ tour and I really love it,” Clayton said in a press release....

Fender took a leap last year by introducing a new model apart from their genre-defining Precision and Jazz basses. The Dimension Bass started as a model in their Modern Player Series before branching into their Deluxe and American Deluxe series. But now the double humbucker model has been cemented into the brand’s lineup with an American Standard version. We got...

Back in 2013, Fender Master Builder Jason Smith created the retro styled Rascal Bass to display at the NAMM Show. “I wanted to build a short-scale bass that was reminiscent of some of the Kay and Danelectro basses,” Smith stated. This week Fender announced that the Rascal Bass would be put into full production as part of their Classic Player...

Fender has announced a new line of micro-sized pedals including an ABY switcher, a compressor, a DI, and a graphic EQ. Each of the compact pedals weighs about 5.6 ounces and measures 93.5 millimeters deep, 42 millimeters wide, and 52 millimeters tall. Fender Micro ABY Pedal The Micro ABY allows for players to switch between amplifiers or combine two signals...

Fender is adding a Jaguar model to their American Standard bass lineup, which will be the first U.S.-made Jaguar bass. Built in their Corona, California plant, the American Standard Jaguar Bass will be built with an alder body finished in 3-color Sunburst, Olympic White, Black, or Mystic Red. Each bass will be loaded with a P/J pickup configuration consisting of...

Ever wanted to mix and match your favorite parts of a Fender? Now you can with the company’s new American Design Experience. Originally introduced in 2011 at the Fender Visitor Center in Corona, California, the direct-to-consumer program now has an online presence to allow you to customize your own instrument via an online configurator tool. The configurator lets you start...

Fender has completely revamped the Rumble Series of bass combo amplifiers into lighter and louder designs with more features. The new models are built with lightweight plywood enclosures with certain models featuring removable wooden grille frames, Eminence drivers, and upgraded compression tweeters. Fender also re-engineered the circuitry to include a three-button voicing palette and a new footswitchable overdrive circuit. Other...

Fender’s Custom Shop has unveiled the 2014 edition instruments of their annual Custom Collection. The lineup includes two basses: the 2014 Proto Precision Bass and the 1964 Heavy Relic Precision Bass. Fender Custom Shop 2014 Proto Precision Bass Formerly named the Pro Series, the Proto Series is the Fender Custom Shop’s “proving-ground” line built with distinctive features requested for master...

Fender has rolled out two new basses as part of their Vintage Hot Rod series, an American-made lineup that the company describes as incorporating the best of old and new features. The Fender Vintage Hot Rod ’60s Precision Bass and ’70s Jazz Bass riff on classic designs while adding new features like a 7.25″-12″ compound-radius fingerboards, new neck profiles, and...

After introducing the Dimension Bass as part of their Modern Player Series, Fender has revealed that the bass is now available as part of their Deluxe and American Deluxe instrument lines. Available in 4- and 5-string versions, the Fender Deluxe Dimension Bass is built with an ash body in the model’s new body shape, the Black-finish model is made with...

In addition to the recently reintroduced Coronado Bass, Fender has added another classic design to their Modern Player Series with the Starcaster Bass. Based on the Starcaster guitar, the semi-hollow bass was designed in the mid-1970s and was never officially produced. Fender calls it one of their rarest instruments as only a handful of prototypes were built. The Fender Modern...