Tone combinations abound in a striking, smooth, and abundantly practical axe from Annapolis.
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Leo Fender's first solidbody was released in 1950 and the new anniversary model will feature a Tim Shaw-designed Esquirebridge pickup inspired by an original '50 Esquire from Songbirds Museum in Chattanooga, TN.
Scottsdale, AZ (August 19, 2020) -- The Esquire was the very first solid-body electric guitar offered by Fender, in 1950. With an elegant single-cutaway silhouette, adjustable 3-saddle bridge and a lone, repurposed lap-steel pickup in the bridge position – the Esquire laid the groundwork for all solid body electric guitars to follow and foreshadowed its more famous sibling, the Telecaster.
Like the original Esquire models, the 70th Anniversary Esquire features a body made of pine – a lightweight wood known for punchy and complex tone – and upgrades it with our roasting treatment, greatly improving the resonance of the body. Other features include a lacquer finish, thick “U”-shaped neck, Tim Shaw-designed Esquirebridge pickup – inspired by an original ’50 Esquire from Songbirds Museum in Chattanooga, TN - special anniversary neck plate and tweed case.
- Production of the 70th Anniversary Esquire will be limited to 2020 only
- The guitar will be available in four finishes: White Blonde, Lake Placid Blue, 2-Color Sunburst and Surf Green
- Production of the 70th Anniversary Esquire will be limited to 2020 only
- The 70th Anniversary Esquire will be priced at $1,999.99
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Fender
One of the most-recorded guitarists gets the spitting-image signature treatment on his heavily-modified 1967 solidbody.
Hollywood, CA (August 11, 2020) -- Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) today announced the Stories Collection Brent Mason Telecaster® and Stories Collection Fender Custom Shop® Limited-Edition Brent Mason Telecaster®, marking Fender’s first-ever collaboration with the Grammy® Award-winning artist and one of the most recorded guitarists in music history. Boasting top-of-the-line specs and a classic Telecaster® design, the Stories Collection Brent Mason Telecaster® (available September 15, 2020) provides players the special features and unique range of tones they need to draw on Brent’s platinum Nashville session sound. The Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition Brent Mason Telecaster® (available today) takes this iconic guitar design a step further with a range of custom appointments and a build painstakingly recreated in exacting detail by Master Builder Kyle McMillin.
“Fender coming together with Brent Mason to create something special feels long overdue,” said Justin Norvell, EVP Fender Product. “We are extremely proud of what we have created side-by-side with the master of the Telecaster. The Stories Collection Brent Mason Telecaster® guitars are modeled after one of the most recorded guitars of all time and feel well worth the wait. Brent Mason is known for his versatility, his precision and recognizable tone, and fans will find all three of those things right here in this guitar.”
Brent Mason’s accomplishments as a guitarist are matched by few. As well as boasting a Grammy® Award for Best Country Instrumental (2009), he is a twelve-time winner of the Academy of Country Music® (ACM) Guitarist of the Year Award, and a two-time winner of the CMA® Award Musician of the Year Award. Brent has played on over a thousand albums – making him one of the world’s most recorded guitarists of all time – and in 2019 was inducted into Musician’s Hall of Fame and Museum™. Now, Mason is recognized with his very own artist signature model.
“My main – and most loved – guitar for over 35 years has been my 1967 Fender Telecaster®, so it feels great to see the Fender Stories Collection Brent Mason Telecaster® come to life,” Mason said. “I have lost count of the number of hit songs the guitar has featured on over the years, alongside the likes of Alan Jackson, Shania Twain, Toby Keith…there are hundreds. It has some brilliant features – my favorite of which is the middle pickup with an extra volume control knob – and I can’t wait to see what the guitar can do in the hands of other players around the world.”
The Brent Mason Telecaster® – a Fender production line model – is a faithful recreation of the trusty Telecaster® Mason discovered in a Nashville guitar shop in the early 1980s – a ‘67/’68 model that had been stripped of its original finish and re-sprayed in gray auto primer. Mason went on to outfit the guitar with new pickups and controls and a Glaser™ Bender system, transforming it into the versatile all-in-one session guitar that we know and love today. Special features carefully selected by the Mason include a Joe Glaser B-Bender system, a Seymour Duncan® mini-humbucker in the neck position, locking Sperzel® tuners and Dunlop® locking strap buttons.
Meanwhile, the very special Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition Brent Mason Telecaster® was painstakingly built by Master Builder Kyle McMillin and boasts a range of the finest possible features. These include a 2-Piece Offset Seam Ash body, a Quartersewn Maple neck, custom 6-saddle Tele bridge with a modified plate and saddles for the Joe Glaser B-Bender system and much more – all beautifully captured in a custom Heavy Relic® finish.
“The Limited Edition Brent Mason Telecaster® captures everything we hold dear at the Fender Custom Shop,” added Mike Lewis, Vice President Product Development, Fender Custom Shop. “Immaculate attention to detail, the finest custom features and unrivalled playability. We are immensely pleased with the results and feel the guitar is a true testament to one of the best guitar players of our times.”
The Fender Stories Collection pays tribute to legendary musicians, their beloved modified Fender electric guitars and the extraordinary music they created together. Learn more about the Brent Mason Telecaster® in this Fender Demos video here. Fender Demos is an educational video series focused on providing a deep dive into Fender’s newest products. The series focuses on showcasing not only the key features and benefits, but also the sonic quality of Fender’s instruments, amplifiers and pedals.
ABOUT THE BRENT MASON TELECASTER® – $2,499.99
The Stories Collection Brent Mason Telecaster® recreates the prized Telecaster® he discovered in a Nashville guitar shop in the early eighties: a ‘67/68 model that had been stripped of its original finish and re-sprayed in gray auto primer. Brent outfitted it with new pickups and controls, as well as a Glaser™ Bender system – transforming it into a versatile all-in-one session guitar. Boasting a Joe Glaser B-Bender system, Seymour Duncan mini-hum in the neck position, Hot Stack in the middle and Vintage Stack in the bridge, locking Sperzel tuners and Dunlop locking strap buttons – the Brent Mason Telecaster® provides the special features, smooth playability and diverse range of tones to nail Mason’s platinum Nashville session sound.
ABOUT THE FENDER CUSTOM SHOP LIMITED EDITION BRENT MASON TELECASTER® – $12,500
The Limited Edition Brent Mason Telecaster®, masterbuilt by Kyle McMillin, is inspired by the distinctive Tele® Mason has used for countless recordings and performances with a one-of-a-kind-tone that has made him one of Nashville’s most sought-after session aces. A trio of Seymour Duncan® pickups includes a mini humbucking neck pickup, ’80s-style hot-stack middle pickup and vintage-stack Telecaster bridge pickup, all wired to a custom control assembly with individual volume for the middle pickup, a push/pull tone knob that deactivates the middle pickup when pulled, and three-way blade switching. Other custom appointments include an off-center-seam ash body, 1967 “C” neck profile, 7.25”-radius round-laminated quartersawn maple fingerboard with 21 vintage frets and black pearloid face dots, and a Joe Glaser B-Bender system for extra Nashville twang. Deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity included.
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Fender