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Fender Announces the American Performer Series and the Flea Jazz Bass Active

Previously called the American Special Series, American Performer marks the first refresh of guitars and basses at the $1,099.99 price point in more than 10 years.

Hollywood, CA (December 4, 2018) -- Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) today announced the release of its American Performer Series, a brand new electric guitar line and gateway into Fender’s Corona, Calif.-made electric guitar offerings. Previously called the American Special Series, American Performer marks the first refresh of guitars and basses at the $1,099.99 price point in more than 10 years. Available now, the series will make its official debut at Winter NAMM in Anaheim, Calif. in January 2019.

Handcrafted in Corona, Calif., the American Performer Series elevates the standards of performance-grade instruments for artists, making delivery seamless on stage, so players can focus on their art and sharing that in its finest form. Featuring 98 SKUs, the American Performer Series brings the Jazzmaster, Mustang and Mustang Bass into the US-made line in the $1,099.99 - $1,199.99 price range. After listening to direct feedback from artists, product developments focused on creating solutions for performers. New features include: Yosemite™ pickups officially introduced for this line; patent-pending DoubleTap humbucking pickups; ClassicGear™ tuning machines; special circuitry and enhanced electronics; a 70s style logo in silver on all models; an oversized ‘70s headstock on Stratocaster models, as well as six brand-new gloss colors and three satin finishes.

The Performer Series blends traditional Fender design with new elements for modern tone and performance. Together, the updates deliver sonic versatility, tonal flexibility and ease of use for performers, helping them hone their tone across musical genres; they include:

Newly designed Yosemite pickups

  • These alnico pickups deliver sonic versatility and tonalities to help create your perfect sound across every musical genre.

Patent-pending DoubleTap humbucking pickups

  • An innovative product design that incorporates a coil-splitting system to smoothly toggle between humbucking and single-coil pickup modes for even tone.
  • Provides full-throated humbucking and expressive single coil tonalities without the volume loss typical in split-coil pickups, so you get all the tonal flexibility without compromise.

ClassicGear vintage-modern tuning machines

    Vintage-style 18:1 drop-in replacement tuners help performers get the best of both worlds with classic styling and a modern gear ratio, so the guitar gets in tune easily and accurately—and stays in tune.

Enhanced electronics

  • A new push-pull pot provides different tonal features across models and the Greasebucket circuit cuts treble without loss of gain or clarity.
  • Allows you to add your neck pickup or tap your humbucking pickup with a quick push of the button and dial in your perfect tone on the fly.

Fender American Performer Series are already being used across multiple genres including rock, alternative, indie, R&B and more by top artists, such as: Punk-Indie artist, Fidlar; R&B artist, Tom Misch; Soul artist, Catious Clay, and Indie Rock band, La Luz. The new line will be available today December 4, 2018 at local dealers and on www.Fender.com. The following models are offered in all-new gloss colors and Satin finishes, including: Arctic White, Aubergine, Honeyburst, Penny, Satin Surf Green, Satin Sonic Blue and Satin Lake Placid Blue, among others:

  • American Performer Stratocaster $1,099.99
  • American Performer Stratocaster HSS $1,099.99
  • American Performer Telecaster $1,099.99
  • American Performer Telecaster HUM $1,099.99
  • American Performer Mustang $1,099.99
  • American Performer Jazzmaster $1,199.99
  • American Performer Precision Bass $1,199.99
  • American Performer Jazz Bass $1,199.99
  • American Performer Mustang Bass $1,199.99

Watch the company's video demo:



Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) today released the Flea Jazz Bass Active, marking Fender’s second collaboration with notorious Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player, Flea. This second artist signature bass was designed to complement Flea’s beloved, vintage-style recording bass – a Shell Pink Flea Jazz Bass Fender reproduced with him in 2016. The brainchild of Flea and Fender Custom Shop Master Builder Jason Smith, also a Flea/Red Hot Chili Peppers fan and bass player himself—this new active model is hyper-modern and represents Flea’s energetic on-stage preference and style.

“We wanted our second artist signature bass with Flea to complement the Shell Pink Flea Jazz Bass—a reproduction of his beloved studio bass we recreated with him in 2016,” said Justin Norvell EVP, Fender Products. “This new active model is a complete 180 from the super vintage-style of the first; it’s what Flea plays live on stage and was built to cut through with punch.”

This American-made, stage-ready active Jazz Bass features an offset alder body offered in two finishes: Satin Inca Silver and Satin Shell Pink. Following the design of Flea’s favorite on-stage bass, this model has a smooth and fast Satin Polyurethane neck finish with a matching headstock; it’s complimented by a 22-fret “C”-shaped maple neck, 12”-16” radius maple fingerboard, and a 1.6” wide nut. The model is completed with a single, high-output humbucker with an Aguilar OBP-1 18-volt preamp, which allows this bass to crank out massive output. It lends those who wield it a loud and dominating presence on the biggest of stages.

“This bass helps me hear every note crystal clear, it's great in the studio, and it's a really warm sound with a lot of love in it,” said Flea. “This bass has a lot of character. It's a workhorse, you know, you can beat it up, and it still rocks.”

Flea is very vocal about music saving his life, involving himself heavily in the Silverlake Conservatory, a non-profit organization that facilitates music education for all ages. “Almost all music programs have been cut in Los Angeles public schools – and I was determined to fill that void and break barriers,” said Flea. “Now at Silverlake Conservatory, we’ll be able to teach 1,200 kids a week. It is exciting to me that long after I am gone from this planet, it can still be a music school in the neighborhood. If we care about kids of all flavors, economic backgrounds, and ethnicities being intelligent, educated, sensitive people, we need to support education in the arts.”

MSRP: $1,699

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