Jade Puget wields one of his Gibson Les Paul Studio models onstage with AFI. The model's simplicity and lighter weight make them Puget's favorite road axes.
AFI has always surfed their own dark wave. Although lumped in with the rest of the Warped Tour pack during the pop-punk explosion of the early aughts, the quartet from Ukiah, California (a few hours north of San Francisco) has been defined by their dramatic aesthetic and melodic, hook-laden songwriting—with both typically more refined and art-minded than those of their immediate peers. AFI's anthemic, radio-ready songs and charismatic frontman, Davey Havok, are often the focus of the group. However, the band's secret weapon has long been Jade Puget, a fleet-fingered guitarist and Havok's trusted cowriter. (The band is completed by Adam Carson on drums and Hunter Bergen on bass.)
Puget's airtight, hardcore-punk-informed rhythm playing and spirited riffing have provided much of the wind in AFI's black sails since he joined the band in the late '90s. Puget has also had a hand in co-producing AFI's albums since the breakout 2003 major-label release, Sing the Sorrow, and has helped shape and expand the group's sound by introducing electronic elements and leaning harder on the goth-rock atmospherics that have become a fundamental part of AFI's songcraft. Puget's instinct for pulling sounds from genres outside of hardcore and pop-punk (not to mention the band's striking visuals) hasn't just kept AFI's music vital and interesting. It's also telegraphed the direction subsequent generations of punk bands would take with shocking clairvoyance.
AFI - Bodies Full Album 2021 (Audio)
AFI recently returned with Bodies, a follow-up to their 2017 eponymous release (also known as The Blood Album). Bodies' 11 tracks present the band in its most mature and arguably creative form to date. While uptempo tunes like "On Your Back" and "Begging for Trouble" are reminiscent of classic AFI, they look beyond the band's distorted punk roots towards the intrigue of post-punk and '80s death-rock in a way that's fresh, without sacrificing AFI's essential personality. As a guitarist, Puget is happiest mining the creative playing found in those sub-genres, and says, "If I had it my way, I'd write only essentially '80s post-punk and '80s-style death-rock. That's really what I want to write! Guys like Daniel Ash [Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, Tones on Tail] and Wayne Hussey [the Mission, the Sisters of Mercy] are important to me. There's lots of really cool guitar stuff going on, on those records. I think because of how lo-fi a lot of it was, it wasn't taken as seriously as it should've been … but that stuff is incredible."
TIDBIT: AFI's latest was recorded in Jade Puget's home studio. Puget learned production watching Butch Vig and Jerry Finn at work.
No song on Bodies flexes Puget's post-punk muscles and atmospheric guitar chops as hard as the haunting, Morricone-meets-Robert Smith groove of "Dulceria," which features layers of lush guitars, a punchy, understated baritone 6-string solo, and an inescapably catchy chorus. "I have a Schecter UltraCure guitar, which is Robert Smith's signature model, and it's really cool looking, with a Bigsby tremolo," he relates. "So, I thought, 'I'm going to do a sort of Cure thing,' and that guitar really informed my playing because I wanted to put in some nice tremolo parts and clean flourishes. It's not, like, a full guitar track; it's little moments between the vocals for me to shine—which is not something I do often—and I think it formed the character of that song. The amps for it were all in-the-box, and I was using all kinds of plug-ins. Nowadays, you can create a guitar tone that no one's ever had before, which is pretty incredible! Not that the tones on 'Dulceria' were necessarily that crazy, but I like to throw different combinations of stuff together to create something unique, and that is an example."
"I've read that people get weight-relieved Les Pauls that don't sound great, but I think I just got lucky and got a super sweet one that sounds incredible!"
In addition to playing guitar and co-writing the songs on Bodies, Puget helmed the album's production and engineering. The lion's share of Bodies was tracked in his home studio. While it's certainly not uncommon for artists to track at home in the DAW/pandemic era, Puget has the distinction of having honed his production chops alongside luminaries like Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth) and the late Jerry Finn, who many credit with sending pop-punk to sonic finishing school with his productions for Blink 182 and Green Day. Finn and Vig both worked on the production of AFI's Sing the Sorrow and Decemberunderground. Puget makes no bones about his admiration of Finn's guitar production skills and the impact left on him. "As a producer, he was the best when it came to achieving great guitar tones. I'll never be able to recapture Jerry's magic and I'll never be the same perfectionist he was, but I learned things [such as] making sure when you're double-tracking rhythm guitars that you're not lazy about making sure the parts are well-matched, and doing things like having a third guitar up the middle of the stereo spread with a rattier tone that gives a bit of fullness to a big rhythm stack."
The current AFI line-up, from left to right, is Adam Carson on drums, guitarist Jade Puget, frontman Davey Havok, and Hunter Bergen on bass.
Bodies' guitar fiber is heavily layered at times ("Tied to a Tree"), but Puget approached the instrument in a decidedly thoughtful and measured way. He explains: "As I've developed as a producer and songwriter, guitar isn't really where I'm trying to show off. I'm not trying to have every song be this giant stack of guitar tracks that hits you over the head. It's become more of a special tool for me." Puget's freewheeling, less-is-more approach to tracking the guitars on Bodies marks a major shift away from the guitar consistency he sought on AFI's past efforts. "I used to get a rhythm tone I liked and that would be the rhythm tone for the entire record. Now, I want the guitar to be doing something different on every song. I'll use a drastically different sound and I do a lot of stuff in the box now, because there's so many crazy things that you can do to your guitar when you work that way. Maybe I just have songwriter's ADD, but I want to explore something new with each song, so you might be losing something with the coherence of the record, but you gain a new sonic palette with every song, which is also cool."
"I'm not trying to have every song be this giant stack of guitar tracks that hits you over the head. It's become more of a special tool for me."
Puget still fires up a big tube amp when a song calls for AFI's signature wall of palm-muted guitars, as heard on the ridiculously catchy track "Looking Tragic." "I still use tube amps and I used my Diamond Nitrox head a lot, which I also use live. And I used my Line 6 Helix a lot, which is a great tool. The world of guitar has become so vast and the purist in me is sometimes embarrassed to say that I do so much in the box, and I still do use outboard gear because you'll never be able to really recreate the sound of a cabinet in the studio pushing air. There's something that physically happens with the tonality that no amount of in-the-box tech will recreate, so there is something to be said for doing some things the old-school way. I found when it came to do something heavy sounding, it just wasn't working for me. And I still use tube amps and cabinets live, and that is something I don't think I'll ever change." For the effects used to shape Bodies'most luxurious guitar tones, Puget's plug-ins of choice were the Valhalla DSP VintageVerb, and Reflektor and Replika from Native Instruments.
Jade Puget's Gear
AFI's creative heartbeat is driven by the collaboration of charismatic vocalist Davey Havok and guitarist Jade Puget.
Photo by Debi Del Grande
Guitars
- Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Cloud Nine
- Gibson Les Paul Studio
- Custom Yamaha Revstar
- Schecter UltraCure
- Fender Bass VI
Amps
- Diamond Nitrox with matching 4x12
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Valhalla DSP VintageVerb plug-in
- Native Instruments Reflektor and Replika plug-ins
Strings and Picks
- D'Addario (.010–.046)
- Tortex .60 mm
While the guitarist truly enjoys his trips down the sub-menu rabbit hole when it comes to crafting unique tones, for his instrument, he still reaches for his trusted Les Paul Studios, which he's used for his entire career with AFI. Their simplicity and lighter weight make them Puget's ideal axes for the road and for his high-energy performances. However, his main guitar on Bodies (and many other AFI albums) was a limited edition Gibson Cloud Nine Les Paul, which he describes as a weight-relieved Custom Shop '59 reissue. "I got that guitar when we were making [2009's] Crash Love. I called Gibson and asked if they could send down a guitar for me to use while we did pre-production, and I expected them to send some piece of shit guitar, but they sent me—I think on accident—this high-end, limited-edition guitar. It sounds so good and it's been my most beloved Les Paul since I got it. It's stock. I've read that people get weight-relieved Les Pauls that don't sound great, but I think I just got lucky and got a super sweet one that sounds incredible! Mine is on the bright side for sure, but there's something magical about it. It just has this tonality that's even across the whole spectrum, so if I'm playing a big rhythm part with major barre chords and playing every string, it just sounds so full and beautiful and clear, but it has a thickness to it that's great."
Rig Rundown - AFI's Jade Puget & Hunter Burgan
Other guitars that made important appearances on AFI's latest include a Yamaha Revstar that Puget used while triple-tracking rhythm parts, which helped him avoid the tonal redundancy that can happen when using the same guitar to track a part several times. He reached for a Fender Bass VI to layer bass parts, yet another instrument Puget was inspired to buy as a fan of Robert Smith's work on the Cure's early records.
"I love blues and I love punk, so I don't really know where I got the tapping thing from."
Puget has never been afraid to lace AFI's songs with fretboard theatrics and was particularly fond of throwing two-handed tapping into AFI's tunes at a time when that technique had not yet returned to vogue outside of the metal world. (Listen to the burning solo on the 2003 classic "Dancing Through Sunday.") But he is unsure of exactly how the athletic side of his playing developed. Puget ruminates: "I was never a guitar god guy, and I never followed the guitar virtuoso guys, because I came from the punk world. I love blues and I love punk, so I don't really know where I got the tapping thing from. I just started doing it because it was fun and it sounded cool, and I incorporated it into my sound. As far as tapping coming back around, it's funny and cool and I think it should! It's a really cool technique and I don't see why it should ever go out of style, and I think Eddie Van Halen really introducing it to the world the way he did should make sure that it's here to stay forever."
As Puget has gained more production experience, he's diversified his recorded guitar tones. "I used to get a rhythm tone I liked and that would be the rhythm tone for the entire record," he says. "Now, I want the guitar to be doing something different on every song."
Photo by Josh Massie (@scatteredpictures87)
Even though Puget possesses the chops and admits to enjoying a good shred session for fun (and has even posted clips playing accurate Stevie Ray Vaughan and Cannibal Corpse guitar covers on Instagram in recent months), when it comes to his own art, he believes too much technique can be the death of inspiration. Puget's anti-technique philosophy is something he's happy to stand behind, and one he had affirmed during the downtime of the pandemic via the wisdom of late singer/songwriter Bill Withers, of "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean on Me" fame. Puget says, "I was watching this documentary on Bill Withers and he said, 'Virtuosity is the enemy of creativity and artistry.' I had come to a similar realization and found that to be true: The better you become at your instrument and the more you know about music, the worse you become as a songwriter. Look at Paul McCartney or any of the songwriting masters of the last 100 years, and they don't tend to get better as they age. I've always pondered why that is and I think part of it is the more you learn your craft and the more you learn your instrument, the more it steals from your artistry. So, I try not to learn too much about the guitar. I want to continue to do new stuff on it, but I never took lessons and I can't read music and I really don't want to learn too much about it for that reason. My way of attacking that is I work harder and harder as a songwriter."
AFI's Jade Puget on Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing" - Hooked
Beyond Puget's killer production chops and formidable, maturing guitar work, the real key to AFI's continued creative growth may lie in the rare bond the guitarist and songwriter shares with frontman Davey Havok. When asked how his writing relationship with Havok has changed since the pair first started working together, Puget is quick to point out that it hasn't. "How we do the raw songwriting really hasn't changed in 20 years! We sit down in a room face-to-face, and I have a guitar, and we'll just work on chord progressions and melodies. Even the very first time in 1998 when we sat down to write a song together, Davey and I immediately had a synergy and focus, and this singularity of purpose that we still have to this day. We never fight or argue, it's never awkward or tense. It's a great working relationship. It's bizarre because most bands that have been together as long as we have seem to hate each other. They don't want to be around each other, they have separate dressing rooms, but we don't have that."
Riff Lords: Jade Puget of AFI
Jade Puget breaks down the riffs from AFI's "Dancing Through Sunday," "The Days of the Phoenix," and "The Leaving Song Pt. II" on a Gibson Les Paul, displaying his tapping technique and precise picking along the way.
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With the Messthetics, Anthony Pirog is a melodic and harmonic wildcard, who has few peers in the scope and imagination he brings to the instrument.
But the Messthetics can, and do, which makes their three albums and live performances joyful journeys through the inner and outer sanctums of sound and melody. Like the Mahavishnu Orchestra or ’80s King Crimson, they create instrumental landscapes that astound, punch, and transport.
The heartbeat of the band is the rhythm section of Brendan Canty on drums and Joe Lally on bass, who were already legends in the indie-rock world before the Washington, D.C.-based trio formed in 2016, thanks to their history in Fugazi. The melodic and harmonic wildcard is guitarist Anthony Pirog, who has few peers in the scope and imagination he brings to the instrument. He is an omnivorous student and musician, with a command of rock, jazz, blues, folk, ambient, and contemporary classical music. The documentation is in his substantial catalog of recordings, which, besides the Messthetics’ releases, range from solo albums and various duos including Janel & Anthony; guest turns with drummer William Hooker and other cutting-edge players; the Mahavishnu tribute Five Time Surprise with fellow outsider-guitar-giant Henry Kaiser; and the Spellcasters, a project steeped in the styles of Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan.
The Messthetics—bassist Joe Lally, drummer Brendan Canty, and guitarist Anthony Pirog—onstage with James Brandon Lewis at Washington D.C.’s Black Cat in March 2023.
Photo by David LaMason
Recently, Pirog has been gigging and touring behind two new keystone works: Janel & Anthony’s New Moon in the Evil Age and The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis. His partner in Janel & Anthony, and in life, is Janel Leppin, a cellist and composer with an equally free-ranging sensibility. And New Moon in the Evil Ageis an entrancing double album that balances melodic exploration with a modernist folk-rock sensibility. It’s easy to get lost in its 20 compositions. On The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, the band enlists the saxophonist, who is deep in the post-Coltrane-and-Ayler school of free-jazz horn and composition, as Pirog’s melodic and harmonic foil. And the results are astounding. Imagine Sonny Sharrock’s ’60s-inclined Ask the Ages with a more bare-knuckled but equally exceptional rhythm section. The balance of beauty and brutality is perfect within its jazz-informed structure. Some pieces, like “Moreso,” are essentially heads with plenty of space for these daring improvisors to unfurl. Others, like “Railroad Tracks Home,” are textural beasts with strong melodic spines.
“We took two or three months to write and arrange the record,” explains Pirog, who brought Lewis into the fold after he and Lewis metworking with William Hooker. “When the Messthetics are not touring, we usually meet twice a week to rehearse, and the rehearsals are essentially writing sessions—a good chance to just bounce ideas around and get a kind of group vocabulary going. So, this album is different from our first two records, where we were trying to explore the possibilities of what the guitar trio can do, in more of a through-composed way. As soon as we knew James was involved, that opened up the whole realm of different textures where I could be part of the rhythm section, or I could stop playing altogether.
“Being in the Messthetics has fueled me to do what I wanted to do,” Pirog continues. “Joe and Brendan play with an intensity I find very inspiring. And the same is true with James. He’s the perfect fit, energetically. We have a similar approach to melody—a kind of free playing and weaving in and out, so when we’re soloing together it’s amazingly fun. That’s really what it amounts to: Everyone’s having a great time and you have an understanding that you’re on the same page and things just flow, without any discussion. I could step on an Octavia and double a melody with James with a close tone that really balances well with the sound of his saxophone. At some points on the album, I can’t even really tell where the line is between James’ sound and my sound.”
On their new album, the band enlists the saxophonist James Brandon Lewis as Anthony Pirog’s melodic and harmonic foil. The balance of beauty and brutality is perfect within its jazz-informed structure.
And as any guitarist knows, sound is an important element of the magic—arguably more important than the notes plotting its course. Pirog is an avid and highly attuned pedal user, with a huge vocabulary of tones and effects at his disposal. He is quite precise in how his stompboxes are deployed. Pirog can turn his Abernethy Sonic Empress, which he runs through a flexible, punchy two-channel, 30-watt Benson Vincent head (“It has incredible clarity and presence to every aspect of the tone”) and cab, into a spacecraft or a growling tiger, utterly annihilate his tone or make it buttery and voice-like, or simply rock out like a maniac, with the push of a few buttons and carefully set dials.
For that reason, and because of the wide range of playing styles under his command, we asked Pirog to share his pedalboards for various gigs: rock, improv, jazz, and roots. “When I’m putting a pedalboard together,” he explains, “there’s nothing too crazy going on. I’m thinking about the source material, which can kind of be pitch-related or timbre-based. Then sometimes I’ll add compression or noise pedals. I’ll put anything that I want to control as the source sound before the volume pedal. Sometimes that can oscillate and create feedback, so I use the volume pedal so it won’t just be blaring. What comes to mind is William Hooker. I did a duo show with him in D.C., and he wanted me to play feedback. So, I put my fuzz pedal on with the gate wide open. Then I’ll consider gain pedals, distortions, sometimes modulation. I don’t have an exact method for modulation. Sometimes it’s before drive and sometimes it’s after, based on the pedal or the pedal type. Then, ambient delay, reverb, and I’ll get into looping stuff at the end of my chain. That’s the basic idea.”
While Anthony’s preferences might change gig to gig, as he’s always on the lookout for new pedals, here are his current pedalboard setups by genre.
Messthetics/Rock Board
Some of Pirog’s favorite pedals include the Strymon Flint, JAM Pedals Delay Llama, Red Panda Tensor, JAM Pedals Rattler LTD, and Greer Amps Lightspeed.
Since the Messthetics’ recent compositions from The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis are essentially heads with lots of room for free-ranging improvisation, Pirog has to be ready to create sounds and travel in different musical directions at less than a moment’s notice. To that end, he needs a wide array of overdrive/fuzz, pitch shifting, modulation, and volume effects.
This is currently what’s at his feet:
• Collector Effectors Zonk Machine (octave fuzz)
• DigiTech Whammy
• Classic Amplification CV-2 (Uni-Vibe clone)
• Klon Centaur
• Lehle volume pedal
• Greer Amps Lightspeed Organic Overdrive
• JAM Pedals Rattler LTD
• Red Panda Tensor
• JAM Pedals Delay Llama
• Strymon Flint (’60s reverb and ’61 harmonic tremolo setting)
• Eventide H9
• Neunaber Immerse Reverberator
Experimental/Improv Board
While the Lehle volume pedal is a staple, the Neunaber Immerse Reverberator and Eventide H9 show up on Pirog’s rock and experimental/improv pedalboards.
Of course, experimentation is a big part of the Messthetics’ aesthetic, but for free-improv gigs, Pirog needs some additional, very specific tools for layering sounds and generating atmospheric elements.
Let’s call this pedal roster his improv/experimental board:
• Collector Effectors Zonk Machine (octave fuzz)
• 4ms Nocto Loco (oscillating octave pedal)
• DigiTech Whammy
• Classic Amplification CV-2 (Uni-Vibe clone)
• Klon Centaur
• Lehle volume pedal
• Gamechanger Audio Plus (sustain)
• MASF Possessed (glitch/oscillation)
• Greer Amps Lightspeed Organic Overdrive
• JAM Pedals Rattler LTD
• Red Panda Tensor
• Montreal Assembly Count to 5 (delay/sampler/octave)
• JAM Pedals Delay Llama
• Strymon Flint (’60s reverb and ’61 harmonic tremolo setting)
• Eventide H9
• Neunaber Immerse Reverberator
• 4ms Noise Swash (oscillating noise pedal)
• EHX 16 Second Digital Delay reissue with additional foot controller (sound-on-sound looper)
• Zvex Lo-Fi Loop Junky
Jazz Board
Excuse the pun: This Klon Centaur is Pirog’s workhorse pedal—part of all his stomp rigs.
Sure, the Messthetics are a rock band, but they often border on jazz—or cross that border. And Anthony’s playing, along with fellow guitarist Henry Kaiser’s, is stellar in the Mahavishnu Orchestra tribute fusion band Five Times Surprise, who’ve so far made just one album, also called Five Times Surprise. But Pirog is also an ace at playing traditional, post-bop jazz as well as the more radical approaches minted by his musical heroes Bill Frisell and Sonny Sharrock.
“When I was in my 20s, playing jazz gigs around the D.C. area and improv gigs in New York, I would just bring my entire, huge pedalboard,” Pirog relates. “Now I’m trying to be more mobile. I can use the Klon’s tone knob to dial back some of the top end even more than I probably would in any other setting. And I will sometimes use the gain knob to boost the signal, which also increases some low end, And then I like to use delay and reverb.”
His pedal array for jazz gigs:
• Klon Centaur
• Lehle volume pedal
• Pro Co RAT
• JAM Pedals Delay Llama (set at 16 ms, to fatten tone)
• Strymon Flint
Roots Board
Roots Board
Pirog is among the rare guitarists who can play in the style of Danny Gatton with the same finesse, touch, and balance of emotional restraint and blues-and-country-based wailing. And gorgeous tone. You can hear him exercise this side of his playing as part of the Spellcasters, in the group’s tribute to Gatton and another D.C.-area Tele giant, Roy Buchanan, on the album Anacostia Delta.
His board for Gatton-style gigs:
• Lehle volume pedal
• Klon Centaur (gain set at 10)
• JAM Pedals Delay Llama
• Strymon Flint (’60s reverb and ’61 harmonic tremolo settings)
And his amp of choice in this playing mode is a ’65 Fender Deluxe Reverb, with volume on 3, approximately.
Rig Rundown - Henry Kaiser's Five Times Surprise
Although he’s currently using a different array of pedals and amps, and a different guitar, too, this look at Anthony Pirog’s rig for the Five Time Surprise recording session is nonetheless fascinating. He leads us through it, at the start of this Rig Rundown.
Having picked up his first guitar at the age of 12, FINNEAS' guitar-playing journey has been a key element in his career. Known for his ability to seamlessly blend acoustic and electronic elements, his music resonates with authenticity and emotional depth. In March 2019, he garnered widespread acclaim for his Grammy-winning contributions to Billie Eilish's breakthrough album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?. FINNEAS then stepped into the spotlight with his own debut, the Blood Harmony EP in 2019, followed by his debut full-length album, Optimist, in 2021. His latest collaboration with Billie Eilish on her album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT continues to push musical boundaries and has garnered critical acclaim, further solidifying their impact on the music industry. Together, they have captivated a global audience, inspiring a new generation of artists to explore and embrace authenticity and vulnerability in their music. Their dynamic partnership has become a beacon for those seeking to innovate and express genuine emotion through their art.
Exploring the Finneas Acoustasonic Collection | Fender Artist Signature | Fender - YouTube
“The most important thing to me about a guitar is versatility,” said FINNEAS. “I was first introduced to the Acoustasonic guitar in 2019 when I was on tour with Billie, and I played it at every show that year. When we started conversations about my signature model, I knew this guitar was great in a live setting, and I wanted to find ways to take it into the studio and make it a versatile, expressive studio instrument. This is the result of that. ”
In addition to the release of his first-ever signature guitar, FINNEAS has just released his latest single, “For Cryin’ Out Loud!”, now available on all major streaming platforms. This track is a precursor to his much-anticipated sophomore album, For Cryin’ Out Loud!, which is set to be released on October 4.
The FINNEAS Acoustasonic Player Telecaster and the Limited Edition FINNEAS Acoustasonic Telecaster guitars mark Fender’s first-ever Acoustasonic artist signature guitars. Distinguished by custom electronics curated by FINNEAS, these models combine a magnetic Acoustasonic Shawbucker pickup and a Fishman undersaddle transducer to deliver clean electric, small-body acoustic, and dreadnought acoustic tones. Additionally, both models feature an onboard chorus effect selected by FINNEAS, seamlessly integrating added sonic characters.
The key differences lie in their finishes and places of manufacture: the standard model boasts a modern Cappuccino Fade satin finish on its solid spruce top, while the LE features an all-Arctic White satin finish for a premium aesthetic. Both guitars share a Modern Deep “C”-shape neck for a confident yet comfortable feel and a Shawbucker magnetic pickup known for its tonal charm and noiseless performance, ideal for studio use. The standard model is made at Fender’s Ensenada facility in Mexico, whereas the limited edition is crafted at Fender’s historic facility in Corona, California.
“We are incredibly proud to collaborate with FINNEAS on his first signature guitar,” said Justin Norvell, Justin Norvell, EVP of Product at FMIC. “The FINNEAS Acoustasonic Player Telecaster and LE FINNEAS Acoustasonic Telecaster capture the unique blend of acoustic, electric and onboard effected tones that characterize his music. This guitar is more than an instrument; it's a versatile tool meant to inspire the next generation of producers and artists to explore new sonic landscapes and push their creative boundaries. FINNEAS's innovative spirit and dedication to authenticity shine through in every detail of these signature models.”
FINNEAS Acoustasonic Player Telecaster ($1,399.99) Purposefully streamlined and equally versatile, the Fender Acoustasonic intuitively transitions from acoustic to electric thanks to revolutionary magnetic and under saddle piezo electronics with 3-way switching co-designed with Fishman to deliver an unmatched acoustic experience. This evolution of the Acoustasonic Player Telecaster offers a set of six voices chosen by FINNEAS to range from clean electric to small-body and dreadnought acoustic, and includes a hand-selected onboard chorus effect in two positions for a versatile array of studio-worthy sounds. Built with uncompromising tonewoods including a braced solid spruce top, mahogany body and neck, and a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, this Acoustasonic is crafted to deliver the organic sonic nuance that is sure to resonate. Other personalizations include a Cappuccino Fade satin finish and an engraved FINNEAS signature on the back of the headstock. A deluxe padded gig bag is also included to provide premium protection and portability.
Limited Edition FINNEAS Acoustasonic Telecaster ($2,499.99) This limited edition American Acoustasonic Telecaster offers a set of ten voices chosen by FINNEAS to range from clean electric to various flavors of acoustic and includes a hand-selected onboard chorus effect in two positions for a versatile array of high-fidelity studio-worthy sounds. Built with premium tonewoods including a braced solid spruce top, mahogany body and neck, and an ebony fingerboard and bridge, this Acoustasonic is crafted to deliver organic sonic nuance that is sure to resonate. Other personalizations include an all-Arctic White satin finish and a FINNEAS signature on the back of the headstock. A deluxe molded hardshell case is also included to provide premium protection and security while traveling.
For more information, please visit fender.com.
Fender Finneas Signature Acoustasonic Player Telecaster - Cappuccino Fade
Tom Petty’s right-hand man proved time and again that he could get to the heart of the matter and find the perfect guitar part for a song. But he’s also cooked up plenty of hits as a player and writer for artists such as Don Henley—with whom he co-wrote two of his biggest hits—Stevie Nicks, Roy Orbison, Matthew Sweet, Brian Setzer, and so many others. Plus, his Blue Stingrays and Dirty Knobs are like candy for the deepest of guitar-tone nerds.
