EVH SA-126 Standard
The iconic manufacturer has a packed slate of new products, updates, and surprises in store for players of all stripesāand all budgetsāthis year. Check out our highlights.
Fender is kicking off this year with a lengthy list of new products.
The company is unveiling a broad range of new additions and updates to their 2025 lineup just in time for NAMM, which takes place this weekend in Anaheim, California. āWe constantly strive to provide forward-thinking designs and unparalleled tonal adaptability with all of the guitars and amps that we release,ā says Fenderās executive vice president of product Justin Norvell in a statement announcing the news on Thursday. āAs with every product we develop, we aim to balance tradition whilst also evolving to meet the requirements of musicians spanning various genres and playing preferences.ā
Tammy Van Donk, executive vice president of sales at Fender, says the company looked forward to engaging ādirectly with our dealers in this unique setting that NAMM provides.ā She adds, āDesigned with precision and passion, this collection delivers unmatched sound quality and playability for todayās musicians.ā
If youāre in Anaheim, you might get to see all this first-hand, but if not, weāve got you covered. Here, weāve rounded up some of the highlights from Fenderās cavalcade of new launchesāincluding new American Vintage necksāplus goodies coming this year from their other brands like Jackson and EVH.
If youāre in the market for accessories, youāre in luck. In addition to the bigger-ticket items highlighted below, Fender is revealing a swath of new go-bag and gigging essentials, including the Player Capo for electric, acoustic, and classical, new cables, picks, guitar stands, harmonicas, and straps.
The Return of the Standard Series
Itās been a number of years since Fender discontinued their American Standard series, replacing it with the Player, Performer, and Professional series. This April, Fenderās bringing the Standard Series back, this time as an entry-level Fender product āto accompany players on their formative musical adventures.ā Made in Indonesia and starting at $599 across the board, the series includes Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision Bass, and Jazz Bass offerings in a range of finishes. They come loaded with new Fender Standard pickups, and all models have a modern C-shaped neck.
Limited Edition American Vintage II 1951 Telecaster
As part of their expansion of the American Vintage II series, Fender is releasing a limited edition model of their 1951 Telecaster in butterscotch blonde or prototype white, with a U-shaped maple neck, vintage tall frets, and narrow spacing on the 12th fret dots. It comes with Pure Vintage ā51 pickups, and the only Phillips-head screw on the guitar is at the truss rod nut. It comes in at $2,449.
Other models in the series, including the 1957 and 1965 Strat, the 1966 Jazzmaster, and the 1960 Precision Bass are being treated to new finishes like black, sonic blue, candy apple red, shoreline gold, and Sherwood green metallic.
Limited Edition Player II Finishes
Fenderās also zhuzhing up their Player II series with limited edition sparkle finishes for the Strat, Tele, P bass, and Jazz bass models. Theyāre all hitting the market in March in a sparkle three-colored sunburst.
Affordable Acoustasonics
To complement the more expensive Acoustasonic models, Fender is launching an Acoustasonic Standard Jazzmaster and Acoustasonic Standard Telecaster, both available in black, aged natural, and honey burst finishes. The Indonesia-made guitars are built with braced solid Sitka spruce tops, chambered bodies, and pickups designed in collaboration with Fishman. They hit the market in April at $599 each.
30th Anniversary Blues Junior Combo
For its 30th anniversary, Fenderās giving the iconic Blues Junior IV a limited edition run with a snazzy new look. The 15-watt amp will sell for $999.
Fender Link I/O Interface
Among the companyās brand-new offerings is their pocket-sized interface, the Link I/O Interface. According to Fender, itās a āstudio-grade audio interfaceā that provides bi-directional audio with USB connection, aiming to be a āone-stop solutionā for interfacing with phones, tablets, Macs, or PCs. Its input stage promises to āreplicate the dynamic responseā of Fender amps, in 24-bit/96 kHz audio. It drops in the spring for $79.
Tone Master 2x12 Cabinets
Pitched as a perfect match for the Tone Master Pro system, the FR-212 is a 2x12 powered speaker intended for use with digital amp modelers and profiles. Its 1,000-watt power amp delivers āclear and accurate sound reproduction and perfectly replicates every detail of the amp and effect models,ā says Fender. Onboard controls include a 3-band EQ and a high-frequency cut. The design is intended to give a genuine Fender backline feel.
EVH SA-126 Standard
EVHās Wolfgang Van Halen-designed SA-126 is receiving a more affordable Standard edition this year, weighing in at $899. The hybrid semi-hollow and solidbody design is made with a maple-topped mahogany body, mahogany centerblock, and rosewood fretboard. It comes with a compound 12"-16" radius, and a 24.75" scale length, and itās equipped with Tim Shaw-designed EVH pickups.
Jackson Surfcaster
Jacksonās short-lived Surfcaster model is back with this JS Series Surfcaster JS22 HT, which will retail for $249. Its offset body is made of poplar, with a bolt-on maple neck playing host to a 12"-16" compound radius amaranth fretboard. It should be a great choice for beginner shredders.
7.25" fretboard radius and cunife magnet-based Wide Range pickups make this the most authentic ā72 Thinline since the original.
In the 50 years since their big, chrome covers first reflected a hot stage light, Fenderās Seth Lover-designed Wide Range humbuckers have gone from maligned to revered. The guitars built around Wide Range pickups are legends in their own right, too. Keith Richardsā Telecaster Custom is synonymous with the Stones dynamic and adventurous late-70s-to-early-80s period. Scores of punk and indie guitarists made the Telecaster Deluxe a fixture of those scenes. And Jonny Greenwood almost singlehandedly elevated the Starcaster from a curiosity to an object of collector lust. The fourth member of the Wide Range-based guitar family, the ā72 Telecaster Thinline, lived a comparatively low-profile life. Yet it is a practical, streamlined, uniquely stylish, and multifaceted instrument with a truly original voiceāqualities that are plain to see, feel, and hear in this new American Vintage II incarnation.
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