Last year’s Manning Fireworks was a breakout moment for Asheville, North Carolina’s MJ Lenderman, which is both the name of the band and the actual name of singer and guitarist Jake Lenderman, who also plays in the band Wednesday. The record topped plenty of year-end lists and drew favorable comparisons to the likes of Neil Young, Dinosaur Jr., and other stars of the pre- and post-’90s indie-rock boom.
On tour behind the record, the band stopped in at Birmingham, Alabama, joint Saturn on February 1. PG’s Chris Kies met up with Lenderman, guitarist Jon Samuels, pedal-steel player Xandy Chelmis, and bassist Landon George before the show to get the dirt on their dirt.
Brought to you by D’Addario.The SG
Lenderman’s main guitar these days is this 1979 Gibson The “SG,” which he bought in Birmingham while opening for Plains. It’s tuned to D standard, with Ernie Ball Beefy Slinky strings.
Do the Mascis Mash
It’s no surprise that Lenderman digs the Squier J Mascis Signature Jazzmaster. He’s a big Dinosaur Jr. fan and got to sit in with them in Los Angeles to play “In A Jar” in December 2024. From top to bottom, this one is tuned C–G–D–G–G–E for “You’re Every Girl to Me.”
Tele Time
This Fender American Vintage II 1977 Telecaster Deluxe comes out for cleaner needs in the set.
Original Jazz
This is Lenderman’s iconic 2008 Jazzmaster, which he bought back in Asheville.
Hi-Steppin'
Lenderman borrowed a Hiwatt to use at some hometown shows in Asheville and fell in love, so he brings this Custom 50 out on the road now. He’s working his way to a full J Mascis setup, “one cab at a time.”
MJ Lenderman's Board
Lenderman’s clean, easy board has a D’Addario tuner, Death By Audio Interstellar Overdriver Deluxe, a Dunlop wah which he uses as a subtle filter, and TC Electronic Flashback 2.
Loan from Lenderman
Lenderman recorded plenty with this Fender Player Telecaster, but now Samuels puts it to work
Hartzman's Hot Rod
Another loaner, this Hot Rod DeVille combo is on long-term borrow from Wednesday’s Carly Hartzman.
Jon Samuel's Board
Samuels’ board, which is a hybrid of his own pedals and even more borrowed units, carries a Hardwire HT-6 polyphonic tuner, Death By Audio Fuzz War, JHS Double Barrel, Dunlop wah, J. Rockett Archer Clean Boost, Joyo Tremolo, EHX Nano Small Stone, and TC Electronic Flashback 2.
Xandy's ZB
Chelmis, also a member of Wednesday, plays this 10-string ZB Custom, made in the early ’70s with a proprietary pickup. It stays in E9 tuning, and Chelmis makes it sing with a steel he bought from a pawn shop. It runs through a Fender Twin Reverb outfitted with a single 15", and a Goodrich H-120 volume pedal handles swelling duties. From time to time, Chelmis adds in a Guyatone SD2 sustainer for some fuzzy fun.
Precision Vision
George’s go-to is this 2006 Fender Mike Dirnt Precision Bass, strung with Ernie Ball medium-gauge flatwound strings.
Better Beta
George runs through a Sunn Beta Bass head into an Ampeg SVT810E cabinet.
Landon George's Board
On his board, George packs a Korg Pitchblack tuner, Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass, Boss DD-7, Darkglass Electronics Alpha Omega, and a Noble Amplifier Company utility box: It’s a tube preamp, DI box, and power supply, all in one.
EVH SA-126 Standard
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. “We constantly strive to provide forward-thinking designs and unparalleled tonal adaptability with all of the guitars and amps that we release,” says Fender’s executive vice president of product Justin Norvell in a statement announcing the news on Thursday. “As 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.”
Tammy Van Donk, executive vice president of sales at Fender, says the company looked forward to engaging “directly with our dealers in this unique setting that NAMM provides.” She adds, “Designed with precision and passion, this collection delivers unmatched sound quality and playability for today’s musicians.”
If you’re in Anaheim, you might get to see all this first-hand, but if not, we’ve got you covered. Here, we’ve rounded up some of the highlights from Fender’s cavalcade of new launches—including new American Vintage necks—plus goodies coming this year from their other brands like Jackson and EVH.
If you’re in the market for accessories, you’re 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
It’s been a number of years since Fender discontinued their American Standard series, replacing it with the Player, Performer, and Professional series. This April, Fender’s bringing the Standard Series back, this time as an entry-level Fender product “to accompany players on their formative musical adventures.” 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 ’51 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
Fender’s also zhuzhing up their Player II series with limited edition sparkle finishes for the Strat, Tele, P bass, and Jazz bass models. They’re 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, Fender’s 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 company’s brand-new offerings is their pocket-sized interface, the Link I/O Interface. According to Fender, it’s a “studio-grade audio interface” that provides bi-directional audio with USB connection, aiming to be a “one-stop solution” for interfacing with phones, tablets, Macs, or PCs. Its input stage promises to “replicate the dynamic response” 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 “clear and accurate sound reproduction and perfectly replicates every detail of the amp and effect models,” 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
EVH’s 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 it’s equipped with Tim Shaw-designed EVH pickups.
Jackson Surfcaster
Jackson’s 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.
It wasn’t long ago that LA LOM—guitarist Zac Sokolow, bassist Jake Faulkner, and percussionist Nicholas Baker—were cutting their teeth together as the house band at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, playing poolside for guests. Now, with eight EPs and a full-length record (2024’s The Los Angeles League of Musicians) since 2021, they’re a full-blown sensation, celebrating and interpreting instrumental tropical guitar traditions.
The trio played Nashville’s The Basement back in December, where PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Sokolow and Faulkner to see what road rigs they use to bring their psychedelic cumbia and Peruvian chicha dreams to life.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Red Rider
This vintage National Val-Pro, circa 1960 to 1962, belongs to Faulkner, who received it as his very first electric. When he switched to bass, the Val-Pro took a backseat, so Sokolow had been more than happy to borrow it long-term. All the controls are disconnected except for the volume knob. Sokolow strings it with a .012–.052 gauge set of roundwounds, and he’s partial to D’Andrea Pro Plec 1.5 mm picks.
Leader of the Pack
Sokolow’s other sidekick is this Kay Style Leader from 1960. Each of the three pickups has a volume and tone control. The body’s been mostly routed out, so it lends the resonance and darkness of a semi-hollowbody.
Live and Loud
While he’ll often play through Fender Deluxe Reverbs at home, Sokolow trusts the Twin Reverb to get the job done in performance settings. The stage volume is loud enough that he and his bandmates often don’t need monitors: They can just listen to each other’s instruments onstage.
Zac Sokolow's Pedalboard
From his guitar, Sokolow’s signal runs through a spicy-red Voltage Cable Co. coil cable into his board. A TC Electronic Polytune 2 starts things off, followed by a Fulltone Full-Drive 3 for just a hint of dirt, then a Boss DM-3 delay, followed by a Catalinbread Topanga spring reverb. A TC Helicon VoiceTone handles some more echo work along with the DM-3.
Flight-Friendly Upright
Jake Faulkner’s traveling upright is thisJohnson bass, which has been modded by Tom at Fantastic Musical Instruments in Pasadena, California. Tom gave the upright a bolt-on neck that comes off easily, making it a perfect travel mate. For amplification, Faulkner uses pickups from Underwood, based in Palm Springs. On a tip from Tom, he glued a small piece of wood to the side of the pickups to reduce noise issues, and two sound posts have been installed inside the body to reduce feedback concerns.
Thumbin' Through
For electric needs, Faulkner uses this Fender Vintera II ’60s Precision Bass; he’ll switch between the two basses depending on what he feels best suits the song. He uses a thumb pick from time to time to accentuate certain rhythms.
Lightweight Low End
Faulkner’s been converted to this Ampeg Venture V12, a compact bass head weighing less than nine pounds—a godsend for sore-backed bassists. It’s set for a pretty neutral, SVT-style sound and runs into a Fender Bassman 410 Neo cabinet, which has four neodymium-loaded speakers.
Jake Faulkner's Pedalboard
Rather than at the start of his chain, his Korg Pitchblack Advance tuner goes at the end, with everything running out of it to the Venture V12. An Origin Effects Bassrig Super Vintage lends color and tone to the V12, then the Fire-Eye Development Red-Eye Twin acts as an A/B switch to maintain output and gain between the Johnson and the P-bass. An MXR Ten Band EQ helps balance out the upright’s tone.
