Fender Japan has launched its eye-catching Blue Flower Collection of electric guitars, which taps into the spirit of 1967’s Summer of Love and revives an unconventional Big F finish in the process.
The collection has been expanded to include a flower power-inspired Stratocaster, Telecaster, and Acoustasonic Telecaster, each of which take inspiration from the original ’67 Telecaster that launched alongside the Paisley Tele that same year. Notably, the Paisley Tele was also recently revived courtesy of a new Brad Paisley signature run.
The two limited edition electric guitars feature gloss-finished alder bodies, adorned with an all-new Blue Flower design that, like its Paisley peer, is printed onto the guitar via sheets of paper.
Fender takes some creative liberty here, opting for a 1969-era U-profile neck on the Strat and a ’60s C-shape on the Tele. Both are crafted from maple and feature a 7.25" radius, maple fingerboards, and 21 vintage-style frets.
The firm has also spent some time on the blue burst that frames the periphery of the guitar’s body “to give it a deeper vintage look”.
As expected from a late ’60s Strat, it serves three single-coil pickups voiced in a period-sensitive manner, while hardware specs include a vintage-style six saddle synchronized tremolo, and Fender-made Kluson-style tuners. Its three controls (one Volume, two Tone) and five-way switch are finished in Eggshell for further time-worn chic.
The Tele adopts a like-minded approach, with vintage-voiced Tele pickups flanked by a one Volume and Tone dial each, and a three-way switch. Eggshell, however, has been ditched for chrome knobs, and a black switch tip.
The guitar gets a three-saddle string-through-body bridge, bestowed with chrome barrel saddles and once more designed to look and perform authentically for the era. The same Vintage F-stamped tuners also return.
The Acoustasonic Tele – Fender’s new take on electric-acoustic guitars, which has previously been retooled by FINNEAS and Jack White for signature versions – is a little different.
Made with mahogany back and sides in a T-shape guise, it uses a Transverse bracing and gets a two-ring black and white rosette around its WaterFall soundhole.
The body is “contoured for comfortable playability,” a theme that continues with a mahogany satin urethane neck that offers a modern, deep-C profile with a 12" radius. It is blanketed with a 22-fret ebony fingerboard and a Graph Tech TUSQ nut.
Under its saddle lies Fender’s new Acoustic Engine – a noiseless pickup system developed in collaboration with Fishman for a versatile slew of sounds.
Fender’s patented Stringed Instruments Resonance System (SIRS) also features, promising powerful, natural voicing and lively overtones for whatever styles of music it is used for.
The neck is lifted straight from an electric Tele – save for the tonewood change-up – and Fender promises it will be “easy to play” and tonally warm.
The Blue Flower Strat and Tele guitars are priced at ¥159,500 (approx $1,095), with the Acoustasonic coming in at ¥341,000 (approx. $2,340).
The series also features its design printed on a pint glass, a set of guitar picks in a tin, and a drawstring bag.
Fender Japan’s Blue Flower series is “a special Japan-exclusive collection that captures the spirit of 1960s flower power.”
Head to Fender Japan for more.
For other knockout Fender Japan releases, see the rare Competition Jazzmaster that headlines its Traditional Collection, its breathtaking Sakura Telecaster, an opinion-splitting Starmaster hybrid, and the ace up its sleeve, its Deck O' Cards Stratocasters.
