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The Latest Breaking News from Justin Norvell

Fender promised a tweed version of our top-rated Tone Master FRFR speaker last year – now, it’s finally been announced

The Tone Master FR-12 released in 2023 to rave reviews – and at long last, it’s getting a tweed makeover

Guitar World

Hardtail Strats, Bigsby-clad Teles, and a pink Jazzmaster: Squier rolls out its 2025 Classic Vibe collection – and heads into unexpected territory

Some surprising hardware setups and unorthodox configurations head up the drop – which sees Fender commit to its beloved Classic Vibe family

Guitar World

“It’s about delivering the most in-demand mods straight from the factory”: Fender hot-rods itself as the Player II Modified Series rolls out the upgrades –and it got IDLES to demo them

The Player II Modified range is a refresh of the familiar favourites, with Noiseless pickups, locking tuners, treble bleed circuits and of course there is an HSS Strat with a Floyd Rose

MusicRadar

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“A perfect example of a Strat in a transition year”: Fender expands American Vintage II series with fresh finishes, a ’51 Tele with a prototype paint job and a super classy reproduction of a 1965 Stratocaster

Described as “a near 1:1 comparison” of the original models that inspired them, these box-fresh new electrics and bass guitars give you that old-school tone and feel without the vintage price tag

MusicRadar

“Even with the simplified controls layout, this Jag is one of the coolest cats around”: Fender Player II Jaguar review

Fender's cult-classic offset is remodelled again and could well be one of the most fun offsets we've played in recent memory

MusicRadar

“There’s so much equity in the Squier brand name – there are people that proudly play Squier over Fender”: Fender outlines the future of Squier after the launch of its new Standard Series – which is built in the same factory

The Standard Series further closed the gap between Fender and Squier – but would Fender ever put its name on the entire production line, from entry level to Custom Shop?

Guitar World

“If this guitar had come out of one of our other facilities saying Fender no one would be having this conversation”: Fender’s Justin Norvell on the $599 Standard Series, how it was made, and why it is not a Squier with a different decal on the headstock

Fender’s EVP of product on who its new Indonesian entry-level series is for, what its critics are getting wrong, and why this is (probably) as affordable as the Acoustasonic is going to get

MusicRadar

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“We’ve been controlled by the idea that Fender is for Mexico and US models. We’re allowing ourselves to break our own rules”: Why Fender is building its $599 Standard Series in Indonesia – and how its ideological shift delivers better value for players

Fender’s EVP of Product Justin Norvell explains what convinced Fender to change its mindset on where its guitars are built – and what makes the new Standards different from the Player Series (apart from where they’re built)

Guitar World

“We wanted to make Fender more affordable and to a wider amount of people”: Fender launches new $599 Standard Series lineup – and it marks a major shift for one of America’s most iconic guitar brands

The Indonesian-built Standard series brings the concept of an affordable Fender back to the table – and it’s the greatest show of faith yet in its facility

Guitar World

“It’s designed to push boundaries and redefine what a Fender guitar can be”: Fender unveils the American Ultra II, US-made classic models revamped for high-performance feel and tone

The American Ultra II series features all-new pickups, compound radius fingerboards, premium components, fresh finishes and Fender’s “fastest-playing necks” as standard

MusicRadar

“He’s enabled fans to achieve the iconic blink-182 tone they've always dreamed of”: Fender and Mark Hoppus team up for limited edition signature Jaguar Bass

The Blink-182 co-founder’s signature model is a real bespoke build with a Jazz Bass neck, a reverse-mounted Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound P Bass split coil and the choice of 3-Color Sunburst or Sea Foam Green finishes

MusicRadar

“Jack is regarded as a true visionary in the music world, and it has been an incredible journey working with him”: Fender unveils the Jack White Collection – featuring a radically customised Tele, a signature Acoustasonic and a very special tube amp

White says the collab blends the old with the new, all together in a package that would have made Leo Fender “very proud”. Meet the Jack White TripleCaster, TripleSonic and Pano Verb...

MusicRadar

"You can hate every piece of music I've ever made and still pick this up and be like, 'That's got some cool features'": Can Fender's new FINNEAS signature models bring new musicians over to the Acoustasonic guitar cause?

The hybrid model has been favoured by Billie Eilish's brother, co-writer and producer for some time, and he had some specific suggestions for this model

MusicRadar

“I just wanted to be able to play the guitar, never mind have one that is a signature model”: Fender and Susan Tedeschi team up for a signature Telecaster based on her 1993 American Standard

Finished in Aged Caribbean Mist with a tortoiseshell pickguard, this is the spitting image of Tedeschi's original – minus the signatures of BB King, Herbie Hancock et al...

MusicRadar

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Guitar World

“Is there an expanded one? Is there a smaller footprint version? Is there a native version?” Fender’s Justin Norvell teases next steps for the Tone Master Pro range – and confirms tweed FRFR speakers are “definitely on the list”

The floor modeler has already established a firm ‘foothold’… but it seems Fender’s just getting started

MusicRadar

“He didn’t just work here; he lived and embodied the spirit of the brand”: Mike Lewis, legendary head of the Fender Custom Shop, has died

Lewis had toured with Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones, and owned a guitar store before joining Fender in 1991, and his attention to detail was such that he once gave a '59 Gretsch an actual MRI and CAT scan

Guitar World

“A versatile, state-of-the-art instrument designed to push your playing to new heights”: Fender’s 70th Anniversary Ultra Strat HSS offers us a glimpse at the future of the world’s most popular electric guitar

The firm has unveiled the plush Ultra Strat alongside a new 1954 American Vintage II reissue – and a celebration of the once-maligned Antigua finish

Guitar World

“Forever ahead of its time”: Fender kicks off the Strat’s 70th anniversary party with star-studded Voodoo Child (Slight Return) mega-jam – featuring Tom Morello, Nile Rodgers, Mateus Asato, Ari O'Neal and Rei

The fiery, tag-teamed take on the Hendrix classic is designed to showcase the Strat’s enduring legacy – and tonal flexibility

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Guitar World

“No-one was looking at the Strat when Yngwie picked one up in ’86 – everybody had left it behind after Hendrix. It just continues to reinvent itself and get rediscovered”: Justin Norvell has to guard Fender’s glittering past, while securing its future

Fender remains the world’s number one guitar firm, but as the firm’s EVP of Product tells us, it’s thinking about musicians first – not gear – that keeps it top of the pile

Guitar World

“The camp is very protective, and has extremely high standards”: Fender says gaining the EVH endorsement was a crucial benchmark for the Tone Master Pro

Fender’s EVP of Product Justin Norvell tells us that getting the EVH endorsement – the first of its kind on a modeler – was important to the team

Guitar World

“Hats off to Wolfgang because it was a public trial by fire”: Wolfgang Van Halen personally road-tested the Fender Tone Master Pro on tour before giving the company the green light to use EVH models

The Mammoth WVH man took the modeler on tour in order to put the EVH tones through their paces in the live arena

Guitar World

“The higher end the guitar, the more robust the demand is”: Why are guitars getting more expensive? We spoke to the world’s biggest guitar companies to find out

From $50k acoustics to eye-watering ‘premium offshore’ prices, the cost of big-name new guitars has felt like it’s spiraling. So how did we get here? And how do we get out of it?

MusicRadar

“I imagined a chrome red, I love a good texture”: Fender reveals specs and more details of H.E.R’s custom Super Bowl Stratocaster – and we officially want one

The transparent red over Chrome Glow is a finish all right. But will Fender release this during the Strat's big 70th Anniversary?

MusicRadar

"All of that other stuff – the outboard gear, the electronics – can continue to evolve but the thing that you hold close to your body, that becomes part of you… you don’t have to keep evolving that" – Fender's Justin on heritage and progression

The Big F’s executive VP of product says eyes peeled for more Road Worn finishes, artist signature Acoustasonics, and more special releases to celebrate 70 years of the Stratocaster

MusicRadar

Fender and Juanes join forces for a super-versatile signature HSS Strat, equipped with an onboard mid-boost preamp, finished in Luna White

The Juanes Stratocaster arrives with a signature capsule collection of accessories, and is a dream come true for a player who sold everything to buy his first Fender guitar

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