New Year - New Guitars

Happy New Year

It is a new year, and the new year might bring you a new guitar, and there are plenty of choices.

The Fender Vintera Series

Last June Fender introduced their Vintera Series. These models are meant to capture specs from decades past, such as period correct neck shapes, and modern pickups that capture vintage tones.

For the Vintera Series, Fender is reviving vintage colors such as Fiesta Red, Sea-foam Green, Inca Silver, Burgundy Mist, and Ice Blue Metallic.

Fender Classic '60's Tele

For each ‘vintage’ model, a comparable counterpart ‘modded’ model will be issued. The Vintera series is replacing the Mexican-made Classic series.

'50's Vintera Strat

As an example Fender is issuing The Vintera ‘50’s Stratocaster with the original alder or ash body, three ‘50’s single coil pickups, a soft V-shaped maple neck, and a 7.25” radius. The tremolo on this guitar is a six point vintage style. The only change that I see is the 5-way pickup switch. The original ‘56 model had the 3 position switch.

'50's Vintera Modified Strat

The counterpart model is a modified ‘50’s version Stratocaster with an alder body, and a modern C-shaped neck with a 9.5” radius, with a maple fretboard. This guitar features locking tuners.

The 3 pickups are Hot ‘50’s style Strat pickups. A two point synchronized tremolo features bent saddles. This guitar also features an S-1 switch that allows the neck pickup to be on in the 1 and 2 positions. Both instruments come with deluxe gig bags.

Fender Vintera '60's and '70's Strats

Fender is offering Vintera ‘60’s, and ‘70’s style Stratocasters, and modified versions of both.

'50's Vintera Tele

For Tele players, Fender has come up with the Vintera ‘50’s Telecaster which has an alder body, with two ‘50’s Telecaster single-coil pickups designed by Tim Shaw. This instrument comes with an ‘early ‘50’s U-Shaped neck that has a 7.25” radius and a maple fingerboard. This guitar comes in Fiesta Red, 2-colour sunburst, or Sonic Blue.

This guitar comes with a vintage-style Tele bride, instead of the flat plate found on current Teles. It also comes with three adjustable brass barrel saddles, and a four-bolt chrome neck plate.

Vintera '50's Modified Tele

The modified ‘50’s counterpart Telecaster features and alder or ash body, and Custom Shop single-coil bridge pickup, and a Custom Shop Twisted Tele neck pickup. The neck has a thick soft ‘V’ shape with a 9.5” radius.

This guitar also features a vintage style Tele bridge, and once again it comes with three brass saddles. Included is a 4-way switch, instead of the usual 3-way switch. The fourth position incorporates a phase switch.

This model Telecaster is offered in Daphne Blue, Surf Green, and Butterscotch.

Fender Vintera Series

Again the Vintera Series includes ‘60’s and ‘70’s models, and their modified counterparts. The Vintera Series also offers ‘60’s Jazzmasters, ‘60’s Jaguars along with their modified counterparts, plus a ‘60’s Vintera Mustang.

Vintera '50's Precision Bass

Included in the series is the Fender Vintera '50's Precision bass. This model includes the single split-coil P Bass pickup, which has been updated, to sound more like the original. The “Vintage C”-shaped neck has a 7.25”-radius fingerboard with 20 vintage-style frets for classic playing feel. A vintage-style, 4-saddle bridge with threaded saddles and vintage-style tuning machines provide original-era aesthetics.

Other features include an anodized aluminum pickguard, chrome hardware and 4-bolt neck plate. Includes a deluxe gig bag.

'Vintera '60's Jazz Bass

The Vintera ‘60s Jazz Bass is equipped with a pair of re-voiced single coil pickups that are voiced to sound like the originals. It comes with a 'mid'-'60's 34" Jazz Bass style neck with a 7.25" radius. It comes with vintage-style frets, and a 4-saddle bridge. The tuning machines have open gears, and the 4 bolt chrome neck plate.

Vintera '70's Jazz Bass

The Vintera ‘70s Jazz Bass comes with a pair of single-coil Jazz Bass pickups voice like the original model. Many features are similar to the '60's model. Aside from the pickups voiced to sound like the original '70's version, the biggest difference is the bound neck with square pearloid fret markers.

All of these guitar will be manufactured at Fender’s Ensenada Mexican facility.  The prices for the Vintera Series is in the $900 to $1100 USD range.

Martin Modern Deluxe Series

In 2019 Martin Guitars introduced their Modern Deluxe Series was offered in four styles: D-18, D-28, 000-28, and OM-28.

Modern  D-18

The vintage appointments offered in the Modern Deluxe Series include a Sitka spruce Vintage Tone System (VTS) top, VTS Adirondack spruce braces, a dovetail neck joint, and natural protein glue construction.

Modern  OM-28

All of these features are designed to produce the rich, fully aged Martin tone.

The three 28-style guitars feature East Indian rosewood back and sides with a contrasting flamed maple binding, while the 18-style features genuine mahogany back and sides with contrasting East Indian rosewood binding.

Modern 000-28

All four models feature stylish gold frets, gold open-gear tuners, and a gorgeous, pearl inlaid, 1930's style script logo on the headstock.

One of the features that is new to this series is a two-way titanium truss rod, which makes the neck super easy to adjust, and it is 64% lighter than a traditional truss rod.

The models also come with Liquidmetal® red dot bridge pins and a composite carbon fiber bridge plate that increase the volume without adding weight.

Modern D-28

This group of instruments features is a brand-new neck shape that was designed just for the Modern Deluxe Series which has an ultra-low profile, and it is slightly asymmetrical for maximum hand comfort up and down the fretboard.

Tom Murphy

Looking to 2020, Gibson has announced the creation of a new division in its Custom Shop operation, the Murphy Lab. The new group will be headed up by guitar relic’ing expert and artisan Tom Murphy. His mission will be to focus on creating more accurate reproductions of historic instruments.

Gibson is establishing a new sub-brand in the relic market: the Murphy Lab.

Gibson CEO James Curleigh

Gibson CMO Cesar Gueikian said, “As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1959 Les Paul Standard, I can’t think of a more exciting time to launch the Murphy Lab under the leadership of Tom, who was instrumental in the inception of the Gibson Custom Shop and developed the process of ageing.”

Alvin Lee ES-335

Gibson is also to release an Alvin Lee ES-335 ’69 Festival’ signature model, a limited-run replica of the Ten Years After guitarist’s favourite hollow-bodied instrument from the Woodstock era.

This ES-335 comes with 3 pickups in HSH configuration, the central single-coil being a Seymour Duncan SSL-1. The humbuckers are both uncovered Alnico III Custombuckers.

The guitar has a traditional three-ply ES style body and comes with a lightly relic’d sixties cherry finish.

The instrument will be adorned with the same stickers that Lee added to the guitar.

The mahogany neck has a rosewood fingerboard and medium-jumbo frets. Other features include a vintage correct No-Wire ABR-1 bridge, Bigsby B-7 tailpiece and a set of Kluson Single Line, Single Ring Tulip tuners.

Les Paul TV Yellow
Special Reissue

Gibson has recently offered an updated version of the 1955 Les Paul Special with a TV Yellow finish. This guitar comes with twin P-90 single coil pickups, and the original wrap-around bridge.

 Antique Television in
a limed mahogany cabinet

For those unfamiliar with why it was a "TV" special we have to go back over 60 years to a time when television 'sets' which housed cathode ray picture tubes were housed in decorative cabinets that were considered furniture. One type of wood was 'limed mahogany', and it was a light colored, almost yellow wood. If you purchased a Les Paul Special in 1955, it may have matched your TV console.

New PRS Guitars 

PRS (Paul Reed Smith Guitars) will be celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2020, and in advance of that milestone the company has announced six new SE Series electric guitar models for next year that bring popular designs, hollowbodies and exotic veneer instruments into the line.

New PRS Guitars

The six new models are the SE Hollow body Standard, SE Hollow body II, SE Mira, SE Starla Stoptail, SE Custom 24 Burled Ash and SE Custom 24 Poplar Burl.

Supro 1296AN Silverwood

The 1296 Silverwood by Supro Guitars has veered towards play ability and practicality over period-correctness in the design of their model 1296 Silverwood electric guitar. Some original . The electronics have been simplified, with a single three-way pickup-selector switch combining with master volume and tone controls.

Supro 1296 Silverwood

The Gold Foil pickups are an update on the Clear-Tone pickups of old: they’re humbucker sized and offers an unusual combination of hi-fi clarity and lo-fi attitude that gives the Silverwood its character. It is available in blue, red, green, and with a natural finish (AN).

The New Harmony Guitars

Harmony Guitars trade name has been acquired by new ownership and they are offering their new rebooted Standard Series.  The Harmony Silhouette, Rebel, and Jupiter guitars feature straightforward design with play-ability and stellar construction and are being made in the iconic 225 Parsons St. factory in Kalamazoo, where Heritage Guitars are made. Original Harmony Instruments were made in Chicago.

Harmony Jupiter

It is a tribute that these reissues are made in the U.S.A.  All of the new Harmony guitars feature two hand-wound Gold Foil humbuckers, mounted on a solid mahogany body, with soft edges, body contours and a 12-inch-radius ebony fretboard keep things player-friendly.

Harmony 8418 Tube Amplifier

Harmony is also offering a  hand-wired limited reissue of it's model 8418 5 watt tube amplifier. This comes with a 6" Jensen speaker. This amplifier is based on original schematics only with a solid state rectifier. It features a single 6SJ7 preamp tube, and one 6V6 power tube.

Ibanez Guitars is offering two new AZ and RG guitars for 2020.

AZ226PB    AZ2202A    AZ2204A

The AZ line will feature five new models with stunning finishes. The AZ226P models feature poplar burl tops, with single coil pickups in the neck, and center postition, and a humbucker above the bridge.All feature the Ibanez Edge Tremolo system.

The  RG line up has three new limited edition models.

The limited-run RG6PPBFX models feature an American basswood body with a poplar burl top and a Wizard neck constructed from 11 pieces of maple, walnut and purpleheart. The fingerboard is ebony with EVO gold frets and It also boasts luminescent side-dot inlays. These guitars also feature Premium Knuckle Aftermath humbuckers with a switchable coil-tap. Hardware includes Gotoh MG-T locking tuners and a mono-rail fixed bridge.

RG6PPBFX  RG1121PB

The RG1121 series features two six string, and one seven string model. They come with American basswood bodies, poplar burl tops, ebony fingerboards with EVO Gold frets and those 11-piece maple, neck and purpleheart Wizard necks constructed from maple, walnut and purpleheart. All have luminescent side-dot inlays.

Pickups are DiMarzio Covered Fusion Edge humbuckers with a coil-tap switch.

Hardware includes Gotoh MG-T locking tuners and the mono-rail fixed bridge on the RG1121PB and RG1127PBFX models, while the RG1120PBZ has an Edge-Zero II tremolo instead, along with the dyna-MIX10 switching system.

Reverend is offering three new models for the new year with two designs and an update of the Warhawk model. All of the guitars will have korina bodies, Boneite nuts and locking tuners, as well as Reverend’s Bass Contour Control, and dual-action truss rods.

The Roundhouse

The Roundhouse has a set neck, flame maple top, pau ferro fretboard, HA5 humbuckers and a tune-o-matic stop-tail bridge. There's three finish options with Brown, Transparent Black and Transparent Turquoise finishes.

The Contender

The new single-cut offset Contender is available with a choice of humbuckers, P-90s or the new Reverend Retroblast mini-humbuckers.

The Warhawk

The revamped Warhawk Reboot now has sleeker body, three 9A5 pickups that Reverend describes as “hotter and thicker at the bridge, yet cleaner and more open at the middle and neck than vintage P-90s. The Warhawk DA will feature a single coil and a humbucking pickup, while the Warhawk DAW adds a tremolo to the single coil, humbucker design.

I wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous 2020, and thank all that read and follow The Unique Guitar Blog.

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