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Fender Vintera III, Epiphone Futura Series, RIP Yuichiro Yokouchi

The newsletter for guitar players.

Image Credit: Fender
Image Credit: Fender

This week's issue is a shorter one, focused on recent guitar news and notes.

It's no secret that the guitar market is not currently exploding like it was during (and in the years following) the pandemic. What we're starting to see in response to that, is lower tier, more entry-level guitars featuring some premium features previously only seen on high-end guitars.

Coming next week: An interview with Thor Jensen. In addition to being an amazing player, Thor is a great teacher (people are starting to notice his great YouTube lessons/videos, as he's built a following of nearly 10k people in a very short amount of time).

News & Notes 🗞️

Fender Vintera III line. Image Credit: Fender
Fender Vintera III line. Image Credit: Fender
  • Fender announced a new Vintera III line of electric guitars. The made-in-Mexico line features several updates from the Vintera II models, including different era-specific neck shapes, era-correct pickups, era-specific hardwear, and some great new colors.
Image Credit: Fender
Image Credit: Fender
Image Credit: Fender
Image Credit: Fender
Image Credit: Fender
  • Epiphone announced a new Futura Series of electric guitars. They feature new Chromashift high-gloss finishes that change color as you tilt them, Epiphone's ProBucker™ Ignite humbuckers™ with coil splitting, stainless steel frets, and 10 to 14-inch compound-radius ebony fingerboards.
L-R: Epiphone Futura Flying V Custom, RD Custom, SG Custom, Les Paul Custom, ES-355 Custom, Explorer Custom & Firebird Custom. Image c/o Gibson Guitars
L-R: Epiphone Futura Flying V Custom, RD Custom, SG Custom, Les Paul Custom, ES-355 Custom, Explorer Custom & Firebird Custom. Image c/o Gibson Guitars
  • Martin Guitars released new D Jr E Walnut and 000C Jr E Walnut Burst acoustic guitar models. The D Jr E Walnut delivers bold Dreadnought power in a compact, travel-friendly size, while the 000C Jr E Walnut Burst adds a comfortable 000 cutaway body for balance and easy upper-fret access. Both feature a full 24.9" scale length, Performing Artist necks, and are solid wood. Both are made in Martin's Mexico factory.
  • Yuichiro Yokouchi, the legendary founder of Japanese guitar manufacturing giant FujiGen, has passed away at the age of 98. Known for producing high-quality instruments, FujiGen grew under his leadership to become a major OEM for brands such as Fender Japan, Ibanez, and Orville by Gibson.
  • Derek Trucks joined The Other 22 Hours podcast for an insightful interview. He discussed managing a 12-piece band, the transition from prodigy to professional, how to Stay inspired after 30+ years on stage, and much more.
  • Guitarist Wendy Eisenberg joined The Fretboard Jounral Guitar Podcast to talk about her which just earned a Best New Music nod from Pitchfork. Wendy talked about her start playing music in Western Massachusetts, the perils of awful guitar instructors, discovering prog rock (and eventually jazz…and singer-songwriters), and more. Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Currently spinning in the office:

Alessia Cara: Love Or Lack Thereof

While Alessia is more known as a pop and contemporary R&B artist, for Love Or Lack Thereof, she re-imagined some of her past love and heartbreak songs as a jazz/soul album, on the 10th anniversary of her debut album Love & Hyperbole.

It's not for everyone, but if you like artists like Norah Jones, you'll probably like this album.

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