Legendary guitar maker Fender announced a new model that acts as a hybrid between acoustic and electric guitars.
Called the Acoustasonic Series Telecaster, the new American-made model is the result of three years of testing and design, focused on those who want the convenience and ease of use of an electric, but who also want high-quality acoustic tone.
The body of the guitar features the same classic Telecaster electric guitar shape that lovers of Fender instruments will know well, but with the addition of an acoustic guitar’s round sound hole in the middle of the body.
To get its warm and dynamic acoustic tone, Fender developed a patent-pending technology called the Stringed Instrument Resonance System (SIRS), which is aimed to deliver a natural woody tone with bright and open harmonics akin to what you would hear from a traditional acoustic guitar. When paired with a tone-shifting amp like Fender’s Mustang GT series, the sky is the limit in terms of tone.
“Three years ago, we set out to create a truly innovative acoustic guitar,” Billy Martinez, Fender’s manager of acoustic and Squier divisions, said in a statement. “This allowed us to create an entirely new instrument that blurs the lines between acoustic and electric guitars, giving artists multiple acoustic body shape and wood tones, as well as great electric tones, at their fingertips. The result is an amazing acoustic guitar that melds the best of both the analog and digital worlds.”
A combination of analog and digital technology allows the tone of the guitar to blend between traditional electric and woody acoustic sounds using a single knob on the front of the guitar, offering a wide range of tonal possibilities that have never been available in a single Fender instrument previously.
It’s not a gimmick designed for entry-level musicians that can’t decide between acoustic and electric instruments; The guitar is designed for professional modern players and is hand-built in Fender’s Corona, California, factory.
“If the American Acoustasonic were a car, it would be a high-performance SUV,” Fender CEO Any Mooney said in a statement. “It is not just a state-of-the-art acoustic guitar that sounds great on stage — it’s a state-of-the-art electric guitar that sounds great on stage. That’s a challenge Fender was proud to take on.”
The new Acoustasonic Telecaster retails for $2,000 and can be found on Fender’s website.
