Greg Koch has been called a "twisted guitar genius" and "eclectic virtuoso" by guitar pundits, and in his own words, he considers himself nothing short of a "plectrum-wielding skullduggarist". The towering Koch is moving beyond mere local hero status in the upper Midwest and becoming an internationally renowned guitarist. His work as a session ace, top-selling guitar instructional book and DVD star, magazine columnist, radio personality, comedian and in-demand worldwide guitar clinician for Fender Musical Instruments and Hal Leonard Publishing are all adding to an ever growing reputation as a knowledgeable and skilled artist in his field. Koch's fascination with the guitar started in the third grade when he made Fender Stratocaster® guitars out of cardboard and, using his sister’s sewing machine, made a makeshift wah-wah pedal. It was also the beginning of a long lasting obsession with the music of Jimi Hendrix. Soon after, at the age of 12, Koch finally got his first guitar an…

Fender is thrilled to announce its all-new Fender Acoustic Custom Shop, located in New Hartford, Conn. Operated by Fender’s most experienced guitar luthiers, the Fender Acoustic Custom Shop is committed to delivering the highest levels of acoustic guitar craftsmanship. New from the Acoustic Custom Shop are the Pro Custom Series and Master designed models, which include the TPD-1 Dreadnought, TPDCE-1 Dreadnought, Traditional Triple-“O” Custom Shop Designed, and Newporter™ Custom Shop Designed. The Pro Custom Series includes the TPD-1 Dreadnought and TPDCE-1 Dreadnought, which feature a solid Engelmann spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides, a convenient cutaway on the TPDCE-1, scalloped “X” bracing shifted forward for more traditional tone, a mahogany neck with soft “V”-shaped profile and dual-action truss rod, 20-fret ebony fingerboard with bone nut and mother-of-pearl inlays, bone bridge saddle and pins, a nitrocellulose lacquer finish, and Fishman® electronics on the TP…

Fender is proud to announce four bass additions to its acclaimed American Vintage series, all meticulously reimagined to evoke the authentic feel and sound of the original basses released between the late 1950s and early 1970s. Available in 3-Color Sunburst, White Blonde, and Black, the American Vintage ’58 Precision Bass® commemorates the first year in which the bass that started it all appeared in a 3-Color Sunburst finish. That classic combination is now a longtime Fender tradition, and the ’58 American Vintage Precision Bass brings you other authentic features, including a lightweight alder body (Ash on White Blonde model), thick “C”-shaped maple neck with 20 vintage-style frets and black dot inlays, gold anodized aluminum pickguard with lacquer finish, and new American Vintage ’58 split single-coil pickup. Also includes lower-mounted finger rest, vintage-style bridge with threaded steel “barrel” saddles, flat-top knurled chrome control knobs, reverse tuners, mounted chrome pic…

Elegantly refined high-end style, power and performance The Fender Custom Shop’s 2013 Custom Collection presents some of its most sophisticated and meticulously crafted product offerings to date, including eight guitars and two basses. The most distinctive features of each individual model are listed below: 2013 Custom Deluxe Stratocaster Okume body with access heel and AAA flame maple veneer top in Faded Three-Color Sunburst, Candy Yellow, or Ebony Trans Urethane-finished AAA flame maple neck with a mid-’60s oval “C” back shape Dark rosewood or one-piece maple fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets Custom Shop Fat ’50s pickups with five-way pickup switch and modern Strat® wiring Chrome hardware with pearl button tuners 2013 Custom Deluxe Telecaster Ash body with access heel, top and rear contour and AAA flame maple veneer top in Faded Three-Color Sunburst, Candy Yellow, or Ebony Trans Urethane-finished AAA flame maple neck with a mid-’60s oval “C” back shape Dark rosew…

Fender is proud to announce the Competition series pedals, a whole new line of effects pedals designed and built to provide inspirational tones in a reliable package at an astounding value. The Fender Distortion pedal drives tube or solid-state amps into thick distortion and singing sustain, evoking the edgy hard-rock tones of the ’70s and ’80s. Great with many different amplifiers, it’s responsive enough that a guitar’s volume control can be adjusted to the exact amount of distortion desired, from aggressive crunch to full-on saturation. It can be used to create a distorted tone or as a boost for higher-gain rhythm and solo tones. The Fender Drive pedal creates a warm overdrive reminiscent of classic ’60s and ’70s rock and blues tones. It can be used to push tube or solid-state amps, creating harmonically rich crunch and sustain. With an old-school design that matches its vintage warmth, it makes an ideal choice for the musician looking for rich, harmonic overdriven tone. Th…

Fender’s acclaimed American Standard series guitars and basses have been upgraded for 2012, resulting in the latest iterations of the company’s four archetypal instruments—the Telecaster®, Stratocaster®, Precision Bass® and Jazz Bass® guitars. They’re the same great best-selling go-to instruments they’ve always been, and now feature Fender Custom Shop pickups, as well as other distinctive new design touches. Ideal for every gig from the garage to the club to the stadium, the American Standard Telecaster has been upgraded with a comfortable new body contour and classic-sounding Fender Custom Shop Twisted Tele® (neck) and Broadcaster (bridge) pickups, making it ring more fully, brightly and crisply than ever. Left-handed model also available. The American Standard Stratocaster has been upgraded with aged plastic parts and full-sounding Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s pickups for the very essence of Stratocaster tone. Its high-output hot-rodded sibling, the American Standard Stratocast…

Fender is proud to celebrate five colorful decades of the Jaguar guitar by introducing the 50th Anniversary Jaguar model.The instrument takes players back to 1962, when Fender introduced an unusual new guitar that paired a sleekly modified Jazzmaster body style and elaborate control layout with a shorter scale and smaller, brighter pickups with more output. The resulting Jaguar was the fourth and last of Fender's original lineup of standard electric guitars. Perfectly matched to the early-'60s renaissance in design modernism (as exemplified by everything of the era from autos to aircraft to sunglasses to furniture), the Jaguar gradually acquired a fascinating pedigree quite unlike that of any other Fender guitar. A chromed-out, surf-rock staple of the 1960s, it found new life from the mid-1970s-on as a subversively offbeat alternative axe wielded by punk, post-punk, grunge and alt-indie guitar heroes and anti-heroes alike. The same guitar that originally crested waves of r…

SELECT INSTRUMENTS for SELECT INDIVIDUALS Fender is very proud to introduce its new top-of-the-production-line best: the Fender Select series. Designed as "Select instruments for select individuals," the five guitars and two basses in the series are designed to be players' instruments that put more than six decades of Fender experience and expertise on outstandingly appointed display and bring a wealth of high-end features and elegant design options to discerning musicians everywhere. With choice tone woods, figured tops, strikingly beautiful finishes, figured and quarter-sawn maple necks with compound-radius fretboards, specially voiced Fender Select pickups that deliver masterful tone, and other first-rate features, the US-made Select Series presents Fender's finest selection. Check the complete series Fender Select.

Fender's 50th Anniversary Jazz Bass Walks with Style. Fender has introduced the limited-edition 50th Anniversary Jazz Bass to celebrate 50 years of the guitar. Introduced in 1960 as a deluxe model with sleek sports-car look, the Jazz Bass became popular for its smooth feel and tonal versatility. In celebration of the 50th anniversary, Fender's new version includes a 1960s-era nitrocellulose finish in Candy Apple Red, headstock logo, chrome pickup/bridge covers, C- shaped neck and white Pearloid block fingerboard inlays. Other features include '70s-era bridge pickup placement and bass-side thumb rest. Modern-era tuning machines, high-mass vintage-style bridge and Posiflex neck support rods are also included.

Fender has introduced its Bandmaster VM and Deluxe VM amps, and Bandmaster VM 212 enclosure. These models are designed after such previous tube amps as the Showman, Bandmaster and Deluxe Reverb. The 40 watt Bandmaster VM amp, combined with the Bandmaster VM 212 enclosure, is a head/cabinet rig designed foronstage versatility. The amp combines the mid-powered tube-head concept with vintage modified performance by pairing a real tube amp with several effects. The amp includes two 6L6 power tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes (one for preamp distortion, one for phase inversion), a Celestion G12P80 speaker, digital reverb with level control, and chorus/vibrato with controls for rate, depth and mix. The Bandmaster VM amp's companion Bandmaster VM 212 enclosure is rated at 160 watts (8 ohms) and features two Celestion G12P80 speakers with birch-ply construction. Fender's new Deluxe VM amp has the same features as the earlier Deluxe model, only it's available in combo-amp form.

Now available! Road Worn guitars and basses come with a head start on history and bring the player the best of both worlds—a killer aged design aesthetic that conjures up the ghosts of past music lives, paired perfectly with the modern functionality, playability and high quality that players expect from Fender.