Unveiled at NAMM 2012: Fender is proud to introduce three highly distinctive new additions to its acclaimed Blacktop series of guitars, a family that expands the sonic horizons of the Fender classics with high-powered features and design mods. The three new instruments are the Blacktop Telecaster Baritone, Blacktop Stratocaster HSH and Blacktop Jaguar 90 (exclusive pics below).
Fender is proud to celebrate five colorful decades of the Jaguar guitar by introducing the 50th Anniversary Jaguar model at NAMM 2012 (exclusive photos below). The special edition instrument takes players back to 1962, when Fender introduced an unique new guitar that paired a modified Jazzmaster® body style and elaborate control layout with a shorter neck scale and brighter pickups with more output. The resulting Jaguar was the fourth and final of Fender’s legendary original lineup of standard electric guitars.
Paul Reed Smith Guitars’ Custom 24 model was updated in 2011 with new pickups and a redesigned 5-way blade switch, giving the flagship model a new voice and even more versatility. At NAMM 2012, PRS is unveiling yet another update on the Custom 24: its uncovered 59/09 pickups are being updated with new, contoured bobbins that arc with the strings for a more spread out, open tone. First seen on PRS Collection instruments, these bobbins are a continuation of Paul Reed Smith’s quest to continually tweak and refine any small part of the company’s instruments in subtle ways to make them better and more musical.
Unveiled at NAMM 2012: The P22, Paul Reed Smith Guitars’ first piezo-equipped solidbody guitar (pics below). It comes standard with a figured maple top, mahogany back, mahogany neck with a 22 fret rosewood fingerboard, and a redesigned PRS/LR Baggs piezo system. LR Baggs and PRS partnered more than a decade ago to design the piezo system found in PRS’s various hollowbody models. This new system has the same circuit design as the original, giving the P22 the same tonal authenticity and real world practicality as PRS hollowbody guitars. The redesign, however, yielded a version that is 60% smaller than the original system, allowing it to fit comfortably on a solidbody guitar. Uncovered 53/10 pickups round out this guitar’s specs and help refine the P22’s voice.
Legendary rockers STYX–Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Chuck Panozzo, Lawrence Gowan, Ricky Phillips and Todd Sucherman— will be invading the TV airwaves throughout the month of January, perfectly timed with the upcoming DVD release, Styx: The Grand Illusion/Pieces Of Eight Live, coming January 31.
With the construction out of the way and your home studio space soundproofed and ready to handle some music, you’re now ready for step two: The tools you’ll need for recording.
