Fender Pro Series acoustic guitars - any opinions?

victorludorum · November 2014

Hello,

Has anyone actually had one of these in their hands at all? I'm strangely attracted to the Villager 12 Pro, the odd looking retro sixties 12 string, but they don't seem to be anywhere, even in The States.

The few videos on YouTube (only the 6 string models) sound good to me, but I guess as the Fender name is there that there is a generous premium on the price ;-)

Cheers,
Gary.

ICBM · November 2014

I haven't played that model, but I've found every recent Fender acoustic I've played to be well-made, good-sounding and good value for money. No, they are not as good as a Gibson, Martin, Taylor, Lowden or whatever your favourite high-end acoustic is, but that's not the point. They're at least as good as anything else in the same price bracket - quite the opposite of paying more for the name.

Ignore the outdated idea that 'the Fender name doesn't belong on an acoustic guitar' - which was never really true anyway, although to be fair they did make rather a lot of budget models which probably didn't help their reputation… the rest is mostly snobbery.

victorludorum · November 2014

I think these Pro models come in more expensive than Martins or Taylors, or at least in a similar price bracket. The Pro Villager looks to be around 1500-1800 quid to me.

Stock seems to be pretty thin on the ground and I guess that the price is the issue. Are people going to pay that sort of cash for a Fender acoustic, even if they sound great. The retro ones are a bit of an acquired taste too...

ICBM · November 2014

I love the retro ones - in fact, I wish they'd stick to them and not try to pander to the 'conventional' acoustic market by putting traditional headstocks on them. Fenders need *Fender* headstocks! I don't like the cutaway 12-string though, it's a bad blend of retro and modern and doesn't work visually.

I didn't know they were that expensive… but to be honest, Martins and Taylors in that sort of price range aren't exactly traditionally-built acoustics either, there is a lot of cost-cutting on build methods and materials - which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not the same as getting a traditionally-built guitar for less money.

To be honest I'd rather have a guitar which is unashamedly different. Much as I love Gibsons and Martins!

Elvis, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash used them anyway. No more proof is needed

.

victorludorum · November 2014

I feel the same. The only 12s that I really like are the 12 fret ones like the D12-20 or 35, or the smaller bodied ones with the join at the 12th fret too. I agree with you for the Villager standard model; that cutaway is ugly, but the Pro one doesn't have that and is a straight up dreadnaught, but with the hockey stick headstock.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Fender Pro Series acoustic guitars - any opinions?

Comments