[MUSIC]
Hey everybody, Aaron Lee Tasjan here,
checking out the California Classic acoustic series.
It's a new line of instruments with unique body shapes and features.
So let's check them out.
[MUSIC]
Okay, the first guitar we're going to be taking a look at today is
the Malibu Classic in cosmic turquoise, the smallest body shape
of the three guitars we're going to be looking at today.
For me these kind of guitars are really great for finger style playing.
They're really well-balanced across the fret board
in terms of being able to really let each string speak.
And the smaller body shape's kind of a nice
punchy tone that cuts across really great
when you're playing finger style.
[MUSIC]
So as you can hear, it kind of has that cool kind of Robert Johnsony,
just great finger picking sound.
Let's talk about the pickup systems in these guitars.
The Fender and Fishman co-designed preamp systems include your volume and
tone control, bass and treble knobs on top here.
And with a handy-dandy little built-in tuner, which is great.
And all of the pick ups for each guitar in the series
were designed with that unique guitars body, shape and mind.
So when you plug it in,
it kind of sounds just
natural as can be which
is a beautiful thing.
[MUSIC]
Okay, the next guitar we're going to take a look at is
the Newporter Classic in hot rod red.
It's a medium-sized body shape.
It's a very well balanced articulate guitar.
One of the interesting features of this particular body shape is the narrower
hips, which kind of creates a more of a scooped sound,
very complimentary to the human voice.
One of the things that's great about the classic line of guitars and
this particular model features the all solid design.
Solid sitka spruce top and beautiful mahogany back insides.
One of the distinct features of the classic line is the two-tone aesthetic
on the guitar, the painted top and wood-finished back and sides.
It's something that's not only aesthetically pleasing but
also pleasing tonally as well.
When that solid wood resonates like that it's a much more pleasing sound
to the ear than your plywood, less expensive instruments would sound like.
So you really get a feel for the rich quality of sound that
an all solid design instrument can offer you.
It's going to sound really good doing finger styles.
It's going to sound really good strumming.
[MUSIC]
Yeah, that cut away is really nice.
You can get up there on the higher frets.
One of the other unique features about this particular instrument
is the six-in-line matching painted headstock.
And one that you would see more traditionally on
Fender's electric guitars.
But they've done it on these acoustic guitars,
which is a really a nice touch and
another feature that really kind of separates these guitars from the pack.
Also, the six inline is a really nice thing when you're restringing your guitar.
You don't have to reach around all awkward to the bottom to
get those top three strings.
So it's not only a matter of beauty, it's also a matter of convenience.
Okay, finally, we are looking at the Redondo Classic in cosmic turquoise.
It is the largest of the three body shapes that we are exploring today.
An ideal sound for your rock and roll bands, for your bluegrass bands.
Anything where you're going to need a guitar with a bigger voice
to kind of cut through the mix of it all.
So one of my favorite features on
this entire line of guitars is the mahogany C-shaped neck.
Different neck than what you would traditionally find on an acoustic guitar.
It's a little smaller.
It's going to feel a little different.
It's going to feel a little more like an electric guitar neck.
It's a really great feeling neck, very easy to play and very fun to play.
Sometimes we don't think about the way that an instrument feels can influence
what we play on it or how we play on it.
And when you get a nice feeling neck like this,
you feel like your possibilities are endless.
So one of the other nice features about this whole line of guitars is
the Pau Ferro fingerboard.
A best of both worlds, if you will.
A great combination of the softer feel of rosewood and
the more solid feel of an ebony or maple neck, which is a great feature.
[MUSIC]
Thanks for checking out the California Classic Series of Guitars with me.
Stay tuned here for more videos.
[MUSIC]