Fender
Latest Fender guitar news, new electric and acoustic guitars, signature models, artist collaborations, and releases tracked by Guitar Radar.
Guitar Radar follows Fender through 15 stories and 7 product releases, covering new gear, launches and company news as they happen. Most of it sits under gear, industry and players. The most recent story, from Oct 14, 2026, is “Fender Refreshes Its American Professional Flagship Series With V-Mod III Pickups”. Coverage here goes back to Sep 25, 2025. The newest product in the releases catalog is the Fender American Professional Jazzmaster.
About Fender
Fender is the company behind the Telecaster, the Stratocaster and the Precision Bass, the instruments that defined the electric guitar and bass. It grew out of Leo Fender's radio repair shop in Fullerton, California, then a lap-steel and amplifier partnership (K&F), and was established as the Fender Electric Instrument Company in the 1940s. The Telecaster, the Stratocaster and the Precision Bass followed in the 1950s, alongside amplifiers such as the Twin Reverb.
Leo Fender sold the company to CBS in 1965. After CBS exited its non-broadcast businesses in the 1980s, a group of employees and investors bought Fender back. The company opened its main U.S. factory in Corona, California in 1985, and the Fender Custom Shop debuted there in 1987. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is now headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Fender is closely associated with players across rock and blues; its Eric Clapton signature Stratocaster, introduced in 1988, was modeled on his guitar "Blackie". Guitar Radar follows Fender's yearly collections, Custom Shop releases and artist models.
Sources: Wikipedia: Fender (company) · Wikipedia: Leo Fender · Fender: About
Stories
Fender Refreshes Its American Professional Flagship Series With V-Mod III Pickups
The 10-model update spans Stratocaster, Telecaster, offset and bass families, pairing revised electronics with new bridge and control details.
Oct 14, 2026
Fender and Joe Bonamassa Launch the First Signature Tone Master Amp
The Tone Master ’59 Twin-Amp JB Edition puts Bonamassa’s high-powered tweed Twin sound into a 30-pound digital 2x12 with power scaling, convolution reverb and studio-ready IR output.
Oct 9, 2026
Fender gives John 5 three new signature Telecasters, from $1,299 to Custom Shop
The Phantom, Ghost and Custom Shop Phantom pair stripped-down controls with high-output DiMarzio pickups, while the two black models add Floyd Rose trems.
Oct 7, 2026
Fender rebuilds Fender.com around AI gear guidance and upcoming sound demos
The brand's new global platform combines products, editorial content and player services, with Ask Fender launching first in the US.
Oct 6, 2026
Eddie Vedder lends Florence Road his guitar after stolen gear threatens Ohana set
The Irish band recovered from a van theft to play the festival on September 26, using Vedder’s guitar and replacement instruments supplied with help from Fender.
Sep 30, 2026
Olivia Rodrigo opens the Unraveled Tour with a hand-built heart guitar and a stripped-down Jazzmaster
A small East Los Angeles workshop needed five prototypes to turn the heart-shaped concept into a comfortable stage instrument.
Sep 29, 2026
Fender CEO says the S-style cease-and-desist campaign should have been handled differently
Bud Cole says Fender should have talked with builders before sending letters, while the company continues defending its Stratocaster-shape strategy.
Sep 28, 2026
Fender turns Lee Sklar's heavily modified studio workhorse into a production Precision Bass
The $3,499 signature model combines dual active EMG P pickups, mandolin frets, a Jazz Bass-profile neck, Hipshot extender and Badass II bridge.
Sep 28, 2026
Fender’s passive Silent System targets single-coil hum without changing the pickup voice
The battery-free noise-cancellation circuit debuts in limited American Professional Classic Stratocaster and Telecaster models.
Sep 27, 2026
Fender bottles John Osborne's Telecaster tone in a $150 signature pickup set
The Brothers Osborne guitarist gets a bright, punchy Tele set with Alnico 5 beveled magnets and an open-coil neck unit.
Sep 2, 2026
Guitar Center's 2026 Crossroads collection revives Clapton's Blind Faith Tele and a 70-piece Mayer Silver Sky
The charity run, timed to this year's Crossroads Guitar Festival, spans Clapton signature Martins, a Fender Custom Shop recreation of his 1969 Telecaster and a limited PRS Silver Sky finished for John Mayer.
Aug 30, 2026
Fender's second wave of 75th Anniversary Teles brings back the baritone and the Nocaster
A Player II Baritone Telecaster returns a 27-inch-scale Tele to the standard catalog, joined by an American Vintage II 1951 Nocaster and new Player II Telecaster and Precision Bass colorways.
Aug 29, 2026
Fender Custom Shop Recreates George Harrison's 1967 Fender Bass VI
The $9,500 limited run copies the six-string bass Harrison used during the Beatles' later Abbey Road sessions.
Aug 25, 2026
Fender brings back the 1951 Nocaster for its 75th anniversary
The reissue arrives alongside a new hum-cancelling passive pickup system and a heavier Player Fusion line aimed at harder-edged players.
Jun 18, 2026
Tariffs pushed Fender to raise prices — and it is not done adjusting
A new S&P Global analysis shows how much of Fender's cost increase is landing on retail shelves, and why dealers are staying cautious into 2026 anyway.
Sep 25, 2025
Releases
Fender Lee Sklar Precision Bass
$3,499
Fender American Professional Jazzmaster
$1,899.99
Fender Tone Master ’59 Twin-Amp JB Edition
$1,999.99
Fender John 5 Phantom Telecaster
Price TBA
Fender Silent System
Price TBA
Fender John Osborne Signature Telecaster Pickup Set
$149.99
Fender 75th Anniversary American Vintage II Nocaster
$2,999.99