Farida and former Fender Master Builder John Cruz launch the limited-run JC-1

Farida has unveiled the JC-1, the first guitar created with former Fender Custom Shop Master Builder John Cruz. Guitar World reports that the model followed 273 days of development and marks a significant step for the Chinese manufacturer, which built a dedicated Custom Shop for Cruz.

The JC-1 uses a two-piece alder body, a Canadian maple neck with Cruz's "JC Comfy C" profile and a rosewood fingerboard. Its three custom-wound single-coils feed a five-way selector, master volume and tone controls, plus a blend control that can combine neck and bridge pickups in the outer switch positions.

Only 60 guitars are planned. Guitar World also reports a suggested price of $1,989 from Farida's Instagram, making this a limited but commercially available collaboration rather than a one-off showpiece.