FEATURE:
Talk of the Town
PHOTO CREDIT: ddp USA/Rex/Shutterstock
The Chrissie Hynde Telecaster and a Pledge to Get More People to Pick Up a Guitar
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AMONG all the bad news and lack of positive rays…
PHOTO CREDIT: Fender
in the music industry right now, there are these interesting stories that take the mind in a different direction. It has been a pretty heavy year already for music in terms of bad news – what with venues still closed -, but I am always cheered by something a little more positive. One of my favourite musicians, Chrissie Hynde, has launched her own guitar. This NME article explains more:
“The Pretenders frontwoman’s team-up with the US instruments manufacturer, which was announced yesterday (February 2), pays homage to the Ice Blue Metallic Telecaster she purchased in New York City nearly 40 years ago.
Since the release of the band’s self-titled debut album (1980), Hynde has played the guitar on many subsequent studio records and live tours.
Fender’s new Chrissie Hynde Telecaster, released as part of the company’s Artist Signature Series, allows fans worldwide to embody the axe-playing prowess of The Pretenders’ leader for the very first time.
According to an official description, the guitar “serves the unmistakable look and feel of Hynde’s treasured ’65 Telecaster model”. The new instrument features an alder body in Faded Ice Blue Metallic Road Worn lacquer finish, vintage-style ’50s single-coil Tele pickups voiced to match Hunde’s original set as well as a 6-stainless steel barrel saddle bridge.
Justin Norvell, EVP Fender Products, said it was “a true honour” to bring the singer’s “legendary” guitar to life, adding: “Chrissie really wanted this model to be as faithful as possible to its original.”
You can watch an official demonstration video above and find further information at Fender’s official website”.
I wonder whether this development will inspire other artists and we will see more guitars to enter the market. I do not play the instrument myself, but I do have an appreciation of a great guitar. I think that other signature series have been released, but rather than this news being something that can benefit Fender and Chrissie Hynde, I think that it will lead many people to pick up a guitar. In 2018, we learned that half of the guitar-buying public were women. I am not the only one that is asking whether women are the future of guitar music. Anna Calvi, and St. Vincent are two of my favourite guitar players of the moment - and St. Vincent already has her own collection. I wonder whether we will see an Anna Calvi series. She has spoken about her guitar heroes before; she talked with Guitar World last year about her early idols and her dream guitar:
“I’d say my initial guitar hero was Jimi Hendrix. I saw some footage of him playing at Woodstock, I must have been around nine years old and I thought he sounded amazing. It got me really excited. If I could meet any musician from history, it would definitely have to be him. Just to be in the same room and see him play would be magical. When I was a bit older, I got into Jeff Buckley, I really loved his approach to guitar, as well as [jazz and] fusion-style players John McLaughlin and Django Reinhardt.”
“I got my dream guitar when I was 14 and it’s the same guitar I play now – a 1994 Telecaster. It just sounds so pure and beautiful, better than anything else I’ve played. I’m monogamous when it comes to guitars. I haven’t changed anything on it, though I do sometimes wish it had a whammy bar because they can be a lot of fun".
I do think that more young women have picked up a guitar over the past few years, and this will (hopefully) continue unabated. It is pleasing that more people in general are finding the guitar. Maybe things will drop off during lockdown, but I do think that we should be encouraging as many people as possible to play an instrument. I feel that there are some great Rock bands and guitarists at the moment, though there is still a dominance of other sounds and styles. Maybe we have passed the golden age of guitar bands and players…that is not to say things have died down in that respect. I do feel that many people will have an appetite for the guitar and creativity now that we are in lockdown and, post-pandemic, I think many bands will form and we will see a surge in guitar sales. After the news about Chrissie Hynde’s special Fender, I would really like to see some more artists partner with guitar companies. I feel Hynde herself will influence a lot of people to play guitar but, as we look to a year with potentially no festivals or live gigs, maybe there is not the same impetus and allure. Things are bad now for many people, but I have heard of many people practicing an instrument when they would not otherwise have even considered it. Maybe Chrissie Hynde and this latest great launch will not single-handedly kickstart a new band of people buying electric (and acoustic) guitars but I think, through this year and going forward, we will see…
A real boom and amplification.