Mateus Asato has just announced a mammoth intercontinental tour, but in doing so, has the neo-soul phenom just revealed his forthcoming signature guitar from Fender?
The poster for the upcoming tour finds Asato suited, booted and seated, looking a little Zappa-esque, holding a mystery offset guitar like nothing you will find in the 2026 Fender catalog. And that has got GW in speculation mode.
“In these past few months, I’ve been spending great amount of hours with their guitar in my hands, trying to capture the best ways to make the best out of this new chapter,” said Asato.
That, too, was a super-original take on a Fender classic. Asato’s mystery model looks to be in Midnight Wine or Oxblood, has a matching painted headstock, and mini-humbuckers at the bridge and neck positions with a standard single-coil in the middle position. There’s a Strat-style pickup selector on the lower horn. And note the tremolo, too. This looks like a 2-point synchronized Strat vibrato, not the vintage-style floating units we see on your typical Mustang.
The mystery will surely be revealed sooner rather than later. Asato released his eponymous debut album this year, and speaking to Guitar World he explained how he liked to keep people guessing about his style and the kind of music he makes.
“I do a little bit of everything, so people don’t know what to think of me,” he said. “I’m really okay with that.”
In other words, he likes a little mystery. His first Fender signature model a short-scale offset with bespoke electrics and a Strat-style trem? We never saw that coming.
Asato's 2026 tour kicks off on July 31 in Manila. See Mateus Asato for full dates.
