“This guitar carries my Malian roots and my voice”: Fatoumata Diawara makes history with her new Epiphone signature guitar

Epiphone is teaming up with the Grammy-nominated Afrofuturist guitarist, singer-songwriter, and actress, Fatoumata Diawara, on a signature SG.

Diawara is also making history as the first woman of color to receive an Epiphone signature guitar: a milestone that not only honors her immense artistic contributions but also serves as a long-overdue nod to those who came before her and paved the way.

“This guitar carries my Malian roots and my voice,” says Diawara.“It connects where I come from to where I’m going. As a Malian woman, receiving this signature guitar reminds me that our stories and our sounds truly belong on the world stage, and I hope it inspires women everywhere.”

Born of her passion for the Epiphone Muse SG, the Fatoumata Diawara SG promises to be a “player-focused instrument” that reflects the artist's aesthetic and performance needs.

Introducing the Epiphone Fatoumata Diawara SG - YouTube

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Specs-wise, the guitar features a mahogany body, a set mahogany neck with a Custom C profile, and a bound rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and pearloid trapezoid inlays.

Gold hardware accents are incorporated via a LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge, LockTone Stop Bar tailpiece, and Epiphone locking tuners, paired with a Graph Tech nut for “rock-solid tuning stability.”

Coordinated furnishings include red pickup rings, Speed knobs, rear control covers, and a toggle switch tip that continue to enhance to this very aesthetically pleasing guitar.

The electronics are equally Diawara through and through: Epiphone Alnico Classic PRO humbuckers – with individual volume knobs that include push/pull coil-splitting – and two tone controls for further tone sculpting. There’s also a push/pull phase switch on one of the tone knobs, which offers out-of-phase tones when both pickups are engaged.

Perhaps its most standout feature, however, is the signature multi-colored graphic that adorns this guitar and continues to celebrate Diawara's heritage. “It was my idea to put the African design – but more colorful, because I like colors,” she explains.

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“Everybody can play it – any type of music: rock, blues, pop, reggae… because my composition is all of that. I compose with all those influences. You just have to bring your own energy, and it will take you wherever you want to go.”

Priced at $699, this history-making signature Epiphone SG is now available from participating Gibson and Epiphone partner retailers.

For more information, head to Gibson.

In a 2020 interview with Guitar World, Diawara discussed how Malian guitar music and traditional instrumentation shaped her as a musician, and told the story of her journey – from moving to Paris to pursue the arts to touring globally.