In 1988, Fender launched its first-ever signature models for guitar heroes Yngwie Malmsteen and Eric Clapton. A lot has changed in the almost four decades since, including guitar gear tastes, retail and the place of the instrument in popular culture.
More than any other guitar company, Fender has been forthright in its attempts to diversify its artist roster and keep the guitar firmly in the wider public’s eye – the likes of Bruno Mars, Raphael Saadiq, H.E.R., Tash Sultana and Steve Lacy have all secured signature models in recent years.
All those artists, while outside the typical rock and blues territory with which Fender made its name – have storied careers and huge followings, and their models have price tags to match.
Fender’s Japan division, however, does things differently. Its approach to signature models is informed by the community-minded Japanese culture, where music fans get in on an artist at the early stages of their career and back them throughout.
It’s why emerging acts like Silent Siren and Rei have received signature guitars alongside established Japanese artists such as Ken and Miyavi. But three new signature models break new ground, even for Fender Japan.
Cool Beans
Chilli Beans. are a three-piece band, consisting of Moto, Maika and Lily. Formed at music school in 2019 (and named after their idols, the Red Hot Chili Peppers), the group have amassed a dedicated following, thanks to TV and commercial placements, including a feature in mega-anime One Piece. The band’s sound merges pop and round – think RHCP meets Paramore, but with a J-pop twist.
They are also the latest recipients of Fender signature models – three Fender signature models, to be exact: the Moto Mustang, Lily Cyclone and Maika Mustang Bass.
What sets them apart is the price tags – at ¥104,500 each (approx $690), they’re the cheapest Fender signature guitars currently available by a considerable margin.
To keep costs down, the guitars are the first Fender Japan signature models produced in Indonesia, at the same factory that assembles the Tom DeLonge Starcaster, Jim Atkins Tele, Standard Series and the bulk of the Squier output.
It’s a true cross-cultural collaboration: an Indonesian guitar build for a Japanese artist, with development helmed by US-based Billy Martinez, Fender VP Category Manager of Acoustic and Squier divisions. It’s why the backs of the matching color headstocks say ‘Designed in California, Made in Indonesia’.
Beginner-friendly
The models stake new ground elsewhere, too: they’re spec’d specifically for beginner players, but not in a cost-cutting, downsized way. These are considered instruments.
Moto’s Mustang is unapologetic in its aims to make guitar playing easier, featuring custom alphabet inlays at the 5th and 12th frets that lay out what the notes are at these positions on each string.
But she’s also equipped locking tuners, to make string changes easier for rookie players – a feature that, paradoxically, you’d usually find on higher-end models. There’s also a Mustang tremolo and dual humbuckers, plus a 24” scale length.
“The alphabet inlays on the fingerboard are my favorite feature,” Moto says. “They make it super-convenient for beginners starting out on guitar. The tone is very clear and warm, and the smaller body makes it easy to handle.”
Lily’s Cyclone, meanwhile, is the first-ever signature version of the rare Fender model, which received a MIJ revival last year.
Like the standard-issue version, it features a Gibson-esque 24.75” scale length, but boasts two humbuckers with coil-splits, and a two-point tremolo. As per the Moto Mustang, it has locking tuners, and comes finished in a custom shade of blue with parchment pickguard.
Finally, Maika’s Mustang Bass occupies a unique niche: a 30” scale bass with dual Jazz Bass pickups. These are positioned slightly closer to the neck to capture more string vibration, promising to deliver the full Jazz Bass experience in a compact format.
Fan-first
The band have been working with Fender since they were tapped as Fender Next artists in 2023, and it was their insistence that the models be affordable that led to the new signature launch.
“The Chilli Beans. are the real deal,” Fender Asia Pacific president Edward ‘Bud’ Cole told me at the three-day Fender Experience event in Tokyo, Japan. “We started working with them a couple of years ago. It was that whole idea of jumping on in Japan, experiencing a band, getting on early on their musical journey, and following them – and that’s what people did.
“But they also want their fans to join them on that journey, which is quintessentially, to me, Japanese. And in the discussions that we had with them about creating a guitar, they really wanted to say, ‘OK, let’s make a really nice guitar that's at a very good price point that people can afford.’ Beginners can afford a great guitar, and that's the beginning of all this.”
Just 250 of each guitar have been produced, and since they went on sale on October 11 – the same day the band performed a packed show at the Fender Experience – the Moto Mustang has already sold out, and the others are expectedly to suit.
It marks yet another intriguing twist in Fender’s approach to production-line guitar building: short runs aimed at beginner guitarists. But plenty of advanced players outside of the Chilli Beans fanbase will be eyeing these up, too – and that hasn’t escaped Cole’s attention.
“Those guitars are wonderful. They look cool. They play exceptionally well. There's a lot of forgiveness in those guitars, in the sense of as a beginner and as a player. But hey, like any guitar, those guitars are for everybody.”
- For more information on Chilli Beans. signature models, head to jp.fender.com.
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