This has been the year when we have pondered the future for S-style guitars – but what if that future has been out in China working at Farida Guitars on a limited run high-end model?
John Cruz, former Master Builder at the Fender Custom Shop, has unveiled his first design with the Chinese guitar brand, the JC-1, and it is a relic’d vintage-inspired electric with some choice modern appointments.
This is a historic moment for the Chinese guitar brand. Hiring Cruz is something of a coup. And after 273 days of development, it has a borne fruit.
“It’s the first time a Chinese guitar brand has brought a world-class master guitar builder onboard,” says Farida. “And we believe it’s the start of something even better.”
Farida has put considerable resources behind this move. In the JC-1’s introductory video, Farida says it build Cruz a Custom Shop, and gave him time to get to work. Cruise himself walks through his process.
“To build a great guitar you have to start with great wood,” says Cruz. “I weigh every body blank to find the exact weight I’m looking for. Then I like to tap on them and listen to the voice that tells me which one will be used.”
The JC-1 has a two-piece alder body, a bolt-on Canadian maple neck fashioned into a “JC Comfy C” profile (“sized between a Regular C and a Larger C for an exceptionally comfortable grip”), and the Olympic White finish and tortoiseshell pickguard all speak to the design inspirations.
The fingerboard is rosewood. The finish, which will be a big selling point, is described as a light relic, “with every detail drawn from John Cruz’s own observations of how guitars wear through everyday use – as both a player and a luthier.”
The three single-coil pickups are a custom wind co-developed by Cruz and his team at Farida, and they promise a ‘60s-style sound. But the most interesting thing here is the control setup.
They are hooked up to a 5-way selector switch, master volume and tone knobs, with the second tone control operating as a blend knob, so that in positions 1 and 5 you can mix the neck pickup with the bridge and vice versa.
“I am a guitar builder but I am also a guitar player,” says Cruz. “I know the guitar is a working instrument, something you pick up day after day, that’s why playability is everything to me.”
Farida Guitars does not have a huge presence in the US or UK markets. And they are only making 60 of these.
But Farida’s Instagram suggests these will be priced $1,989, which for a relic’d electric guitar built by a former Master Builder, is a competitive price. You can see more of this guitar at Farida Guitars Instagram.
