“A nod to our past catering to vintage aficionados”: Antigua acoustics are now a thing, as Fender expands the divisive finish option to its California Vintage range
The new release ushers in a whole new era for the eye-catching burst colorway, and sees Fender double down on its Antigua renaissance
(Image credit: Fender)
The Antigua finish is undoubtedly Fender’s most opinion-splitting colorway. A 'happy accident' dating back to the 1960s, the burnt mustard burst finish famously featured on the Fender Stratocaster, but was recently extended to a host of Squier Classic Vibeelectric guitars.
Now, whether you like it or not, Fender's acoustic guitars are getting the same divisive finish, with the announcement of three new-look California Vintage models that are seen by Fender as “a nod to our past” that caters to “vintage aficionados”.
The finish had its heyday in the ‘70s – you couldn’t escape it, in truth – and, for whatever reason, Fender has been keen on reviving it in recent years (as those aforementioned Squiers will attest).
Sporting a dreadnought body, the Limited Edition California Vintage King Antigua ($899.99) is engineered with Fender’s Performance X bracing pattern and built from a solid Sitka spruce top and solid ovangkol back and sides.
An ergonomic V-profile neck has been sculpted from okoume, and there’s a pearloid block-inlaid ovangkol fingerboard. A tilt-back six-in-a-line headstock with matching headstock hammers home the Antigua finish.
(Image credit: Fender)
Under the hood, a Fishman Presys VT Plus preamp system pairs with soundhole-mounted controls to sculpt the character of the guitar's under-saddle piezo and internal body transducer. This allows for a faithful representation of the instrument's sound when amplified.
(Image credit: Fender)
The California Vintage Malibu Antigua and California Vintage Palomino Antigua (also both $899.99) boast identical specs and are differentiated only by their body shapes. The Malibu offers an “approachable concert-sized body”, and the Palomino a mid-size auditorium alternative.
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All guitars ship with a vintage-style hardshell case, which sports a subtle black exterior and a love-it-or-hate-it plush mustard yellow interior.
(Image credit: Fender)
For Antigua lovers, this will come as an exciting expansion of the unique colorway, and these three new acoustics are bound to turn heads. We wonder which Fenders will get the Antigua treatment next...
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
