With a JEM-flavored body handle and ultra-ergonomic body, the Esphera is the brand's biggest development since its inception, and arrives in seven different string configurations
(Image credit: FM Guitars)
NAMM 2023: FM Guitars – the boutique brand behind a range of innovative double-fretboard electric guitars and bass guitars – has reverted to single-fretboard design for its latest headless model, the Esphera.
Like the FM models to come before it – such as the flagship 12, 14 and 16-strings, and updated Classic collection – the Esphera opts for a headless design, though introduces an all-new body shape and a range of string configurations, including the brand’s first six-string electric option.
There are seven string iterations in total: six, seven, eight and nine-string single-fretboard models, as well as familiar FM-style dual-fretboard 12, 14 and 16-string versions.
One thing that remains the same throughout all these options, though, is that sleek ergonomic body shape, which also flashes a JEM-flavored body handle that was apparently “meticulously crafted to fit the palm of your hand” in an effort to make the Esphera both lightweight and easy to carry.
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(Image credit: FM Guitars)
(Image credit: FM Guitars)
(Image credit: FM Guitars)
According to FM Guitars founder Felix Martin, the “Esphera” was named after the Spanish term for circles – Esfera – owing to the body’s design, which was born out of a desire to connect “circles, teardrops, and curves to the human body for perfect balance”.
Elsewhere, the guitar – which weighs in at between four and five pounds – features a bottom curve that aims to promote classical position playing, a teardrop-inspired bevel for improved comfort, and a scooped lower horn to grant easy access to the upper frets.
Other functional appointments include a thin neck profile that looks to accommodate “any technique without compromise”, and a cable cover that’s been designed to protect the connected cable from “outside sources”, whatever they may be.
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(Image credit: FM Guitars)
(Image credit: FM Guitars)
(Image credit: FM Guitars)
(Image credit: FM Guitars)
(Image credit: FM Guitars)
In terms of construction, the Esphera features either an alder, basswood or ash body, as well as either a mahogany or maple multi-piece neck. Stainless steel frets are also on the spec sheet, as are FM Guitars signature pickups and Hipshot tuners.
"Esphera has been the product of several years of research to make an instrument that is extremely conformable and unique,” Martin said of the model. “Every part was meticulously thought out and tested for maximum results.”
In terms of price, the six-string Esphera starts from $1,250, while the largest 12-string version starts from $2,200. As with all FM Guitars, the Esphera can be fully customized and built to order.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
