Reviving the original strategy that motivated the acquisition of in-ear monitor manufacturer Aurisonics and taking lessons from the very successful playbook of Swedish design house Zound Industries with guitar amplifier brand Marshall, Fender announces an all-new range of consumer Fender Audio products. From true wireless earbuds designed like musicians IEM’s, all the way to portable Bluetooth speakers that look like miniature Fender guitar amps.
Fender Musical Instruments announced a vast new collection of Fender Audio products, created in partnership with Singapore-based Generation-S Private Limited and Riff SoundWorks, creating a powerful catalog of musician-inspired consumer audio products. The products will still be sold to the fans of the brand through the official Fender.com website, extending the guitar company’s merchandise strategy, while Generation-S will explore consumer retail channels independently.
The licensed trademarked Fender Audio brand features a three part collection that includes true wireless stereo earphones, wired professional in-ear monitors and Bluetooth speakers, which will be clerkly appealing to musicians but also to regular consumers who admire the brand, the history, and the legacy of founder Leo Fender.
“This chapter of Fender Audio products represents the brand’s next evolution of sound and innovation, building on the blueprint created over 75 years ago,” says Richard Bussey, VP of Accessories, Lifestyle and Licensing. “We designed this series as user and audio friendly systems. Even the aesthetics of the Bluetooth speakers hearken back to Leo Fender’s early days as an amplifier and instrument repairman in Fullerton, California.”
The new Fender Audio Collection includes a strong entrance in the true wireless earbuds space, with a variety of models. All models feature ambient noise blocking settings and comfortable ergonomic features that appeal to users looking for a personal sound experience, a powerful and acoustically optimized sound, and of course the brand endorsement. From the Tour Series for “road warriors,” the Producer Series for studio creatives – reviving the original Fender wired earphone and IEM range – to the Classic Series Bluetooth speakers for both music lovers and guitar players alike, the collection offers a bit of everything for everyone.
The Fender Tour Series of true wireless earphones combines sound technology and noise canceling for a functional design featuring the Fender “F” logo, in a sweat resistant, 3D printed design, available in three models – Tour, Tour Lite and Tour Pro. The Tour earbuds, now available, feature a proprietary 7mm full range dynamic driver and custom-tuned audio DSP engine, while the Tour Lite and Tour Pro feature a hybrid driver configuration and will be available from November 2022. The intermediate Tour Lite have a design similar to AirPods, appealing to the more mainstream TWS users, while the Tour Pro take the Tour IEM-inspired design a step further, with a more exclusive, luxurious design.
The range moves up with The Producer Series of wired earphones, inspired and shaped as professional IEMs, offering patented driver hybrid systems and a sound profile tuned similarly to the systems used by pros in the studio and on stage. Models include the Track, Track Lite, Track Pro, Mix and Mix Pro with prices that range from $279.99 to $999.99 USD for the Mix Pro, featuring a 6 driver hybrid system. All are available now.
Next up is the Classic Series of portable stereo speakers, basically promising to outperform typical Bluetooth products in its class. The designs appeal to two different user profiles, with the Newport speaker looking more like a vintage product that fits home environments – it will look great close to any fifties style kitchen appliances – while the aptly name Indio speaker clearly resembles a Fender tweed guitar amp, including the knobs.
The Newport 2 ($279.99 USD) features 2 full range speakers and one tweeter, a 3.5mm auxiliary input jack, and is a Bluetooth 5 design (AAC and SBC) that offers 12 hours of playtime. Finish options include Black Gunmetal, Black Champagne, Red Gunmetal and Red Champagne. The Indio 2 ($379.99 / $399.99 USD) features dual 16 mm tweeters, dual 3.5” woofers, also a Bluetooth 5 radio and up to 25 hours of playtime. Finish options include Black, and Tweed in tribute to the classic guitar amps. All are available now.
For this refreshed range, Fender partnered with Generation-S as the new licensee for audio products in the consumer electronics space. A partnership that the company believes will elevate Fender’s consumer electronics offerings, “making Fender Audio more widely accessible to consumers,” the announcement states.
www.fender.com | www.fenderaudio.com
