Summer NAMM 2016: Fender Custom Shop ’80 Proof’ Blues Junior Amp – Whiskey in the Jar?
Will this Custom Shop amp smell like an exquisite single malt or like a wino's breath?
Fender Custom Shop 80 Proof Blues Junior 15 watt hand aged amp · Source: http://www.fendercustomshop.com/amps/guitar-amplifiers/80-proof-blues-junior-limited-edition-120v/
Fender Custom Shop have just announced the Limited Edition hand-aged ’80 Proof’ Blues Junior Amp. It’s made out of solid oak Kentucky bourbon barrels and limited to 100 units worldwide. Has Fender Custom Shop fallen off the wagon with this?
Aged by hand
Fender Custom Shop say that each 80 Proof Blues Junior Amp is hand built, hand aged and play heavily on the use of old whiskey casks being used in the construction. It is old oak being used and so there is possibly some merit there. One its a good solid timber and two its recycled, so at least its better for the environment somehow right? Oh and its got a vintage ‘leather’ handle as well…
Specifications
You get three 12AX7 preamp tubes and two EL84 power tubes. This is classic Fender Blues Junior territory, after all. The tubes feed a 12” 8-Ohm Jensen speaker. A spring reverb and FAT boost are also onboard. But – and for me its a big but – you have to buy the footswitch as an optional extra if you want to switch the boost ‘hands free’! WTF? Come on Fender Custom Shop, this is not a cheap product as it is. Give me the damn footswitch and while you’re at it, throw in a few bottles of that bourbon as well…
The top panel of the 80 Proof · Source: http://www.fendercustomshop.com/amps/guitar-amplifiers/80-proof-blues-junior-limited-edition-120v/
Hard liquor
I do love a nice single malt, and I also enjoy a low-wattage valve guitar amp. I am not sure that putting the two together is a sensible idea. FenWill it smell of stale bourbon when it gets warm? Do I have to be over 18 to buy one? Well, I figure the marketing machine at Fender Custom Shop will convince the tone connoisseurs that they need one either way. The jury is out on this one, but it reeks of a marketing gimmick to me!
I really think they are clutching at straws with this one. Hopefully the hangover won’t be too bad.
RRP GBP £1,689.00
Fender Custom Shop ’80 Proof’ Blues Junior Amp details: Fender Custom Shop
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